Welcome
Books Paper Scissors is an independent bookshop in leafy South Belfast, near the Botanic Gardens, Queen’s University and the Ulster Museum.
We stock a curated selection of new fiction and non-fiction, plus classics, Irish writing and poetry. We also have a children's room, with choices from newborn to teenager. If you don't see the book you want in store or on-line, just ask via e-mail or phone, we can source most books in just a few days.
Beyond books we stock high quality stationery from Leuchtturm, pens from Lamy, diaries and artisan greetings cards. Plus gift wrap and of course, scissors.
Please note, our website inventory is not tracked with our shop stock.
Latest
Age of Vice, Deepit Kapoor ( paperback 19 Jan 2024)
£9.99
Deftly shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, Age of Vice is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family-loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all. In the shadow of lavish estates, extravagant parties, predatory business deals, and calculated political influence, three lives become dangerously intertwined: Ajay is the watchful servant, born into poverty, who rises through the family's ranks.
Sunny is the playboy heir who dreams of outshining his father, whatever the cost. And Neda is the curious journalist caught between morality and desire. Against a sweeping plot fueled by loss, pleasure, greed, yearning, violence, and revenge, will these characters' connections become a path to escape, or a trigger of further destruction?Equal parts crime thriller and family saga, transporting readers from the dusty villages of Uttar Pradesh to the urban energy of New Delhi, Age of Vice is an intoxicating novel of gangsters and lovers, false friendships, forbidden romance, and the consequences of corruption.
Paperback £9.99 coming in January 2024, cover TBC
Amazing Grace Adams, Fran Littlewood ( paperback Jan 2024)
£8.99
Grace Adams is one bad day away from saving her life. One hot summer day, stuck in traffic on her way to pick up the cake for her daughter's sixteenth birthday party, Grace Adams snaps.She doesn't scream or break something or cry. She simply abandons her car and walks away. But not from her life - towards it.
To the daughter who won't live with her anymore and has banned her from the party. To the husband divorcing her. Towards the terrible thing that has blown their family apart .
. . Today she'll show her daughter that no matter how far we fall we can always get back up again.
Because Grace Adams was amazing. Her husband and daughter once thought so. They and the world might have forgotten.
But Grace is about to remind them . . .
Amazing Grace Adams tells the story of a life, a marriage, a family, set against a single north-London day. A rollercoaster ride of redemption and discovery, it's a powerful celebration of womanhood. 'An absolute gut punch of a book that throbs with all the rage of a middle-aged woman who refuses to go quietly' RED 'Readers will relish the letting loose of one woman's long-suppressed righteous rage .
My Father’s House, Joseph O’Connor ( paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
When the Nazis take Rome, thousands go into hiding. One priest will risk everything to save them. September 1943: German forces occupy Rome.
SS officer Paul Hauptmann rules with terror. An Irish priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, dedicates himself to helping those escaping from the Nazis. His home is Vatican City, a neutral, independent country within Rome where the occupiers hold no sway.
He gathers a team to set up an Escape Line. But Hauptmann's net begins closing in and the need for a terrifyingly audacious mission grows critical. By Christmas, it's too late to turn back.
Based on a true story, My Father's House is a powerful thriller from a master of historical fiction. It is an unforgettable novel of love, sacrifice and what it means to be human in the most extreme circumstances. 'A spectacular, thrilling novel...suspense crackles...celebrates triumphant against-the-odds camaraderie' Sunday Times'A masterwork...
so urgent, so incredibly alive... A searing and beautiful example of storytelling's infinite importance' Donal Ryan
Paperback Feb 2024
Old God's Time, Sebastian Barry ( Paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
Recently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, a lean-to annexed to a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. For months he has barely seen a soul, catching only glimpses of his eccentric landlord and a nervous young mother who has moved in next door.
Occasionally, fond memories return, of his family, his beloved wife June and their two children. But when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case, one which Tom never quite came to terms with, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past. A beautiful, haunting novel, in which nothing is quite as it seems, Old God's Time is about what we live through, what we live with, and what may survive of us.
Sebastian Barry is one of my favourite irish writers, don't miss this one - Linda .. preorder for 1 Feb release of Paperback edition ( same cover)
Shocking, stunning and extraordinarily brave. Barry has once again written a character for the ages.' LIZ NUGENT
+ Pre-Order + Strange Sally Diamond, Liz Nugent ( paperback end March 2024)
£8.99
Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died. Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she cannot remember.As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends and big decisions, and learning that people don't always mean what they say. But who is the man observing Sally from the other side of the world? And why does her neighbour seem to be obsessed with her? Sally's trust issues are about to be severely challenged . .
The Lock Up, John Banville ( paperback Jan 2024)
£9.99
1950s Dublin. in a lock-up garage in the city, the body of a young woman is discovered - an apparent suicide.
But pathologist Dr Quirke and Detective Inspector Strafford soon suspect foul play. The victim's sister, a newspaper reporter from London, returns to Dublin to join the two men in their quest to uncover the truth. But, as they explore her links to a wealthy German family in County Wicklow, and to investigative work she may have been doing in Israel, they are confronted with an ever-deepening mystery.
With relations between the two men increasingly strained, and their investigation taking them back to the final days of the Second World War, can they join the pieces of a hidden puzzle?Praise for the Strafford and Quirke series:'Crime writing of the finest quality, elegant, distinctive and utterly absorbing.' Daily Mail.
The Island of Longing, Anne Griffin ( paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
One unremarkable afternoon, Rosie watched her daughter Saoirse cycle into town, expecting to hear the slam of the door when she returned a few hours later. But the slam never came. Eight years on, after an extensive investigation into her disappearance, Rosie is the only person who stubbornly believes that her child might still be alive.When Rosie receives a call from her father, asking her to return home for the summer, she is forced out of her limbo. Life on the island of Roaring Bay revives old rivalries, but it also brings new friendships and unexpected solace. Yet, when a sudden glimmer of hope appears, Rosie is forced to face an impossible question: is she right to think that Saoirse is still alive? Or will her belief that her daughter will one day return to her come at the cost of everything she has left?
Don’t Look Back, Jo Spain ( paperback Jan 2024 )
£8.99
For one week, everything in Luke Miller's life is perfect.
Surprised with a belated honeymoon by his wife, Rose, he's had seven days with her in a Caribbean paradise. It's more than he ever thought he'd deserve. But as they pack their bags, Rose breaks down, confessing that on the day they left London, a violent man from her past tracked her down and broke into their home.
He wasn't expecting her to fight back. And, in her terror, Rose killed him. Now there's a dead body in Luke's apartment, and only one person he can think to turn to.
Mickey Sheils never expected to hear from Luke again, not after he disappeared the first time. Luke knows Mickey can't deny a woman who needs help, so she promises she'll deal with things - she'll make sure Rose doesn't have to keep running. But it turns out, some lies are too big to run from.
Paperback Jan 2024
The Home Scar, Kathleen MacMahon ( new paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
'The home scar - that's what they call the mark limpets make on the rock when they return.''Wait, they leave the rock?''Of course. How else would they survive?On opposite sides of the world, half-siblings Cassie and Christo have built their lives around work, intent on ignoring their painful past. When a dramatic storm in Galway hits the headlines, they're drawn back there to revisit a glorious childhood summer, the last before their mother died.But their journey uncovers memories of a far less happy summer - one that had tragic consequences. Confronted with the havoc their mother left in her wake, Cassie and Christo are forced to face their past and - ready or not - to deal with the messy tangle of parental love and neglect that shaped them. The Home Scar is a luminous and precise story about the inheritance of loss and the possibility of finally making peace with it.
_________'A powerful story about legacy and loss and the possibility of reconciliation' Irish Times'Her beautifully simple style belies psychological complexity . . .
From the Irish Author of Nothing But Blue Sky
In Ascension, Martin MacInnes ( Paperback 1 Feb 2024)
£9.99
Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, drawn to the waterfront as an escape from her unhappy home life and volatile father. Enchanted by the undersea world of her childhood, she excels in marine biology, travelling the globe to study ancient organisms. When a trench is discovered in the Atlantic ocean, Leigh joins the exploration team, hoping to find evidence of the earth's first life forms - what she instead finds calls into question everything we know about our own beginnings.
Her discovery leads Leigh to the Mojave desert and an ambitious new space agency. Drawn deeper into the agency's work, she learns that the Atlantic trench is only one of several related phenomena from across the world, each piece linking up to suggest a pattern beyond human understanding. Leigh knows that to continue working with the agency will mean leaving behind her declining mother and her younger sister, and faces an impossible choice: to remain with her family, or to embark on a journey across the breadth of the cosmos.
Exploring the natural world with the wonder and reverence we usually reserve for the stars, In Ascension is a compassionate, deeply inquisitive epic that reaches outward to confront the greatest questions of existence, looks inward to illuminate the smallest details of the human heart, and shows how - no matter how far away we might be and how much we have lost hope - we will always attempt to return to the people and places we call home.
Despite it's somewhat intimidating blurb, I have heard some wonderful feedback on this book!
(512 pages)
Find Peace in a Poem ( hardback Jan 2024)
£12.99
This is a book of poetry for everyone. Inside is a treasure trove of writing celebrating mindfulness. Read the poems aloud or curl up with them in a quiet corner.
Begin your journey into a lifelong love of poetry. This beautifully illustrated collection features powerful poems written by a wide range of contemporary voices. They share their unique perspectives on the topic of mindfulness, from listening for silence and living in the moment to the colour of our dreams and what the trees can teach us.
Showcasing original poems alongside existing works, this is a book to share and treasure forever. Featuring brilliant poetry by:Mandy Coe,Jack Prelutsky,Pat Mora,Kate Wakeling,James Carter,Nikita Gill,Joseph Coelho,Valerie Bloom,Amina Jama,Michael Rosen,Sue Hardy-Dawson,Mary Ann Hoberman,Georgia Heard,Sophia Thakur,Sanah Ahsan,Elizabeth Acevedo,Kit Wright,Naomi Shihab, NyeZaro Weil, alongside beautiful artwork.
Don’t Ever Smile At A Shark, Harriet Evans ( hardback, Jan 2024)
£10.99
If you meet a sea creature,It's best to be polite. Don't make an enemy (or should that be an anemone?!) of any of these super sea dwellers and you'll have a whale of a time with this fin-tastically fishy pop-up book! From a jumpy octopus and a pinchy crab to some cheeky clownfish and a hungry shark, there's a whole host of underwater animals to meet. Little ones will adore the clever pop-ups on each page as well as the witty, silly text.This is the perfect book to encourage your child to read along to.
Little Bang, Kelly McCaughrain ( paperback Jan 2024)
£8.99
A bittersweet Northern Irish romance that takes a new look at teen pregnancy, the magic and mess of first relationships, and a young woman's right to choose her own future. Beneath the New Year's Eve fireworks, shy science-nerd Mel and slacker songwriter Sid get pregnant on their first date. Any sixteen-year-olds would expect trouble, but this is Northern Ireland 2018, where abortion is still illegal.Mel's religious parents insist she must keep the baby, whilst Sid's feminist mum pushes for a termination. Mel and Sid are determined to do this together, but they soon discover that pregnancy is totally different for boys and girls. When their relationship starts to fall apart under all the pressure, Mel finds herself feeling alone with the impossible dilemma of the Little Bang growing inside her. This story skillfully and sensitively manages the emotional debate over the pro's and con's of babies and abortions, not always predictable, and very relatable. Holly Bourne is a great advocate of young teens reading about difficult issues as a 'safe space' to consider and discuss those issues, this book does a great job in that sphere.
From the author of the award-winning Flying Tips for Flightless Birds. "Kelly McCaughrain is one to watch" Susin Nielsen
Hyper, Agri Ismail ( hardback Jan 2024)
£18.99
Rafiq Hardi Kermanj, founder of the Communist Party of Kurdistan, is forced to flee Tehran for London with his family. In London, they suffer the shame of penury and migration layered on Kurdish statelessness. The lives of Rafiq’s three children becoming increasingly dependent on their relationship to money:Siver, the only daughter, escapes into an unhappy marriage in Baghdad before fleeing to raise her daughter as a single mother in Dubai.
Mohammed, the eldest, stays in London to climb the unforgiving ladder of the financial sector. Laika, the youngest, retreats into a contactless digital life, designing the trading algorithms that will ultimately prove his downfall in a condo near Wall Street. Sharp, topical, and powerful, Hyper is a story about what remains of our humanity in a world increasingly dominated by the flows of capital.
Perfect for fans of Zadie Smith, Moshin Hamid, and Jennifer Egan. A debut worth the read.
The Things That We Lost, Jyoti Patel (paperback Jan 2024)
£9.99
AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF 2023
WINNER OF THE 2021 #MERKY BOOKS NEW WRITERS' PRIZE
Nik has lots of questions about his late father but knows better than to ask his mother, Avani. It's their unspoken rule. But when his grandfather dies, Nik has the opportunity to learn about the man he never met.
Armed with a key and new knowledge about his parents' past, Nik sets out to unlock the secrets that his mother has been holding onto his whole life. The Things That We Lost is a beautifully tender exploration of family, loss and how far we will go to protect the ones we love.
The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings ( classic reissue)
£9.99
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE'A literary masterpiece for all ages . . .a tale of growing up, of love and laughter, of tragedy and loss and grief - a tale that is so compelling that it turns the page for you: The Yearling leaves you tearful, breathless, exhilarated' MICHAEL MORPURGO'An unsentimental, stone-cold classic that should be spoken of in the same breath - and read as religiously - as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird' THE TIMES'A genuine classic . . .
I was stunned to awe by The Yearling's beauty and strength' LAUREN GROFFIn the remote, unforgiving landscape of central Florida, Ezra 'Penny' Baxter, his wife Ora and their son Jody carve out a precarious existence. Only ever a failed crop away from disaster, life in the Big Scrub is one of lurking danger, wild beauty and the thrill of the hunt. Jody's world is transformed when he rescues a starving fawn, who becomes his constant companion.
But their bond is threatened when the yearling endangers the family's survival - and Jody is forced to make a terrible choice that will change him forever. Winner of the 1939 Pulitzer Prize and an instant bestseller, The Yearling is a moving and richly evocative classic for readers of all ages.
Argylle, Elly Conway ( hardback Jan 2024)
£18.99
The globe-trotting spy thriller that inspired the upcoming action blockbuster Argylle , featuring a star-studded cast including Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Cena, directed by Matthew Vaughn of Kingsman trilogy fame. 'The most incredible spy franchise since Ian Fleming’ Matthew VaughnOne Russian magnate's dream of restoring a nation to greatness has set in motion a chain of events which will take the world to the brink of chaos.Only Frances Coffey, the CIA's most legendary spymaster, can prevent it. But to do so, she needs someone special. Enter Argylle.
His life came to a crashing halt as a teenager. Since then he has been treading water, building barriers between himself and the world. Until one moment of compassion and brilliance will bring him to the attention of the most powerful woman in the secret world.
Coffey knows all about Argylle's dark past. She knows it haunts him. But she also knows it may give him the skills to join the team going up against one of the most powerful men in the world.
His crash course in espionage will take him from the jungles of Thailand to the boulevards of Monaco, from the monasteries of Mount Athos to a forgotten cavern buried deep in the mountains. It is a deathly rollercoaster ride that will either make him - or break him...
The Wizard of the Kremlin, Giulano Da Empoli ( hardback Jan 2024)
£16.99
THE INTERNATIONAL SENSATION - a stunning work of political fiction about the rise to power of Putin's notorious spin doctor'A great book, casting light on the creatures that crawl and slither behind the Kremlin's walls, on the mineral hardness of Putin, on the chaos engine that is his way of hurting us' John Sweeney'An acute and timely dissection of Russian power, told through the eyes of a shadowy political advisor to Putin' Financial Times'A fictional wandering through the dark corridors of the Kremlin' The Times, Biggest Books of the Season__________They call him the Wizard of the Kremlin. Working at the heart of Russian power, the enigmatic Vadim Baranov-Putin's chief spin doctor-has used his background in experimental theatre and reality TV to turn the entire country into an avant-garde political stage. Here truth and lies, news and propaganda, have become indistinguishable.But Vadim is growing increasingly entangled in the dark secret workings of the regime he has helped build, and now he is desperate to get out... Propelling the reader from the fall of the Soviet Union to the invasion of Ukraine, this breathless story of politics and power has become an international sensation.
Wild Houses, Colin Barrett ( hardback Jan 2024)
£16.99
**One of the Observer's Debut Novels of 2024**
A small-town feud. A madcap kidnapping. A wild weekend to change everybody's lives...
As Ballina prepares for its biggest weekend of the year, the simmering feud between small-time drug-dealer, Cillian English, and County Mayo's enforcers, Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, spills over into violence and an ugly ultimatum. When the reclusive Dev answers his door on Friday night he finds Doll - Cillian's teenage brother - in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch. Jostled by his nefarious cousins and goaded by his dead mother's dog, Dev is drawn headlong into the Ferdias' revenge fantasy.
Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Nicky can't shake the feeling something bad has happened to her boyfriend Doll. Hungover, reeling from a fractious Friday night and plagued by ghosts of her own, Nicky sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll, even as she questions her future in Ballina.
Piglet, Lottie Hazel ( hardback Jan 2024)
£16.99
For Piglet (an unshakable childhood nickname ) getting married is her opportunity to reinvent. Together, Kit and Piglet are the picture of domestic bliss - effortless hosts, planning a covetable wedding ...
But if a life looks too good to be true, it probably is. Thirteen days before they are due to be married, Kit reveals an awful truth, cracking the facade Piglet has created. It has the power to strip her of the life she has so carefully built, so smugly shared.
To do something about it would be to self-destruct. But what will it cost her to do nothing?As the hours count down to their wedding, Piglet is torn between a growing appetite and the desire to follow the recipe, follow the rules. Surely, with her husband, she could be herself again.
Wouldn't it be a waste for everything to curdle now?Piglet is the searing, unforgettable and original debut which is set to take readers by storm in 2024. - The prose is rich, you will feel hungry and satisfied with this entertaining novel!
Book Club
The BPS Book Club meets in the last full week of every month. We have two sessions, each one covering the same book so just pick the session that suits you. It's a relaxed and unintimidating sharing of views and opinions.
Tuesday morning 9.30-10.30, or
Thursday evening 7 - 8 pm.
Please contact us if would like to be added to our book-club mailing list.
Please note it fills up quickly ( I take a maximum of 15 per session) so you can only book in response to the email invite each month, on a first come first served basis.
BOOKS as GIFTS
Perhaps you have a relative or friend who loves reading but you have no idea what to choose?
We offer a monthly subscription gift service where the book(s) are chosen and dispatched by Books Paper Scissors with a gift message from the giver.
The recipient will receive an introductory questionnaire and voucher, with SAE to return, allowing them to select genres and identify preferences - we do the rest!
For children or adults, 2024 prices:
Hardback Subscription £25 per month.
Paperback Subscription £15 per month.
Children's Books £12 per month.
No minimum or maximum length of time. Includes all postage.
Please enquire if you would like more details, or order online by searching ' gift subscription'.
Our Book Store
15 Stranmillis Rd, Belfast BT9 5AF
Phone: 028 9066 7815
Monday - Saturday- 10.00 - 17:00