Welcome
Books Paper Scissors is an independent bookshop in leafy South Belfast, near to 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 telephone, we can source most books in just a few days.
Beyond books we stock high quality stationery from Leuchtturm, notebooks, pens from Lamy and Paper Poetry, diaries and artisan greetings cards. Plus gift wrap and of course, scissors.
Please note, our website inventory is not tracked with our shop stock. If not in stock, books can be ordered within 2/3 days.
Latest
Iron Annie, Luke Cassidy ( paperback June 2022)
£8.99
The energy, the voice, the language, the characters, all real, raw and utterly convincing' Fiona Scarlett, author of Boys Don't Cry'
Aoife knows everyone in Dundalk's underworld. Too well, in some cases.
But when she meets Annie, a beautiful whirlwind of a woman, and brings her to the Town, she finds that she doesn't know nearly enough about her. Annie is magnetic and wild and Aoife's desire to learn more quickly becomes a need, and then an obsession - to know this dangerous woman, to love her, to keep her. So when Aoife's friend and collaborator the Rat King asks her to help him dispose of ten kilos of cocaine, swiped from a rival, she brings Annie along for a road trip through a Britain that she only knows as a place to be suspicious of.
So when Annie decides she doesn't want to return to Ireland, Aoife makes a decision that changes everything. Gritty and yet tender, tragic and yet hopeful, Iron Annie is a breakneck journey that crackles with energy, warmth and heart, and marks the arrival of a fresh and vibrant new voice in literary fiction. 'Full of wonder, grit, insight, sadness and joy' Donal Ryan, author of The Spinning Heart
The Quiet Whispers Never Stop, Olivia Fitzsimons ( hardback, April 2022)
£16.99
In 1982, Nuala Malin struggles to stay connected, to her husband, to motherhood, to the smallness of her life in the belly of a place that is built on hate and stagnation. Her daughter Sam and baby son PJ keep her tethered to this life she doesn't want. She finds unexpected refuge with a seventeen-year-old boy, but this relationship is only temporary, a sticking plaster on a festering wound.
It cannot last and when her chance to leave Northern Ireland comes, Nuala takes it. In 1994, Sam Malin plans escape. She longs for a life outside her dysfunctional family, far away from the North and all its troubles, free from her quiet brooding father Patsy, who never talks about her mother, Nuala; a woman Sam barely knew, who abandoned them twelve years ago.
She finds solace in music, drugs and her best friend Becca, but most of all in an illicit relationship with a jagged, magnetic older man.
Linda - I found this coming of age story powerful, toxic and very very readable - loved the imaginative voice and thoughts of Sam
Heiresses, Laura Thompson ( paperback May 2022)
£9.99
Laura Thompson explores the phenomenon of the heiress from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. Take Mary Davies, a child bride at the age of twelve, and her thousand-acre dowry of today's Mayfair and Belgravia, which gave the Grosvenors their stupendous wealth.
Or Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, whose American railroad fortune helped sustain Blenheim Palace. Winnaretta Singer showcased the work of Debussy in her Parisian salon; Daisy Fellowes enjoyed parties, fashion - and other people's husbands - without shame or conscience. Alice de Janze shot one of her lovers and was suspected of murdering a second; Woolworth heiress, Barbara Hutton, married seven times.
Money should mean power and opportunity, but in the hands of these women it was so often absent. Why did so many struggle to live with so much? Did the removal of need render their life meaningless? Were they riven with guilt at all they had, knowing they really should be happy? With her signature intelligence and wit, Laura Thompson tells these women's stories - glittering and fascinating but often sad and scandalous - on a gripping search for the answer.
'Witty, insightful, deliciously gossip-laden and slightly scandalous... Heiresses makes for an entertaining, occasionally sad and never less than gripping read' Anne Sebba
A Life on Our Planet : My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future, David Attenborough ( paperback May 2022)
£9.99
With a new afterword, Why You Are Here: A speech on the opening of the COP26 climate summit.As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day - the loss of our planet's wild places, its biodiversity. I have been witness to this decline.A Life on Our Planet contains my witness statement, and my vision for the future - the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake, and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right. We have the opportunity to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited. All we need is the will do so.
Nothing But the Truth, by The Secret Barrister
£20.00
Just how do you become a barrister? Why do only 1 per cent of those who study law succeed in joining this mysteriously opaque profession? And why might a practising barrister come to feel the need to reveal the lies, secrets, failures and crises at the heart of this world of wigs and gowns? Nothing But The Truth charts an outsider's progress down the winding path towards practising at the Bar, taking in the sometimes absurd traditions of the Inns of Court, where every meal mandates a glass of port and a toast to the Queen, to the Hunger Games-type contest for pupillage, through the endlessly frustrating experience of being a junior barrister - as a creaking, ailing justice system begins to convince them that something has to change .. . Full of hilarious, shocking and surprising stories, Nothing But The Truth tracks the Secret Barrister's transformation from hang 'em and flog 'em, austerity-supporting twenty-something to campaigning, bestselling, reforming author whose writing in defence of the law is celebrated around the globe.
Idol, Louise O’Neill ( hardback May 2022)
£14.99
Idol : The must-read, addictive and compulsive book club thriller 2022
For Samantha Miller's young fans - her 'girls' - she's everything they want to be. She's an oracle, telling them how to live their lives, how to be happy, how to find and honour their 'truth'. And her career is booming: she's just hit three million followers, her new book Chaste has gone straight to the top of the bestseller lists and she's appearing at sell-out events.
Determined to speak her truth and bare all to her adoring fans, she's written an essay about her sexual awakening as a teenager, with her female best friend, Lisa. She's never told a soul but now she's telling the world. The essay goes viral.
But then - years since they last spoke - Lisa gets in touch to say that she doesn't remember it that way at all. Her memory of that night is far darker. It's Sam's word against Lisa's - so who gets to tell the story? Whose 'truth' is really a lie? 'You put yourself on that pedestal, Samantha.
You only have yourself to blame.'Riveting, compulsive and bold, IDOL interrogates our relationship with our heroes and explores the world of online influencers, asking how well we can ever really know those whose carefully curated profiles we follow online.
Family of Liars, E Lockhart ( hardback,May 2022)
£7.99
The thrilling prequel to the TikTok phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come. A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts. A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy. A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.
Welcome back to the Sinclair family. They were always liars. SPOILER ALERT! Read We Were Liars first.
(No word of a lie, it's better that way ...)
Welcome To The World, Julia Donaldon & Helen Oxenbury ( hardback April 2022)
£12.99
From two bestselling and awardwinning creators comes a magical, lyrical celebration of babies' first experiences. From the comfort of home to the adventure of the great outdoors, from family to first encounters with nature, Welcome to the World revels in the joy that comes with sharing this new world with children, and seeing it through their eyes. A perfect read-aloud story for sharing from Julia Donaldson and Helen Oxenbury.
The Good Turn - Sharma Jackson ( paperback May 2022)
£7.99
Josephine Williams is a future-focused, internet-loving eleven-year-old who is desperate to explore the world beyond her cul-de-sac - and her browser. When she learns about Josephine Holloway - a woman who started the first Girl Scout Troop for Black girls in America - she's certain she must start her own.Enlisting her friends Margot Anderson and Wesley Evans, the trio begin their quest for their Camping Badge. Drawn to an abandoned factory nearby, they stumble across something strange. A square, ancient television and two tatty armchairs.
Beside it, a wooden sideboard with an old photograph of a young, happy couple. What is this? Who, or what, lives here - and why? 'An intriguing mystery adventure . .
The Good Activist, Bronagh Curran ( paperback April 2022)
£12.00
review to follow!
Jellyfish Age Backwards, Nicklaus Brendborg ( hardback May 2022)
£16.99
Jellyfish Age Backwards : Nature's Secrets to Longevity
"In a field characterised by overclaiming and wishful thinking, it is judicious, sensible and refreshingly clear. And fascinating." Sunday TimesA deep-dive into the astonishing nature and true science of longevity Molecular Biologist Nicklas Brendborg takes us on a journey from the farthest reaches of the globe to the most cutting-edge research to explore everything the natural world and science have to offer on the mystery of aging. From the centuries-old Greenland shark and backwards-aging jellyfish to the man who fasted for a year and the woman who successfully edited her own DNA, this book follows the thread of every experiment, story, and myth in the search for immortality.
With mind-bending discoveries and physiological gifts that feel closer to magic than reality, Jellyfish Age Backwards will reshape everything you thought you knew about aging - and offer nature's secrets to unlocking your own longevity.
You made a Fool of Me with Your Beauty, Akwaeke Emezi ( hardback May 2022)
£14.99
Say hello to the book of the summer' @bettysbooksuk'
Have you fallen for this INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING novelist's sizzling hot entrance into the world of romance? It's the opportunity of a lifetime: Feyi is about to be given the chance to escape the City's blistering heat for a dream island holiday: poolside cocktails, beach sunsets, and elaborate meals. And as the sun goes down on her old life our heroine also might just be ready to open her heart to someone new. The only problem is, she's falling for the one man she absolutely can't have.
The Ponies At the End of the World, Catherine Munro ( hardback May 2022)
£16.99
The Ponies At The Edge Of The World : A story of hope and belonging in Shetland.
A meditation on connection between humans and animals, and the homes we make in wild places. I was completely immersed' Katherine May, bestselling author of Wintering
Catherine Munro transforms her life when she moves to Shetland to study the hardy ponies who call this archipelago home. Over the course of her first year, she is welcomed into the rhythms and routines that characterise life at the edge of the world.
When faced with personal loss, Catherine finds comfort and connection in the shared lives of the people, animals and wild landscapes of Shetland. The Ponies at the Edge of the World is a heartfelt love letter to the beauty and resilience of these magical ponies and their native land. This is a stunning book on community, hope and finding home.
This Train Is For, Bernie McGill ( paperback, June 2022)
£12.00
A great collection of 'caught at the moment ' short stories from Northern Irish Bernie McGill ( author of The Watch House, The Butterfly Cabinet, Sleepwalkers)
These stories have a delicacy, an emotional connection and a sense of what's between the lines, in a range of voices and characters. Very enjoyable.
Spies in Canaan, David Park ( hardback, May 2022)
£16.99
Michael has travelled a long way from his boyhood under the endless skies of the Midwest. His retirement is peaceful, if solitary. But one day there is a visitation: a mysterious car on the seafront, and a package delivered.
From its contents, Michael understands that he has been commissioned to undertake a final journey. As Michael makes his way deep into a distant desert - a strange and liminal landscape that lies between hell and redemption - he undertakes another journey, into long-suppressed memories: of Vietnam and the dying days of war, and to face a final accounting for what was done. Taut, atmospheric and moving, Spies in Canaan is a powerful elegy to the pain of love, the guilt of old age, and the grace of atonement.
'It is seldom that one can say a book is perfect, but this is as close as I've seen in a very long time' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT'
The Premonitions Bureau, Sam Knight ( Hardback May 2022)
£14.99
The story of a strange experiment - a journey into the oddest corners of 60s Britain and the outer edges of science and reason. Premonitions are impossible. But they come true all the time.You think of a forgotten friend. Out of the blue, they call. But what if you knew that something terrible was going to happen? A sudden flash, the words CHARING CROSS.
Four days later, a packed express train comes off the rails outside the station. What if you could share your vision, and stop that train? Could these forebodings help the world to prevent disasters?In 1966, John Barker, a dynamic psychiatrist working in an outdated British mental hospital, established the Premonitions Bureau to investigate these questions. He would find a network of hundreds of correspondents, from bank clerks to ballet teachers.
Among them were two unnervingly gifted "percipients". Together, the pair predicted plane crashes, assassinations and international incidents, with uncanny accuracy. And then, they informed Barker of their most disturbing premonition: that he was about to die.
The Premonitions Bureau is an enthralling true story, of madness and wonder, science and the supernatural - a journey to the most powerful and unsettling reaches of the human mind.
The End of Men, Christina Sweeney ( paperback June 2022)
£8.99
The year is 2025.Mankind is under threat. Men are dying, but women remain safe. As the sickness spreads to every corner of the globe, people fight to protect the men they love against all odds.
Can they find a cure before it's too late? Will this be the story of the end of the world - or its salvation? Compelling and devastating, The End of Men is the pulse-pounding thriller everyone is talking about.
Hope On the Horizon, Onjali Q Rauf ( hardback May 2022)
£9.99
No one is too small to make a change." Growing up, there is so much out of our control and so much we can feel helpless about. But together, we can make a difference. In this inspiring and practical handbook, bestselling children's author and Human Rights campaigner, Onjali Rauf, shares her top ten ways for creating change.With the help of her favourite fictional characters and some of the most inspiring people she has ever met, Onjali invites readers to dive in and discover everything there is to know about kindness, empathy, friendship and fighting for the things that matter. (Plus cool stuff like X-ray vision and deflecting negative forces.)Because with a bit of compassion, a big dollop of hope and even the smallest act of kindness, we can all make the world a better place. Hope is on the horizon; you just have to find it.
Parental guidance recommended: issues related to discrimination, injustice and prejudice are included.
The Dark Remains, Rankin & McIlvanney ( Paperback June 2022)
£8.99
In this scorching crime hook-up, number one bestseller Ian Rankin and Scottish crime-writing legend William McIlvanney join forces for the first ever case of DI Laidlaw, Glasgow's original gritty detective.
Lawyer Bobby Carter did a lot of work for the wrong type of people. Now he's dead and it was no accident. He's left behind his share of enemies, but who dealt the fatal blow?DC Jack Laidlaw's reputation precedes him.
He's not a team player, but he's got a sixth sense for what's happening on the streets. As two Glasgow gangs go to war, Laidlaw needs to find out who got Carter before the whole city explodes.
Fight Night, Miriam Toews (hardback, June 2022)
£14.99
Swiv has taken her grandmother's advice too literally. Now she's at home, suspended from school. Mom is pregnant and preoccupied - and so Swiv is in the older woman's charge, receiving a very different form of education from a teacher with a style all her own.Grandma likes her stories fast, troublesome and funny. She's known the very worst that life can throw at you - and has met it every time with a wild, unnamable spirit, fighting for joy and independence every step of the way. But will maths lessons based on Amish jigsaws and classes on How to Dig a Winter Grave inspire the same fire in Swiv, and ensure it never goes out?Time is running short.
Grandma's health is failing, the baby is on the way, as a family of three extraordinary women prepare to face life's great changes together. Poignant, hilarious and deeply moving, Fight Night is a girl's love letter to the women raising her and a tribute to one family's fighting spirit.
Book Club
The BPS Book Club meets in the last 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.
Please contact us if you have any questions about the book club, or if you would like to be added to our bookclub mailing list.
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.
Hardback Subscription £21 per month.
Paperback Subscription £12 per month.
Children's Books £11 per month.
No minimum or maximum length of time. Includes all postage.
Please enquire if you would like more details.
Our Book Store
15 Stranmillis Rd, Belfast BT9 5AF
Phone: 028 9066 7815
Monday - Saturday- 10.00 - 17:00
