Pontefract Reads

12/10/2026

03/10/2026

"Gwenda gave a quick, uncomfortable shiver."

The Book Fairies are sharing copies of Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie across both the UK and the USA today! The fairies are celebrating 50 years since the novel’s posthumous publication, after Agatha had filed it away for over thirty years.

Who will be lucky enough to spot one of these beautiful books today in Banks Avenue Little Free Library in Pontefract?

About the book:

A strange house. A ghost from the past. As soon as she moves into Hillside, Gwenda knows there’s something strange about this house. Despite her best efforts to modernize the house, she only succeeded in dredging up its past. Worse, she felt an irrational sense of terror every time she climbed the stairs.

A sealed room. A hidden door. The apparition of a young woman being strangled.
But strangest of all – this all seems quite familiar.

In fear, Gwenda turned to Miss Marple to exorcise her ghosts. Have the two of them dredged up a perfect crime committed many years before?

The killer may have gotten away with murder. But Miss Marple is never far behind.

16/09/2026

"This book is, at its heart, a love letter to the spaces that house the written word."

The Book Fairies are sharing copies of A World of Bookish Places across the UK today!

Who will be lucky enough to spot one amongst the spots mentioned, or near the second hand bookshop at Nostell Priory?

About the book:

If you’ve ever planned a trip around a bookshop, sought out a hidden library or detoured for a literary landmark, this book is for you. Created by people who feel the same, A World of Bookish Places is a celebration of literary travel, written for book lovers who love to travel and travellers who love books. 

14/09/2026

"He always told me to pick whichever book I felt like "

Happy Monday! With the weekend so far away, The Book Fairies want to cheer everyone up with The Friday Bookshop by Sawako Natori, which we’re hiding across the UK! This book has been translated from the Japanese by Yui Kajita with cover illustration by Michelle Mildenberg.

Who will be lucky enough to spot one of these beautiful books in a Banks Avenue Little Free Library in Pontefract?

About the book:

When college student Fumiya visits the Friday Bookshop as a last-ditch effort to find a book for his ill father, he is disappointed in its ordinary appearance despite whispers of its peculiar charm. But he soon discovers that it not only includes a café where the food menu changes daily on the chef’s whim but also a vast underground vault lined with bookshelves, lovingly converted from an old abandoned subway platform. The bookshop, run by a quirky trio who have been close friends since high school, quickly becomes Fumiya’s favorite place—so much so that he begins to work there part-time.

Fumiya, who was never really a reader, learns to embrace the joy of reading, and that books can be a means to connect with other people and navigate the twists and turns of life.

14/09/2026

"I went over to the closest bookshelf."

Happy Monday! With the weekend so far away, The Book Fairies want to cheer everyone up with The Friday Bookshop by Sawako Natori, which we’re hiding across the UK! This book has been translated from the Japanese by Yui Kajita with cover illustration by Michelle Mildenberg.

Who will be lucky enough to spot one of these beautiful books on the free book case at the Old Quarry Adventure Playground in Knottingley?

About the book:

When college student Fumiya visits the Friday Bookshop as a last-ditch effort to find a book for his ill father, he is disappointed in its ordinary appearance despite whispers of its peculiar charm. But he soon discovers that it not only includes a café where the food menu changes daily on the chef’s whim but also a vast underground vault lined with bookshelves, lovingly converted from an old abandoned subway platform. The bookshop, run by a quirky trio who have been close friends since high school, quickly becomes Fumiya’s favorite place—so much so that he begins to work there part-time.

Fumiya, who was never really a reader, learns to embrace the joy of reading, and that books can be a means to connect with other people and navigate the twists and turns of life.

14/09/2026

"He showed me what he'd written."

Happy Monday! With the weekend so far away, The Book Fairies want to cheer everyone up with The Friday Bookshop by Sawako Natori, which we’re hiding across the UK! This book has been translated from the Japanese by Yui Kajita with cover illustration by Michelle Mildenberg.

Who will be lucky enough to spot one of these beautiful books outside Twine in Pontefract?

About the book:

When college student Fumiya visits the Friday Bookshop as a last-ditch effort to find a book for his ill father, he is disappointed in its ordinary appearance despite whispers of its peculiar charm. But he soon discovers that it not only includes a café where the food menu changes daily on the chef’s whim but also a vast underground vault lined with bookshelves, lovingly converted from an old abandoned subway platform. The bookshop, run by a quirky trio who have been close friends since high school, quickly becomes Fumiya’s favorite place—so much so that he begins to work there part-time.

Fumiya, who was never really a reader, learns to embrace the joy of reading, and that books can be a means to connect with other people and navigate the twists and turns of life.

14/09/2026

"The supper that Sugawa whipped up for us behind the bar counter was ozoni soup with mochi."

Happy Monday! With the weekend so far away, The Book Fairies want to cheer everyone up with The Friday Bookshop by Sawako Natori, which we’re hiding across the UK! This book has been translated from the Japanese by Yui Kajita with cover illustration by Michelle Mildenberg.

Who will be lucky enough to spot one of these beautiful books in Alleycazam café in Pontefract?

About the book:

When college student Fumiya visits the Friday Bookshop as a last-ditch effort to find a book for his ill father, he is disappointed in its ordinary appearance despite whispers of its peculiar charm. But he soon discovers that it not only includes a café where the food menu changes daily on the chef’s whim but also a vast underground vault lined with bookshelves, lovingly converted from an old abandoned subway platform. The bookshop, run by a quirky trio who have been close friends since high school, quickly becomes Fumiya’s favorite place—so much so that he begins to work there part-time.

Fumiya, who was never really a reader, learns to embrace the joy of reading, and that books can be a means to connect with other people and navigate the twists and turns of life.

14/09/2026

"I'd left Tokyo nearly 2 hours ago "

Happy Monday! With the weekend so far away, The Book Fairies want to cheer everyone up with The Friday Bookshop by Sawako Natori, which we’re hiding across the UK! This book has been translated from the Japanese by Yui Kajita with cover illustration by Michelle Mildenberg.

Who will be lucky enough to spot one of these beautiful books at Pontefract Castle? The castle cat was very interested in assisting us!

About the book:

When college student Fumiya visits the Friday Bookshop as a last-ditch effort to find a book for his ill father, he is disappointed in its ordinary appearance despite whispers of its peculiar charm. But he soon discovers that it not only includes a café where the food menu changes daily on the chef’s whim but also a vast underground vault lined with bookshelves, lovingly converted from an old abandoned subway platform. The bookshop, run by a quirky trio who have been close friends since high school, quickly becomes Fumiya’s favorite place—so much so that he begins to work there part-time.

Fumiya, who was never really a reader, learns to embrace the joy of reading, and that books can be a means to connect with other people and navigate the twists and turns of life.

11/09/2026

"Poor Tiger. What could he do?"

The Book Fairies are sharing copies of Once Upon a Tiger by Sarah Massini across the UK today!

Who will be lucky enough to spot one at the owl tree sculpture at Friarwood Valley Gardens in Pontefract?Make sure to share with the other child-cubs!

About the book:

One day, a grumpy tiger wakes to find not one, not two, but three child-cubs upon his back – and try as he might, they will not move. So tiger and children stay together and slowly, gently come to teach one another about bravery, kindness and belonging.

10/09/2026

"In the centre of this forest tableau, four characters appeared, like tiny actors on a stage: a middle-aged woman in a dark red robe, a teenage girl in a pink dress, a... fairy thing covered in leaves - and a skull."

The Book Fairies are sharing new paperback copies of The Last Bard by Maz Evans today across the UK!

Who will be lucky enough to spot two hidden in Friarwood Valley Gardens in Pontefract?

About the book:

Will Davenant has known more tragedy than laughter. But in an unexpected twist, he inherits his grandfather’s copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare – and makes a surprising discovery. As the last living relative of William Shakespeare himself, Will can summon the Bard’s heroes from the pages and now he has some extraordinary new friends to help turn things in his life around.