What were Chorlton’s favourite books in 2025? We’ve done the sums and here they are. 

We thought that you might find it interesting to see what Chorlton’s favourite books of 2025 turned out to be. It’s a great list – you have very good taste, dear readers. 

Here’s our top 25 of 2025 (in reverse order for all you Pop-pickers out there).

25 – Slow Horses by Mick Herron

24 – Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

23 – A Long Winter by Colm Toibin

22 – Clown Town by Mick Herron

21 – The Private Eye Annual 2025

20 – Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer

19 – Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

18 – Long Island by Colm Toibin

17 – Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

16 – There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

15 – The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson

14 – Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

13 – The Rose Field by Philip Pullman

12 – Trafford Bar to East Didsbury by Andrew Simpson and Peter Topping

11 – Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession

And into the Top 10!

10 – The Women by Kristin Hannah

9 – Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan

8 – Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

7 – The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer

6 – The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller

5 – The Almanac by Lia Leendertz

4 – James by Percival Everett

3 – The Safekeep by Yael van der Woude

2 – Orbital by Samantha Harvey

And our number one best-seller for 2025?

Len Grant’s Chorlton Sketchbook by Len Grant.

For twelve months urban sketcher Len Grant has documented our town – the south Manchester suburb of Chorlton.

He’s perched on his little stool at Four Banks and along Beech Road; he’s propped up trendy bars and sampled popular restaurants. There’s a page devoted to Chorlton Bookshop too (that’s our favourite page)! Together with his quirky commentaries these 60-odd sketches attempt to capture some of what makes Chorlton so Chorlton. This  hardback book is full of lovely sketches and stories and an absolute treasure.

All titles are available in the shop, and all but two are available via our online partner, Bookshop.org. If you buy using the links below, you’ll still be supporting Chorlton Bookshop and independent bookshops across the UK. We really do appreciate it. 

Here’s to another amazing year of reading!

Wherever you choose to park your bookmark in 2026, we’re here to help you find somewhere good!

"This way to the gift shop", said the Walrus

Have you popped into our online shop yet? 

We’ve got lots of surprises for Christmas, plus notebooks, diaries, cards and gorgeous gifts for everyone! We’re adding treasures all the time.

We offer free click-and-collect from our Chorlton (Manchester) shop, or we’ll ship to you – whatever works! And if you’d like a book, use our order page