Couple open new pop-up book shop and are touring Portsmouth with it

Phil and Mel Davies, from Southsea, launched Pigeon Books and are travelling around Portsmouth selling their wide range of titles at various markets and pop-up shops.

The two launched the business after spotting a gap in the market, so decided to start their new chapter in life in a bid to get more people in the city reading.

Mel, who is a customer service manager by day, enjoys writing poetry and short stories and has had her book Pineapples in the Pool published on book site Unbound last September.

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One of her main reasons for setting up the business was because she was concerned that not enough children were reading and age groups were getting forgotten about.

She said: ‘We want to focus on finding interesting ways to get kids involved with reading and making it fun for them.’

She felt that children aged from six to 12-years-old often struggled to find books that suited their reading level, so wanted to stock books that would be suitable for this age group.

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Some of the children’s books they stock even have inspiring messages behind them about plastic pollution and climate change.

They also stock new-fiction, ‘queer lit’ as well as non-fiction books for every reader’s taste.

Readers can even go to them for recommendations if they’re not yet sure what they want to read – a service Mel feels is something that sets them aside from big book retailers.

Her Husband Phil, who is a store manager at a firm called Arun Fasteners, is also a keen reader and helps with choosing the perfect books for the shop.

The pair recently held a pop-up shop at the King’s Theatre, where they put their best selection of books on display for book-lovers in Southsea to come and buy.

Their next market appearance will be on Sunday, August 18 at The Trader’s Keep market at the Round Tower in Old Portsmouth.