The Story Behind The Paperhound Online Bookshop
The Paperhound Online Bookshop began with two things I already loved: books and learning.
In August 2023, I started putting together the website as a personal project. I wanted to learn how to build an online shop, but I also had a practical problem to solve — my personal library had grown rather large.
Over time, my reading tastes had changed and my shelves were becoming more intentional. There were books I was ready to let go of, but I did not want them simply sitting unread or disappearing into a box somewhere.
I wanted them to find other readers.
That idea slowly became The Paperhound Online Bookshop, which officially went live in July 2024.
Where the Name The Paperhound Came From
The little dog carrying a bag of books in The Paperhound logo is not just a mascot. Her name is Pip, my Jack Russell Terrier and my second heartbeat.
The original drawing of Pip actually predates the bookshop. I first drew her during the early days of COVID, when I was crocheting and selling backpacks. The drawing stayed with me long after that project ended.
When I began creating the bookshop, I knew I wanted to use her again.
This time, I imagined Pip trotting along with a pack full of stories on her back, carrying books from one reader to the next.
Somewhere in that idea, The Paperhound found its name.
My little hound became the bookshop’s literary mascot, and an old drawing found a new purpose.
A Bookshop Built From a Personal Library
The Paperhound started largely with books from my own shelves.
Reading has always been one of those things that sits in the background of almost everything I do. My own library continues to change as I discover new authors, move away from books that no longer interest me, and hold on more carefully to the ones that do.
I sometimes describe myself as a bibliophilic existentialist. It is a slightly dramatic way of saying that I love books enough to be very aware that there will never be enough time to read everything.
There will always be another author to discover, another subject to understand and another story waiting somewhere.
That has made me increasingly selective about the books I keep.
The Paperhound became a way of letting go of some of those books without feeling as though their usefulness had ended.
Giving Books Another Reader
Secondhand books have already had a life before arriving with their next owner.
Some have been read once and carefully shelved. Others have travelled through several homes. Some show their age clearly, while others look almost untouched.
I like the idea that a book leaving my shelves does not simply become unwanted. It becomes available to someone who might have been looking for exactly that title.
The shop has also grown beyond simply reducing my own library. Finding books for other people has become one of my favourite parts of running The Paperhound — especially when someone has been searching for a particular title or edition and I can help track it down.
The collection will always be smaller and more individual than that of a large bookseller, and I am quite happy for it to stay that way.
The aim is simply to keep worthwhile books moving.
The Paperhound Today
The Paperhound is still a small online secondhand bookshop, built and run alongside the rest of my life.
Every book is handled individually, photographed and listed with information about its condition, format, ISBN and other useful details before it appears in the shop.
Some books arrive because I am ready to make space on my own shelves. Others are added because I think another reader might be very pleased to find them.
And Pip is still there on the logo, carrying her bag of books.
It seems fitting.
After all, every good hound enjoys finding things.
The Paperhound just happens to help others looking for books.
If you are ready to look for your next read, you can browse the books currently available in The Paperhound Online Bookshop.
And if the book you want is not on the shelf, tell me what you are looking for.