Daily Info sat down with Caper to discuss the new bookshop and their plans for 2024.
Daily Info: What's Caper all about?
Caper: We are an independent family bookshop, activity and event space in East Oxford.
We’ve tried to make Caper a fun space to visit. It's full of quirky things to play with, wonderful books for children, a curated selection of great books for grown-ups and a range of interesting and beautiful cookbooks. We also offer things to make and do and a series of events.
DI: What plans do you have for 2024?
C: The events and activity space will be fully open from the end of January, with activities for kids on weekdays (such as toddler art classes or cooking classes for kids), grown-up events in the evenings (such as poetry or writing workshops).
The space is also available for private hire and children’s birthday parties. Look out for our events listings in the shop and on our mailing list.
DI: What is Caper setting out to do? What does it offer Oxford?
C: Oxford has a proud tradition of great bookshops, and we’re excited to bring this tradition to the east of the city, where we haven’t had a bookshop for many years.
We believe that the power of narrative changes the world. The stories we tell (and the books we read) feed minds, inspire change and sometimes move mountains.
At Caper we hope we can be a small part of this – to continue to foster a love of reading and curiosity in all ages.
DI: What books would you recommend people drop in to grab from Caper?
C: The books we have in stock always change from week to week – and to encourage active browsing they are grouped into small, interesting categories, rather than by genre or author name – so hopefully there is always something new for you to discover.
We love The Greatest Show on Earth by Mini Grey – a fantastic local Oxford author – the story of the earth and its various creatures from the big bang onwards, told by a charmingly illustrated troupe of dancing bugs. A brilliant exploration of the astonishing history of our world and the weird and wonderful evolution of the animals on it.
Jon Klassen writes very funny, beautifully drawn books for children, and The Rock From the Sky is no exception. It seems simple, but the characters are rich and full of emotion. Rewards re-reading many times (for parents and children alike).
One of our bestselling novels in December was The Vegetarian by Han Kang. A winner of the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, it is disturbing and beautiful in equal measure – a strange thrilling exploration of shame, desire, denial and constraint.
Swims by Elizabeth-Jane Burnett. Written as a long poem with multiple forms – it meanders along rivers and plunges into mountain lakes, this is a “lyrical celebration of wild swimming” and it explores the relationships between landscape and self – we adore it.
For keen cooks we regularly recommend Taste Tibet by Yeshi Jampa & Julie Kleeman – why not recreate their incredible momos and smacked cucumber at home (you can also try the real thing at their restaurant just along Magdalen Road from Caper).
DI: Sum up Caper in three words.
C: Story, Curiosity & Fun
Caper is on Magdalen Road and is open Thursdays to Tuesday. Check out more on their website.