Cogito Books, Hexham voted Trader of the Week for service

Claire Grint, owner of Cogito Books, has been a bookseller at the store for 23 years.

Her father and stepmother first opened the shop on May 12 2001.

"When the bookshop opened I was working when I was a student during the holidays and then working full-time when I graduated. Then I took ownership in 2012 when my dad retired," Claire said.

Claire Grint, owner of Cogito Books (Image: Supplied) The bookstore, on St Mary's Chare, Hexham, was nominated for Trader of the Week for their friendly customer service.

READ MORE: Popular bookshop shortlisted for award

She said: "It's lovely to be nominated and that displays the sense of community we have in our town."

Looking ahead to Christmas, Claire said: "Christmas at the bookshop is a fun place to be, it's got a fantastic vibe and there's so much energy and enthusiasm to help people find the right book. That magic of connecting books to people and people to books is special.

The outside of the bookshop on St Mary's Chare (Image: Supplied) "Books are something that touch our lives and make such wonderful gifts, so we're looking forward to revealing our Cogito Books' advent calendar over the next few weeks. This is 24 books that have been selected by the team of booksellers as good reads," she said.

The store will participate in Hexham's late-night shopping on Friday, November 22. Staff will serve refreshments and host a launch with local author, Robert Bluck who has written a book about his cycling around Britain's coast, called Cycling Past Pluto: Slowly Round Britain's Coastline.

Claire said connecting books to people is 'the best job'.

"For me, having a bookshop on the high street keeps life human - talking to people, the physicality of real books and the capacity to treat everyone as an individual, I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to have that in what I do. Making time for people is important.

"Hexham has a fantastic community, it's a wonderful place to live and to be part of. We've served on Hexham's high street for over two decades and witnessed many changes. Recently it's been brilliant to see so many new additions to Hexham's retail and hospitality offering. It's bringing an increased vibrancy to our community and I think we're seeing this investment by individuals and organisations to be a vote of confidence in our town."