Newham Bookshop logo (2015)

Open Tuesday to Saturday from
10 am to 5 pm.

We can send books by post, usually £3 in the UK.
Newham Bookshop logo (2015) The Wanstead Tap logo
Newham Bookshop events at The Wanstead Tap, Spring/Summer 2024
  • Thursday 18 April at 7.30 pm

    Sarah Wise
    The Undesirables

  • Thursday 25 April at 7.30 pm

    Andrew Whitehead
    A Devilish Kind Of Courage

  • Thursday 16 May at 7.30 pm

    Viv Groskop
    One Ukrainian Summer

  • Wednesday 29 May at 7.30 pm

    Iain Sinclair
    Pariah Genius

  • Wednesday 5 June at 7.30 pm

    Laura Laker
    Potholes and Pavements




Newham Bookshop by Pete Fallan
Newham Bookshop, Pete Fallan, March 2021.


Tuesday 20 November at 7.30 pm
at The Wanstead Tap

I'm a Joke and So Are You
I’m a Joke and So Are You
is published in hardback
by Atlantic Books at £16.99.
Buy ticket online
Tickets £8 online
from Newham Bookshop
The Wanstead Tap logo

Great range of beers and sophisticated soft drinks
Robin Ince

Robin Ince
I’m a Joke and So Are You

A Comedian’s Take on
What Makes Us Human

As a connoisseur of comedy, Robin Ince has spent decades mining our eccentricities to create gags – and watching other strange individuals do the same. And for years on The Infinite Monkey Cage he has sought – sometimes in vain – to understand the world around us. In this book, he unites these pursuits to examine the human condition through the prism of humour.

Why do we make the choices we do in life? Where does anxiety come from? Where does imagination come from? Why are we like we are? Do our parents f*&k us up? Informed by personal insights from his own life as well as interviews with a bevy of A-list comedians, neuroscientists, psychologists and doctors, this is a hilarious and often moving primer to the mind.

Robin Ince is co-presenter of the award-winning BBC Radio 4 show, The Infinite Monkey Cage. He has won the Time Out Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, was nominated for a British Comedy Award for Best Live Show and has won three Chortle Awards. He has toured his stand up across the world from Oslo to Los Angeles to Sydney, both solo and with his radio double act partner, Professor Brian Cox. He is the radio critic for the Big Issue and writes a monthly column about science for BBC Focus magazine. He appears regularly on both television and radio, and has two top-ten podcast series to his name.

“Clever, funny, kind and interesting – just like Robin.” – Sara Pascoe

“Deceptively deep. Invaluable and inspiring.” – Stewart Lee

“Profound, compassionate, eye-wateringly funny and immensely human. Robin investigates the big questions of the human condition with the razor-sharp insights and sensibilities of one of our very best stand-up comedians.” – Alan Moore

“Moving, funny and interesting! Robin leads us on a fascinating journey through our often quirky minds.” – Jo Brand

Watch out for online events


Family lessons for
Writing and Reading Newham
available here

On the Record logo

Interested in learning more about Newham Bookshop and some of the people connected with it? We have four lessons for classroom or family use developed from On the Record’s oral history project centered around Newham Bookshop, Writing and Reading Newham. Click here for full details.


LoveReading logo

Newham Bookshop is LoveReading’s
Bookshop of the Month

We are proud that Newham Bookshop is LoveReading’s Bookshop of the Month. The article features a Q&A with Vivian Archer, which you can read here.


Thank you poster