Julia Donaldson triple helps shape latest Waterstone’s Ballymena Top 10 as store undergoes refit
Saturday 26 September 2026
Charles Spencer has taken the number one spot at Waterstone’s Ballymena with Swan Song, heading a particularly family-friendly Top 10 which sees three books by Julia Donaldson make the chart.
The newly released Gruffalo Granny takes second place, followed by another Donaldson favourite, Monkey Puzzle, at number three — while The Gruffalo’s Child also features at number seven.
Elsewhere, Lee Child and Richard Osman continue to prove popular with Ballymena readers, while the latest chart also includes Janice Hadlow, Lyse Doucet, Peter O’Mahony and Chloe Walsh.
There is plenty happening beyond the bestseller shelves too, with the six-book shortlist for the Booker Prize 2026 announced, new novels arriving from John Green and Victoria Hislop, and a Halloween-themed Storytime planned for next Saturday.
The Ballymena store is also currently undergoing a much-needed refit but will remain open throughout the work.
This week’s Top 10
1. Swan Song — Charles Spencer
Charles Spencer takes the top spot in Ballymena this week with Swan Song, his latest work adding to a writing career which has encompassed history, biography and memoir.
2. Gruffalo Granny — Julia Donaldson
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler return to the much-loved world of The Gruffalo for a new adventure introducing Gruffalo Granny, more than two decades after the original stories became favourites with generations of young readers.
3. Monkey Puzzle — Julia Donaldson
A perennial picture-book favourite from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, following a little monkey and a helpful butterfly on an entertaining search through the jungle for the monkey’s mum.
4. Exit Strategy — Lee Child
Lee Child continues to attract thriller readers with Exit Strategy, delivering the fast-paced suspense and high-stakes storytelling associated with one of the genre’s biggest names.
5. We Chase Shadows — Richard Osman
From Palm Springs to Barcelona via a sleepy English village pub, Osman’s unlikely detective trio find themselves pursuing a ruthless killer in the second instalment of his globetrotting thriller series.
6. The Other Bennet Sister — Janice Hadlow
Janice Hadlow turns the spotlight on Mary Bennet, the often-overlooked middle sister from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, imagining a richer life and story for a character usually left on the margins.
7. The Gruffalo’s Child — Julia Donaldson
Another Donaldson and Scheffler classic makes this week’s chart, as the Gruffalo’s curious daughter ventures into the deep, dark wood in search of the legendary Big Bad Mouse.
8. The Finest Hotel in Kabul — Lyse Doucet
The BBC Chief International Correspondent tells the story of Afghanistan through Kabul’s Inter-Continental Hotel, using the landmark and the people whose lives intersected with it to explore decades of dramatic change.
9. All In — Peter O’Mahony
Former Ireland rugby captain Peter O’Mahony offers readers an insight into his life and career at the highest level of the sport, reflecting on the experiences that shaped him both on and off the pitch.
10. Binding 13 — Chloe Walsh
The first instalment in Chloe Walsh’s hugely popular Boys of Tommen series follows Johnny Kavanagh and Shannon Lynch in an emotional coming-of-age romance centred around school, rugby, friendship and first love.
Booker Prize 2026 shortlist announced
Six novels have been selected for the shortlist of the Booker Prize 2026, one of the most prestigious awards for fiction written in English.
For more than five decades, the prize has highlighted outstanding literary fiction, with this year’s six shortlisted novels described as bold in both form and content.
The 2026 shortlist comprises:
• The End of Everything — M. John Harrison
• The Disappearers — Marlon James
• Black Bag — Luke Kennard
• May We Feed the King — Rebecca Perry
• The Things We Never Say — Elizabeth Strout
• John of John — Douglas Stuart
The winning novel will be crowned on Monday 9 November.
New releases arrive in Ballymena
Two major authors are among the latest arrivals on the shelves, with new fiction from John Green and Victoria Hislop.
• Hollywood Ending — John Green
In his much-awaited return to fiction, the bestselling author of Everything Is Tuberculosis and The Fault in Our Stars delivers a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story.
The novel follows two rising stars as they navigate fame, the modern attention economy and their developing feelings for one another.
• The Wine-Dark Sea — Victoria Hislop
The bestselling author of The Island and The Figurine returns with a heart-wrenching family drama set against the backdrop of the Greek Civil War.
At the centre of the story is a mother desperately searching for her missing children, with Hislop once again drawing on Greek history to provide the setting for an emotional family story.
Halloween fun at Saturday Storytime
Things are getting suitably spooky for the next Waterstone’s Ballymena Storytime.
Families are invited along at 12pm on Saturday 3 October, when the team will be reading Cat’s Halloween by Alison Murray.
There is no need to book ahead, and everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the story.
Waterstone’s Ballymena undergoing refit
Regular visitors may also notice some changes taking place around the store, with Waterstone’s Ballymena currently undergoing a much-needed refit.
Importantly, the shop will remain open throughout the work, although customers are being asked for a little patience while improvements are carried out.
Anyone having difficulty finding a book or other item while the work is underway can ask a member of the Waterstone’s team for assistance.
With a new number one, a remarkable three Julia Donaldson titles in the Top 10, the announcement of this year’s Booker Prize shortlist and major new fiction arriving on the shelves, there is plenty for local readers to discover this week.
And while the surroundings may be changing during the refit, it remains business as usual at Waterstone’s Ballymena as the store heads into a busy autumn of books and events.
