Nick Cave fans have flocked to a charity bookshop in Hove, southern England, after the musician donated 2,000 books from his personal collection. The Australian singer made the donation to Hove’s Oxfam Bookshop on Blatchington Road. The books were once part of his personal library, which was recreated for an art installation that went to Denmark and Canada.
A bookshop worker named only as Richard told the Argus: “It’s a very interesting donation. The types of books are very wide ranging – there’s philosophy, art, religion, even old fiction paperbacks. It’s an incredibly varied donation. He clearly held on to his books, some of them are quite old.”
Books from Cave’s collection on sale included books by Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens, and Ian McEwan, as well as a first edition of Johnny Cash’s novel Man In White, and “a recipe book about aphrodisiacs”, The Times reported.
Some customers reported finding books with sentences underlined or passages noted in Cave’s handwriting. Some were also once gifts, including a copy of The Lieutenant of Inishmore inscribed by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. A spokesperson for Cave said he wouldn’t comment on the donation, saying: “He thinks the discoveries will remain intriguing mysteries for those who find them.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/21/nick-cave-fans-swarm-charity-bookshop-in-uk-after-musician-donates-thousands-of-books
