Submitted by 3rd-eye-blind t3_124nnqh in books
I live in Canada and am heading to London UK for a few days next month. As a HUGE book nerd, I've researched and planned several literary-themed things to do in London, but I'd like some personal recommendations for which bookstores/shops I should visit – I believe they're called book SHOPS in the UK, even though we usually refer to them as stores here!
So far I only have Persephone Books on my list. Can anyone suggest other shops I should visit?
God I love that store. The cafe in the basement is great as well, lots of people meeting up to talk books or writing.
I second this. Also they do happy hour cocktails on the top floor.
I think Gower Street is much better. Piccadilly is just a big shop. Gower Street is slightly smaller by shelf space, but it is full of nooks and crannies which give it an atmosphere of wonder.
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2nd - don't be put off by the crowds in the front part of the shop, just work your way through to the back where they sort books by country rather than genre (which more book shops should do).
by country of origin or country of topic? country of author?
genuinely curious because i’ve only ever seen bookshops divided by genre
It would be great if it was both and if you could find something titled, say, Murder in Milan next to History of Medieval Italy and to books by Umberto Eco.
Also, I really like the Daunt books next to Hampstead heath. It’s also really close (2 min walk) to Keats house, which is worth a visit on a literary themed trip!
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I was looking for this comment! Probably my favorite bookstore I’ve ever been to!
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Daunt’s is great
Agree, and if you can manage to be there when there's a musical performance happening, it can be a nice diversion! Great atmosphere.
Not a shop, but an entire street.
AN ENTIRE STREET WHAAAAAAAT!!
Thank you so much for this!
THIS is what you come to London for. :D
a very short one
Gay's the Word. It was founded in 1979, has survived multiple bouts of homophobic vandalism and getting raided, and it was the meeting place for Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (featured in the 2014 film, Pride). Excellent selection.
Foyles, Hatchards are two I like.
Hatchards is amazing, I second this
Second for Foyles. Although it is these days a fairly standard chain bookstore it is such an important historical building: the literary luncheons that played such a key role in the Bloomsbury set, the queues round the block to buy DH Lawrence before the ban came down etc...
Although it has to be said the thing Foyles was mostly famous for was what an incredibly bad bookshop it was to the 1950s to the 1980s where, under the management of the eccentric Christina Foyle who loathed her staff so much she refused to allow them to handle money, you could only buy a book through an exasperating triple queue system (order, invoice, collect), books were only sorted by publisher and date of publication, and acquisition choices were eccentric in the extreme (making it a great place to stumble across a rare book by accident but a terrible place to find anything you were looking for). It's now much much more normal, but what's the point in that? Would you buy soup from the soup nazi if he was nice now?
Foyles moved out of their higgledy piggledy warren a number of years ago into a light, airy modern building a few doors down. Still a great bookshop, but a very different feel.
It was bought out by Waterstones a few years ago, and to be honest it feels much more like another chain store these days in terms of selection. I used to enjoy the fact that I'd often find books that were sometimes hard to get, but the variety seemed somewhat diminished the last time I visited. Still a good bookshop to visit, but I think it's lost some of its previous uniqueness.
I actually think it has worse variety than a comparable Waterstones - for whatever reason they stock extremely large quantities, rather than a large variety.
If you like sci fi/fantasy then the forbidden planet megastore on Shaftesbury avenue is definitely worth a visit, they have a lot of books that are hard to get in other places
Came here to suggest this—I love that one!
Word on the Water!
For the novelty alone this should be high on the list. But once you get there it's a surprisingly well stocked shop with a ton of variety. Bought two books there a week ago
Hi everyone,
I loved this thread so much, and it has given me a lot of great bookshops to visit so I decided to compile everyone’s answer, with links for each shop.
Waterstones Piccadilly Waterstones Gower Street
Black books (Collinge and Clark)
Second hand charity shops: oxfam books and amnesty books
And for a trip out of London: Hay-on-Wye And Persephone books in Bath
This is awesome!
Oh thank you!!! This will be so handy!
My pleasure! I started gathering all the details to visit some myself and thought I may as well share it!
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Not a store but if you love books the British Library should be on you list it’s incredible
That’s definitely a must for a book lover! The building is so impressive and the manuscript selection in the free museum room is incredible!
The King's collection in the centre is worth the visit alone.
Came here to say this. The museum area inside was absolutely amazing. It was the highlight of my London trip!
Tend to visit Skoob Books every time I visit London. There are a lot of second-hand books, but also new overstock books that aren't the typical bestsellers. Plenty of bargains.
London Review Bookshop. This was one the best bookstores I've ever seen. A nice and tiny cafe is also attached. Very nice selection.
I second this!!
Thirded! I moved out of London during the pandemic and this is one of the main places I miss.
Waterstones in Gower street and Daunt Books in Marylebone my favourites.
I might be wrong about this but the Gower St. Waterstones is amazing and the only one I know of that does second-hand books including the gorgeous orange Penguins.
Yep they usually are outside at the entrance
I wouldn't necessarily go out of your way to seek them out, but I'd for sure recommend popping into the book-specific charity shops you'll see dotted around (Oxfam books, British heart Foundation books) as the selection is usually pretty great, as are the prices.
The Oxfam bookshop on Bloomsbury St near the British Museum is one of my favourites, they have an incredible selection and the neighborhood is home to several other good bookshops.
The anarchist Freedom Bookshop in Whitechapel. Founded in 1886 in Kropotkin's time which makes it one of the oldest bookshops in town.
I was wondering if anyone would mention this. It truly is an amazing part of the history of Anarchism. Try if you can also to get on one of David Rosenberg's walking tours of the radical east end: it's the history of the London Jewish community and the history of the world's communist and anarchist movements tied up into one.
Smells like piss too. Truly authentic experience.
Check out some of the old ones around Charring Cross Road. Never know what you'll find there and they're very old.
Henry Pordes is good.
Definitely agree on Pordes. Picked up some really great and obscure military history books from there over the years. Good condition + prices etc.
A question I can answer!
East London: Brick Lane Books (my old local), Libreria (small, very beautiful, just off Brick Lane). Further east Hackney Books (local favorite), Burley Fisher (also in Hackney, run by an author).
South. Review Bookshop in Peckham, run by the author Evie Wyld. Bookseller Crow is good too.
Central. Hatchards is beautiful. Foyle's is huge but good. Both have great staff. London Review near the British Museum is famous and for a good reason. They also have the best twitter account or did before Muskination.
West. I don't know as well. Bandit country IMO. All the Daunts are good and tend to be in beautiful old shops. Lutyens & Rubinstein has a great selection. Knowledgeable staff.
North. Owl Bookstore in Kentish Town.
There's some comic book/graphic novel bookshops in Soho that are good too. Gosh! Comics is the best.
If more come to mind, I'll add them. London bookstores/shops are great.
Goldsboro Books mostly deals in signed first edition books. Great place for collectors if you're into that. My dad has been ordering from them for decades and has had nothing but positive experiences. We live in the States but visited London in 2006, and their little shop was one of his must-sees.
Definitely this! Should be noted that many are recent releases and exclusives alongside the more expensive, older editions.
Foyles if you want a huge shop with a wide selection. Pages of Hackney is a great independent, and Skoob for secondhand books
If I'm thinking of the same Persephone Books I think it moved out of London to Bath
Eta: and yes we do call them book shops here
Yep, they moved to Bath in 2020-21 I think, which is kinda sad. It was a cosy shop and the folks running it are super-nice.
I loved this place when I lived in London and was sad when I realized that it moved during my last visit :(
If you like second hand book stores there’s a classic, if small, store that’s been around for ages in Hamstead (which if you’re visiting London for the first time is a great area to visit anyways), called Keith Fawkes.
Also check out the South Bank Book Market, again all second hand and antique books, located outdoors and underneath Waterloo bridge I believe, along the queens walk, which again is already a part of any trip to London for me with or without the books! Have a great trip!
Forbidden Planet is good for sci-fi and fantasy books. I'm mainly there for Doctor Who of which there is plenty.
For fiction: Waterstone's on Gower and Torrington and at Picadilly -- both have great literature sections. Note the store at Picadilly can be chilly so wear a sweater. Foyles is great too. Take some books and head to the top floor to look through them over a coffee and pastry. They have slightly different stock. Also, not yet mentioned is London Review Bookshop on Blury Place right across from The British Museum -- they too often have some odder/interesting works of fiction; small cafe inside.
I really enjoyed Waterstones near the University of London. It's worth a look if you're in the area - the British Library and British Museum are not too far. It's a fairly regular book store, but it's pretty big with a wide range of books and a cute outdoor patio.
Skoob for second hand books in Bloomsbury https://skoob.com/ And Judd books https://juddbooks.com/wp/ Always an interesting stock of remainders and end of run And if you're interested https://www.gaystheword.co.uk/ For an excellent specialist collection.
The London Review of Books shop near the British Museum
Stanfords, Covent Garden, travel book shop
Daunt Books, Marylebone Road
Bookmarks the Socialist Bookshop, Bloomsbury
City Lights Bookstore in London, (Ontario) ;)
Fake London -NJB
Heywood Hill in Mayfair and Book Bar near Finsbury Park are my two favourites.
heywood hill and daunt are my favs
Book and Record Bar, near West Norwood Station. Kirkdale Books, near Sydenham Station. Fosters books, Chiswick high road.
I’m a big fan of second hand bookshops, nothing better than a nice quiet second hand book shop and discovering a gem:
You could spend a day around Kings Cross, Camden and Kentish Town visiting:
Then another day head to Waterloo and go under the bridge to find the Southbank Book Market. Stalls and stalls of second hand books - I’ve found some decent vintage books here and there’s a stalls that specialise in old-skool sci-fi, westerns and vintage Stephen King editions.
I loved Daunt when I went!
Gay's the word. It's the premier queer bookshop in the town, in my very humble opinion
John Sandoe scratches all my itches.
I echo lots of the recs in this thread already. Here are a few not listed yet :
South Kensington Books - I have a huge sweet spot for this one. It's lovely and extremely close to the museums (V&A, Natural History)
Art words Bookshop in Hackney is very fun and design-y. The Broadway Bookshop is only a few doors down from here.
Near the London bridge, the Riverside Bookshop is a nice stop as well.
Marks & Co., 84 Charing Cross Road.
> 84 Charing Cross Road
It's a McDonald's now, unfortunately.
Aw, jeez.
Still a good movie, though.
London Review Bookshop is iconic https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/about-us
Bloomsbury is full of wonderful bookshops
Daunt Books has an amazing bookstore. Very vintage feel
I just have to say what an amazing idea this is! It has Never occurred to me to ask about book stores in an area that I'm about to travel to. This is going on my list of things to do when I make travel plans.
Edit: Also, now I REALLY want to visit London!
Following, because almost the same, just Live in Michigan.... that's just the deep south of Canada though, right?
HA! Totally!
Foyles is the one I've heard of.
Too bad you are not going to Hay-on-Wye! I hear the town is known for its bookshops.
To reverse this - what part of Canada are you from? I often go to Toronto to visit family but haven't yet come across a really nice bookshop (store). Do you know of any?
Foyles is a must!
If you like cooking, Books for Cooks in Notting Hill
It used to be wonderful but I visited it in May 22 and it was a sad shadow of its former self. Better cookbooks in any charity shop
That’s such a shame. I have found memories of visiting.
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I’m Canadian too and am also going to London for a few days next month! Will be my second time and I am also looking for more bookshops to visit.
I have been once before a few months ago and visited Hatchard’s on Oxford St. It was incredible! You should go there if in the neighbourhood.
On our list for our trip next month we are going to visit Word on the Water Book Barge (literally a bookshop floating on a barge) and Daunt Books Marylebone.
Unfortunately, Persephone Books had to move, but there is still a big selection of their books in Waterstones at Piccadilly Circus. This Waterstones is the biggest bookstore in Europe, it got 6 levels and a nice cafe. Foyles is also massive and right around the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue. For all kinds of LGBTQ+ books, I heartily recommend Gay’s the Word at Russel Square. They have a wonderful selection, great atmosphere, and they have a lot of signed books and special events with authors. Last but not least, for Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Comics, Forbidden Planet at Shaftesbury Avenue is another great store with lots of good deals and many signed books as well. Have fun in London!
A lot have mentioned Gay's The Word, Skoob and the Gower Street Waterstones - if you are hitting these then it is absolutely worth taking a trip to Housman's in King's Cross, too. A great radical bookshop, great selection.
What about Nothing Hill, no bespoke bookstores managed by a shy but charismatic Londoner?
HA! Not after seeing that interview on the red carpet at the Oscars!!
Ha, and I’m just watching Hugh Grant’ interview Monday 27 with Stephen Colbert. I’m quite certain his manager strongly argued against any mention of said interview, yet Colbert managed to get a joke out of him.
Waterstones in Bloomsbury, Bookmarks socialist bookshop, Foyles near Tottenham Court Road, Housmans on Caledonian Road, Gay's The Word in Russell Square
Vast Waterstones in Piccadilly. Vast, many floors. Walk through ground floor to pubs in back street. Bar upstairs, cafe in basement. A jewel.
oxfam books - i often buy books second hand for £1-3
Maggs Bro’s Ltd in Mayfair. Very rare vintage books and manuscripts in there. Very expensive, more of a window shopping sort of place. It was closed the last time I was in London but will try again in the summer.
The Review in Peckham is best. Tiny but you cannot go wrong, every book they stock is a delight. They have an entire shelf dedicated to Fitzcarraldo Editions! Bookmongers in Brixton (Don't know how that one hasn't been mentioned yet) is great for cheap second hand classics -and they have a wonderful bookshop cat.
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Make sure to go past 84 Charing Cross Road. There was a book written about that now closed bookshop. Cool story, if you can find the book.
BOOKS Peckham, Crofton books and Kirkdale bookshop are some lovely independents in SE London
God when I was younger (early 90s) I went to this village of used bookstores. It was kind of near Wales, I think.
Does that sound familiar to anyone?
Hay-on-Wye et
I'm not going back to the UK anytime soon but I have been copying ALL of this down in my diary for my inevitable return, so cheers to all of you (especially those of you who put the location next to the store name)
I always pop into Daunt Books and London Review Bookshop when in London.
I also like Libreria, Word on the Water, Primrose Hill Books, Belgravia Books, Lutyens and Rubinstein, Nomad Books, Hatchards, and Walden.
British Library, of course. The book selection at the Tate used to be great too. Also, the National Poetry Library, though small, is worth a visit.
You might also find these links useful, three listicles and a (somewhat dated but still helpful) article about indie bookshops.
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/the-7-best-second-hand-bookshops-in-london/ (March 2021)
https://www.timeout.com/london/books/londons-best-bookshops (June 2022)
https://secretldn.com/london-bookshops-beautiful/ (Jan 2023)
For fun you should read the true epistolary story 84 Charring Cross Road about the exchanges between a New York City woman and a London antiquarian book store during the mid 20th century. And then the follow up travel journal The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, where she did many unique literary adventures in and around London. Both short, fun reads!
Ahh! I’m so grateful I found this post. So many great recommendations for my trip in late May. Great question, OP!
I went to London last year also from Canada and included a couple of literary activities on my trip as well. I visited the Charles Dickens Museum and the British Library Treasures Gallery and really liked both. Both have gift shops with books and book-related items. The treasures on display at the British Library are amazing. I also visited Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey. There's so much history in that city.
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Waterstones on Gower St, used to be Dillons. It’s a whole gorgeous period building (5 floors, I think?) of books. Definitely one of my happy places.
Foyles near Tottenham Court Rd station is a great one and there’s a great cafe on the top floor. Go there every time I go back to London.
Treadwell's is a sort of pagan/occult bookshop in central London - maybe consider dropping by if you're into that kind of thing.
FWIW, I'm not really into those topics, but enjoyed dropping in to browse anyway.
A bit different from others here, but I really love the used book stores in London. Oxfam is my goto, but there are a few others as well. Here’s a list:
Skoob books
Halcyon books
Southbank book display on weekends
The Bookshop of the Heath
Treadwell’s Books near the British Museum if you want to find occult books
chelrachel1 t1_je02h75 wrote
The flagship Waterstones in Piccadilly. It is our biggest bookshop chain but worth visiting that one as it is huge