The first step is admitting I have an addiction, right?
Here is my list of London bookstores that I have already been too, and liked!
SKOOB BOOKS (USED)
66, The Brunswick
off Marchmont St
London WC1N 1AE
UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7278 8760
Opening hours: 10.30am-8pm Monday to Saturday 10.30am-6pm Sundays.
Any Amount of Books on Charing Cross Road,
London In a street committed to bookselling this shop stands out for its rapid turnover, eclectic stock and reasonable prices. Outside, there are £1 paperbacks and the basement is given over to bargains. Curiosities are paraded in the window display, which alters daily, and the main shop floor is a general mix of literature and non-fiction. For £10-£15 you can buy tooled leather bindings to give your living room that stately home library ambience. A different stock is available in an online catalogue. 56 Charing Cross Road, London WC2 Tel: 020-7836 3697 anyamountofbooks.com
Southbank Centre's Book Market is one of London's best kept secrets. Tucked under the Waterloo Bridge on Queen's Walk, it's one of the only outdoor second-hand and antique book markets in southern England. It's open daily, rain or shine, with a wide selection of paperbacks and hardcover to choose from.
Arthur Probsthain
41 Great Russell Street
LONDON WC1B 3PE map
tel: 020 7636 1096
Open: Monday - Frirday 9.30 - 5.30 Saturday 12.00 - 4.00.
We stock a selection of great classics and also new books which have just been published. Each country or subject is separated which makes it an enjoyable browse. At our main branch we focus on art, (painting, architecture, ceramics, etc) music, film, religion, languages, literature and culture from China, Japan, South-east Asia, The Middle East, Africa, India and South Asia.
Camden Lock Books
Old Street Station
4 Saint Agnes Well
LONDON EC1Y 1BE map
tel: 02072 530666 02072 530 666 e-mail web
Open: Monday - Friday 8.30 - 7.00, Saturday 12.00 - 5.30.
We have a back room with great general secondhand,collectable, antiquarian, photographic, travel, fine bindings, literature, first editions, art, fashion, sport, military, ephemera, architecture, miniatures, childrens', natural history, and local history books. Camden Lock Books, located in Old Street Station, is also one of the Capitals most iconic independent new bookshops(+ dealership in ECM Jazz CDs).
CENTRAL –
Atlantis Bookshop
This shop, described by one reader as ‘a hub for London’s occult world, essential to the practising magus, pagan, shaman and witch’, has been around since 1922.
Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum St, WC1(020 7405 2120/www.theatlantisbookshop.com) Holborn tube. Open Mon-Sat 10.30am-6pm
Bookmarks
Whenever we do reader surveys, there’s always one person who gets everyone they know to write in, skewing our results. Colin Wilson, we’re on to you! However, he’s committed at least, and the rest of the fans seem genuine too: they claim it’s ‘not just a lefty bookshop’, ‘has brilliant staff’ and stocks ‘everything from climate change to civil liberties’.
Bookmarks, 1 Bloomsbury St, WC1 (020 7637 1848/www.bookmarks.uk.com) Tottenham Court Rd tube. Open Mon 12noon-7pm, Tue-Fri 10am-7pm, Sun 10am-6pm.
Daunt Books
Extremely popular with readers, this specialist travel bookshop (with four more branches across London) is praised for its ‘lovely, naturally lit areas’, ‘organisation by country’, ‘soothing atmosphere’ and ‘superlative collection’.
Daunt Books, 83-84 Marylebone High St, W1 (020 7224 2295/www.dauntbooks.co.uk) Baker St tube. Open Mon-Sat 9am-7.30pm, Sun 11am-6pm.
The European Bookshop
‘If you can’t make it to Paris to stock up on those lovely Gallimard livres de poche, then this is the next best thing. They don’t just sell French books: all the major European languages are stocked.’
The European Bookshop, 5 Warwick St, W1 (020 7734 5259/www.eurobooks.co.uk) Piccadilly Circus tube. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-6pm.
R D Franks
A favourite with those passionate about fashion and design, this shop has hundreds of national and international titles, from Canadian Footwear News to the inspirational Hong Kong digital graphics mag IdN. The shop has benefited from its recent move to Winsey Street.
5 Winsey St, W1 (020 7636 1244/www.rdfranks.co.uk) Oxford Circus tube.
Foyles
After its £2 million refit things are much improved at Foyles, surely one of the last multi-departmental independents. An added bonus is Ray’s Jazz Café on the first floor: ‘a nice place to have lunch’.
Foyles, 113-119 Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (020 7437 5660/www.foyles.co.uk) Tottenham Court Rd tube. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-9pm, Sun 12noon-6pm.
Grant & Cutler
Long-established top dog for foreign language bestsellers, as well as dictionaries and films, this is the place to get ‘easy reading for your Spanish homework as well as things like Russian boardgames’.
Grant & Cutler, 55-57 Great Marlborough St, W1 (020 7734 2012/www.grantandcutler.com) Oxford Circus tube. Open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9.30am-6pm, Sun 12noon-6pm.
Koenig Books
An inspiring independent bookshop specialising in art, architecture and photography tomes. Koenig’s first London branch is based in the Serpentine Gallery, and there's another on the capital's literary artery, Charing Cross Road. Both have full access to mammoth arts bookshop Buchhandlung Walther Koenig in Cologne.
80 Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (020 7240 8190/www.koenigbooks.co.uk) Leicester Square tube & Serpentine Gallery,Kensington Gardens, W2 (020 7706 4907) South Kensington tube.
London Review Bookshop
Small, with a constantly updated stock of around 20,000 titles, this has plans to ‘grow over time’. Encompasses fiction, biography, poetry, history, politics and philosophy.
London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, WC1 (020 7269 9030/www.lrbshop.co.uk) Holborn or Tottenham Court Rd tube. Open Mon-Sat 10am-6.30pm, Sun12noon-6pm.
RIBA Bookshop
Naturally you’ll find big glossy architecture books here, as well as city guides, monographs and specialist magazines. Thus, ‘it’s a very tempting place’.
RIBA Bookshop, 66 Portland Place, W1 (020 7580 8416/www.riba.org) Regent’s Park tube. Open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Tue 8am-9pm, Sat 8am-5pm.
Stanfords
Not just a (travel-writing) bookshop, but an invaluable resource for travellers who need the best maps, globes and atlases.
Stanfords, 12-14 Long Acre, WC2 (020 7836 1321/www.stanfords.co.uk) Covent Garden or Leicester Square tube. Open Mon, Wed, Fri 9am-7.30pm, Tue 9.30am-7.30am, Thur 9am-8pm, Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 12noon-6pm
The Quinto Bookshop
This secondhand bookshop is wildly popular with our readers; no surprise, since it offers everything from Mills & Boon to battered copies of The Book Collector. And so recession-friendly.
The Quinto Booskhop, 48a Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (020 7379 7669/www.haycbookshop.com). Leicester Sq tube. Open Mon-Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 12-8pm.
NORTH –
Muswell Hill Bookshop
Deceptively large inside, with a great collection of fiction, thoughtfully displayed, it’s no surprise that locals singled it out.
Muswell Hill Bookshop, 72 Fortis Green Rd, N10 (020 8444 7588/www.muswellhillbookshop.com) Highgate tube. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-6pm, Sun 12noon-5pm.
Owl Books
With its ‘windows arranged so beautifully’ and a ‘great kids’ section’ this is a solid all-rounder that also holds plenty of readings and events. (Margaret Atwood has appeared in the past.)
Owl Books, 209 Kentish Town Rd, NW5 (020 7485 7793) Kentish Town tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-6pm, Sun
12noon-4.30pm.
Primrose Hill Books
Readings and events are an important part of this lovely, welcoming shop, where writers like Ian McEwan have been known to drop in. ‘Family-owned and run, they read the books they sell.’
Primrose Hill Books, 134 Regent’s Park Rd, NW1 (020 7586 2022/www.primrosehillbooks.com) Chalk Farm tube. Open Mon-Fri 9.30am-6pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm.
Prospero’s Books
Another much-loved local, this ‘small but perfectly formed’ bookshop ‘nonetheless has a wide range of stock’.
Prospero’s Books, 32 The Broadway, N8 (020 8343 8900) Finsbury Park tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-6pm, Sun 11.30am-5.30pm.
Stoke Newington Bookshop
This local is full of covetable novels. As one fan says, ‘I always seem to see a book I want to read when browsing.’
Stoke Newington Bookshop, 159 Stoke Newington High St, N16 (020 7249 2808//www.stokenewingtonbookshop.co.uk). Open Mon-Sat 9:30am-6pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
SOUTH –
Bolingbroke Bookshop
Collectors come here for the complete collection of Pevsner’s architectural guides. There's also a mini Bolingbroke Experss steam train for kids.
Bolingbroke Bookshop, 147 Northcote Rd, SW11 (020 7223 9344/www.bolingbrokebookshop.tbpcontrol.co.uk) Clapham Junction rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-6pm, Sun 11am-4pm.
Bookseller Crow on the Hill
Great for American and British literature, this Crystal Palace local has ‘a good range of magazines not sold in the larger stores’. There are also big kids and graphic novel sections.
Bookseller Crow on the Hill, 50 Westow St, SE19 (020 8771 8831/www.booksellercrow.com) Gypsy Hill rail. Open Mon-Fri 9am-7.30pm, Sat 9.30am-6.30pm, Sun 11am-5pm.
Kirkdale Bookshop
With weekend readings for children (aged 3 and over) and a small exhibition room, Kirkdale’s place on Sydenham High Street, ‘pound shop capital of the world’, is a ‘pearl among swine’.
Kirkdale Bookshop, 272 Kirkdale, SE26 (020 8778 4701) Sydenham rail. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm.
Review
The outdoor seating makes this the perfect place for a coffee-fuelled browse on sunny days. Inside, there’s an emphasis on art, architecture, design and photography books. Chess and backgammon sets are also available for those who like to linger.
Review, 131 Bellenden Rd, SE15 (020 7639 7400/www.reviewbookshop.co.uk) Peckham Rye rail. Open Tues-Sun 10am-7pm.
Village Books
The personal touch from owners Hazel Broadfoot and Julian Toland has long been popular in Dulwich Village. Now there’s a sister shop near Wandsworth Common where Beckett’s Bookshop used to be (it retains the name for now).
The Bookshop, 1d Calton Avenue, SE21 (020 8693 2808) North Dulwich rail. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm, Sun 11am-5pm.
Beckett’s Bookshop, 6 Bellevue Rd, SW17 (020 8672 4413) Wandsworth Common rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5.30pm, Sun 11am-5pm.
East -
Magma
An essential oasis for all design creatives, selling every imaginable book on illustration, fashion, animation, graphics, book design, architecture and advertising. The Earlham St store at No 8 (there is another Magma book store at No 16) sells other design-focused products, like plates by cool French label Domestic and a cardboard boombox for your iPod.
117-119 Clerkenwell Rd, EC1 (020 7242 9503/www.magmabooks.com) Farringdon tube/rail. Also: 8 & 16 Earlham St, WC2. Covent Garden tube.
WEST –
Blenheim Books
You’ll find interiors, architecture and photography books here.
Blenheim Books, 11 Blenheim Crescent, W11 (020 7792 0777/www.blenheimbooks.co.uk) Notting Hill Gate tube. Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 12noon-5pm.
Books for Cooks
Widely raved about by foodies, this recipe haven is also adored for the homemade treats its staff dish out.
Books for Cooks, 4 Blenheim Crescent, W11 (020 7221 1992/www.booksforcooks.com) Ladbroke Grove tube. Open Tue-Sat 10am-6pm.
John Sandoe Books
‘John Sandoe’s has a large reputation for such a rickety shop, which is crammed with roughly 25,000 titles sold by well-informed people who care. Just off the King’s Road, it’s one of the few idiosyncratic shops left in the area.’
John Sandoe Books, 10 Blacklands Terrace, SW3 (020 7589 9473/www.johnsandoe.com) Sloane Square tube. Open Mon, Tue, Thur-Sat 9.30am-5.30pm, Wed 9.30am-7.30pm, Sun 12-6pm.
Persephone Books
This tiny publishing house-cum-lovely bookshop has breathed new life into 78 neglected interwar fiction titles, and repackaged them in Persephone's trademark dove-grey covers, each with its own distinct fabric-inspired endpapers. A new branch has opened in at 109 Kensington Church St, W8 (020 7221 2201) Notting Hill Gate tube. Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.
59 Lamb's Conduit St, WC1 (020 7242 9292/www.persephonebooks.co.uk) Holborn or Russell Square tube. Open Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm.
