London book shop recommendations?

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?

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chelrachel1 t1_je02h75 wrote

The flagship Waterstones in Piccadilly. It is our biggest bookshop chain but worth visiting that one as it is huge

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Strong-Usual6131 t1_je02iql wrote

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.

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Illustrious-Cell-428 t1_je03aaa wrote

Foyles if you want a huge shop with a wide selection. Pages of Hackney is a great independent, and Skoob for secondhand books

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astland t1_je0664f wrote

Following, because almost the same, just Live in Michigan.... that's just the deep south of Canada though, right?

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Ela_De_Salisbury t1_je06ncb wrote

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

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-lc- t1_je0707x wrote

Waterstones in Gower street and Daunt Books in Marylebone my favourites.

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medievalhorsewoman t1_je07rah wrote

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.

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mmelonish t1_je08t6s wrote

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

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gutfounderedgal t1_je09o5q wrote

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.

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Affectionate-Award46 t1_je09ori wrote

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.

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pip98 t1_je09ri0 wrote

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!

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Altruistic_Day_2332 t1_je09xb4 wrote

Replying to Jack-Campin (#2,416,326)

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.

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Altruistic_Day_2332 t1_je0bffs wrote

Replying to prudence2001 (#2,414,976)

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?

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devocooks t1_je0bx9y wrote

Not a store but if you love books the British Library should be on you list it’s incredible

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WhosThatBloke t1_je0ea5w wrote

Heywood Hill in Mayfair and Book Bar near Finsbury Park are my two favourites.

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rubyeskimo13 t1_je0egss wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#2,415,139)

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).

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TheChocolateMelted t1_je0etza wrote

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.

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Shadow_Lass38 t1_je0fa42 wrote

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.

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firefly232 t1_je0g0za wrote

Book and Record Bar, near West Norwood Station. Kirkdale Books, near Sydenham Station. Fosters books, Chiswick high road.

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Flexo24 t1_je0hxeg wrote

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:

  • As mentioned earlier: Skoob (King’s Cross)
  • Oxfam books and Amnesty books - these aren’t ‘political’ bookshops (although they do have political non-fiction and have books of every genre), but just second hand book shops where the money goes to charity (Both Oxfam an Amnesty in Kentish Town - the walk between the two has many charity shops that also have books).
  • Judd Books (King’s Cross)
  • Walden Books (Camden)

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.

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Enigmatic_Mattress t1_je0kb7x wrote

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?

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PeterchuMC t1_je0m84x wrote

Forbidden Planet is good for sci-fi and fantasy books. I'm mainly there for Doctor Who of which there is plenty.

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liliBonjour t1_je0nj30 wrote

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.

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Just_A_Che_Away t1_je0o07u wrote

Gay's the word. It's the premier queer bookshop in the town, in my very humble opinion

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TheCowardisanovel t1_je0re5m wrote

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.

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-baskets- t1_je0t2hm wrote

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.

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_sunflowerqueen_ t1_je0tfky wrote

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.

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ddpherm t1_je0vefa wrote

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.

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rascortoras t1_je0vf81 wrote

London Review Bookshop. This was one the best bookstores I've ever seen. A nice and tiny cafe is also attached. Very nice selection.

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thewallflower0707 t1_je0wed0 wrote

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!

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lil_chunk27 t1_je0yetx wrote

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.

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mfomatratzen t1_je0z8gv wrote

What about Nothing Hill, no bespoke bookstores managed by a shy but charismatic Londoner?

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jamie15329 t1_je14fwn wrote

Waterstones in Bloomsbury, Bookmarks socialist bookshop, Foyles near Tottenham Court Road, Housmans on Caledonian Road, Gay's The Word in Russell Square

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mfomatratzen t1_je1cjr1 wrote

Replying to 3rd-eye-blind (#2,423,619)

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.

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Strong_Wheel t1_je1ghmk wrote

Vast Waterstones in Piccadilly. Vast, many floors. Walk through ground floor to pubs in back street. Bar upstairs, cafe in basement. A jewel.

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V1DEOST4LK3R t1_je1sk1g wrote

oxfam books - i often buy books second hand for £1-3

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Nirvana_bob7 t1_je223di wrote

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.

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rjam117 t1_je23hyw wrote

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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mazurzapt t1_je27ssb wrote

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.

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dawgster99 t1_je28kv1 wrote

Daunt Books has an amazing bookstore. Very vintage feel

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Puzzleheaded_South_5 t1_je290j0 wrote

BOOKS Peckham, Crofton books and Kirkdale bookshop are some lovely independents in SE London

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chrispd01 t1_je292q7 wrote

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?

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NeuHundred t1_je2fyex wrote

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)

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ImpressionableGuasta t1_je2tky0 wrote

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/how-londons-independent-bookshops-are-shaping-its-literary-culture/ (Oct 2019)

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)

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ManueO t1_je2u1jw wrote

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.

British Library

Waterstones Piccadilly Waterstones Gower Street

Daunt books

Cecil Court

Foyles

Hatchards

Word on the water

Forbidden planet

Gay’s the word

Freedom’s bookshop

Skoob books

London review bookshop

Goldsboro books

Henry Pordes

Keith Fawkes

South bank book market

Pages of Hackney

Brick Lane books

Libreria

Hackney books

Burley fisher

Review bookshop

Bookseller crow

Lutyens and Rubinstein

Owl bookstore

Gosh! Comics

Judd books

Heywood hill

Bookbar

Book and record bar

Kirkdale books

Fosters books

John Sandoe

Stanfords

Bookmarks

South Kensington books

Artwords bookshop

Broadway bookshop

Riverside bookshop

Black books (Collinge and Clark)

Housman

Maggs bro

Books Peckham

Crofton books

Second hand charity shops: oxfam books and amnesty books

And for a trip out of London: Hay-on-Wye And Persephone books in Bath

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MrHarrisMath t1_je2wa83 wrote

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!

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Caleb_Trask19 t1_je3e41r wrote

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!

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Booksnbrewz3 t1_je3fqas wrote

Ahh! I’m so grateful I found this post. So many great recommendations for my trip in late May. Great question, OP!

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mistakes_were_made24 t1_je3j66j wrote

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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Napoleon64 t1_je432lg wrote

Replying to Altruistic_Day_2332 (#2,417,480)

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.

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SweeneyLovett t1_je4en3l wrote

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.

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[deleted] t1_je4lk0b wrote

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.

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renegade_wolfe t1_je4sl0m wrote

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.

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justanotherfish5 t1_je5isw4 wrote

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

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Dr_Vesuvius t1_je71dyb wrote

Replying to chelrachel1 (#2,415,744)

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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SeaAnything8 t1_je8m3xt wrote

Treadwell’s Books near the British Museum if you want to find occult books

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