Finding a guaranteed good read away from chains like Waterstones and Foyles can be trying if you don’t know where to look. Luckily we have compiled a list for you of the best places in London to find whatever kind of book you might be searching for, in all the corners of London too. Nestle into the comfort of a book paradise and find a new corner you’d love to call your personal library until you get to compile one of your own. Take a look at these Book Markets In London.
The World’s End Bookshop at Kings Road and just off the river is a beautiful second-hand bookshop that also sells rare books and buys books too! The homely musty aroma of The World’s End is ever so charming, and the bookshop really likes dogs, as stated all over their website. They also quite lovingly will provide coffee or beer if you call ahead! This is one of the Book Markets In London.
This is London’s most famous book market. The South Bank provides many attractions for all its visits including The Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern and the Oxo Tower, but the South Bank’s book market is a gem set along London’s river. As well as books it presents you with vintage records and antique maps, and a traipse through the aisles will give you peeks of the best classics at discounted prices. It’s open on Saturdays until 7 pm.
A personal favourite, The Black Gull Bookshop in Camden sits tucked away in the market; a visit to the Black Gull never fails to wonder and surprise with its fiction and autobiographies. Walk amongst the stacks to discover a new favourite, or pop in for a good convo. This is one of the Book Markets In London.
Find sought-after first editions and titled treasures you might have been hunting for ages. It’s a short walk away from the universities UCL and SOAS so it’s a lovely little post-lecture haunt, especially as they offer a student discount, and the friendly staff are also book-lovers who are eager to help and advise on all the second-hand books.
Persephone Books showcases some of the most talented female writers of our time. You might not have heard of a lot of their books but this gorgeous bookshop has unearthed jewels of the written kind and displayed them for all to see.
Daunt Books has branches in Notting Hill, Cheapside and Hampstead but it’s hard to beat the aesthetic of the Marylebone store, it’s first branch. Furnished with oak panelling and stained-glass art, this dreamy library-esque bookshop specialises in travel literature but also sells other riveting titles.
Is it a canal boat or is it a bookshop, or is it a perfect mixture of the two? London’s upon-the-water bookstore on the Regent’s Canal Towpath has transformed a barge into a bibliophile’s dream. Despite fines and legal warnings threatening closure, this canal bookshop has remained open for years now and continues to sell books and words on the water. It also hosts poetry slams bares a slight resemblance to the world-famous bookshop in Venice!
Nomad Books claims to order its books for its customers as fast as Amazon! Anything we can do to avoid buying from a massive conglomerate is a good thing surely (though please keep sending me my packages Amazon!) The store has a large children’s section and offers reading clinics to provide you with a prescription that will suggest 6 good books suited to your personality. Never be short of a good book that will suit your tastes with Nomad’s recommendations.
Inhabited by its much-loved owner Patrick Kelley and his best friend and dog Rosa, this independent bookshop has been around for more than 20 years. Independent bookstores seem to be a dying trade, but this ever-present shop is now a part of Brixton culture, and will hopefully hold that position for many years to come.
This is a must-visit for poetry lovers. It’s USP is that it has a permanent collection of the books that the owners and their friends have chosen as their favourites. Join their Daylight Book Group for discussions of books to tickle your literary tastes.
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