Book shopping in London
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Books for Cooks
All the recipe books from celeb and non-celeb chefs you can imagine are sold here. Perfect for some of the more adventurous cooks among you, or those looking for ‘exotic’ cookbooks. The cafe has a test kitchen where you can sample recipes at lunch and teatime.
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Forbidden Planet
A massive trove of comics, sci-fi, horror and fantasy literature, this is an absolute dream for anyone into manga comics or off-beat genre titles.
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Foyle’s
This is London’s best and most legendary bookshop, where you can bet on finding even the most obscure of titles. The lovely, now extended cafe is on the 1st floor, and Ray’s Jazz Shop is up on the 5th floor. There are alternative, smaller branches at the Southbank Centre, St Pancras International Station and Westfield Shopping Centre. Visit the website for details for more details on their range across all stores.
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Fopp
You don't need to spend a fortune at CD-cum-DVD-cum-bookshop Fopp. In fact, its prices are quite surprisingly reasonable alongside Virgin Megastores and HMV. This flagship store has an extensive range, plus signings and performances by stars. Other London branches can be found at Westbourne Grove and Shaftesbury Avenue.
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Housmans
This long-standing radical bookshop, where you’ll find books unavailable on the shelves of the more mainstream stockists, is a good place to keep up to date with all sorts of political and social campaigns, and with your more radical reads. The forthcoming owner is a mine of local information.
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Daunt Books
An original Edwardian bookshop, with oak panels and gorgeous skylights, Daunt is one of London’s loveliest travel bookshops. It has two floors and the ground level is stacked with fiction and nonfiction titles; the lower ground is where to head if you’re travel focused.
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Shepherds
Suckers for fine stationery, leather boxes and that exquisite, specialised Florentine papier à cuve (paper that is hand-decorated with marbled designs), we get our fix at this wonderful bookbindery. There’s also a Holborn branch.
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Blackwell’s
Once a specialist in academic titles, this shop has now branched out into travel and other general-interest books. It is still, however, the favourite haunt for those hunting for academic textbooks and is perfect for anyone starting a new course.
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Magma
This much-loved shop sells books, magazines, T-shirts and almost anything on the design cutting edge. There’s a smaller branch in Covent Garden, which now includes a design sale shop. Great for present shopping.
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London Review Bookshop
The bookshop of London Review of Books lit magazine doesn’t believe in piles of books, taking the clever approach of stocking wide-ranging titles in one or two copies only. It often hosts high-profile author talks.
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Waterstone’s
The chain’s megastore is the largest bookshop in Europe, boasting knowledgeable staff and regular author readings. This is London’s biggest Waterstone’s, with four floors of titles, a cafe in the basement and a nice rooftop bar.
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Stanford’s
As a 150-year-old seller of maps, guides and literature, the grand daddy of travel bookshops is a destination in its own right. Ernest Shackleton, David Livingstone, Michael Palin and even Brad Pitt have all popped in here.
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Shepherds Holborn
Suckers for fine stationery, leather boxes and that exquisite, specialised Florentine papier à cuve (paper that is hand-decorated with marbled designs), we get our fix at this wonderful bookbindery.
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Travel Bookshop
Still known as the bookshop on which Hugh Grant’s was modelled in the movie Notting Hill, this is crammed with new guidebooks, travel literature and fiction, as well as second-hand and antiquarian books.
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Grant & Cutler
This is London’s best-stocked foreign-language bookshop, running the gamut from Arabic to Zulu. However, sometimes staff aren’t as knowledgeable as you’d hope in recommending specific books.
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Gosh!
Draw up here for graphic novels, manga, newspaper-strip collections and children’s books such as the Tin Tin and Asterix series. It’s also perfect for finding presents for children and teenagers.
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Gay’s the Word
This London gay institution has been selling books nobody else stocks for three decades now, and still has a great range of gay- and lesbian-interest books and magazines as well as a real community spirit.
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Al Saqi
Located in a beautiful building topped with a dozen busts, this shop specialises in books in English about the Arab world and Islam, including the full catalogue of books it publishes itself.
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Ian Allan
The train-spotter in you won’t be able to resist this shop, which specialises in books on transport and defence: aircraft, motor vehicles, buses and, of course, those choo-choo trains.
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Guildhall Library Bookshop
Part of the offices of the Corporation of London, this specialist bookshop carries an excellent selection of books on London and prints of historic maps of the city.
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Blenheim Books
Formerly a gardeners' bookstore, Blenheim now specialises in design, architecture and photography, though its garden section is still extensive.
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Charing Cross Rd
The road with bookstores, including Borders, Foyle's (with the famous Ray's Jazz Shop), Murder One (for thrillers) and Shipley (for art books).
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Harold Moore’s Records
London’s finest classical-music store stocks an extensive range of vinyl, CDs and DVDs, plus jazz in the basement.
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BM Soho
Formerly Black Market Records, this is where club DJs flock for the latest international dance music.
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