Books & Poetry

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

Blenheim Books
You’ll find interiors, architecture and photography books here. But the highlight is the comprehensive gardening section.
Blenheim Books, 11 Blenheim Crescent, W11 (020 7792 0777) Notting Hill Gate tube. Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 12noon-5pm.

Bolingbroke Bookshop
Collectors come here for the complete collection of Pevsner’s architectural guides.
Bolingbroke Bookshop, 147 Northcote Rd, SW11 (020 7223 9344) Clapham Junction rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-6pm, Sun 11am-4pm.

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. Feature continues

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’.
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.

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.

The Bookshop, Dulwich Village and Beckett’s Bookshop
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.

Children’s Bookshop
Not only good for tots getting to grips with their ABC, this Muswell Hill treasure is a treat for those difficult ‘young adults’.
Children’s Bookshop, 72 Fortis Green Rd, N10 (020 8444 5500) Highgate tube. Open Mon-Sat 9.15am-5.45pm, Sun 11am-4pm.

Daunt Books
Extremely popular with readers, this specialist travel bookshop (with two more branches in NW3) 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.

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.

Gosh!
Unlike some comics specialists, Gosh! doesn’t ‘fill the shop with toys’. Even better, ‘knowledgable staff are sensitive to each customer’s tastes, from aficionados to first-timers’.
Gosh!, 39 Great Russell St, WC1 (020 7636 1011/www.goshlondon.com) Tottenham Court Rd tube. Open Mon-Wed, Sat, Sun 10am-6pm, Thur, Fri 10am-7pm.

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.

Index Bookstore
The publications stocked at Index, next to Brixton market, have a radical slant and include magazines such as Red Pepper and International Searchlight. Multi-ethnic children’s lit is another strong point.
Index Bookstore, 16 Electric Avenue, SW9 (020 7274 8342/www.indexbooks.co.uk) Brixton tube/rail. Open Mon-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.

Kirkdale Bookshop
With weekend readings for children 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.

Lion and the Unicorn Bookshop
This friendly children’s bookshop comes highly recommended by those with kids. The shop has its own newsletter, the Roar, and nominated books of the month.
Lion and the Unicorn Bookshop, 19 King St, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 (020 8940 0483/www.lionunicornbooks.co.uk) Richmond tube/rail. Open Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm, Sat 9.30am-6pm, Sun 12noon-5pm.

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 and politics.
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.

Metropolitan Books
Exmouth Market’s ever-increasing popularity is partly due to this small bookshop, whose staff ‘will help to identify a book no matter how vague the description. They know what they are talking about.’
Metropolitan Books, 49 Exmouth Market, EC1 (020 7278 6900/www.metropolitanbooks.co.uk) Farringdon tube/rail. Open Mon-Fri 10.30am-6.30pm, Sat 10.30am-6pm.

Murder One
Now concentrating purely on crime and romance books. The new premises are smaller, but there’s still a huge choice.
Murder One, 76-78 Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (020 7739 8820/www.murderone.co.uk) Leicester Square tube. Open Mon-Wed 10am-7pm, Thur-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 12noon-6pm.

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.

Oval Bookshop
Mostly stocking fiction, this ‘small but incredibly friendly shop holds great events’.
Oval Bookshop, 28b Clapham Rd, SW9 (0800 389 0463) Oval tube. Open Mon-Fri 10am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-5.30pm.

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.

Pan Bookshop
Great for signed books, this shop has a loyal following. The mind, body and spirit section is now a strong point.
Pan Bookshop, 158 Fulham Rd, SW10 (020 7373 4997) South Kensington tube. Open Mon-Fri 9am-10pm, Sat 9.30am-10pm, Sun 10am-9pm.

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 2002/www.primrosehillbooks.co.uk) 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.

Review
When the weather’s nice it puts tables and chairs outside on the cobbles here so you can have a sit-down and a coffee. Inside, there’s an emphasis on art, architecture, design and photography books.
Review, 131 Bellenden Rd, SE15 (020 7639 7400) Peckham Rye rail. Open Tues-Sun 10am-7pm.

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 5333/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.

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)