Midland Book Shop's a longstanding bookstore in Delhi that's been in business since 1984. What's special about this place is how wonderfully ordinary it feels – yet you know it's one of those places of repute that most readers in Delhi swear by. The store is two-storied and supremely well-stocked, with fiction and nonfiction, academic and reference texts, magazines, children's books, classics, design and art books, cookbooks, graphic novels, indie press titles, and more. They've even got collectible hardbacks (the sort you'd normally try to hunt down and pay big bucks for online). It's very much a shop of solid familiarity over boutique frills.
While they've sorted their store by genre, they've got a new and especially interesting section called 'Delhi and its History' – a big draw for curious tourists as well as local academics (of which there are plenty). Midland also has an active Instagram page, where they regularly post updates on deals, restocks, new releases, and limited signed editions.
Time Out Tip:
Weekday mornings are by far the best time to browse here if you want the place to yourself – and carry a list of books you're unable to find elsewhere, because they'll most likely have it here, and if they don't, they'll order it for you.
Opening times:
Mon-Sun 10.30am-8.30pm