Crofton Books

Not many bookshops organise stock by colour, via signs reading ‘mix of old and new but like trending stuff’ or have hand-drawn floor plans tacked to the wall, but organised chaos is the vibe at Crofton Books in SE4. Set up by local poet Jason Shelley, it sells predominantly secondhand and antiquarian literature. Books tumble from shelves and rise from the floor like Jenga bricks in precarious-looking stacks that spill on to the street. Depending on which day you visit, you might find a metal shopping basket full of ‘yellow books’, a shelf full of old school Penguin classics or a hardback with a bizarre inscription scrawled in the sleeve from the Occult section. Whenever you go, you’re guaranteed to stumble across something strange and fantastic – and for an absolute steal (most books are £2). Like Paris’s Shakespeare and Co, it oozes literary magic. Don’t pass up a chance to visit, and bring a few empty tote bags when you do, you’ll definitely need them.