Where would booklovers be without their bookshops? The internet doesn’t compare to the feeling of walking into a shop with the latest bestsellers packed on the walls, with people browsing and that lovely smell of books in the air. During my skint university days I had a habit of going into bookshops and reading the books for as long as I could get away with without paying (sorry, Waterstone’s).
I love the feeling of going into bookshops, but if the shop itself is gorgeous then a casual browse turns into a bit of a reader’s mecca. Bookshops with character- going into a shop and seeing a rickety staircase curling up the middle of the room, or some uneven wooden floorboards- adds to the experience somehow.
How fortunate for me, then, that I’m in London, where quirky bookshops adorn the corner of (nearly) every street. And in the spirit of adventure, and bookish nerdiness, the best ones- and most interesting ones- among them deserve to be listed, so other people can enjoy them too.
The Roaring Bookworm 