Visiting London.....

Hi All!!

I'm traveling to London in a couple of weeks and was wondering if anyone could recommend any good used books stores? Thank you :)

The Oxfam bookshops are good - especially the one on Marylebone High St (handily near Daunt Books, too) and there's also one on Strutton Ground, near Westminster - they tend to have a good stock of secondhand books.

I second wandering_star's nomination of the Oxfam on Marylebone High St - their stock rotates quickly and they always have some new releases on their shelves.

Not quite used, but cheap, is the Lamb Bookshop on Lambs Conduit Street in Holborn. All their books are half the RRP, and they have plenty of recent stuff, though not new releases.

Here are a few lesser-known gems:

If you like poetry, there is a tiny shop hidden away in the area between Russell Square and King's Cross, called the Marchmont Bookshop (map here, it's a short walk from the British Museum). Also in that area is Skoob (in the Brunswick Centre near the rear of the Waitrose - off Marchmont Street), which is also excellent and more general. Directly across from the British Museum is Quinto, which I believe is still running a 50% off all stock sale. (There are several other good shops in that part of town, but that have more academic or esoteric specialties; I can certainly list a few if you're interested.)

Further out, right around the corner from the Hampstead Tube station is Keith Fawkes (1-3 Flask Walk, NW3 1HJ), which is, in my opinion, worth a special trip - all the shelves are packed and there are books stacked on the floor in front of them up to about two or three feet, and prices are very reasonable. A happy afternoon's browsing, easily.

If you're in Camden Town, duck into the area by the lock (across the street from the Lock Market) for Black Gull Books; if near Edgeware Road or Marylebone, go to Archive Books & Music (somewhat haphazard but not without gems) and Stephen Foster (paperback literature for a pound or two, among other things).

Moving away from the lesser-knowns, there is the entire area of Charing Cross Road (which includes my place of work, too). It's worth it to start at Tottenham Court Road/Oxford/New Oxford Street and walk down to Trafalgar Square, a stretch of about half a mile in which there are somewhere upwards of a dozen bookshops, many selling secondhand or remaindered books.

Thank you all for the suggestions :) I will definitely be busy with all these great suggestions!

An old post, but thank you as well as I will be going to London in June and have been looking for this sort of info.

If you do the walk down Charing Cross Road, make sure to check out the two alleys connecting Charing Cross Road and St. Martin's Lane (to your left if you're walking south down Charing Cross Road), south of the Leicester Square tube station. They have some of the best little used book stores in the area, including one specializing in music and another specializing in books about London.

I will check it out unless we get knocked out by this silly volcano.

A lot of the bookshops in the area are gone, but Any Amount of Books near Leicester Square tube on Charing Cross Road is always worh a look.

Thanks for the info. I will be travelling there in June also, barring anymore flying ash.

7 - Thanks, dkathman. I used to live in London but never knew about the bookshop selling books about the capital. I will check it out when next I'm there!

cocoafiend -- The one with a section of London books is Unsworth's. It's in the northernmost of the two alleys, just south of Wyndham's Theatre on the Charing Cross Road side and the Noel Coward Theatre on the St. Martin's Lane side. I think Unsworth's might be the only bookstore in that alley, which also has some pubs; it's just off St. Martin's Lane on the south side.

Thanks for the directions!

Hello, all

Reviving this thread again, I am going to be in London in June, and would like suggestions of bookshops that are particularly good for history.

Thanks for your help!

This webpage is likely to be as helpful as anything: http://www.inprint.co.uk/thebookguide/shops/location1.php?loc=London&locc=Ce...

It is difficult to keep up with closures - London commercial rents make second-hand bookshops a dying breed, I fear. One newish venture worth a look (not particularly for history) is the Slightly Foxed shop in Gloucester Road, near the tube station. Handy if you are visiting the museums in Exhibition Row.

Tricky but Any Amount of Books and the Oxfam bookshop (a charity shop or thrift store, not especially cheap) have history sections. Bookmarks across the road from Oxfam has new history bookshop it is a left wing bookshop, and also has a secondhand section. For new books, the London Review Bookshop has tohe best selection of non fiction I've seen. There are also 2 bargain bookshops run by the same company just across Euston Road from the British Library - one sells everything for £2 and I have found history books there, the other sells books from £3 up.

Thanks, guys!

I'd suggest Judd Books, at 82 Marchmont Street, WC1N 1AG, between The British Library and Russell Square; and Notting Hill Books at 132 Palace Gardens Terrace, W8 4RT, near Notting Hill Gate. Both are mainly second hand and remainders, however.
If you go to the former from King's Cross, you will pass the bargain bookshops mentioned in #16.

Thanks! :-)

I'm thinking about going to London for a few days after the summer. I definitely want to shop for books, so can anyone recommend any bookstores that sell fantasy/sf? A specialized bookstore would be great, but a general one that has a good selection on sff would also be very nice. I'm interested in both new and secondhand...

> 20

Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue and the main branch of Waterstones off Piccadilly Circus come to mind. Secondhand bookshops may have some nice paperbacks from the 60s onwards. The selection of SF books in Foyles is pretty small.

Cool, thanks housefulofpaper!

Greetings Brits, I will be visiting London soon. I'll be on foot and staying in Kensington. Any recommendations for that area?

Another vote for Skoob, which is central rather than the West end but very easy to get to - just hop on the eastbound Piccadilly line and get off at Russell Square. Cross the street and you'll see the Brunswick Centre (a few steps to the right you'll be able to see it - it's a U-shaped outdoor shopping centre). If you go walk straight through the Waitrose at the top of the U, when you come outside again, turn left and watch for Skoob. It's well marked but it doesn't jump out at you. It's possibly the best used bookshop in London.

I'm putting a star on this topic to keep a running list. Last time I went to London my carry-on coming back was completely full of books. Good thing they didn't weigh it.

You should pay a visit to the fabulous new Foyles too - they've just moved into new premises.

And a few minutes walk to the north of the Brunswick Centre is Judd Books, at 87 Marchmont Street, which is mainly non-fiction remainders and review copies.
Goin there you will pass Gay's the Word bookshop too, with a good selection of new and second-hand gay related publications.