Best bookstore in London for language books (Celtic, German, English, Italian, Spanish, French,…read moreHebrew, Arabic, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Greek, Dutch, etc.!!) and it has a cafe upstairs as well as a huge kids books area.

In 2018, after 115 years of independent bookselling, then-Chairman Christopher Foyle and the Board…read moreof Directors sold the company to Waterstones, with the proviso that the Foyles name must endure. Based on our recent visit, let's now call this place a chain on steroids. I just wonder how much the inevitable Corporate culture has robbed the old independent Foyles of its soul. Gayle and I spend a fair amount of time on various floors and sections. I found a nice Judaica book, a BBC publication for an upcoming PROMS program, and some filing folders. Gayle found a book she was looking for and a gift for back home. It was a fun and good outing, but not a great one. The place was clean and shiny, and with attentive and helpful employees. That's good and sometimes not. And if given more time, I'd would have preferred to be in a dusty independent specialty bookseller.

I've stopped at this book market every time I'm in the area, but I've never bought a single book…read more(and for someone like me, that's really strange as I belong to the compulsive book-buyer category) I think part of the reason, is that the books that I have seen at this market, tend to be a bit yellowed and more than gently used and those don't appeal to me at all. I've never really "found" something amazing here, but it could be because I haven't browsed for long enough. I like the vibe of the place, and I keep stopping by, but eyeballs haven't converted into a sale where I'm concerned.

I love this little book fair on the Southbank. It's so inspiring to see so many great books - old…read moreand new, big and small - on sale for mostly under a fiver, although you can buy more expensive books too. I bought "Journey to Ixtlan" here, it was a random purchase. I was so intrigued by what had been written inside the book - a note to a friend and a quote "Do what thou whilst *is* the law..." and then some astrological symbols. This intrigued me so much, I bought the book and found out it mixed sci-fi and philosophy - perfect. It was like buying a little piece of history, this book was loved once, that's what I liked. All for £3! Do come and visit this book fair and support orphaned books. There's something for everything, you may even find a little hidden gem as I did!

**Newly opened and currently open til 6pm but they are looking to expand their hours shortly. If…read moreyou're unsure about opening hours and you want to visit, I recommend firing off a tweet to @SECONDHOMELDN ** Popped in to Libreria last night for a quick reconnaissance mission. New independent bookshops aren't exactly ten a penny. It also happened to be World Book Day, I have just realised. It was meant to be. I love how it looks from the outside. Like a portal to another world. You go down Hanbury Street, think you must've missed it and then...suddenly it's there. Stylish black shopfront with a nice inviting glow. This was only a very quick visit but I like how they do things in Libreria. First, I have to note that there was a Riga RP-1 record player with Velvet Underground & Nico on the turntable so...good start. No espresso bar here. No mobiles allowed. Comfy seating and little nooks to sit down and check out a book. Tick tick tick. Sally, Libreria's director, introduced herself to me and explained how things were laid out. Very friendly and helpful. Books are largely organised alphabetically, fiction on the left and nonfic on the right. However, within that, books are clustered into themes or ideas, in order to promote interesting combinations of books nestling next to each other. Great idea. Pure A-Z is so 2015. Also, they have asked celebs to do a mini-curation of their favourite books. Shami Chakrabarti's faves are currently on display. I think the idea is to change everything round every quarter. Events are also gonna happen here. I dutifully added my email to the mailing list on the front desk. Waterstones can do one.

A quaint independent bookstore in the eastern part of London…read more https://prashantmudgal.wordpress.com/2019/08/07/the-cost-of-living/

I forever find myself in here at lunchtimes. In a world of dull chain bookstores with the same set…read moreof books for sale in every store, coming to charity bookstores like this has become a must if you want to get anything outside the norm. This store is a pleasure - it's week laid out, always tidy and the staff are great. The record collection is interesting and there are even comics for sale in the back. Love the place.

Good supply of comics and books, bit awkward to bend down to the comics, but cheap and cheerful…read more Staff are quite friendly and try to help. Prices are very reasonable.

I absolutely loved this bookstore and wish we had more like it where I live in the US. While I…read moredidn't NEED more books, I took advantage of getting a few from authors that are harder to get at home. Loved every single part of this place.

This bookstore is really cool! The staff are neat and helpful. The book arrangements are fun and…read moreinviting. We ended up purchasing a book for my husband and some stationary that was themed. One said 'When the bard plays a banger on your birthday' and we cracked up at that one. It was a worthy buy. It was fun to walk around and just be near books. Thanks for having us!

This quaint second hand book shop has an admirable range of books (19, 000!) from first editions,…read morerare finds to the academic sort. Conveniently located only a short walk from Soho as well as Leicester Square tube, Any Amount of Books is a safe haven to escape to from the busy streets of central London. They sell books as cheap as a pound to thousands. The choice is immense. If you go to their website you can see the books they sell and see if anything catches your fancy.

A great place to eavesdrop on intellectual conversations between the shopkeeper and the oldies…read morewho've been coming here for years. Minus one star 'cause it's so dusty you can barely breathe. Guess that's what happens when you're all historical and whatnot.

This is my local bookshop and I love it. I go all the time, even if I'm not looking for anything…read moreit's good just to walk around. Unlike the super-bookshops on the Charing Cross and Tottenham Court roads, Foyles feels more personal, and it's reflected in the service. The staff really know their stuff and yesterday when I purchased a book I got a "Have a lovely day" as I received my change, a rarely uttered phrase in the service industry outside of the United States. My favourite part about it is that the R.R.P printed on the back of all the books is what Foyles charge so you know you're not being ripped off. Because this bookshop is so close to the Royal Festival Hall and The National Theatre, it has a particularly good selection of drama and theatre books, as well as travel guides, fiction, autobiographies, children's books, reference books, stationary and coffee table books. My only complaint is that as a lover of travel guidebooks, I like them to be arranged so that they're easy to find, and in this store they file the Australia and New Zealand books in the North and South America section. Apart from that, it's well worth a visit.

Foyle's. It's a…read moregreat, decent sized, well-laid-out bookshop on the Southbank. Staff favourites, variety, bestsellers and the off-the-beaten track books as well. Always a standards. Now, if they'd work out a deal with my alumni association, that'd be ideal.

Waterstones is a nice sized bookstore right across from Trafalgar Square…read more I ended up picking up one of their mini travel games (Quirkle) from their wall of games (they also had Okey and a large assortment of Cards Against Humanity) but I think I enjoyed their London-focused children's book section the most. The service was friendly and prompt and overall I enjoyed our visit!

This branch of Waterstones - along with all of its other branches - is now closed temporarily, due…read moreto the coronavirus situation.

This branch of Waterstones - along with all of its other branches - is now closed temporarily, due…read moreto the coronavirus situation.

This may be one of my favourite bookshops in all of London. I know it's just a bookshop and a chain…read moreat that but hear me out on this one. 1. Staff - They staff are always extremely friendly and knowledgeable. I was just there a few weeks ago and they had run out of the book I was looking for so I had to order it. The gentleman who helped me was fast, efficient and friendly. He talked to me about the author and the series I was reading with passion. Then he leapt from behind the counter with a spritely leprechaun-like prance, and rushed me across the shop to show me another book he thought I'd like. Have already ascertained that he knew his stuff when it cames to tomes, I trusted him and bought the book and its sequel on the spot. He was so enthusiastic about the characters that I had to get it. It was "Rivers of London" just in case anyone wants to pick it up. Great book! 2. Special guests - Ever since I discovered this shop I've noted the revolving door of special guest authors that stop in for book signings. Just in passing I've seen Martina Cole, Jeffery Deaver and Rick Stein. I only walk by once every other month or so, so imagine who I must have missed! They only seem to advertise these signing events with a little sandwich board outside so I know there's been more. Lucky for me I got a photo with a Bond car and a signed copy of Rick Stein's new book on Spanish recipes. 3. Size & Selection - This shop is over two floors and has a better selection for it. I usually am able to find what I need or can order it quickly if needs be. If I don't know what I want there are plenty of books to browse through or a friendly staffer to ask.