Dear Yelp People. Please get this right. The Big Green Bookshop is in Wood Green NOT Alexandra…read morePalace.

Anyone familiar with the depiction of the small independent bookshop in the (excellent) comedy…read moreseries Black Books will find the Big Green Bookshop a bit of a shock to the system. For the uninitiated, the main character of the TV show, Bernard Black, spends most of the time slouched behind his book-strewn desk, clutching a fag and bottle of cheap wine, and shouting at customers. I was delighted to discover that this is far from the case here. The owners of the Big Green Bookshop are chatty, friendly, polite and helpful and the shop is clean and extremely well ordered. There's also a coffee machine and some water on the side provided for browsers Their inventory, whilst limited by the size of their premises, is packed with interesting books that you might actually want to read. The co-owner I spoke to last time I was there also said they can order most things in in a day or so. What clinches the 5 star rating for me is that the same co-owner managed to guess the name of a book I had seen reviewed but had forgotten, from the two things I did remember: the word frog and the fact that I vaguely remembered that the author was sort of Hungarian. Not only this, but he pointed me in the direction of another book by the same author, and ordered the one I'd asked for in because he wanted to read it himself. What a legend.

W H Smith in Berkhamsted has an ideal location right on the high street. It occupies the ground…read morefloor and basement of the building which makes it surprisingly large. Unfortunately I find the shop can sometimes be a little dirty and the service not amazing. This experience has been fairly typical of visits into W H Smiths around the country though, so is not anything unique about the Berkhamsted branch. There's not a lot you can buy in W H Smith that you can't get elsewhere, with more choice, but the magazine section is large, which is probably the highlight of the store.

Good selection of magazines etc but store always seems cluttered and difficult to manouvre around…read moreespecially if you have a pram. Staff not particularly friendly and a bit overkeen to sell you their half price chocolate!

Well I took a trip down to Bookcase today after reading the reviews on here and I'll definitely…read morekeep returning! I love bookshops anyway but much prefer these little gems rather than the big chain stores. I couldn't believe how cheap it was considering the unique books you can find in there- I left with some great reference books. Should probably limit my visits to once a month though, otherwise I could easily go bankrupt.

There are several very good book shops in this neighbourhood but this is my absolute favourite…read more Packed with gems you never knew you wanted and oftentimes could never have afforded at a mainstream outlet. I don't think I have ever dropped in without buying something.

Nice bookstore in the Observatory shopping centre in Slough…read more Good range of books, staff are knowledgeable and helpful. good range of books, organised in categories, including a really nice childrens books range.

Great little branch of smiths just on the balham high road, selling travel guides, bestsellers, and…read moreall, and I do mean all, of your stationery needs. The staff here are really friendly, and willing to help out if you can't find anything, and they really can't be beaten for price and quality. You know it makes sense.

Not too shabby! As a PhD student of architecture, I was pretty much smitten with their extensive…read morecollection in all texts space related. An entire wall is dedicated to monographs of particular architects from Ando to Zumthor and everything in between. Then there are sections on self-built architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, theory, structures and materials, regional/national architecture, and so on. Also there are some issues of international journals (like Japan Architect) that go beyond just "The West" as canon. So that's nifty. This is also a good place to pick up lit that is being published by the Bartlett or other local architecture producers. Everything is very well organized and there's a "RIBA recommends" section as well if you are lost and would like some guidance. It'd be nice to see an even broader selection of theory/academic texts by top and emerging scholars in the field, but that's just being demanding.

This RIBA bookshop has a huge collection of books on Interior design and Furnishing. Great of…read moreInterior designers and everyone doing refurbishments to house, bars, restaurant, hip hotels etc. There are a variety of genres and styles that you can choose from. It is also a good place to browse around for inspiration as it is fairly quite. The are more books on interiors in comparison with the other RIBA Bookshop in Great Portland Place. Worth a visit!

I love bookshops, and for that reason maybe my review is biased, but then is there really an…read moreimpartial Yelper among us? This is indeed the lovely local bookshop A S talks about, filled with the treasures you won't find in Waterstones. As Jill mentions it doesn't have the discounts and offers Waterstones/Borders have either. It can't afford to compete in that market, because it can't bulk buy and worse, people don't support their local businesses as much as they should (see my review for Dogan's). This shop is lovely though, deathly quiet as bookshops should be. I even take my iPod off, to appreciate the stillness, and to avoid anyone hearing tinny beats echoing in this church to literature. There is a section for everything, and each section has several hundred titles. Okay, maybe if we're looking for a book on Poland we're down to a choice of Rough Guides (every time), lonely planet (for those with a short attention span) or a local book on the breads of Northern Poland, but I am sure Muswell Hill isn't full of people writing theses on the economy of Poland since 1973 and therefore the selection suffices. Like A S I could relax and peruse for hours, which is why wish they had a chair or settee or something, they certainly lose a star for that. But I can't fault them on anything else. The lack of cheap deals is not something they can deal with easily, so get out and support them, but they have an excellent range of book related things (covers, bookmarks, calendars, etc..). The staff are friendly and knowledgable. It's everything a bookshop should be. I love bookshops. Ipso facto, 4 stars.

Muswell Hill Books has a decent selection. It's good to have a look around here whether your…read moreshopping for yourself or shopping for a gift. There isn't one section that is particularly big but there are lots of different categories of books. I also haven't seen many discounted or sale titles, which is disappointing. On the plus side, I will say that this shop is quiet and has a good selection of calendars (present time) and greeting cards. If you are an animal lover check out the the calendars. Even I, melted away looking at the greyhound puppies one. Lil rascals.

Was certainly the most unfriendly newsagents for miles and miles until just recently when the new…read moreowners came in. I always wondered why they sold tanita digital scales there? To compliment there poor range of gift cards? A mystery! You can buy all your local newspapers here and it's good to save a bit of cash on your cinema sweeties if you're visiting the odeon. One of the only two places in Muswell hill where you can top up your oyster card which comes in very handy although it does shut at 7.