In December I read Bookshops by Jorge Carrión and it made me realize that as much as I love books and bookshops I have never done proper bookshops tourism in London. I tend to stick to the bookshops in vicinity and since I live in Deptford that basically means the local Greenwich Waterstones, which is surprisingly cosy and quite individual for a chain bookshop and the Greenwich branch of Halcyon Books, which is my absolute favorite having given up on any structure and pricing all the books at democratic 1GBP.

I think the time has come to move a bit further afield, explore new bookshops and since my book buying ban is coming to an end also buy some books. So the plan is to see one new beautiful London bookshops every month. Here is how the plan currently looks, but I reserve the right to change it as I go.

January – Hatchards – first month and a cheat already, I’ve actually been in Hatchards, but no harm in going again, I liked it a lot.

February – Daunt Books – a bookshop with a travel focus, but also with a lovely idea of organizing country reading lists. Will definitely use them when I plan my vacation. And look at this interior!

March – Persephone Bookshop – I even know what I want to buy there: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. 

April – London Review Bookshop – a classic

May – Stanfords – a travel bookshop, by May I should know where I’m going for vacation so it may be a good chance to stock up on themed reading.

June – Word on the Water – it should already be warm, so best time to visit this one

July – Review – I don’t live very far from Peckham, but somehow never ventured there, July may be a good time.

August – Judd Books – August may be a good time for a bargain bookshop

September – Lutyens & Rubinstein – something a little bit more posh for a change

October – Bookmarks – October is certainly time for something socialist

November – John Sandoe Books – yet nother classic, maybe time to get some gifts

December – Libreria – a beautiful experiment of a bookshop

Let’s see how my plan goes 🙂