Recently, I met up with two friends from my old university, intending to catch up and wander a little bit. That “wander” turned out to be a trip to every bookshop within the area — and there are quite a few within walking distance of each other. So if you have an afternoon to spare (and a little money if you, like me, are prone to buying more books than you can read), then stop by some — or all — of these book nooks in London!
1. Skoob
We started the afternoon at Skoob, a secondhand bookshop near Russell Square. Every nook and cranny in this place is filled with books of all sorts; I could have spent the whole day just there. They also have a student discount until the end of October, so stop by quick if you’re eligible!
Here’s how well I did:
- Willpower: broken
- Books bought: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
- Excuses: nostalgia (I enjoyed Riordan’s books in younger years)
- I liked the Percy Jackson/Lost Hero series, and haven’t read the Kane series yet
- I am internally about 10 years old
- The Masterpieces of Shirley Jackson
- Excuses: Halloween is coming up and I wanted some spooky reads
- It will photograph well for my Instagram (Did you know I have a bookstagram? *shameless promotion*)
- Student discount!
Yes, one of each, please
2. London Review Bookshop
Next up, we headed to London Review Bookshop. There is a quaint little cake shop attached to this one (which may or may not have been one of our main incentives to meet up). After a bit of cake and tea, we took a quick look around the actual bookshop.
- Willpower: sustained (with some difficulty; they have signed copies of several books). My friends caved though!
Pen & Paper 