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21 Kensington Park Road, London, W11 2EU

This is a fascinating and successful experimental bookshop – two literary agents have committed their money, expertise and writing lists to create a bookshop in Notting Hill, directly opposite Notting Hill community church by the Kitchen and Pantry in Kensington Park Road. It enjoys the expected combination of antique markets versus bohemian veggie art life, situated at the Portobello Road end of the neighbourhood and is a breathtakingly vibrant shop.

Claire is one of the people working there, who we spoke to. Despite the air of friendly literary calm, the shop never settles. The window displays change every single week as do the various book displays on the ground floor and mezzanine. Like the other three employees, Claire runs a book group every month – that’s what she enjoys doing most. There are a row of five books on the front counter, each the monthly recommendation from each of the five book groups that deal with everything salient. There is a women’s section, then classics, politics, then children’s… each group is sent away with a book and they come back every month to discuss their findings. The staff seem to turn things round really quickly.
The four don’t all work together at the same time but they share the weekly changing of the displays and the shop’s overall look, inside and out. I don’t think we’ve been anywhere on our travels that is such a hive of activity as this one. When we were there, Claire revealed they were having a yellowy theme: initially the lemony front window display looked like it was just featuring children’s books, but when you looked to the right of the children’s titles you suddenly saw the adult material – How To Steal Fire and such.

Claire made the point that the shop does not stock Da Vinci Codes and Shades of Grey publications, not because of any intellectual snobbery, but simply because the mark up or downs are so profound on those books that they cannot make any money on them at all, so you won’t find such books on sale. Having said that, they had a whole bag of Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me the day before its release. They said they had got it on Monday, and Monday was the day the writer was on the Today programme and Channel 4 News. Waterstones had told us that there was a strict embargo on the book and that it wouldn’t be available until the 18th; L&R had got it in on Monday – how had they managed that?
Obviously the literary agent owners sell published works of all writers on their books – but other than this content provision, they and the shop are essentially separate entities. Apparently if you go down into the basement there is a door through which you pass, after you’ve typed in the write code, into literary agent world, not unlike a James Bond scenario. Both parties have found that this is the only way to make the relationship work. The shop is in prime Foxtons land – a bookshop might struggle here without the added expertise and financial clout of the literary agents.

Like most of the bookshops we visit, this one still relies on local people as well as the passing throughs. They’ve got the tourists, plus mums, kids and hipsters living in the area. It might be a remarkable location, but it’s not easy to find – it’s at 21 Kensington Park Road, but if you start from Notting Hill Gate, the houses on the right number from two, but on the left start from something in the hundreds until they reset to one and then the left side starts calling itself other street names. A mile later, just as you’re about to give up and go home, the numbering resurfaces at 15 and comes back into being again and… there’s the shop. ‘Books and other Necessities,’ the shop’s real name. As we left, I began to wonder what other necessities they sold. I wandered off, imagining which of the reading groups I would join, given the chance…

Contact details

Address: 21 Kensington Park Road, London, W11 2EU
Phone: 020 7229 1010
Website: lutyensrubinstein.co.uk
Twitter: @LandRBookshop
Nearest tube: Ladbroke Grove (Hammersmith & City Line)
Buses: 7, 70, 23, 52, 452
Closes: 6.30pm (Tuesday-Friday)

14 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JL

Can one have a favourite indy bookshop when they all have their different quirks and attractions? This one comes close by any standard. It’s spacious and yet the shelves are intriguingly stocked. There’s a wonderful in house coffee shop and an section at the front of the shop displaying racks of books accompanied by personal testimonies. It is a bookshop, but it feels as if one if wandering around a capacious, well-loved study with the coffee on and the morning nicely unplanned. It’s right, befittingly, in the heart of Bloomsbury where unplanned mornings were once somewhat de rigeur (as well as afternoons and evenings).

Walk through into the shop itself and it immediately appeals with its blatant love of books and writing. The testimonies of the staff’s readings are bound to lead you off in new, previously unconsidered directions over a cup of coffee and a custard slice. Just opposite the British museum, or round the corner from it, this is a beautiful shop that can’t be cheap to rent but although there must be a temptation to fill every single corner of a bookshop, this one uses its space really skilfully, with its position opposite an Italian restaurant and a Bloomsbury beauty parlour. The shop is the best in terms of the appeal to the casual visitor, with an unencumbering welcome that offers entertainment and the promise of hours of intrigued reading.

Contact details

Address: 14 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JL
Phone number: 020 7269 9030
Website: www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk
Email: bookshop@lrbbookshop.co.uk
Weekday opening hours: Monday to Saturday 10am – 6.30pm Sunday 12pm – 6pm
Facebook: @LondonReviewBookshop
Twitter: @LRBbookshop
Instagram: @lrbbookshop
Nearest tube station: Holborn, Tottenham Court Road
Buses: 1, 7, 8, 19, 25, 38, 55, 98, 242

272 Kirkdale, Sydenham, London, SE26 4RS

The Kirkdale Bookshop in Sydenham is an absolute find. The first delightful thing we noticed on our visit was that they had a poem of the week. A POEM OF THE WEEK! If we had been in any doubt as to the claim of regular renewal, the poem offered was from 3rd April 2019, two days before we visited, the date and information typed and laminated. We spoke to Roland who has been selling books for 20 years and has been working in the shop for the last 7. Nevertheless he couldn’t quite account for why people might want to work in the same shop for that long. Looking around, it didn’t seem hard to work this out.

We checked out Rachel Reed’s highly-profiled book ‘The Women of Westminster’ and noticed that the great Mary Beard was actually appearing at the shop in a few weeks. They have their own book group (‘Open Book Group’) who meet every other month, with a suggested book sold at the counter recommended by the group from their recent reading lists and discussion sessions. It’s hard to even begin to describe the volume of activities they offer. When we spoke to Roland he said predominantly they were seen as a second hand bookshop. Down the stairs, they have three rooms of second hand books immaculately chronicled and subject cornered. Everything was very well organised and up-to-date – with an imaginative delivery on the way they offer books for the casual passer-by reader in the hunt for something special.

‘I Love my Hair’ by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, featuring a kid with dreadlocks on the front, then ‘The Book Without A Story’ by Carolina Rabei. Children’s books seem to have the most fantastic titles. Tony Bradman writes a kid’s book called ‘One-Nil’ – I wonder what that’s about? Then ‘When The Stars Come Out’ by Nicola Edwards and Lucy Cartwright – all this and the way the books were set out made you want to be a child again. Meanwhile the adults can contend with ‘Anti-Semitism: What It Is. What It Isn’t. Why It Matters’, ‘Women of Westminster’, ‘Why We Get The Wrong Politicians’, ‘Invisible Women’ and ‘A Mouthful Of Bugs’. I was trying to imagine a book that might feature these as different chapter titles. A very important and angled modern political agenda from the readership was in evidence. Roland said one of the most important things for the shop was keeping in touch with their clientele demographic which, as he described it, was fluid and moved around so much that they understandably found themselves struggling to keep up but they clearly were successful. They have a children’s Saturday reading which sometimes no one turns up to, and sometimes six kids appear. So long as one person turns up they will do the reading. They always take reading copies offered by local writers. What a pity we didn’t bring any of ours! In terms of customers, they had known regulars. One guy, we were told, comes twice a week and always buys something, though it’s impossible to classify him as he always buys something different. Another guy who was there during our visit said you wake up if you look at the titles on their shelves. Another described a visit to the shop as a shot in the arm. Roland said they were very keen on meeting new publishers and keen to take books and give them a space. Established in 1966, they’ve now been around for 53 years and are well-established with beautifully maintained shop. It isn’t hard to see why people come here regularly. There is a display of local writers and the historical books they offer covering the last 200 years. This is stuff that’s taken a lot of time and love to put together. They have a display of adverts for local services (artists wanted) and they’ve got lots of cards, many sold while we were there. Gardner’s (book distributor) arrived while we were there with boxes and boxes of stuff for them. Then there is Sydenham itself which is a lovely place. Roland said since the arrival of the overground the shop had enjoyed a lot more footfall and they had got known a lot more. I saw a certain gentrified aspect to the area – not unpleasant – you have a bank called the Lewisham and Credit Union which I’ve never heard of then there is Cobbs Corner Café which is an absolute must visit if you are feeling peckish. The Greyhound (gastro pub) then there’s a huge estate agents opening opposite Kinleigh, a local Sainsbury’s and a Nando’s. Though Roland felt that people might not come there because it was a long way out so they would do their orders online, I felt differently – this is an up-and-coming local bookshop, and one of the best we have visited.

Contact details

Address: 272 Kirkdale, Sydenham, London, SE26 4RS
Phone number: 020 8778 4701
Website: kirkdalebookshop.com
Email: mail@kirkdalebookshop.com
Weekday opening hours: Mon-Sat: 9:30am-6pm; Sunday: 12-3pm
Facebook: @KirkdaleBooks
Twitter: @KirkdaleBooks
Nearest station: Sydenham (overground)
Buses: N3, 176

10-12 Blacklands Terrace, Chelsea, London, SW3 2SR

Turn off the busy King’s Road and you are in a slightish side street going by the name of Blacklands Terrace. You will first notice the meticulously kept window boxes on the first floor and then the shiny, pristine ebullience of a very fine bookshop. We spoke to Johnny who, once convinced of our bona fide status, told us that the bookshop’s collection covered the humanities and fiction. The shop was well staffed (six, probably) to deal with the most hesitant or demanding buyer, and is a delicious warren of small rooms, some accessed by elegant and sometimes winding staircases.

‘If we are interested in a book, we will stock it, but we cannot guarantee to sell it.’ Johnny was clear and politely forthright. The shop is beautifully kept, if a little cramped, but this somehow serves to amplify its potential riches. After our visit we can confidently assert that you will almost certainly find what you are looking for here and, if not, something better. Go there to experience how books and shelves and informed staff form a sort of perfect, calm synchronicity. And all locatable just a few yards off the frenetic King’s Road.

Contact details

Address: 10-12 Blacklands Terrace, Chelsea, SW3 2SR
Phone number: 020 7589 9473
Website: johnsandoe.com
Email: sales@johnsandoe.com
Weekday opening hours: 9.30 – 18.00 (also Sundays 11.00 – 17.00)
Twitter: @JohnSandoe
Nearest tube station: Sloane Square
Buses: 11, 14, 211

91 Fulham High Street, London, England, SW6 3JS

You can’t mistake this place for a butchers or a haberdashery. The window display is an artwork in itself. Books are randomly stacked in any space possible as if in some bibliophile’s cramped study. It likes to bill itself as the oldest independent bookshop in southwest London and, you know what, it is as far as we can discern. The owner, Ray Cole, founded it in 1968. He loves books and people and was searching for the right profession for minutes before he considered opening a quirky bookshop.

There are lots of second hand classics and some new fiction if you dare to explore. And if you cannot see the book you want in the shop, they have a warehouse just ten minutes away with another million or so books for you to cast an eye over. The great thing about this place is that you’ll come across something that you never knew about that could change your life, or at least keep you amused, I’m sure, particularly if you are a Man of the World (or Woman).

Contact details

Address: 91 Fulham High Street, London, England, SW6 3JS
Phone number: 07775 531590 (Ray’s mobile)
Website: hurlinghambooks.com
Email: hurlinghambooks@gmail.com
Instagram: @hurlinghambooks
Nearest tube station: Putney Bridge
Buses: 14, 93, 220