Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week, as it was National Bookshop Day on 1 October here in the UK, the theme is your favourite bookshops or bookshops you’d love to visit. I’m doing a bit of both with five bookshops I love and five I’d love to visit and have linked to the bookshop’s websites/social media accounts if they have them.
Words on the Water
First are five I love:
Words on the Water, London, UK
A bookshop on a boat! It’s in a lovely spot near King’s Cross and they have a dog – what more can you want? Plus it has a really interesting mix of second-hand books too.
Waterstones, UK
Just about every major town/city in the UK has a Waterstones and this, after WHSmith and a Methvens (RIP), is where I grew up browsing bookshelves. I naturally have a soft spot for the one where I currently live but I will visit any Waterstones and probably be happy.
Daunt Books, Marylebone, UK
This bookshop was honestly a life savour when it came to my Read the World Project as a good chunk of its shelves are divided by country. It’s also a really beautiful bookshop which is always a plus.
Cărturești Carusel Bookstore
Housmans, London, UK
Another bookshop really close to King’s Cross and one that has a great mix of stuff including second hand books and new and it’s a radical bookshop, specialising is all books of radical interest and progressive politics.
Cărturești Carusel Bookstore, Bucharest, Romania
Yes, when I went to Bucharest with friends the only thing, I wanted us to do was to go to this bookstore. Luckily those friends were also readers and it was great exploring a new bookstore with them. It was so bright and airy and had such pretty staircases. I even bought a book – The Fox was Ever the Hunter by Herta Müller.
Five bookshops I’d love to visit:
The Strand, New York City, USA
Can’t believe I went to New York (10 years ago now) and never stepped foot in the flagship store. Would love to spend hours in that humongous bookshop.
Hay-on-Wyre, Wales, UK
OK this is a town but it’s a town famous for its bookshops! There are over twenty of them and there’s speciality bookshops and I’d just love to visit the town and spend a long weekend going to cake shops and visiting all the bookshops.
Selexyz Dominicanen, Maastricht, The Netherlands
A bookshop in a gothic church! It looks absolutely beautiful and this was indeed a place where after I heard of it, I immediately looked how easily I could visit it. Side note: looks like I could get the Eurostar to Amsterdam and then do a day trip to Maastricht during my hypothetical holiday.
Foyles, Charring Cross Road, UK
I have been to the flagship Foyles bookstore once but that was years ago and I’d love to properly revisits and take my time exploring all the floors and probably buying too many books.
La Biblioteca de Babel, Mallorca, Spain
I went to the island Menorca a lot as a child as it was my mum’s favourite place but I’ve never been to the neighbouring island Mallorca. When I heard about this bookstore, that’s almost a hidden bookstore as out front it has tables and chairs like a café, I think I’ll have to try and make the trip sometime. Wine and books – what’s not to like?!
Have you visited any of these bookshops? What are some of your favourite bookshops and ones you’d love to visit?
Elena Square Eyes 
So many I’d love to visit one day – I have been to a Waterstones though. 🙂
There really is so many bookshops and so little time…
Book Soup in LA is a belter, or certainly was when I used to go…
Ooh interesting, hadn’t heard of that one before.
I enjoyed The Fox was Ever the Hunter by Herta Müller, but during all the visits I made to Bucharest (for work), I never was taken to this book shop! Shame! I’m on holiday in London so I’ve been to Foyles and Waterstones, but not Words on the Water this trip (yet)! I spend a whole day in Hay-on-Wye back in 2001, and I’d love to go back!
Hope you enjoy the London bookshops! A couple of my friends are very bookish so I’m thinking of suggesting a small trip to Hay-on-Wye as a mini holiday for next year…
Hay-on-Wye is wonderful! I was there in 2001 and really must visit there again!
The Strand is also on my bucket list!
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/nine-favorite-fictional-bookstores-libraries/
Clearly we both have great taste 😉
A great list!
I didn’t know that it was National Bookshop Day until the next day 🤦🏻♀️
I love a Waterstones and like to visit them in different places.
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
Thank you!
Me too! I like seeing how a Waterstones can be different but also have some familiarity to it in different places. 🙂
Yes, they always seem quite homey. I think it’s the dark wood shelving…
Words on the Water looks super cool!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-fictional-bookstores-id-love-to-visit/
It really is, the fact that the river is right next to King’s Cross always manages to surprise me too.
I’ve seen Words On The Water on a few lists today and it’s made me really want to go. Maybe a trip there is in order soon! I love the Charing Cross Road Foyles, it’s one of my favourite bookshops 🙂
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/04/top-ten-tuesday-388/
I’ve definitely been to a Foyles but I can’t remember which one it was, it was pretty big though and I’d love to revisit it.
It was probably likely the Charing Cross one then, as that’s the largest of the branches!
I’ve visited the bookshop in Maastricht and it is pretty amazing indeed so I hope you’ll get to visit too some day. That bookstore on a boat also sounds so much fun, and I’d love to see the dog too of course!
Thank you 🙂 bookshops that come with pets are always extra great.
A bookshop in a gothic church is way too cool! I would love to visit 😊
I know! The Instagram pics would be amazing 😀
I’ve been to The Strand. It’s crammed full of books, so much so that it actually made me feel a bit claustrophobic! All of NYC makes me feel that way, to be honest. Ha ha.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Oh wow that’s certainly understandable. I once went to a bookshop in San Francisco like that, was so crammed with books and there was seemingly no order to it that it was overwhelming!
I’d love to visit The Strand as well. I had never heard of it before this prompt and I think it’ll be my main destination when I visit NYC again. 😀
My TTT
Yeah it’s one of those places I learnt about after I visited NYC which was a shame. Looks like the kinda place I could accidentally spend hours!