For anyone like me, meaning anyone with an addiction to buying pretty hardcovers to fill up my bookshelf (and maybe eventually read), this is an important question.
The obvious answer is Waterstones, situated just opposite Grey’s Monument. And, for an in-person bookshop, I have to agree. The stunning building boasts four entire floors of books with a gorgeous café to top it all off. There’s something about it that’s hard to beat, especially when you convince yourself that the admittedly small student discount actually means you’re making smart financial decisions. To top it off, the staff there have complimented my book choices a few times, and that gave me an ego boost that lasted all week. You can’t go wrong with Waterstones as your top choice, especially in the winter months when you can write your assignments there and pretend you’re in some sort of dark academia novel.
Blackwells deserves a mention too. It’s right next to campus and has really improved it’s selection of fiction, but you will have to take out a loan to get the textbooks for your course. Another honourable mention goes to all the charity shops in the Toon - if you’re willing to sort through 50 romance novels about some woman in World War Two, you might find a treasure amongst the ‘middle-aged-mum’ genre.
Olive's Book Club is a queer-owned, intersectional bookshop with an extensive range of books available
My top choice of bookshop, though, goes to a gem of the city’s queer community and market scene. Olive’s Book Club (on social media and the name of their website) is a queer-owned, intersectional bookshop with an extensive range of books available. You’ll find everything from popular fiction releases to fascinating non-fiction and even some adorable kid’s books. Though I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a physical location appearing at some point in the future, Olive’s Book Club is a welcome sight at any of the Toon’s markets.