Continuing our amble round London's independent bookshops
We're back after our summer break, and in leafy West Dulwich. Opened 27 years ago, Dulwich Books has very strong sections on fiction, art, biographies and crime, even including translations of criminal goings-on from France, Germany and Scandinavia. As you might expect in an area with a settled population, the children's area is well stocked too; people working there say one of the joys is watching the local kids grow up and seeing their tastes evolve (and being vociferously informed about them!).
There's a reading group that meets on the last Wednesday of every month (for September, the choice is Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible) and they link up with Lambeth libraries and the book festival for readings and signings (the shop's a little small to be holding big events). Gillian Slovo, Mark Steel, Arthur Smith, Michael Morpurgo and Andrew Motion are just some of the authors tempted to this corner of south east London.
But the real attraction of Dulwich Books is the amount of effort the staff puts into recommending books. There's dedicated racks, staff reviews and special little cards all over the place. We were bowled over by the sheer enthusiasm for some of these reads. You should also check out their map of the Universe of Books, which is a lovely thing to pore over.
Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road West Dulwich. Continue reading for a map, images author's own. Know a good bookshop? Email us at londonist (@) gmail.com.
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