Holiday by book

With over three months at home, most of us are probably caught up on Netflix, consumed digital content of closed museums and cancelled events — not to mention countless Zoom calls. If you need screen relief from too much tech time, but aren’t quite ready to travel — venture out to two of the ‘world’s most iconic bookstores’ in London:

Daunt Books — The two-story Edwardian style branch in Marylebone was originally established in 1910 and is considered one of the first custom-built bookshops in the world. James Daunt founded Daunt Books in 1990 and is known for specializing in travel books — all neatly organized geographically by country. Additionally, Daunt is an executive of Waterstones and more recently Barnes & Noble. If there is even a touch of the charm similar to the Marleboyne location, book lovers are in for a treat.
www.dauntbooks.co.uk✆ +44 2072 242295
83-84 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4QW

Word On the Water — Located canal side near King’s Cross railway station, a 1920s Dutch barge has been repurposed into a charming floating bookstore also known as The London Book Barge. Operating since 2011, they were able to cleverly open up as an outdoor market beginning June 1st by only selling selections from their exterior shelves and have continued their tradition of treating passer-bys with live music performances. One can only hope that other floating businesses may pop-up in the future.
www.wordonthewater.co.uk✆ +44 7976 886982
York Way, Granary Square, London, N1C 4LW

While the two shops could not be more different, they have both mastered the art of getting people to travel for the experience of buying a book in person — which might be all we are comfortable with for a while!
For more: Download the London via Surrey Book App