One of the best ways to get to know a place is to visit its local bookshop. Despite dire predictions (not only for such establishments but for books themselves) it is one of modern life’s more heartening developments that both are thriving. In Scotland you’ll find fine examples right across the country, but this is SNACK’s guide to a few that may be of interest to you.
Not only fonts of knowledge, they are among the best places to meet, greet, form new ideas, attend events, and gain wisdom – not only from the books on the shelves but also from those who sell them. Wherever I travel I always feel at home among books and the people who love them. While the big chains have their (often prominent) place, it’s the independents where those in the know go.
GLASGOW
In Glasgow city centre, Bigglestones Books (57 Glassford Street) is one of the newer examples, with an up-to-date selection of new publications and best-sellers, particularly Scottish titles. It is also home to the Glasgow Gallery of Photography if you want pictures to accompany the words. In the West End there are some long-standing institutions, including Voltaire & Rousseau (12–14 Otago Lane), a building which threatens to fall down were it not for the books inside.
Around the corner you’ll find Caledonia Books (483 Great Western Road) where you can pick up second-hand copies of core texts, but so much more. If you head to the Southside then Mount Florida Books (1069 Cathcart Road) is beautifully and carefully curated, and hosts some of the more interesting events. And just a leisurely stroll across Queen’s Park you’ll find Category Is Books (34 Allison Street), Glasgow’s independent queer bookshop, with books, comics, zines, and more. In the East End, the much-loved Calton Books (159 London Road) is known as ‘The Best Wee Radical Bookshop in the World’ and is one of the most significant places to learn about Glasgow’s political and social past.
EDINBURGH
At the other end of the M8, Edinburgh is another city with far too many bookshops to mention here, so what follows is only the tip of its literary iceberg. The multiple award-winning The Edinburgh Bookshop (176 Bruntsfield Place) has recently moved to new premises (just around the corner from its old home), promising the reliability of the old with the excitement of the new. In Stockbridge, Golden Hare Books (68 St Stephen Street) has a well-earned reputation as a place where the owners are able to answer all your questions, and prompt ones you didn’t know you had.
Lengthy literary discussions are inevitable. Nearer to the University of Edinburgh, Lighthouse Bookshop (43-54 Nicholson Street) is rightly known as ‘Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop’, promoting non-mainstream and political writers, and it hosts talks and events which reflect this. If you prefer your tomes ancient, McNaughtan’s Bookshop & Gallery (3A–4A Haddington Place) is the oldest second-hand and antiquarian bookshop in Scotland, and one of the best places for a serious and lengthy browse. Argonaut Books (15-17 Leith Walk) at the foot of Leith Walk is a bright and airy space surrounded by loads of similarly independent arts orgs.
BROUGHTY FERRY, STIRLING, PAISLEY & SCOTLAND’S LIBRARIES
A visit to Broughty Ferry is a must if you are in or around Dundee, and it’s where you’ll find The Bookhouse (41 Gray St) which is a thriving interactive space, with regular readings, signings, and other book-related events, and with one of the best views anywhere in the country just around the corner.
In Stirling, The Book Nook (24 Upper Craigs) offers everything you could want for a lengthy peruse, with coffee, food, and events, as well as books for all tastes (not to be confused with The Book Nook in Stewarton, which is also well worth a visit). Stirling Books (18 Maxwell Place) is famous for its rare and antiquarian books, and for those who like their novels graphic and books comic, consider Justice Comics (36 The Arcade) an essential destination.
Paisley has the long-established Abbey Books (21 Wellmeadow Street) which is located close to the university and has an astonishing range of titles (they estimate over 40,000). If you can’t find what you’re looking for it’s most likely only a matter of time.
As well as the above, I want to mention a few wonderful libraries, and the following are all worthy of investigation. Glasgow’s legendary Mitchell Library is a superb research facility, especially when it comes to the history of the city, but it also has an excellent theatre, and is a de facto office to some of our finest writers from across the arts. Paisley’s Central Library has recently had a £7 million investment, and is truly a must-visit space. Stirling’s Central Library is a reminder of the historical philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie, built to combat the threat of library closures in the 20th century (sound familiar?), and in Edinburgh there is the mother of them all – the NLS, Scotland’s National Library.
Main Photo Creit: Argonaut Books, Edinburgh City of Literature
