The Edinburgh Bookshop
As you may know, if you’ve following my blog for a while, we are a family of bookworms. We love books, and we love bookshops. As UNESCO’s first ever city of literature, Edinburgh is blessed with many fabulous independent bookshops and I’ve featured quite a few of them here on the blog.
Being spoilt for choice, you may think it’s difficult to choose a favourite, but there is one bookshop that we have a particular soft spot for – The Edinburgh Bookshop. “Our” local. It’s a great wee gem, tucked away in Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield neighbourhood, south of the city centre. However, it’s not that wee any more. A week ago they moved to new, bigger premises! We were there for the ribbon cutting, because youngest child wanted to be one of the first through the door. Him and some of his wee pals were chanting “Open up! We want books!” which just made my heart sing.
In the past week since they opened, I’ve already visited six times, so I thought it was high time to tell you a little more about it. In a nutshell, it’s fantastic! A booklover’s dream. Floor to ceiling bookshelves line the walls. The most gorgeous morning light floods in through the big, floor length windows, with ample seating and reading nooks for customers to sit and browse through their choices, decided what to buy.
Our favourite part of the shop if the separate children’s room through the back. What immediately strikes you, are the wooden cutouts resembling tree branches, that criss-cross the ceiling. The plan is for authors who visit the shop to write their names on wooden leaves, which will be added to create a colourful canopy. Some authors who had attended the opening have already done the honours. Also overseeing the children’s room, is a giant orange and red dragon painted on the wall at the far end – we are told there will be a competition to name the fabulous beast.
As with the main part of the bookshop, the children’s room also includes a reading corner with comfy seating, and some big cuddly friends from well known children’s books to keep you company. Some Lego bricks and toys keep little hands busy whilst older siblings browse for books, and there are footstools scattered around the room, to help reach books further up the shelves. The “Narnia” cupboard in the corner houses the shop’s tea and coffee making facilities.
Parents will also be glad to know, that just like their previous premises, the new shop includes a toilet available to customers – perfect when browsing books with little ones, who are know to not give much warning when nature calls. The added thrill for kids, is that the toilet is hidden behind a ‘secret’ bookcase entry.
But The Edinburgh Bookshop is more than just a bookshop – it’s a community hub. They have a steady programme of events, including weekly story time for under 5s on Thursday and Friday mornings, which I used to take my youngest to before he started school. We would often leave books in hand, having had to buy our own copies of new favourites discovered in story time. They also run several book groups, including a Kids Book Club and a Teen Book Club. More information about the various book clubs available on The Edinburgh Bookshop website.
Of course, they also host book launches and book signings too, and we’ve been lucky enough to have attended a few and met some amazing authors over the years. We’ve even been to our first author signing already at the new site this week!
The staff that run The Edinburgh Bookshop are also just the loveliest people, always available for a chat, full of great book suggestions, and sometimes even a nice cup of tea and a shoulder to cry on (like that one time I had flown back solo from Japan with two small children, and was completely jet lagged and overwhelmed by life…)
They have a quote on their website from The Guardian, which says “This is the kind of bookshop we’d all liketo have in our neighbourhood”. I couldn’t put it better myself – except that we ARE lucky enough to have it our neighbourhood! So if you are passing through Edinburgh, don’t forget to stop by. You won’t be disappointed.
How to get there
The Edinburgh Bookshop is located in the heart of Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield neighbourhood, at 176 Bruntsfield Place. Lothian buses 11, 15, 16, 23, 26 & 45 all stop right outside.
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