Daunt Books

A very nice, «grown up» bookshop. Don’t expect to pick up kids books and the assorted non-​book tut that you’ll find in Waterstones. Rather, expect a well chosen selection of“proper” fiction and non-​fiction books; a great place to poke about in if you’re short of something decent to read on your commute.

Lovely to still be able to find a books hop on the high street. This one is well stocked and the staff very friendly. The shelves are well organised making it easy to find what you looking for or just browse…
I would definitely visit here again!

I got 99 reviews but Daunt Books ain’t one… Time to put that right!
Yep my special 100^th review spot goes not to a blow-​out tasting menu nor a sexy new bar nor a burger worth queuing two hours for. It goes to a nearby haven from my office that I have a real soft spot for, when it’s just been one of those days (or I need a last minute present!).
It’s an ordinary-​looking bookshop that’s an oasis of calm in a desert of suits, surrounded by offices, banks and city-​worker lunch spots. Easily missed but with tardis-​like magic powers of being ten times bigger (more if you include the basement floor) than you’d think from outside.
That smell of bookshops has soothed me since I was just a little bookworm with a big imagination and even bigger NHS glasses. Someone needs to bottle this smell and label it nostalgia, because walking in here takes me straight back to my childhood local Ottakar’s, where mum would leave me reading the latest Point Horror while she did the rest of the shopping.
So it smells great, but what else makes it special? Firstly, the layout. Bestseller chart by the entrance to attract the uninitiated, but you’ll soon be lured further in. The table displays are well put together and (sadly for my wallet) will definitely make you pick up something you weren’t even looking for.
Upstairs follow the thematics — art, sport, self-​help, and so on, whilst downstairs is arranged by geography. Go to Central Asia for Hosseini, Japan for Murakami, Scandinavia for the latest Larsson thriller. Some people will hate this imperfect pigeon-​holing; I actually quite like it. I’ve been in the (lucky) position of living abroad for a few months in the past and wanting to find books set in or written by people from the local area. It’s interestingly different, and to me it makes finding a book into a bit of a treasure hunt (and boy do I love those!) :D
The staff here are also friendly and knowledgeable, and the guy at the till has often struck up a conversation over something I’m buying, whether it was lamenting the size of George R. R. Martin’s latest paperback with me, or telling me I was in for a treat with Gone Girl (he was right!). They can also get things ordered in pretty speedily if you’re looking for something specific.
Given the location it’s never going to be as quirky cute as some of the secondhand independent bookshops you stumble upon further afield, but it’s warm and inviting and hey they give you a cloth tote bag instead of plastic carriers. Major win for that if nothing else! Though if they say they’ve run out then apologies, it must be because so many of them are currently sitting in my flat woops…
Final bonus tips: they also sell awesome cards, notebooks and wrapping paper, and it’s open on weekends too yay! Enjoy: D

I had noticed this little book shop near my office (and near my home) a few times in the past few weeks but had never paid much attention to it. This was until I saw it open one bank holiday afternoon just after the new year. It was one of the very few shops in the City that was open at that time. I casually walked in.
It wasn’t as small on the inside as it seemed from the outside. Daunt books has an extensive collection of both fiction and non-​fiction titles. I especially liked its stock of economics and history texts. I learnt from the woman who was manning the store that it was open in order to cater to the tourists visiting St Paul’s. Given that I was in, I searched for a 70 year old economics book that I had been wanting to read. Expectedly, I could not find it. However she looked into their systems and found that their distributors had the book in stock and that they would give me a call in 2 – 3 days when it arrived in store. They were punctual and I picked up the title two days later. The service level was high.
Even with bookshops closing down everywhere around at an alarming rate (deservingly so, as there is usually little to distinguish most of them from their competition), Daunt Books seemed like one that will survive and thrive in spite of Amazon. Good luck !!

I am a fan of the «original» Daunt Books location in Marylebone, so I was thrilled to discover Daunt has opened a shop in the City. I love bookshops! It’s so refreshing to have an independent bookshop open a new location. The shop is simple but nicely laid out, with space on both the ground floor and in the basement. Like the «original» Daunt, the book selection is outstanding. You can get current bestsellers, or something different. I particularly liked the section of books on London: in addition to guidebooks, there is a nice array of literary and photographic books on London. The staff also seems to be very well informed about available books.
In this day of ereaders and ordering books on line, it’s a pleasure to have an independent bookstore in the City, especially one that’s open 7 days a week. I will continue to support Daunt Cheapside by buying books there whenever possible!