Ahhhh LOVED this bookstore. As an avid reader, I was drawn to literature like any woman who lives…read morein Booktok would be. The store is cute, cramped and smells like old books. It was perfect. I even overheard a women say the first edition Hobbit was £925!!! We weren't greeted, but who is when you walk into a quiet, moody bookshop. I for one, don't want anyone talking to me when I am browsing. The books were an array of prices- ranging from high to low.

I completely forgot to review this place! It's one of the nicest used books store I've seen in my…read morelife. Edinburgh is filled with all these lovely stores and shops I just can't. This little book store is what I imagine other used bookstores wish they could be. I don't even want to buy a book there because then it would disturb the order of things. It's small but perfect for a bookworm to read a book in the corner and enjoy being surrounded by books.

Visiting this store was one of the highlights of our Edinburgh trip. We got lucky enough to have…read moreour coffee by the windows with a view and the coffee was delicious. Nothing better than a book store/coffee combo!

My happy place. I stopped off here to pick up some books for the remainder of our trip to the EU…read moreand for the long plane rides ahead of us. This is a giant location with friendly helpful staff.

Look maybe they have a good online store but they are no longer a bricks and mortar. Storefront…read moreclosed 2 years ago.

I was impressed by the low prices and selection, but didn't buy anything since I was visiting and…read moredidn't want to overstuff my suitcase.

I've reviewed a few newsagents around Edinburgh and complained there all too similar. However I…read morehave to make a special mention for Latest News and in particular its excellent selection of magazines. Latest News is a large Newsagent located at the bottom of Lothian Road. The first thing that strikes you is the window display full of tacky plastic souvenir ornaments of dogs and romantic scenes. I don't know why, but these things have become commonly sold in newsagents and cheap gift shops as of late. I can understand the niche kitsch value but how you can have an entire window display of them I don't know. This isn't a complaint, but an observed oddity. The second thing you notice, once you've stepped inside, is the very large, very impressive magazine selection. Edinburgh doesn't have many shops that sell good magazines beyond the standards. It doesn't even really have a large impressive WH Smith. But Latest News fills its shelves to the brim with specialist magazines from trout fishing to doll house collecting, thus filling a niche market. I first visited when looking for a martial arts magazine I couldn't find anywhere else, and was recommended here by a friend. Sure enough they had it in stock. So if you are stuck in Edinburgh and can't find some magazine in particular, try out Latest News. They also sells sweets and newsagents standards. At the back of the shop they offer sandwiches and snacks. I should also add that the stuff are always incredibly smiley and welcoming, making this place especially endearing.

Excellent old-school bookseller in a beautiful area staffed by warm and inviting personnel. Love…read morethis place! Very easy to walk here from the Royal Mile and easy to get to the shopping areas nearby as well as restaurants.

They have a very good selection of books of different genres. The ambience is pleasant and there…read moreare nice places to sit down and peruse the books and even lose yourself in thought on a rainy day. The staff, however, can be indifferent and, on occasion, rude. I don't know why. It seems like a rather nice job to have. Still, a great bookshop.

Located just two doors up from the gargantuan Blackwells on South Bridge, Southside Books offers an…read morealternative through selling second hand books. People are able to come in and sell their second hand books, both fiction and non-fiction, and they also buy in large orders of books of varying condition. I have bought several books from this shop for my course and the owner is an extremely friendly and helpful man who always offers to order or reserve any books which he doesn't happen to have in stock. However, sometimes the books are in such good condition that he only sells them at the standard recommended retail price which can erradicate the point of it being a second hand book shop. Despite this, Southside Books has an excellent supply of books for a variety of reading tastes and is certainly worthy of a visit before heading to Blackwells.

I wonder if the owner of this shop is some sort of old guard communist. For some reason every time…read moreI go into Southside books I end up flicking through many books on Trotsky or the fall of rise of the Soviet Bloc. Actually this second hand and discount book shop has a great selection. It tends toward nonfiction, with a good selection of philosophy and religion. There is also a selection of university textbooks for these and other subjects. Don't come here expecting to find every textbook you need, but you might just get lucky and find that needed book for cheaper. Southside books might stock a good selection of nonfiction but it also sells fiction, with a particularly decent range of classics. Southside ticks all the boxes for me for a second hand book shop , it has lots of books, lots of genres, the owner is friendly and happy for you to browse. The only problem I did find was the prices. I know this shop is second hand and discount but every book I checked seemed to be discount. Even then the books are often only a pound or so cheaper than its recommended retail price. Even if there is a pricing problem, Southside books still remains a good independent book shop.

Cute little underground bookstore with a fascinating and varied array of books to peruse. Perfect…read moreto pop into as you are touring Leith walk. Husband and I struck up a good conversation with the cashier, and they even gave me a free bannock. Overall worth a quick stop if you have the time.

Old, musty bookshops draw me in as much as any alluring and brightly coloured sweetshop. The…read morepromise of hidden treasures like a pre-war date and inscription in a flyleaf, or a decorative, early edition of a loved classic send positive shivers down my spine. McNaughton's, unfortunately, goes so far in its mystery as to be a little alienating. The atmosphere is still, but unlike the peace of a tranquil bookshop, I found it oppressive and unfriendly. Lose the gathering of book-types inside the entrance for one; with their bowed heads and whisperings you're made to feel as though you have come uninvited into their little cave of wonders. Maybe the books in McNaughton's are simply too good to sell, or perhaps the customer is required to prove a certain worthiness for a desired volume, and browsers of weak spleen are unfit for such treasures, and quickly eradicated by the dragons on the door.

This is a rather strange shop in that you access it by heading up a staircase wedged between the…read moretwo adjacent shops up to an upstairs shop. The shop itself specialises in Christian Literature so if this is not your thing then this is probably not your type of shop. The books it does stock do cover a reasonable range from Bible Study books to lifestyle guides with a few more extreme books littered around warning of the coming apocalypse, but these may be forgiven for they only appear to be here because the owners are determined to cover every possible genre they could think of. Generally, you cannot fault it because it does very admirably cover the whole range with no subject too unimportant or omitted. If Christian Literature is what you are after then this is your shop, but if not it won't be. I assume more people fall into the latter category hence the 3 stars despite this shop being very good at what it does.

I seemed to have a slightly different experience from Robert…read more When I visited Mccall Barbours book shop, I was not confronted with much variation in genre, but an overwhelming number of titles trying to convince me of impending Armageddon, that humanists are all evil, or that Jesus' oddly caucasion shiny white face will be literally returning soon. This Christian book shop seems to specialise in cheaply published evangelical books that mostly certain around the theme of the end of the world, sinners, and sinners at the end of the world. I wouldn't have a problem with a Christian book shop covering some of this unfortunate aspect of Christian culture, but do we need so much? Especially when so much of it is the same, and from what I read, badly written? This stuff is a satire of itself. Admitedly there are the usual range of Bible publications that you would expect, and if you want to choose from a wide selection this probably isn't a bad place. I didn't find many deep analyses of medieval theologians, or books on the metaphysics of religion, so there wasn't much for me. I'm not really interested in the overwhelming amount of evangelical writings that seem to only appeal to the already converted. I think the problem with this place is that it doesn't have much appeal to the non-Christian, but neither does it appeal to a range of Christian denominations either. Perhaps I went in on a day when the owner was feeling grumpy and spiteful and intentionally laid out books to try and (literally) frighten the hell out of me. Maybe next time I will find a more stimulating range.

A second hand CD/DVD store which is great for browsing and finding good quality discs at good…read moreprices. It has a large selection and you could be suprised of what might crop up if you just ask the quite knowledgeable staff. Apart from mainstream hits there's also a grand choice of good oldies and lesser known bands to choose from. Don't be deterred by its dark interior and the owner's abrupt manner. It may not be a flashy music chain store, but it's a good place to hunt for a bargain and discover new music.

Hogs Head music hails from a dying breed of music stores, probably because it has much more…read morepersonality than the high street. Dark, dingy and inspiring, it's the kind of place that begs you to dig in and have a look around. With an eclectic, decently priced selection of second hand music and DVDs, the stock is in very good condition considering how little you pay for it. The owner was very helpful when I was in, and seemed genuinely interested in your custom. It had a great selection of music DVDs and I was especially impressed with how much punk music they had. Including what I am assuming is a rare live Bouncing Souls DVD, which I might go back for since I regret leaving it. All I can say about Hogs Head is I wish there were more independent stores like it. Great quality second hand CD's, rarities and low prices, you can't go wrong in here!

If you're only going to visit one antiquarian bookshop in Edinburgh, I'd recommend Old Town…read moreBookshop. Aside from being on one of the loveliest streets in Edinburgh, it's a delightful wee shop that stocks an eye-watering selection of books from the 1850s onwards. There's a treasure chest of Scottish history, architecture and topographical studies alongside special editions of literary classics from Shakespeare, Dickens and Burns. As the shop is run by a painter, they also sell some lovely prints, lithographs, etchings, paintings and maps of Edinburgh and beyond. Tourists hoping to pick up a picture of the Castle should note these are priced £30 - £300 depending on the age, quality and scarcity of the work.

Edinburgh's Old Town Bookshop, set at the top of the winding Victoria Street, is more like a museum…read morethan it is a book store as they specialise in collecting antiquarian literature. From the books jauntily placed in the window to the many within, each is treated with tender loving care. It shows, since the books aren't falling apart at the spine, but are rather tainted with age. The majority of their books date from the 1700s onwards and are priced as such. You can gather from the pristine condition of the stock that it's not the kind of store you'd pick up a lovingly creased copy of Harry Potter from. But they do have a collection of classics (of predominantly Scottish origin), so tourists and avid fans of Burns can have a ball gandering the shelves. I wouldn't necessarily go here for a browse since it is so specialised although the staff are welcoming if you just fancy a nosey. But this store is a trove for Antiquarian collectors, who can hope to find anything from literature pre-dating the enlightenment to old prints and lithographs. It's largely a pricey venture, but for people well versed on antique auctions the Old Town Bookshop displays some lucrative books that would bring back a substantial amount of money when under the hammer. For tourists, this place is a quirky homage to Edinburgh's literary culture of old.