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.

Edinburgh was our first stop for spending two months in the UK. We showed up with very limited…read morebooks and games because of limited packing space. We always intended to replenish our books and games while we were here, but Blackwell's made it fun and easy. It seems like Blackwell's is just a great bookstore all-around, but it's particularly notable for the fact that the basement is devoted entirely to kids books and games. They had basically every board game you could as for and were willing to help us think about how to pick them out. We wound up getting a copy of Carcassonne (which we have at home) and Cascadia (which I'm excited to try). We also got a few new kids picture books and a book of short stories and poems which will make for good bedtime reading. My wife also picked up a few fantasy novels.

I've been a huge fan of this bookshop for many many years, and would make the effort to visit it…read moreany time I was in the vicinity to feed my reading addiction. Since the advent of the Kindle, I don't visit as often and that makes me rather sad, because Blackwell's is a great bookstore and a cool place just to browse around soaking up the literary vibes. I love the labyrinth of different rooms and secret corners where you can find the most surprising things from board games to desk toys, DVD's, maps, children's books and even a Caffe Nero at the back. Upstairs they have a vast selection of academic books, and it is this connection with the nearby University that probably keeps this bookshop alive in face of the competition from Amazon and e-books. I still love visiting here even though I'm less often inclined to buy a fiction book (most of my fiction is on Kindle these days), as they still have some interesting finds to discover that you won't find elsewhere. I love their selection of stocking-filler type gifts, their eclectic CD and DVD offerings, their board games (Carcassonne, anyone?), and of course the Caffe Nero.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Came here looking for Pokemon cards for the kids or possibly a small souvenir. They didn't have any…read morecards and despite a pretty large merchandise section the thing they had the most of was comics. The comics were all retail and all of the merchandise was fairly priced. We didn't have a lot of space for presents but my kid was eyeballing a trade paperback. I liked how they had a curated display of comics but my favorite part was an independent small publisher section from companies I've never heard about before. They had toys, plushies, and funko pops along the right side of the store. Pretty good mix of lots of different items and franchises but not enough if you are a collector of something specific. I think this store started in NY but have expanded globally, there were a steady stream of people coming in and staff was helpful and kind when I asked for Pokemon cards. There were some places that seemed irritated after hearing the same question for the 20th time that day.

Really pleased to have found this shop while in Edinburgh! Picked up a couple manga and some…read morefigures with my friend, we looked it up later and found out that I guess the Kitagawa he got was a UK exclusive and only £25 so this made it extra special for us given that we are from the US. Didn't interact much with the staff other than the fact that the cashier accidentally put an extra figure in our bag, which we realized and handed back to him before leaving. He seemed very friendly though

Antiquarian books Rare & first edition books…read moreOld classics Modern classics Penguin classics Scottish classics Scottish culture & history books Architecture books Art books Photography books History books Military books Greek & latin books European books Irish books Theology books Philosophy books Political books & Book marks In short, Edinburgh Books offers story lovers and book-worms 8 rooms of awe and wonder. To top it off, the staff are lovely and they play fantastic music from Dylan and Tom Waits to Gram Parsons.

There's a reason yelpers have almost unanimously given Edinburgh Books 5/5. It's a bloody good book…read moreshop! Somewhere between the Grassmarket and Lothian road lies this gem of a second hand book shop. Bringing class to the area unfortunately called "the pubic triangle" given the nature of the other establishments nearby, Edinburgh books remains central whilst retaining a slightly quieter location. Perfect for browsing, Edinburgh Books provides truly a great range of fiction and nonfiction, mostly well known titles and classics, as well as collectors items and antiquarian books. But make no mistake, this isn't some stuffy, up themselves store where you feel the piercing eyes of the owner follow you round the room. No no no, this is a friendly, browsing welcome gem. The first time I visited I spent about thirty minutes perusing their wares without buying and I got a nice smile and a 'goodbye' on my way out. There are signs up that say "please leave bags at the counter" which surprised me at first. But these are quickly countered by others which say "please don't hesitate to ask for help". I now presume the bag thing is to do with not knocking things over/making more room for fellow visitors. I should add here that though Edinburgh Books covers nearly all genres, its "Scottish Room" covering, yes, all things Scottish, is particularly good for its specialisation. The last time I visited I came away with a copy of Dostoevsky's The Demons, for about half the price it would have cost in Blackwells. A bargain! A lovely second hand book shop with great titles across a range of genes. A must for all book lovers living or visiting Edinburgh.

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 location is not available. Go to the 42 Shandwick Place location which I visited and fell in…read morelove! Awesome store with a pretty good collection of items. The staff were friendly and helpful if you have a question. Film and books are downstairs. CD's are down in and to the right, while the l.p's line the middle to the back and to the left. New releases and specials are in the front of the store. Music lovers, you will not be disappointed! The special prices of some items are like icing on a cake!

Once a thriving independent with a string of shops across the country, Fopp is now a small chain of…read moreeight shops bankrolled by HMV. Whilst this branch is a lot smaller and smarter than the original Edinburgh branch on Cockburn Street, it still stocks a cracking selection of CDs, DVDs, box-sets, graphic novels, books and tee-shirts. There's no listening booths unfortunately, but a lot of the new releases come with written descriptions and the staff are usually willing to play certain album if you ask nicely. As for the stock, we're talking fantastic compilations, back catalogues, re-issues and new releases for bargain basement prices. With great Blondie, Human League, Cocteau Twins, Nick Cave, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Bob Dylan remasters for £3 each, I defy any fanatical music or film fan to come out with less than half a dozen goodies!