Love this place! Whether you are walking and need lunch or…read morehanging out and need a book, or cruising and are ready for tea, this is a superb stop. Combination bookstore and café but with excellence in both. What a delight this was. I wish I had been staying in the area instead of merely passing through. This could become a local haunt, a fascination, an enchantment. It was charming. Our lunch was splendid, a surprise for hikers who take what comes but are serious foodies too. I remember boar sausage on my sandwich!

The best bookshop in at least the Scottish Borders! Winner of UK Independent Bookshop of the Year…read more2012 and Best Bookshop in the Telegraph Small Shops Awards 2012. The best coffee in 50 miles, and soup and sandwiches made from home-made ingredients. The cakes are delicious as well.

The Forest Bookstore is a beautiful shop that has now been open for about five years in the Market…read morePlace in the centre of the Borders town, Selkirk. They stock a real range of books, the staff are very knowledgeable and it's a lovely space in which to browse and discover worlds of fiction and non-fiction, both! They have a great children's section (including reads for young adults) and you can get cards, maps, poetry and Reviews of Books magazines, diaries and notebooks, and copies of Reforesting Scotland too. They specialise in Literature, Art and the Environment, but they have sections of new fiction, classics (Everyman editions), cookery, gardening and craft, poetry, Scottish lit., second-hand and art and architecture. If they don't have what you're looking for they can order the book for you free of charge, and if you don't know what you're looking for, they can advise. Exhibitions of art grace the walls (usually showcasing talented local contemporary artists), and there's a strong following of the shop amongst Borders locals.

An excellent bookshop that provides a really intriguing selection of books; from everyday…read moregardening, children's and cooking books, to books that offer radical insights into art, culture, philosophy and politics. A great place to buy a specific book or browse and find a new treasure.

This is a magical place: all sorts of wonderful books, a super, eclectic selection. Staff very…read morehelpful. And good value. Do call in, worth a special trip!

Good little shop for second hand books, I find myself in here a lot, whenever I walk past I can't…read moreresist popping in for a new (used) paperback. Characterful shop and as with all used books shops you never know what you'll find inside, which is half the fun.

Kesley's is a wonderful little gem, which is very lucky not to have any competition nearby from the…read morelikes of Waterstones and WHSmith. And the Tesco in Haddington doesn't sell books and stationery, so Kesley's is the place to come if you are looking for that sort of stuff. The shop is divided up by the counter, and on the left side there is fiction books, and a selection of gifts and stationery, while on the right lies the non fiction section. The books that they sell are very good and the last time I was here I managed to get my hands on a limited edition copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - and at a price that was much cheaper than what you would pay in Waterstones. The staff here are very nice and take the time to chat to you about which books you are picking. And they are ever so helpful too. I enquired about a paperback edition of a book once and the man went through the back and found one! There is a lovely coffee shop through the back which is worthy of its own review. I'm really glad that I have found a new favourite bookshop. Move over Waterstones, because Kesley's will be the king of bookstores soon!

Was in town on vacation and looking for a book written by a local author. Thankfully I came to the…read moreright place and they were wonderful and showed me several books. They have a great selection and the staff were wonderful. In a quieter part of town which made it even better. Highly recommend if you are in Edinburgh and looking for a quaint bookshop!

Fabulous book shop for true book lovers.. so cute worth going just to get a photo outside .. great…read moreselection, value & friendly service

This is a great little bookshop on Dalkeith Road which has a wide range of genres, a tranquil,…read moreunintruding atmosphere and a pleasant owner. I walk past this place quite a bit, but it only occurred to me to have a look round a couple of weeks ago. It prides itself on specialising in military history, and even lays claim to being announced as having one of the best stocks of the genre in Scotland. Thus, this is the place to come for information or even novels relating to just about any war in modern history or anthologies of military strategy. In addition to this they also have plenty in the way of sci-fi, romance and adventure novels, as well as the odd natural history encyclopedia. The Bookworm is well worth a look no matter what sort of reading material you're into.

This is one of the better bookshops I've seen around town, primarily for the quality of books on…read moreoffer. It's stock focus more on the more popular books than anywhere else able to compete with it on price (though many of those places can beat this place on price). You see at charity shops you tend to get all the books that people no longer want, whereas here you are getting books that people will want to buy. Upon entering the shop you'll notice that it holds a vague resemblance to a CD shop, just with books in the places where the CDs should sit. You see, although one side is adorned with shelves, the other side has the books laid out in overlapping stacks so you'll have to quickly flick through to find out precisely which books are on offer. Other than this the last thing to point out is the fact that this shops best section is its crime fiction, and indeed the owner is probably a fan of these, so if you're also a fan you might find a quick look round here a worthwhile trip.

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.

This place is a global treasure. One of us had been here 11(!) years ago with friends who live in…read moreNewcastle who brought her here, and she loved it so much that she insisted we all go again--so we did. After spending the morning at Alnwick Castle, we came to Barter Books for lunch and browsing. The cafe is adorable and cozy, and our party of seven was promptly seated. You order at the register and you do not want to sleep on the rarebit--it's so good! While it had just a tad too much mustard than remembered, it was still so gooey and heart-warming (and certainly more impressive than the pile of gloop that was our daughter's mac-n-cheese...let's just pretend that never happened). The beans on toast was also comforting and perfect in such a setting. Fries (chips!) are well-made, and the accompanying salad has a tangy vinaigrette. The whole bookstore is a converted train station and it's massive and we would have perused the titles for several more hours had we not had four children in our party. It was still a lovely time exploring the store, roaming the aisles, and getting lost in old books. We bought a few to bring home, as well as some other swag. And obviously you don't want to miss seeing the famed original "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster. This is just one of those magical places that you really can't describe, but once you go, you'll get it. Five unequivocal stars.

Love this place! Neat rooms to explore, fun model train, lots of used books a nice selection of…read morenew gifts AND a great and reasonable cafe. Their chips are so good I went back the next day for a snack.

Books, books and more books. There really is nothing like a book store in England. NOTHING. Ok,…read moremaybe there is, but I digress. This is not your borders, not your B&N, I was a lovely book shop with wall to wall books, including the newest craze, Adult coloring books, and yes, I picked a new one up! They didn't have the foul language one I was looking for, but they did have Notes from the Universe, which was just as nice.