The Bookstore

I wish more book shops were like this. It would really show people that there is a vast world of books that go so far beyond the best sellers list. Going in to a shop like this is, for me, what reading is all about. Being greeted with four walls of nothing but books may seem a little intimidating to a new comer but once you get used to it, it becomes quite comforting. The selection is incredible; I would suggest going here without having a specific book in mind and just let yourself browse through all the shelves. You will be amazed what you will come out with. My plan to buy some medieval poetry for university for example turned into a £15 spending spree on books on how to make cookies. So believe me, you will never know what you will find.

The Bookstore is a great place. The fact that it has the least original name for a book shop just adds to its fantastic character. I read quite a lot and will often just go to The Bookstore just to rummage around and see if I can find a hidden gem that been avoiding me for a long time. The owner is certainly a unique individual to put it nicely, but his eccentricity is almost worth going to the shop to witness! The Haymarket where it’s based is very run down and the most 1970’s thing I have ever seen in my life, but don’t let that put you off.

I think I’ve established that I enjoy a good bookshop, so the bookshop in the Haymarket is right up my street.
From the outside, the Haymarket is pretty run-​down and in all honesty, from the inside it’s pretty run down…
Don’t let that put you off though. The bookshop in here is a great place to pick up a second hand book, or a rare one you’ve been looking for for ages.
My main memories of this shop are of being taken in by my dad, who would buy and sell books on a regular basis and I remember it being like a little community of readers. It’s maintained that spirit to this day, and even though bookshops are in decline, I hope this one survives.

I love this place. It’s the freakiest bookstore on the face of the planet never mind Belfast. You’ll hear natives talk about ‘characters’ in Belfast and the guy who owns this place is one. There are people who have been visiting the bookstore for years and yet they still don’t know what it’s called; everyone just calls it ‘The Bookstore’ or ‘John’s place’ after the man who owns it. It’s mostly second hand books but it is frequented by the loveliest booklovers ever. As a child, I’d spent months looking for The Black Arrow after seeing it on an episode of Wishbone on Nickelodeon. After it failed to turn up in Waterstones and Easons AND the Library, I ended up in the bookstore in Haymarket. Another customer heard me asking for the book from John and offered to bring down his battered version of the novel that he’d kept from childhood, which he did the next day. I think that sums up John’s bookstore rightly. I haven’t been in a while, but I will always be fond of it. If you’re in Belfast, please visit here, and tell John I said hi.