Owl Bookshop

I stumbled across this cute book store when i was looking for a health food shop. And my isn’t it a great find.
It is quite a large store, and has tons of titles, ranging from classics to the newest releases. I could have spent hours in there browsing the titles. The staff were very friendly, and the books very reasonably priced.
I picked up a book by my favourite author, and once finished i will be heading back to find another great book to read.

One of the best bookshops in Central London
& owned by Daunt Books.
This place has two special features for me :
first its childrens’ section which is large & good
& they have a great relationship with local schools;
secondly the travel section which is equally good
with a wide range of maps. But it also sells foreign
art DVDs, cards & stamps, & holds regular Author Events

What a great shop! I happened across this place when I had a bit of time to kill, and wandered around their lovely store for 20 minutes. They have lots of tables of books with different themes, as well as the usual by alphabet and genre around the walls. What I really liked is that they have a few nice chairs positioned around to be able to sit and read a bit.
Also, the childrens section is surprisingly large and looks more like a kindergarten with colourful displays and floor mats to sit on while reading.
The staff seemed ready to help and I overheard them giving gems of advice and trying to find specific books requested by vague individuals! Not the kind of service that you can expect from a large chain-​store bookshop.
Stop in and spend a while.

Independent bookstores always have that academic musty feel that makes me feel clever. On this front Owl’s delivers. The store is well sectioned with a fairly decent depth of titles. Unfortunately, I must and will compare them to the competition, and that means Waterstones. For choice of popular titles Owl’s competes well with the high street chain, beyond the popular titles you have a much better chance of finding what you need at W’stones. Also the £8.99 book I sourced at W’stones, cost me £9.99 at Owl’s. For ease of location and if I know exactly what I want, I will pop into Owl’s Bookshop, but it cannot compete as a browsing store to pass the time or on price.

I’m a big fan of independent bookstores and when i used to live in the camden vicinity I used to frequent this bookstore quite a bit. The helpful and it has a really cosy old school feel to it.
I love their alternative section in the back of the shop. There have stacks of books on tarot, health and well being. I also like their art section, they have a good selection of photography books and autobiographies. They also stock art magazines which is a Brownie point for me. The kids section seems to be the most prominent so you tend to get a lots of mummies popping in here.

Owl is not a bad bookshop. It is big enough but it doesn’t have much of a Psychology section which I was after.
This store has no mark downs. The prices are as marked only.
There are good places to sit though, that is a definate plus. You can perch yourself on one of the wicker chairs and kick back with a good book. It probably won’t be a psychology book though.

I totally love local, independent bookshops. The Owl Bookshop is really very cute. Cosy yet large enough to hold a great range of books in every genre, with a nice mix of civilised people perusing the shelves.
So I went in, after a couple of titles that I had been wanting for a while. I really wanted to support local business, instead of going to the usual major bookstores that would definitely stock said titles.
Approaching the counter, I ask the woman if she could please check if The Owl stocked the titles I was after. It went downhill from there. She went from being curt to being downright rude: that typical mid 40s female bookstore worker that I’ve encountered more than once that somehow think that helping people with their enquiries is not part of their job description.
After ten minutes of dealing with the wrath of said attendant that looked at me like I had asked for her first-​born, I thanked her and left, disappointed that I couldn’t support local business and that she was so damn rude. Plus I didn’t get my books.
I won’t be heading back in there again.

This is a nice little neighborhood bookshop. I could leave it there, but you’ll probably want to know more. Yeah? Okay then.
On the Sunday that I visited this shop, there were a nice mix of people there — moms with strollers, younger-​artsy men, cold girls in off the street (me included!), and other such everyday folk. The tables set along the main alleyway displayed intriguing covers awash with colorful pictures or eye-​catching titles. You can’t help but pick up of the the tomes (or three) and leaf on through. Books line the shelves (as they often do in bookshops –fancy that!) arranged carefully into helpful sections. The atmosphere is warm and cozy like it might be at the home of Goldilock’s three bears except for the lack of porridge. You feel comfortable whether you walk in to buy or walk in to browse.
There is also a good kid’s section and some nice cards.
You might as well have yourself a hoot if your passing by and fly on in.

Yet another Kentish Town Gem — which makes me wonder, has Kentish Town got the best high street in London with its collection of random and brilliant independent shops? Anyone know any other goodys out there?
Anyway, back to the Owl. It’s a lovely and well put together independent bookshop. It’s not huge by any stretch — but it has a great and carefully put together selection of new books in every category you could think of mixed in with some wisely chosen old favourites and a sprinkling of old titles you’d never have thought of.
It’s got a great atmosphere in there — very relaxing and a little like stepping back in time to gentler days, as you potter through the tatstefully selected cards and near genius DVD section which basically is what I wish my DVD collection looked like but doesn’t.
Served by some knowledgeable and very friendly staff — the last time I was in they were talking in a lot of detail to two 10 year olds about various different options once you have read all the Harry Potters. These same staff will also more than happily advise you if you are a bit older than 10 and also order anything they haven’t got in for you.
Go on — give the Owl a visit, go and spend your money with them and no Amazon or Waterstones and keep an institution going.