Our favourite Scottish bookshops (and their favourite books)

Five favourite books from five Scottish bookshops

The Bookhouse Broughty Ferry: The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin

"The Turnglass is chosen not only for the thrilling stories, but also for its uniqueness and the execution of the idea. The book is a 'tête-bêche', two stories printed head to toe, which are set 50 years apart but are inextricably linked. You can read one then the other or read the stories chapter about. Reading the book was an experience I won’t soon forget."

1. Runners-up: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell, Going Zero by Anthony McCarten

Category Is: Enlightened Transsexual Comix by Sam Szabo

"A fantastic, cosmic, psychedelic take on gender theory."

1. Runners-up: Family Meal by Bryan Washington, Brainwyrms by Allison Rumfit, Any Other City by Hazel Jane Plante

2. 

3. Lighthouse Bookshop: We, The Heartbroken by Gargi Bhattacharyya

4. "Bottomless sadness and hope are often depicted as opposites, camps to be chosen between in effort to transform our world. This is the book to completely trash that division, and I'm so grateful for it. Heartbreak is the honest place to start from in a world that broke our hearts."

5. Runners-up: Mad World by Micha Frazer-Carroll, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sara Ahmed, The Patriarchs by Angela Saini

6. 
7. Portobello Bookshop: Strong Female Character by Fern Brady
9. "A hit amongst our booksellers and customers, comedian Fern Brady's Strong Female Character is our book of the year. Charting her growing up with undiagnosed autism and her journey to diagnosis, it's a hilarious, unapologetically frank and moving memoir."
10. 
    Runners-up: The Fraud by Zadie Smith, In Ascension by Martin MacInnes

Typewronger Books: Mrs S by K Patrick

"Plunge headfirst into the thrill of hidden desires in this stunning debut novel, an exquisitely crafted exploration of love and identity."

1. Runners-up: A Little Luck by Claudia Piñeiro, The Coiled Serpent by Camilla Grudova

A guide to our favourite Scottish bookshops

Argonaut Books
15-17 Leith Walk, Edinburgh
Leith’s community bookshop, with a diverse stock and programme of in-person events.

Armchair Books
72-74 West Port, Edinburgh
Family-run second hand bookshop with the city’s finest About page, ‘staffed by Edinburgh’s finest book people who brave the shop’s untraceable noises and unique microclimate.’

The Book Attic
93 Perth Rd, Dundee
A cosy independent book shop, with a particular focus on local writers and interests.

The Bookhouse Broughty Ferry
41 Gray St, Dundee
An independent, family-run bookshop in Dundee’s Broughty Ferry, featuring everything from classic children’s literature to contemporary bestsellers.

Burning House Books
446 Cathcart Rd, Glasgow
A small Southside bookshop dedicated to art and experimental writing and queer and countercultural history.

Category Is Books
34 Allison St, Glasgow
This is a space for the LGBTQIA+ community to learn about, be inspired by and share in the founders’ love of queer books, art, history, activism, writing and storytelling.

Ginger and Pickles
51 St Stephen St, Edinburgh
A thoughtfully selected range of kids books, with beautiful titles ranging from baby to young adult (plus a small stationery selection).

Golden Hare Books
68 St Stephen St, Edinburgh
A cosy space filled with a finely chosen selection of writing, art books and children’s titles.

Good Press
32 St. Andrews St, Glasgow
A workers’ cooperative dedicated to the promotion, distribution and production of independent or self-published printed matter, plus bookshop and risograph printer.

Lighthouse Bookshop
43-45 W Nicolson St, Edinburgh
Edinburgh’s radical bookshop – the place to find non-mainstream, politically engaged writing.

Mount Florida Books
1069 Cathcart Rd, Glasgow
With an aim to stock the best in literary fiction, poetry, politics, cookery and more, Mount Florida Books are dedicated to reinvesting profits into literary and literacy projects in Glasgow.

The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High St, Edinburgh
A gorgeously designed, gorgeously curated seaside bookshop, complete with fiction, art books, and a stunning magazine collection.

Rare Birds Books
13 Raeburn Pl, Edinburgh
Much-loved independent book shop championing women authors – their subscription service offers an ideal gift, and their advent calendar (inc. books) is an annual sell-out.

Ripe Mags
Barras Market, Moncur St, Glasgow
A specialist in magazines and photo books based in the iconic Barras Market.

Tills Bookshop
1 Hope Park Cres, Edinburgh
A secondhand bookshop overlooking the Meadows specialising in rare and antiquarian books.

Topping & Company Edinburgh
2 Blenheim Pl, Edinburgh
A veritable labyrinth of book rooms complete with book ladders and window seats, where you may be offered a complimentary tea.

Typewronger Books
4a Haddington Pl, Edinburgh
Edinburgh’s smallest bookshop and Scotland's only typewriter repair shop! Selling books, independent publications, zines and associated merch.