A good read: Our guide to Manchester’s best bookshops

It’s new, so it gets to go first (also, pictured here). The owners of Queer Lit we were finding it tough going to discover great Queer literature. With a lack of shops stocking it and websites bothering to dedicate areas towards it, they felt it was time for a change. Head to Tib Street to browse over 1500 titles. Their website has a great LGBTQ+-matters blog too.

Rare Mags is an absolute gem of a shop, in Stockport’s old town. They would probably hate us to say this, but if you liked Magma (sob!), then you will love this place too. ‘Rare Mags and books’ would have been way too long a title, but in fact that’s exactly what you’ll find inside this recently expanded shop. Put simply, they sell the best independent magazines out there, a cracking selection of books and some fine stationery.

Blackwell’s has had a makeover. The new shop is bright and airy, with an on-site cafe. Specialising as ever in academic reading, the shop also stocks most other books. It has some great author events too, so keep an eye out for those.

Small but perfectly formed, the bookshop in the foyer at HOME sells carefully-curated books, magazines and gifts, appealing firmly to the arts crowd.

Open since 1987, Waterstones Manchester Deansgate has become an integral part of the cultural tapestry of Manchester City Centre. Opposite the Grade II listed Art-Deco building that now houses House of Fraser, and within a Victorian-built store open since 1873, you’ll find all the expected big hits in here plus a large range of carefully-curated reads.

Travelling Man has a huge choice of visual books, comics and graphic novels and is considered by many in the know to be THE go-to place for all of the above. The staff are nice too: none of the intimidating snootiness you may worry about in such a specialist shop.

Packed with tumbling stacks of classic books, vintage magazines, action comics and picture posts, Paramount Books is Manchester’s beloved time capsule. Follow the curling trail of jazz and opera music drifting through the streets behind Printworks to find their speakers in the doorway.

Established with the ethos that books enjoyed in childhood are profoundly formative, Sale’s B is for Butterfly is a specialist independent children’s bookshop whose founder, Michelle, selects and stocks titles which have the potential to leave a lasting impression on their readers.

Community cornerstone of nearly forty years, family-run Chorlton Bookshop is the village’s most popular literary haven, so beloved for its serene environment that hundreds of Chorltonians showed up to successfully protest its planned closure in 2014.

Boasting an incredible inventory of second-hand titles, Didsbury Village Bookshop is a traditional sanctuary which forms part of The Art of Tea, a popular cafe, bar and art space at the heart of Didsbury’s creative community since 2009.

Several miles south of the city, vegan literary labyrinth Greenhouse promises to welcome ‘the window-shopper or the wanderer, the book-worm or the coffee bean aficionado, the cake-scoffer or the comic book geek’ as warmly as family, with an inclusive, love-based ethos which forms the foundations of an irresistibly homely bookshop and cafe which features an eclectic inventory of novels, comics and more to parse over soup, sweets and artisanal coffee.

With a tea and cake menu almost as extensive as its archives, the Northern Quarter’s Chapter One embodies the platonic ideal of the timeless bookshop-cum-cafe, offering the perfect lazy afternoon amidst a charismatic light-filled decor, a diverse selection of titles and sticky homemade brownies.

Formed as a Community Interest Company with a guiding mission to combat loneliness in the local area, House of Books & Friends operate their bright, charming bookstore as a second home for anyone who needs it, with a team of fathomlessly knowledgeable staff selling tastefully curated books, serving rich, aromatic coffee and running an array of events, including virtual and in-person book clubs, music evenings, meet-the-author days and children’s storytimes.

The sister venue of the famous late-night favourite, The White Hotel, P3 Annihilation Eve (formerly O! Peste Destroyed), is part bookshop-part bar. The striking, industrial-looking space stocks everything from indie travel to obscure historical texts, and hosts regular in-conversation evenings with both acclaimed and up-and-coming authors.

Jot is an independent pop-up bookshop that focuses on publications from smaller, independent publishers and presses. While primarily operating online at the moment, the team say they’re in the process of identifying host venues for their physical operation. Along with offering an array of second-hand copies, Jot is also committed to building a community of readers in South Manchester and beyond.

Another fantastic Stockport spot, the award-winning Simply Books is a genuine cornerstone of the community offering a carefully curated selection of books ranging from contemporary bestsellers to timeless classics. Along with its packed shelves, the team host regular events ranging from launches and Q&As to creative writing workshops and open mic nights.