 Someone has rightly said all wisdom can be found in a book and probably that's why World Book Day was created by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading. Talking of books, we cannot help but talk about bookstores. These bookshops are an integral part of any culture. So what better way than to spend the World Book Day than browsing through bookstore shelves? And guess what? I am right now in London, a city which is known as the literary capital of the world and is supremely famous for its unique bookstores. Bookworms are spoiled for choice in London. The city offers an abundant array of shops where you can indulge your passion for the printed world. Whether you are after novels, comics, poetry or travel writing, you'll find all of it here. If you are a self-proclaimed bookworm just like me, then join me as I explore the most loved, quirkiest independent bookstores in London that is a part of any book lover's bucket list. Thinking of bookstores, are you also dwelling in the unmistakable scent of new books just like me? So put on some comfortable shoes, grab a decent size bag or pocket full of change because here I begin the walking tour of some unique and specialized bookstores in London. We are going to begin our bookshop tour from the famous Charing Cross Road. But as I head towards the book lane from the Charing Cross station, I cannot miss but notice the portraits and famous works of writers like Ben Johnson, Shakespeare and many more painted on the Tube station's wall. It is part of Art on the Underground Project, an initiative taken by the UK government to spread art and enrich the journey of millions who travel from Tube every day. Our guide to London's best bookshops can be complete without mentioning the Foils Bookstore situated at the Charing Cross Road, a street that is famous for its bookstores. The road was developed in the late 19th century and its construction destroyed some of the worst slums in London. In the early 20th century, Charing Cross Road became famous for its specialist and secondhand book shops. The most famous bookstore amongst all these is the Foils flagship store where I am standing right now. It is the biggest bookstore in the country, housing a range of over 2 lakh books. Standing proud on the Charing Cross Road, this bookshop has five floors in total. And do you know what makes this place special? It is in the Guinness Book of Records as the bookshop with the most titles in stock and the longest lines of bookshelves. In terms of shelves length, it has 6.5 kilometer long bookshelves. So if you are a bookworm just like me who loves browsing bookstores and going through these shelves, then you can easily lose yourself for hours in here. The top floor of this bookshop is also a cafe and exhibition space. You can look out for some high-profile authors doing their reading and talk here. We all know that Delhi is famous for holding the secondhand books markets like the famous Darya Ganj Book Market. Just like Delhi, even London has a special South Bank Centre Book Market which is an underground book market. It is one of London's best kept secrets. You will be surprised to know that it is one of the only outdoor markets dedicated to secondhand and antique books in the entire England. Underneath Waterloo Bridge on Queens Walk, it is a fantastic place to browse a huge selection of secondhand books. The best part about this market is that regardless of holidays or weather, this market opens every day filled with endless rows of tables of secondhand books ranging from fantasy in science fiction to cookbooks to autobiographies. You will browse for hours through hundreds of these books on any topic imaginable. As I move to our next location, I would want to know if your city also has a secondhand book market. Put the name of your city as well as the name of your book market in the comment section below right now. London is home to some of the most radical bookshops in UK. The next bookshop that I am going to talk about is not just a regular bookshop, but instead it is UK's first and now the last surviving lesbian and gay bookshop. One of the most legendary bookstores in London, Gay's The Word is another very special independent bookshop that I am going to talk about. It is a celebration of the liberal progress of standing for your own rights of transformative books written by the LGBTQ writers from around the world. Established in the year 1979 and located in Bloomsbury, this bookshop stocks a wide range of books covering issues like the LGBT and queer theory. More than just an average bookshop, it has also become a focal point for the LGBTQ community with frequent books readings, book signings and weekly discussion groups. It is a bookshop that couldn't legally exist in many parts of the world even today because of the radical idea that it promotes. As you enter inside the store, you will be greeted by one of the attendants who would say something like, welcome to Gay's The Word. We are a straight friendly gay family business. By the way, as I was just passing by the bookshop, I found that right across the road is the house of Sir William Empson. William Empson, you must be knowing, was a very famous new critic who along with T.S. Eliot started the entire field of literary criticism and theory. So here is the house where he lived for a very long period of time in his life. Occupying an Edwardian building on the Malibun High Street, the bookstore I am in right now, is perhaps the most grand and beautiful bookshop in London. It is none other than the Daunt Books. The moment you enter inside, you cannot help but notice the beautiful stained glass windows on its set of staircase and lovely ceiling that is punctuated by skylight. Without any doubt, all of these things make it London's most beautiful bookshop brimming with atmosphere and history. When you go to any bookshop, you will find books categorized as per genre or type. Fiction, non-fiction, children classic etc. But not here. In Daunt Books, you will find books or arranged as per continent and country, which makes for a fun and unique browsing experience. So if you go to the Asia section, you will find wall-to-ceiling books on China, Japan, Korea and of course India. Fiction, biography, non-fiction all blend together here because the priority is celebrating cultures and nations rather than strictly categorizing by genre or type. The very best thing about Daunt Books is their philosophy. They believe in celebrating books by celebrating countries. By the way, if you ever happen to come here, don't forget to get the printed canvas bag, which is an essential for any literary buff. Books in water don't usually mix, but this floating shop is an exception. Word on the water, aka London's floating bookshop, is definitely one of the most unique bookshops that we are going to cover in this vlog. The second hand bookshop is a 1920s Dutch barge which sits in the region's canal very close to the King's Cross station. Quite literally, a bookshop floating on the river Thames, it is more of an experience than just a bookshop. It is not just a place to buy books, but it is a book lover's paradise. Come here if you want to expand your literary horizon far beyond its narrow space. Or for the poetry slam or live music nights that brings well-read crowd to the canal site every night. It is perhaps the most romantic place in all of London to go book shopping where you can find really fantastically well-priced books. By the way, the barge also has a friendly dog, a warm stove and frequent live music playing on the deck. So these were five unique bookstores which I explored with you on the occasion of World's Book Day. Let me know in the comment section below which one out of these five were your personal favorite. That's it from my side for this video lecture. I'll meet you very soon in the next video lecture. Till the time we meet next, happy learning, keep loving literature and stay tuned to ArpitaKarva.com