London has been announced as the best city in the UK for booklovers to visit, according to a study from Aura Print.
The capital earned a literary score of 75.6/100, beating out contenders such as Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh to claim the title.
The study assessed the UK’s 20 largest cities, measuring the number of libraries, bookshops, and social media hashtag searches for books on TikTok and Instagram in each place.
London is home to the most libraries in the UK at 325, as well as 240 bookshops.
Barbara, owner of London independent bookshop Wimbledon Books, believes the capital’s accessibility to book events sets the city apart from others, highlighting London’s Bookshop Crawl event in particular.
She said: “It gives people the unique opportunity to visit bookshops in different parts of London that they may never have visited before.
“It’s a really interesting project and very popular with people.”
The crawl involves participants visiting as many London bookshops in one day, with participating booksellers offering discounts, perks and other book-related freebies for crawlers.
Barbara takes particular pride in the city’s independent scene, with Wimbledon Books voted The Times‘ top 12 London independent bookshops in 2024.
The bookshop owner credits hers and others with being able to offer more specialised help and guidance in comparison to bigger chain bookshops in London.
The capital’s diverse event scene also helps attract tourists to Barbara’s bookshop, with the Wimbledon Tennis Championships playing a big part in the bookseller’s stock of tennis books and autobiographies.
Data also shows London has the most book-related hashtags on social media, with over 5,000 on TikTok and over 44,000 on Instagram.
BookTok, a section of TikTok dedicated to the discussion of books, has in particular contributed significantly to an increase in readers amongst Gen Z.
A recent poll by the UK Publishers Association of 2,000 16-25 year-olds found almost two-thirds credited BookTok or book influencers with their love of reading.
Barbara has particularly seen this trend in London, with more young people visiting Wimbledon Books in search of Romantasy novels, a trending genre on BookTok.
She said: “Social media has actually had quite a good effect on people recommending books through things like BookTok.
“I am often confused as to why a book that is ten years old is suddenly back in fashion, but I owe that resurgence to BookTok in particular.
“It drives an interest in reading which is so important.”
Readers also credit London with being a book-hub due to the vast number of books set in and around the backdrop of the city.
This ranges from Victorian novelists such as Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf to more contemporary adaptations of the city from Monica Ali and Helen Fielding.
Lizzie, 24, grew up in London and credits the city’s rich literary history with part of the reason she loves reading so much.
She said: “I love visiting Hatchards, which is the oldest bookshop in London.
“I’ve never left empty-handed, so as much as I enjoy going, I try not to go too frequently.
“I also enjoy exploring local bookshops, especially if there is a café attached.”
Hatchards is the oldest bookseller in the UK, founded in London in 1797 with a reputation of being the principal bookseller for the royal family.
London’s reputation as the best city in the UK for booklovers continues to evolve, as new literary events such as techno book clubs and Soho Reading Series continues to redefine the capital’s literary scene.
Feature image: Unsplash
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