Best London bookstores, tsundoku & bibliotherapy

Today is the World Book Day. To mark the occasion, last year, I went back to ancient Greece and shared my reflections on ‘Aristotle’s Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life’, a book by Edith Hall. This year, however, I am going to discuss my personal relationship with books and reading, rather than focus on a specific book. I’m therefore going to stay home and simply visit some of my favorite London bookstores. I will then go to Japan to discuss the concept of tsundoku, as well as Marie Kondo’s tips on how to tidy up books. I will also visit Greece to discuss the concepts of bibliomania, bibliophilia, and bibliotherapy. Last but not least, to pay homage to my professional background, I will discuss how books and reading can help to improve one’s mental health and wellbeing.

Outlets like literature and art can enhance our day-to-day experiences.

Barack Obama

My personal relationship with books and reading

People read books for different reasons; I personally read for a multitude of reasons, such as enjoyment, information/education, or simply to pass my time. To reflect these reasons, I read a combination of fiction (crime novels being my favorites) and non-fiction books, and I mostly do this during my daily commute to work (most days I spend several hours on the train). I also enjoy reading books when I am on holidays, a habit I’ve had since my childhood, when summers were the only time of the year I would get lost in a book from start to finish (homework excluded). At present, I read more than a book a week, and since I prefer reading paper books, rather than e-books, I am constantly on the lookout for books in my favorite London bookstores.

My favorite London bookstores

I have to admit that I sometimes order books online. Considering the number of books I read every year, and the fact that online retailers often sell books at lower prices than the high street bookstores, this makes financial sense. Yet, every time I pass by a bookstore, I find it hard not to go in, and even harder not to buy a book or two (or three…). Here are my favorite London bookstores, where I would often spend a considerable amount of time (and pounds):

Stanfords

Established in 1853, Stanfords is advertised as ‘the world’s biggest and best map and travel bookshop’. No wonder why it is one of my favorite London bookstores. In 2019, it moved from Long Acre a few doors down to Mercers Walk (almost opposite to Covent Garden tube station). Here you can browse their large collection of travel guides and books, buy maps, globes, or travel-related gifts, or simply enjoy a hot drink at the cafe.

Daunt Books

The next stop is Daunt Books. They now have six stores in London (Marylebone, Chelsea, Cheapside, Hampstead, Holland Park, and Belsize Park). One of my favorite London bookstores is their flagship store in Marylebone. It is housed in an Edwardian building with long oak galleries and graceful skylights. Opened in 1912, it is claimed to be the first custom-built bookstore in the world. You can walk there from Bond Street, Baker Street or Regent’s Park tube stations. Like Stanfords, they traditionally specialize in travel books. Like other bookstores, they organize events and talks, but also a book festival – due to take place on the 19th and 20th of March.

Foyles

Another relatively small chain of bookstores, but renowned nonetheless, is Foyles. In London, they have four stores (Charing Cross Road, Royal Festive Hall, Waterloo Station, and Westfield Stratford City). One of my favorite London bookstores is their flagship store on Charing Cross Road (between Tottenham Court Road and Leicester Square tube stations). It moved to its current location in 2014. It had previously been located a few doors down on Charing Cross Road; this was also claimed to be the world’s first purpose-built bookstore. The current store on Charing Cross Road is spread across eight alternating foot-plates over four floors, and also houses a music store and a cafe. Like other bookstores, they also organize events and talks.

Waterstones

Waterstones is probably the most famous on this list. They have close to 300 stores, mostly in the UK but also abroad. In London alone, they have over 30 stores. The flagship one is located on Piccadilly (a few minutes from Piccadilly tube station). Spread over five floors, it is claimed to be the largest bookshop in Europe. Another notable bookstore is the one on Gower Street. Both stores house cafes and organize events and talks.

Word on the Water

A floating bookshop, Word on the Water no longer travels along Regent’s Canal, but it’s permanently located by Granary Square in King’s Cross. As if a bookshop on a canal boat was not quirky enough, occasional live jazz performances make it even quirkier. Forget Harry Potter and Platform 9 3/4 and simply head to Word on the Water.

Tsundoku, book-hoarding, bibliomania and bibliophilia

I recently came across the Japanese word ‘tsundoku’ thanks to the article “Tsundoku: The art of buying books and never reading them”. Tsundoku (not to be confused with sudoku) is a combination of the Japanese words for ‘piling up’ (tsunde oku) and ‘reading’ (dokusho). The concept refers to the habit of buying books (or, is it an art?), and storing them (piling them up) without actually reading them.

In English, tsundoku may be referred to as ‘book-hoarding’, ‘bibliomania’ or ‘bibliophilia’, though none of these three words is exactly the same as the Japanese concept. For example, I am personally guilty of book-hoarding, but I am no longer guilty of being books and not reading them (there used to be a time that I was). Bibliomania, on the other hand, has clinical connotations, and is often considered a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The word is a combination of the Greek words for ‘book’ (biblio) and ‘madness’ (mania), and is not to be confused with bibliophilia. The latter, a combination of the Greek words for ‘book’ (biblio) and ‘love’ (philia), refers to the love of books and reading (nothing wrong with that).

Marie Kondo on decluttering and tidying up books

Back to Japan now, the homeland of the worldwide famous organizing consultant and author Marie Kondo. To help myself declutter and tidy up my hundreds of books (as well as the rest of my possessions), I got myself Marie’s book ‘Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying’. Named after one of her catchphrases, it provides useful practical advice and tips, but also makes use of concepts, such as gratitude, that go well beyond tidying up and decluttering. According to the KonMari method, we need to tidy up by category, not by location. The five categories are: clothes, books, papers, komono (miscellaneous stuff), and sentimental items.

Marie’s approach to decluttering and tidying up books is similar to how she tidies up clothes. She advises to first gather up all the books (irrespectively of where they are kept), and then to physically hold or touch each one of them. This process allows us first to see how many items we own (usually a lot more than previously thought), and second to determine which ones ‘spark joy’. She advises to only keep those that spark joy, and to get rid of the rest (but only after we first express our gratitude and thank them).

This is where I’m struggling with the KonMari method. I personally find that all the books I own spark joy, and I’m therefore unable to let them go. However, I have been able to determine which ones spark the most joy, and these are the ones I’ve placed on my bookshelves, where I can look at their spines on a daily basis. These tend to be non-fiction books, mostly about traveling and cinema, as well as a few Agatha Christie novels. The rest of the books in my collection (fiction, non-fiction about science, and cookery books) have made their way into several boxes, but I do hope they resurface again once I move to a bigger house with many bookcases, where I can proudly display them.

Bibliotherapy, and mental health and wellbeing

A combination of the Greek words biblio and therapy, bibliotherapy refers to the therapeutic use of reading and storytelling.

I’ve previously written about reading as a way to improve one’s mental health and wellbeing. I specifically wrote that self-help books can help with psychological or emotional difficulties. Often using therapeutic techniques used in therapy, self-help books can be very useful as a first step, whilst waiting for therapy, or as an adjunct to therapy. Although they’re lacking the therapeutic relationship with the therapist, they are excellent in that they provide psycho-education and support for self-care. Like psychotherapy, they encourage us to pay close attention to our internal world; they can also empower us to take steps to improve our mental health and wellbeing. In fact, there is a huge evidence base around the value of reading to support health and wellbeing.

In the UK, there is a scheme endorsed by health professionals and supported by public libraries that allows people to visit their local library and take a book out for free. ‘Reading Well’ has two strands: ‘Books on Prescription’ and ‘Mood-boosting Books’.

Another excellent resource is the Overcoming website. It features a large number of resources, such as a list of self-help books (many of which are available on the Reading Well scheme) and free downloadable materials.

Self-help books and guides

A large number of self-help books have been published, and many of them are available on the Reading Well scheme. The ‘Overcoming’ series contains over 30 titles that cover a range of difficulties (including but not restricted to mental health problems) that are amenable to a CBT approach. I have recently reviewed 2 of these books: Overcoming Anxiety

and Overcoming Anger and Irritability

and I would highly recommend them to those struggling with these issues.

I would also recommend books by Gill Hasson. Gill is a teacher, trainer and writer with 20 years of experience in the area of personal development. She largely combines CBT principles with a mindfulness-based approach. I have reviewed, and highly recommend, the following books by her:

Mindfulness Pocketbook: Little Exercises for a Calmer Life

Positive Thinking: Find happiness and achieve your goals through the power of positive thought

Overcoming Anxiety: Reassuring Ways to Break Free from Stress and Worry and Lead a Calmer Life

How To Deal With Difficult People: Smart Tactics for Overcoming the Problem People in Your Life

Kindness: Change Your Life and Make the World a Kinder Place

Happiness: How to Get Into the Habit of Being Happy

Further reading

If you’re interested in science and the brain, and want to read more about how books and reading can affect the human brain, check out the following articles:

Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain

In this article, published in the Brain Connectivity journal, the authors (Berns et al.) describe an experimental study to find out whether reading novels can cause changes in brain function and structure. To determine that, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to track changes in the participants’ brain activity. Their findings support their hypothesis that reading novels can cause longer-term changes in the connectivity of the brain. Further research studies are nonetheless required in order to inform on the generalizability and the clinical implications of their findings.

Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind

In this article, published in the Science journal, also in 2013, the authors (Kidd and Castano) provide experimental evidence that reading novels enhances the reader’s performance on theory of mind tasks (theory of mind is defined as the human capacity to comprehend that other people hold beliefs and desires and that these may differ from one’s own beliefs and desires). I suppose that their findings come hardly as a surprise to most bookworms; yet, it is important that scientific research confirms what’s instinctively known to most bibliophiles. Bearing in mind that the theory of mind is impaired in some mental disorders, such as autistic spectrum disorders, I wonder whether reading literary fiction could have a specific therapeutic use in those populations.

Happy reading!

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)