Since my move to London and my everlasting search for pretty buildings, people, museums, shops, restaurants, areas, etc. I have accidentally bought a few guide books over the last few months. I spend too many hours i bookshops as it is and it is very difficult not to buy anything. My excuse for spending money on books is that we don't have as many, as good or as big bookshops in Sweden. But I mean, books are better than clothes right?
At the moment I have four favourite guides to London. I must say that I feel a bit overwhelmed now. This city just never ends, there is too much to see, but I guess I should be happy about that.
It sure is a very curious and strange book, not your normal guide book. I can't really figure it out since it doesn't have a logical order around anything. The book is so fun though, with a lot of quirky facts around the history of things in London or suggestions of what to do. This must be one of the biggest and unpractical guidebooks I've seen so it's not really for taking with you on a day out (if you not want to feel like a donkey or something). It's more for finding inspiration and having a browse in when you feel a bit bored. If you are a new Londoner, like myself, it gives a great introduction of places, the people of the city and of how to behave (like how to drink at the pub, how to date, what to do during the night, where to go to see some great interiors or learn about the history behind the sewers in London etc.). So, if you are curious, this is the perfect coffee table book in a London home, I wouldn't recommend it to a newcomer. A big shout-out to the layout and illustrations which are a bit odd but stunning.
Despite the not so pretty cover (which normally would be a deal breaker for me) the inside of this book makes up for it. It is so easy to read and has in comparison to the mentioned book above a very clear and logical order. I've noticed that I enjoy when the disposition of a guidebook is based according to geography. It just becomes very useful when you have plans to visit a certain area. I normally know what area I want to visit rather than what kind of places or thing I'm actually looking for in particular. In London Villages the areas are often very specific and small like Bermondsey Street, East Bloombury and Northcote road. The author follows the same pattern with a short introduction to the area in question and then five tips of shops, parks, cafés etc. to see. This book is definitely going to live in my handbag for a few months to come, so practical!
This books gives you a very simple manual to different areas within London but also around the UK (for example South Wales, Edinburgh or Cambridge). The main idea is to give the reader stuff to do in an area or a city for 36 hours. So if you wanted to you could just follow the exact plan. It starts Friday mid-day to Sunday mid-day. Which makes it 48 hours right? Hmm, so not holding its' promises. But it's a good idea for those who have very little time somewhere. And I must say, that I'm impressed with the simplicity yet the creativity of the activities it offers. One more thing, it's not so bad to look at (inside out), which is always a big plus in my opinion.
I just love this book. Again, not the prettiest cover but it gets better on the inside. As the title promise, it presents 500 hidden secrets of the city. The trickiness of title is the 'secret' part, are they all so very hidden? The title makes you think that you get a sort of insiders guide, but the truth is that if you are a person that likes blogs and follow various London Instagram accounts then you will have heard about at least half of the hidden secrets in the book. Despite this (my slight unnecessary irritation with the title), the books gives you the crème de la crème, all the places that are worth seeing really. Separated into different fun genres, all of the places (or hidden secrets) are numbered which makes it so easy to go back to the things you found again and again. This books has a different approach to London than the other ones. If you feel like finding a cool unique place for a drink then you just have to look on page 99 in the 'Pubs with amazing interiors' section. The themes are creative and fun and makes you ant to explore the city. In the beginning you are given the chance to get a quick overview of the city and it's areas in broader terms with the maps. If you haven't been to London before or if you just want some inspiration this is the one guidebook you should hold on to.
