Brighton has always had a lot of bookshops.

Waterstones. With a four storey store by the clocktower in Brighton and a smaller one in Georget St, Hove, this is the place to get your Peter James’ and other general fiction/non fictions. The Brighton branch has a cafe and lots of comfy chairs while the Hove one is a lot more compact.

City Books is a loveley little indie bookshop on Western Road between Brighton and Hove. It is very compact and bijou with two floors and a nice window display. Does lots of author readings (usually at the Old Market) with big names like Nick Cave and PJ Harvey.

Kemptown Bookshop is right down the end of George St in Kemptown. Does that even coiunt as Brighton? Another lovely little indie it sells books, prints, stationary and coffee. It has a varied selection of events as well.

CookBookBake is book shop dedicated to cookery books. It is situated on the Hove coast road just along from the King Alfred. I have only peered in through the window but they seem to have receipe boks form all round the world and covering all the sorts of food you could eat.

Feminist Book Shop and Vegan Cafe probably couldn’t be more Brighton if it tried. That said, they have a great selection of female/LGBT fiction and non fiction. They have events, run a subscription book club and do a nice line in gift boxes.

Afrori. Tucked away in a back street in the North Laine is this specialist black bookshop. Stocking books by black authors and around black matters, it has been around for about a year now. It is currently crowdfinding.

Daves Comics on sydney Street has been around since the 90s. With its funky frontage it specialises in comics, graphic novels and that sort of thing.

Goldsboro Books. Based in Ship Street, this book shop specialises in new and rare signed first editions. In that respect it is a bit of a collectors place, not somewhere you browse round on the off chance. They also have a branch in London.

The Book Nook is an award winning independent children’s bookshop on First Avenue in Hove. They do books from preschool to young adult and have regular events.

And then there are the second hand book shops.

Ubu Books is tucked away in the far corner of Brightons Open Market but is well worth a visit. It specialises in old paperbacks, of most genres, from the last 70 years. If you like yellowing pages andoutlandish covers then this is the place.

Other than that you have the Amnesty Bookshop on Sydney street and the usual Oxfam bookshops in Kensington Gardens and Blatchingto Road.