Don’t get me wrong, Daunt Books is as wonderful, original and cultured as a bookstore can be, but … the service in Belsize Park left me a bitter taste in my mouth. The area might be gentrified, with lots of suit-wearing professionals running up and down, but that’s no reason why a suit-less, young-looking foreign girl should be treated differently than the majority of customers who might walk in to buy a book or two. One thing I learned through my experiences till this day is that one should never judge someone by his/her appearance -in this case culture needn’t wear a certain dresscode.
Yet, my love for books and bookstores was stronger than my sense of pride and I was swalloded by the range and variety of authors and books from all parts of the world. Though I entered with the pledge of not spending money this time I ended up leaving with two wonderful books -one French phrasebook and a new novel by the magnificent Paulo Coelho, The witch of Portobello.

Daunt Books is a great place to spend a half hour (or more) pottering around perusing titles. The branch on Haverstock Hill is conveniently located for a visit en route back from a Sunday morning walk on the Heath. Books are arranged in an unusual but engaging fashion - by world area: under Middle East for example there is an wide-ranging selection of Arab, Hebrew, Turkish and Persian novels in translation, travel guides, histories, biographies and cookbooks. There are other sections for Latin America, North America, the Far East and so on, as well as a sizable children's section at the back. Don't expect to walk out without buying a handful of titles.