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.