Bookish Adventures in Scotland

Pubs, Bookstores, and Discussions in Edinburgh

May 13, 2025

I’ve returned from a wee trip to Scotland. My wife Stephanie, a delightful singer-songwriter, had two concerts over the weekend (one in Blairgowrie the other in Glasgow). We stayed in Edinburgh and here are some of the bookish adventures I had during the trip:

Bookstore Visits

I visited four bookstores - Armchair Books, Edinburgh Books, Adventure Into Books, and Topping & Company:

Armchair Books

Armchair Books is one of my favorite bookstores in the world. Over the years, I’ve found some of the most unique secondhand books I’ve ever come across. They usually have a few first edition Tolkien & George MacDonalds in stock as well as special surprises like Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, and some exquisite Jane Austen novels.

Upon entering, there are shelves and shelves of fiction organized by author. The back near the counter contains a number of rare books and is my favorite spot to peruse. There is another section of the store (first photo below) with more rare books, classics, travel, Scottish history, and other delightful categories.

Here are some additional photos from Armchair Books:

Edinburgh Books

Edinburgh Books is just a few blocks from Armchair and is run by a wonderful proprietor named William. I check in whenever I’m in Edinburgh and go directly to a few spots:

Straight in to the end and look left - usually a nice collection of first edition George MacDonald books.
Downstairs - this is where the classics live. Edinburgh Books usually has a nice selection of second-hand Loeb books.
Ask William to who you the back stairs. There’s some magic there.

On this trip, I picked up a book about Philoctetes by Sophocles as that’s the next book on the Short Great Books Reading List (join the discussion!). I also came across a version of The Odyssey translated by T.E. Lawrence (or Lawrence of Arabia). I had forgotten he did a translation. The first few lines did not resemble what I know of the first few lines of The Odyssey, so it must not be an exact translation.

Here are some additional photos from Edinburgh Books:

Adventure Into Books

Adventure Into Books is located in Blairgowrie, not too far from Perth. We arrived at one of my wife’s concerts a bit early and had some time to spare. We had a delightful talk with Ralph the owner, who turned me on to a book called The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. He said it’s very similar to Silas Marner by George Elliot, so that piqued my interest. I ended up purchasing that book.

Topping & Company

I discovered Topping & Company last year on a trip to Scotland. They are a newer bookstore, have multiple locations across the U.K., and focus solely on new books.

This bookstore is impressive. It’s two stories tall and stocked with an excellent selection of books. It’s brilliantly laid out with wall to ceiling shelves and wonderful views of the city out of the large windows.

My favorite spot in this store is the two shelves of classics and myths on the first floor. In my visits, I’ve been introduced to new translations of classics that I didn’t know existed. That has been very exciting.

Here are some additional photos:

George MacDonald Discussion

Over the weekend, my wife and I attended a birthday party of a dear friend. It took place in a garden on an absolutely perfect day. One of the attendees we met was extremely knowledgeable about George MacDonald and we spent some time talking to her.

She grew up near Huntley, Scotland, where George MacDonald lived, and figures her grandparents would have known MacDonald. Pretty fun discussion.

Scotland Aid Book Sale

I was in town for the annual Christian Aid book sale (William at Edinburgh Books let me know about it). It took place at New Town Church on George Street. A number of booksellers came to sell their books. I picked up a 1980 paperback of The Hobbit.

The Queens Arms

The Pub to End All Pubs

There’s a pub in Edinburgh called The Queen Arms and it’s lined with books. It was a completely random choice to eat here for lunch, but is anything ever completely random when books are involved?