Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
16
May
Where to find a good independent bookshop in the Harrogate district
In a world consumed by digitalisation and screens, the feeling of a physical book is hard to beat.
Just this week, the Stray Ferret revealed a new bookstore is opening in Boroughbridge and will be the latest addition to a series of fabulous, independent bookshops in the Harrogate district.
So, whether you’re looking for a new bedtime story to read to your child, a crime fiction novel to get lost in on holiday, or just literary classic, our local bookshops are sure to deliver.
We’ve collated a list of some independent bookshops across the Harrogate district, some of which host their own book clubs and author events.
Happy reading.
Harrogate
Imagined Things Bookshop: Located on Montpellier Parade, the iconic blue bookshop stocks a wide variety of genres.
Shoppers can find books for children, teens and young adults, as well as non-fiction works ranging from books on feminism, cooking, history and business, to autobiographies and memoirs, self-help and sports.
Over in the fiction aisle, you can expect thrillers, romance, horror and sci-fi, and classic novels.
Imagined Things also hosts a book club through a subscription service, meaning even bookworms from afar can be part of it.
John Atkinson Fine and Rare Books Just across the road on Royal Parade sits John Atkinson Fine and Rare Books, which does exactly what it says on the tin.
Marketed at those with a slightly bigger budget, the shop offers a fine collection of first editions and rare novels – some dating back pre-1920s.
There are a range of classic novels, including first UK editions of Emily Brontë and Thomas Hardy, as well as more contemporary works by Stephen King and Paula Hawkins.
In 2021, the shop listed a rare collection of James Bond books with inscriptions from the author for £475,000.
Books For All: Looks are deceptive with Books For All, which is located on Commercial Street.
It may look small from the outside, but there are actually three floors packed with an array of second-hand books.
You can sift through hundreds of books, alongside a selection of vinyl and CDs.
Boroughbridge
Yet to open its doors, Beloved Books is opening next Saturday (May 23) on Horsefair.
The owners this week told the Stray Ferret people can look forward to books for all ages, including fiction and non-fiction novels, and hopes to support as many independent authors as possible.
Beloved Books also adopts the blind date with a book concept, which involves a customer buying a book without knowing what it is.
The book is wrapped in paper to hide the title and author.
Beloved Books also hopes to host author visits and book clubs in the future.
Tom Garrod and Kerry Thornton are opening Beloved Books in on Boroughbridge's Horsefair.
Ripon
The Little Ripon Bookshop has operated on the city’s Westgate since 2009.
The family-run shop offers a range of non-fiction works including books on travel, home and garden, true crime, politics, history and cooking.
The fiction shelves include books that have been translated into English, folktales, fantasy, Manga comics, classic novels and poetry.
Alongside its strong selection of children's books, the shop also hosts a storytime session most Tuesdays for pre-schoolers and their parent or guardian.
The Little Ripon Bookshop also runs its own book club and often holds author events.
Knaresborough
Castlegate Books on Market Place began trading in 2008.
Since then, it has grown its collection of new books, which now includes ‘hard to find titles’, classic fiction, thrillers and children’s books.
It also stocks a range of non-fiction, including works on the natural world and science, history, politics, crime, food, music and sport.
Castlegate Books also sells books on the local area and hosts regular author signing events.
Inside Paper People Books.
Pateley Bridge
Paper People Books took over a unit on Pateley Bridge’s High Street in 2024.
It sells a variety of paperback and hardback books, which are categorised on its website as ‘grown-up books’ and ‘children’s books’.
Grown-ups will find fiction including romance and mystery novels, historical fiction, comedy and fantasy, as well as non-fiction guides on arts and crafts, space, cooking and architecture.
Paper People Books has a strong children's collection too, including sensory and picture books, and children’s classics like Aladdin and The Jungle Book.
0