The street for book lovers is Charing Cross Road, which connects Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square. There are numerous bookstores here, many selling second hand, antiquarian or specialized books. Bookselling in the UK has undergone something of a revolution in recent years, with book buying at an all time high and most large stores providing cafes where customers can browse through the merchandise over a coffee. Book signings, talks by authors, poetry readings and book clubs are also offered in many stores.

At 100 Charing Cross Road is Blackwells, an immaculately ordered store, which specializes in books on academic subjects such as Literary Studies, Drama, Religion and Politics. It has a particularly strong History section and a wide range of material on computing.

On the other side of the road is Foyles. This used to be a disordered and ramshackle treasure trove but after the death of its eccentric owner in 1999, it was modernized and catalogued. It is a particularly good source of textbooks, but has an extensive selection of titles in all departments. There is also a café in the basement. There are now smaller branches of Foyles on the South Bank and at the St Pancras Eurostar terminal.

Borders has now successfully crossed the Atlantic to the UK. It has a wide section of popular books, magazines, stationary, CDs and DVDs. There are branches across Central London, including one at 120 Charing Cross Road and one at 203 Oxford Street.

Waterstones was founded by Tim Waterstone in 1982. Its flagship store and the largest bookshop in London is at 203-206 Piccadilly. There is now a branch of Waterstones on almost every high street. The closest to Ashbourne is only five minutes walk away, at 193 Kensington High Street. The branch at Notting Hill Gate, ten minutes walk from college, hosts regular literary events. Waterstones is well stocked and up-to-date, with friendly and efficient staff but students in search of more academic or specialized texts may need to order them or go further afield.