Last Thursday I attended a talk at the V&A Reading Rooms by the book buyer of the V&A, Jonathan Faiers. It was a lovely event - informative, personal and inspiring. Mr. Faiers has over 25 years experience in the trade so he talks compellingly about printed matter. You can read more about what he talked about here.

Whilst taking in the talk I got thinking about why the place was so absorbing. I think it is fairly simple. As you come in there are a few tables and chairs dotted about for browsing, there is a bar from which you can buy a glass of wine (not extortionately priced either) and the Vitsoe shelves are packed full of interesting titles - many of which you would not expect to find in a 'gallery' bookshop. It is the kind of place where you could linger for hours without the feeling of being obliged to buy... I guess the shop's proprietors know that's pretty likely to happen anyway.

Well worth a visit if you're in South Kensington. It gets 8.5/10.