Would actually rate it zero if it was possible as my friend was discriminated against by the owner for her disability. I visited this shop with three friends about two weeks ago. One of them is visually impaired and has to use an app on her phone to support her with reading. Specifically, she has to scan the pages of the books she wishes to read and then listen to them as they are read to her through the app. It's a tedious process and it can take some time, but it allows her to check the content of a book before she decides to read it in full - As most if not all of us do, reading a couple of pages can help us get a feel of a book. So on the day, she chose a book my friend had told her the title of, and started scanning a page or two with her phone, waiting for the app to read them back to her. She did this right opposite the counter, so there wasn't anything that could look shifty about the all thing (you know, in case she'd wanted to scan the entire 500 pages of the book she was holding and leave without paying...) . What I believe is the owner of the shop then started intently looking at her and eventually said "can I ask you why you are taking pictures of the book?". His tone was rude, but as she is used to these kind of questions and allowing he might just be curious (as I did), she explained she is visually impaired and about the app she needs to use to read etc. To our disbelief the man, instead of understanding the situation, then said "well are you planning to buy the book?", maintaining a very rude tone and clearly still annoyed by my friend's need to scan pages. She calmly replied "I need to first understand what the book is about before I can decide whether to buy it or not. Is there a problem with that?". He did not reply. My friend was visibly upset by the owner's behavior, having made to feel incredibly uncomfortable over something she cannot control, so she put the book down and we all left. We will will never set foot in this shop again and I would actively discourage anyone to support this business, which is clearly run but an inconsiderate person, more interest in making a few pounds rather than ensuring his establishment is accessible and enjoyable by all. So much for local businesses supporting the local community - BookMongers is failing here, big time! Disgusting behaviour.

Really friendly staff, always willing to help whenever I come in looking for a book. I never feel shy asking them for anything! The shop has a very cute and quirky vibe, with one or 2 places to sit and read a short extract from a book. I've also often found books that I've been looking for here, and always in really good condition! Not my personal cup of tea, but if you're a fan they have graphic novels and comic books near the back for not that much. It's sooo wallet friendly and good for the environment to buy secondhand books, so I defo recommend coming here and supporting a local buisness! =^_^= .

A wonderful shop, part of the Brixton community for over 30 years. There is a warm welcome for all who go through the door. One of the few remaining old time Brixton shops. Please do not believe the bad reviews, these are the followers of an anti- vaxer and covid denier who has his own agenda. Very sad he has targeted a small locally owned business that has struggled to stay open during lockdown. They have been in a difficult position trying to do the best for all their customers health and safety. If they are approached reasonably they go the extra mile to help any customer who has genuine needs.

Very lovely gentleman who owns the store. The claims of him discriminating against a disabled man are false. A young and able-bodied man walked in without a mask, acting very hostile and refused to leave. The store owner was incredibly polite and asked that he return wearing a mask so as to keep his customers safe and his small shop open as long as possible. He was very respectful. Later he helped me find exactly the book I needed despite being visibly shaken up. Thank you for you help!! Please visit and support all local book stores, especially such kind and helpfully people

Wonderful shop with excellent staff and a wide range of interesting reading. Well worth a deviation for as they say in Michelin. Brixton is only a hop and a jump down the Victoria line for anyone who is visiting the capital and looking for a REAL bookshop with genuine books served with love rather than the usual commercial paper pap that can be found in some central London establishments. Once you have experienced the taste of REAL books from a REAL bookshop you will be back AGAIN and AGAIN. Only given five stars because there is no option for six.

Been to this place a few times over the years and have highly recommended it in the past. Used to overlook the unpleasant manager and the dust. Maybe Black Books was based on him?! Today he refused to give me an itemised receipt, and told me to get my accountant to ring him if there was a problem with that. He was very rude over something that was really not a big deal. Generally I want to support small business owners, but this person is not someone I want to support. I walked out - I'd rather give my money to Amazon than him.

A gem of a bookshop, and a vital community resource for 30 + years. The fantastic range of books is only half the story. Pat, Wendy and Rob are always wonderfully welcoming and friendly, and the music is fabulous. What you feel when you walk in the door, is the love that has been poured into this place for decades. Popeye the cat is the latest in a long lineage of distinguished animals-in-residence, after the noble hounds Rosa and Leo. Cherish this place, it is irreplaceable.

I've been visiting Bookmongers since they appeared on Coldharbour Lane nigh on thirty years ago and in all that time I can't recall visiting a better bookshop. The breath of their selection, based as they are at the heart of our richly diverse community, means I rarely leave without some serendipitous and affordable selection or other. I can't recommend the shop and it's suitably offbeat staff more highly; a small thing of joy in our increasingly corporatised world.

An original interior here pulsing with oodles of atmosphere. A wonderland for the bookishly inclined, seemingly in disarray, with a credible selection of titles across the genre spectrum. The familiar present but also digression from popular mainstream expectations. Staff friendly unobtrusive and helpful Here it's feasible and likely to find something 'off the radar' at a reasonable price and in good condition. Counts among London’s best second-hand bookstores.

I love places that resist the passing of time! Even as my friend and I were entering this old, second hand bookshop in Brixton, a grumpy carpenter was putting up a new door and frame to the shop front. There are a lot of books, but we were told that nothing was on a 'database' and we would have to browse by 'genre'.. perfectly reflecting the kind of bookshop we were in! This place must go back well into the early 70's, if not even earlier than this.

Great local bookstore with a wide range of books, it's advertised as second hand but there's a lot of new books. I think they focus on older books but have a great and random range so you can find a bunch of gems. Lots of recognised authors and also some newer ones too. Well worth a visit, it's crammed full of books!! Lots of new editions of old classics/old books - not as secondhand as I had understood but still very pleasant.

I remember Bookmongers when I first moved to Brixton nearly 30 years ago when it was a tiny shop on the opposite side of Coldharbour Lane. It's really a little gem of a place...a great selection of 2nd hand books: it adds to the character of Brixton. Quirky, individual, sustainable...much like Brixton Wholefoods around the corner and Brixton Market. More of these, less of the big corporates would be a good thing. Imo

Fab little store, we were lucky enough to meet popeye. Admired the art and spoke with the artist behind the painting and what i assume may have been her partner. A lovely range of books and we will be back. Had no issues wearing our mask exemptions, was made to feel welcome and they made time to chat while we quietly approached popeye for some fuss (instigated by him of course)

Fast curtious freindly staff. Over whelmed with the selection of books. Totally spoilt for choice. The prices a a lot less than i thought. I got a next level course book for less than a fiver. New i would have been paying nearly four times as mush, to those in the shop that help find what i needed thanks i could have been there for hours making my choice. Really happy.

Great bookshop and excellent prices. Each price is written inside the book so you don’t need to ask. There is a lovely cat which lives in the shop. It has quite an eclectic, eccentric vibe. It feels like you are in a home and a shop. It is shabby and full of antiquated furnishings. A treasure of a shop within Brixton. You must visit!!

I've always liked going to this place but having just been verbally abused by the thoroughly unpleasant owner for taking a picture of a book before buying it, felt compelled to write my first Google review. You deserve this mate. If you go here, just don't expect nice customer service. Offended, upset and completely gobsmacked.

I strongly recommend walking into this bookshop with an idea of what you want. If you're not used to walking into a bookshop then seeing all these books from floor to ceiling can be intimidating. Fortunately, the guy behind the counter knows his way around and can help you get what you're looking for.

Beautiful, quaint bookshop; with plenty of titles (both new and first editions). Books are very, very well priced - generally half the price of the retail book price and in pristine conditions. Had a great chat with the storekeeper as well. Definitely worth the trip out for all book lovers!

The prices seem good and there is a reasonable stock. If you’re just browsing it’s fine but if you have a particular book in mind it’s a total pain because the books aren’t sorted by author’s surname, just ‘male authors’ and ‘women authors’ so it takes forever to find specific books.

I have been coming to this bookshop for years and its truly a gem. I have seen lots of comments about discrimination against disabled people and I could not disagree more patrick the shop owner is a lovely, kind hearted, welcoming person and everyone is welcome in his store!

Fantastic book shop, huge variety of books in many many genres. The guy running the place clearly knows his stuff and was extremely helpful, even though I was throwing some very weird/niche topic areas. Would recommend just to walk around for half an hour! Real hidden gem!

I had to change my review- from a 4.5 to a 5 star place. Best second book hand bookstore. I usually come here to buy some walking dead comics or anything. There's a cat(Popeye) and a very nice owner who'd help with anything. Hands down my favourite bookshop.

Please ignore all the nasty false reviews. Someone has obviously called upon friends to try and ruin this gentle shop keepers business. The owner of this book shop is a pleasant helpful man to ALL of his customers. So unfair. Brixton is lucky to have him!

Fantastic second-hand bookshop, something for everyone, different genres clearly marked. Very reasonable prices. Not to mention the friendly helpful staff/owner. Sadly one of the last bastions of the Brixton community that's been all but pushed out.

I stumbled upon this hidden gem of a bookshop - charming, warm, and with a great selection of philosophy, politics, and psychology titles. The prices are fantastic, and the cozy atmosphere makes it a joy to browse. A must-visit for book lovers!

A great place to spend your day perusing lots and lots and lots and lots of books covering broad and diverse topics and themes. I left with four books even though I hadn't planned on buying any. The person serving was friendly. Good prices too.

It's a lovely place to buy books as I enjoy reading this is a place I enjoy checking out when I'm in the local area good amount of books to pick has all sorts different books to pick the prices are good compared to other high street stores

Fantastic collection of books on all kinds of subjects at good prices. Friendly knowledgeable staff and Popeye the cat obvs. Background music selection veers towards the eclectic and prog sometimes but, in context, even that's forgivable.

An exceptional book store. Well worth visiting for the range available. The owner is friendly and very helpful. Worth going out of your way to visit. Do not be put off by the negative harassment, bullying, posts. Instead support this gem.

Charming little book store with lots to look at but my main complaint would be the organization of everything. Nothing was in alphabetical order and an author could be in 20 different spots in the same large section or in other genres.

2nd hand bookstores are becoming rare and rarer, in our horrible future made of electronic budgets: yes, they can bring your own whole library in your bag. And we'll need it, as we're all going blind we'll have to rely on talking

One of the gems of Brixton. This book shop hosts a large variety of second-hand books with good condition and the worker or owner seems nice too. There is a resident cat as well. Overall, a must visit if you are in Brixton.

A great 2nd hand book shop. Brought some old books along to sell them and was well satisfied with the results. They prefer paperbacks to hardbacks and were looking for some good quality philosophy books when I visited.

Went in the other day. Great service, knowledgeable staff who know where everything is. They also have a selection of first edition books and vintage books. I would highly recommend this shop for any book lovers.

Excellent selection. I bought a great collection of essays about poetry and theatre from 1500s - 1700s, published back in 1980s, and some other great books. There's such a broad mix. Very friendly staff.

Wonderful little spot jam packed with books from all genres and you’re guaranteed to find something that will grab your eye! Highly recommend visiting Plus you might get to meet Popeye …

If you're a book lover, this place is like a gold mine. I love it, it's so rare to find an ethical book shop where the staff are helpful but also let you take your time and read. Plus there's a cat!!

This place is iconic, awesome selection and a specialised "watch cat" who responds to being talked about and quite litterally part of the furniture. Lovely staff. Highly recommended. …

The best second hand book store I’ve been to. Incredibly well stocked, you can find almost anything there, hardly used book for such great prices! Staff are also very accommodating and friendly.

Beautifully quirky bookstore with used and new books (half price). I don’t know where they get them, but I’ll never buy on Amazon again! All the classics and more, always what I’m looking for!

An amazing range of books here at decent prices, the vibes are immaculate and it’s great fun to explore. The shop cat was an added bonus, he and the owner were both very friendly and helpful.

Good secondhand bookstore. A little chaotic but if you ever need a book, just go for a wander around and you’ll find something interesting. The cat is a bonus and the staff are very friendly.

This is an excellent bookshop, stock and staff are fantastic. Have been a happy customer for many years. Long may it continue providing a real community service to all the people of Brixton.

Ace little place. Well priced, interesting selection and the vibe is just right. I've spent quite some time in here just looking around and it's led to some great finds. Highly recommended.

wonderful place wiht a great owner. most of the recent bad reviews on here are from a pack of lunatic covid deniers/anti vax nutcases who think nothing about public safety. safely ignore.

First time visiting this fantastic book shop today and will definitely be back! Great selection of books and the man serving couldn’t have been more courteous. A rare find these days!

Good independent bookstore with a strong selection of books (and a cat!). But a bookstore like this really should have customer toilets for those wanting to spend some time browsing.

I love a book shop in general but this one is a real gem. Lots of great books, friendly staff and a great environment. A must visit for the avid reader. Can't wait to visit again!

Solid second hand shop. Really nice atmosphere. Fairly good selection. Don't come in necessarily looking for one specific title but for casual browsing this place is really nice

Super cute store, more books than you'd actually think and the owners are super friendly as well. The residential cat is a very cute bonus as well, overall super cozy atmosphere

Good friendly local bookshop. Also surprised to see the reviews claiming the owner is ablist - I'm disabled and the shop staff are very helpful, not ablist in the slightest.

Bookshops are like catnip to me. So going to BookMongers to meet two friends was great. I was careful so only bought TWO books but could have spent longer browsing.

My favourite bookshop in London. You can mull away an hour in here and wonder where it went! The biggest fluffiest feline member or staff is an added bonus!

Such a fantastic little bookshop in Brixton. Very affordable finds, including.a beautiful little kitty who elegantly lays on the couch at the back!

This is not-at-all a typical second-hand book store. Such a hidden treasure. Saves your wallet when book shopping. Say hello to their mascot too!

Great books, awesome music playing in the background and an amazing vibe thanks to the man singing along to the music from behind the counter :)

Such a cool shop! Great selection (rare cover art), eclectic vibe, and friendly, down-to-earth, yet knowledgable owner. Will definitely be back!

Great place with fantastic range and wonderful to potter. Very difficult to leave without something you have been thinking of once upon a time.

Amazing second hand bookstore! I regularly go there as they offer a great selection of books of all genres. The staff are friendly and helpful.

If you‘re in Brixton/London and looking for a great secondhand bookstore with a bunch of hidden gems, look no further and visit Book Mongers.

Great bookshop - Brixton's last independent bookseller. Have bought some great affordable books here over the years. Definitely recommend it.

Fab book store in the heart of Brixton. The shop shelves a total plethora of subjects and topics. There is a book for everyone in this shop.

It,s an adventure into her majesty,s lands, the cat is in charg of the house...os has a strong personanity...the toilet is ONLY for the cat

A local institution. Amazingly diverse range of books, lovely staff. And the best resident shop cat ever, Popeye. 100 percent recommended.

The most enjoyable second hand bookshop in London! Featuring a cat and a decent selection of second hand books for reasonable prices

What a wonderful independent quaint book shop full of charm. A interesting and comprehensive list of books. At an affordable price.

Such a cool place. Popped in just before they were closing but we still got a good look around. Great, varied selection of books.

Awsome place to buy books. Such a great character at the shop, all the mess is a beautiful mess. Plus the shop's cat is gorgeous.

The habit of placing the books in front of other books on the shelves makes it hard to browse. Am I having a bad day? Probably.

A classic secondhand book store with a wide range of categories and options at a reasonable price! Very cute interior as well

Dreamy spot in Brixton to sit and read, or find total gems to buy. Full of character and lovely staff. I love this bookshop.

Owners are incredibly welcoming and helpful. Book selection very impressive. They also have a very cute rescue cat on site.

I went in specifically to see if they had any graphic novels, saddened to see there wasn’t any, but there was a cute cat!

Soo much old books, I really liked the amount and diverse of it. For sure to come back and look for those great writers.

Overwhelmingly good. Wish we had more time to browse. Still left with 3 books. Super affordable and friendly …

They carry a wide range of titles on many subjects. Lots of books feel like new. Prices though are second hand.

Lovely bookshop, can't walk by without going in. Friendly, comfortable atmosphere. Fantastic variety of books.

Amazing selection of books in a friendly store with a timeless atmosphere. Would definitely recommend!

Great bookstore, wide variety of genres and really helpful staff! Would recommend and will be back!

my favourite second hand book shop in London! Great prices, lovely staff, super cute cat ! …

i ain’t been here but the fact that there’s a cat already tells me that this is five-star worthy

It's OK,not what I was expecting although I did find possible products to buy in the future

The best bookstore ever, best selection, best staff, what else to say‍♀️ …

Lovely independent, used and new bookshop. Full of great reads and one cat.

One of the best book shops I have ever been to. Truly one of a kind.

Great selection of all kinds of books, friendly and helpful owner.

Didn't see the cat but bought 5 ridiculously cheap books. Lovely.

Aladdins cave for book lovers. My favourite book shop in London.

Lovely shop full of character and interesting books

Adorable place, lots of books, nice shopkeepers