London Style Guide: Eat Sleep Shop by Saska Graville

             I don’t know why, but I have always felt some odd connection to London; to England in its entirety, as a matter of fact.  The reason I say “odd” is because I have never set foot anywhere near England, much less London, so this feeling does not come from personal experience.  It’s just there and has been for as long as I can remember.  I don’t recall ever not wanting to go to England, but as I’ve become older that feeling has grown stronger.  It’s probably why I have such an interest in British television and movies.  They bring me closer to a place I so dearly want to visit.  It’s also most likely the reason for my picking up the book London Style Guide: Eat Sleep Shop.  Let me tell you, that while this book may look innocent, it is very dangerous.  As I read, all I wanted to do was jump on a plane or train and get out of town.  Each page made we want to go somewhere, anywhere other than where I currently am.  The more I read, the more I wanted to go out and see the world, with London at the top of my list.            

                London Style Guide is split up in two different ways.  First it is broken into areas of London (north, south, east, west, and central).  Then it’s separated by neighborhoods.  Each neighborhood has its own unique shops, restaurants, and sometimes even places to sleep.  With each location mentioned, the author provides useful information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and websites.  She also lets the reader know about any type of special operating policies a place may have.  I was surprised at how many establishments were only open on the weekends.  That’s very different from what I’m used to, and I appreciated being informed of those types of details.   

                At the end of each neighborhood section, there is an interview with a local.  The local answers a series of questions about their favorite places in and around London.  Often this includes establishments that are not otherwise mentioned in the book.  When this happens, a website is provided so the reader can go and investigate the place on his or her own.  This helps open up an entirely new set of possibilities for anyone who wants to explore London. 

                As much as I enjoyed reading this book, there was one problem I kept running into. I could not figure out which neighborhood I would want to start out in. I’m not even sure about which area to begin with. Each area and neighborhood had so many unique things it would be hard to pick which one to go to first. What I would probably have to do is figure out which areas are closest to the museums and then figure out the neighborhoods after that. Clothes shopping is not a big deal to me, but I would love to visit the bookstores that were mentioned. Then there were the art, craft, and fabric stores. The pictures that were shown of these places look like so much fun. After that, I would probably seek out the markets. Or maybe the restaurants. Or maybe… Oh, who knows? Probably the best thing for me to do would be to plan a long trip to England and spend a lot of days wandering around London with this book. That sounds like a good idea to me.