UK'S BEST BOOKSHOP

Chosen by Gaby Wood, Daily Telegraph head of books

The Book Hive 53 London Street, Norwich (01603-219268; thebookhive.co.uk)

When the Book Hive opened in Norwich in October 2009 everyone thought its owner, the playwright and former actor Henry Layte, must have been mad. In the middle of a recession, when large book chains were folding, and with pundits predicting the demise of the printed book altogether? But the result – housed in a beautiful rounded building

(a 100-year-old former flower shop) on the corner of a pedestrianised street – is such a triumph it makes the case for independent bookshops more generally. The fact is that bookshops now must have a rather refined purpose. After all, if you know what you want, you can buy it on Amazon. What an independent bookshop can offer is discovery: the chance to be introduced, via a personally curated selection, to words or pictures you may very well fall in love with. The Book Hive does this magnificently.

As soon as you enter, you're struck by the democracy of the offerings on display. I found the latest Jonathan Franzen and Larkin's letters, as well as editions by tiny publishers I'd never heard of. Children's books, gardening books and art books are all mixed in together, and the ratio of tables to shelves means that much of its stock is on display at any given moment. In fact, it's more than democratic, it's bordering on anarchy; the only thing linking these is that they are the staff's favourite books, and that they are the most beautiful editions available. The Book Hive should be commended for restoring to reading the elements of excitement and surprise.

Runners-up
Bookmark, 20 The Crescent, Spalding, Lincolnshire; Torbay Bookshop, 7 Torquay Road, Paignton, Devon