Hello,

The Reading Room is a small, independently-owned bookshop in the beautiful, historic town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders. We are usually open Tuesday to Saturday from 1000-1230, 1300-1630. We are closed on Sundays and Mondays, except during the summer months.

Owner Gordy took over in November 2025 from Rebecca, who had owned the shop for a wonderful three years . An avid reader, especially of dark and gloomy fiction, folklore and Scottish history, he is delighted to be taking up the reins of this beautiful gem of a bookshop. In August 2026, The Reading Room celebrated its fifth birthday!

We have an excellent curated range of fiction, children's picture books and a larger section dedicated to Scotland - from history to landscape and culture to maps and walking guides.

We can also order any book in print for you to collect from the bookshop. If you order before midday, your order will normally arrive the next day (subject to availability).

Book clubs and groups, children’s activity groups and schools receive 20% off when buying 10+ copies from us in any single order. Ask us for more details.

If you can’t make it into visit us here at The Reading Room and would still like to support us, you can shop with us via Bookshop.org who support small, independent bookshops - an ethical and fair way place to buy online.

Thank you for visiting! You may like to also visit our larger premises, The Wedale Bookshop, in Stow - just minutes away from Stow Railway Station and mere seconds from the X95 Borders Buses bus stop.