If you live in Manchester, you’ll be quite used to the chatter surrounding our city’s legendary musical offering, football heritage and art scene.
But, fear not, bookworms: for those of you who spend most of your leisure buried in books, there’s a rich written lineage here in Manchester too and if you’d rather seek out quieter ways to spend your downtime, there are plenty of bookish hidey-holes right in the city centre.
After all, iconic writers such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Lemn Sissay and Elizabeth Gaskell; Anthony Burgess, Jeanette Winterson, John Cooper Clarke and countless others have all called this place home
So, pop your reading glasses on and come with me on a tour of our literary city and some of the best reading spots in Manchester.
The best places to read in Manchester city centre
1. Portico Library
With 19th-century texts stacked up high to its majestic, domed ceiling, this library feels like an uncovered secret, tucked away from the bustle of Piccadilly Gardens. You’re free to wander around, enjoy their exhibitions and peer through their ‘Handling Shelf’ of vintage literature.
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Entry is free and it costs just a tenner for a weekly Reader pass, giving you access to the exclusive, private reading room at the back of the building. Give Portico a go.
2. House of Books and Friends
This beautiful bookshop and social space on King Street is just as stunning on the inside as its extraordinary exterior. It’s also one of our favourite cosy little spots for a brew in the city centre.
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Daylight pours through the enormous windows into their café area, where they run regular events, book clubs, and author interviews to tackle loneliness in the reading community.
Part of the University of Manchester, you could say that John Rylands is the spiritual home of books in our city and probably the closest thing you’ll find to a real-life Hogwarts.
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With its impressive neo-Gothic architecture and catalogue of more than 250,000 publications, the sweeping stone arches and stained-glass windows give the impression that you’ve stumbled into a place of worship. It’s also set to undergo a multi-million-pound renovation in the coming years.
Every year thousands of internationals visit these hallowed halls to pay homage to the written word and it’s not hard to see why, just look at it. A truly magical place.
If John Rylands is the cathedral in Manchester’s literary kingdom, then its spookier, medieval counterpart, Chetham’s Library, is surely our castle. Nestled behind a stone gateway in Cathedral Gardens and around the corner from Victoria, this is the oldest library in the English-speaking world.
It was originally set up as a priest’s college but in 1595 it became home to Dr John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I’s warden, who was a famed alchemist, academic, magician and occultist. According to legend, in between séances, Dr Dee supposedly summoned Satan himself.
If you’re feeling devilish, book on to one of the library tours where you can touch the scorch mark Beelzebub’s hoofprint left on the original table. See if you can spot the eerie death masks and carved devil’s face peering out from the shadows, as well. There’s some real history to this place.
Across town, you’ll find a door into a more specific corner of Manchester’s reading community. Historically, the stories of LGBTQ+ people have been silenced and that’s why QueerLit is such a special place; this place is all about celebrating inclusion and bringing those narratives back to the forefront.
A fifteen-minute stroll away from the thrum of Canal Street, they stock thousands of titles in their Northern Quarter shop, including authors and characters representing a diverse, queer readership, covering everything from historic fiction to comic books.
Not just a great reading spot for people in Manchester but an important one too.
The final stop on our literary tour is Chapter One, a cosy café and bookshop with a whole range of welcoming clubs to help you meet other like-minded folk — there’s a real community vibe here.
Their friendly groups cover creative writing, meditation, and poetry, as well as introductory sessions to woodwork and sculpture. They also have the wonderful Middle East-inspired Gulf coffee and teahouse in the back which, like any good book, is one of the most transportive places little rooms in town.
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Reading spots don’t get cosier than this. (Credit: Chapter One Books (via Instagram)
That’s not all. There is, of course, the mighty Central Library on St Peter’s Square, and across the city there are dozens of other public libraries and independent bookshops for you to duck into.
No matter where you are in Manchester next time the rain starts to fall, you can always take shelter between the pages of a good book.
And if you’d like to hear more from the wonderful Katie McCall, you can check out her uncanny, gothic fiction and short stories which have been published right here in the UK and over in the US.
She’s just finished writing her second novel, a folk horror set just down the road in the Peak District. For further spooky, bookish musings, follow her on Instagram.
Featured Images — House of Books and Friends (via IG)/The Manc Group/Chapter One (via IG)
Art & Culture
Jack Whitehall announces massive Manc gig as part of brand-new live stand-up tour
Danny Jones
British comedy legend Jack Whitehall is making a triumphant return to Manchester yet again with a trip to Co-op Live.
That’s right, in addition to hosting the 2026 BRIT Awards at the massive indoor entertainment arena this month, the seasoned stand-up will be headlining the venue himself too.
Heading back on the road award-winning comic is heading back on the road for a huge national arena tour that promises bigger laughs than ever before, so get ready to laugh your socks off.
Fresh from starring in crime thriller Malice on Amazon Prime Video and stepping into the spotlight as presenter once again to host the BRITs, Jack Whitehall is returning to what he does best: live comedy.
Audiences can expect classic Whitehall awkward storytelling and quick-witted observations that have made him one of the UK’s most loved stand-up comedians.
Entitled Bad Influence, his new hour will showcase brand-new material that has been specifically written for 2027.
The newly confirmed show will almost a year on from his debut visit to the Co-op on Saturday, 28 February for the BRITs.
Jack Whitehall Bad Influence tour dates:
January 2027
Thursday 7 January – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Saturday 9 January – Co-op Live, Manchester
Sunday 10 January – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Tuesday 12 January – Playhouse, Edinburgh
Wednesday 13 January – Playhouse, Edinburgh
Thursday 14 January – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
Saturday 16 January – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Sunday 17 January – Swansea Building Society Arena
He’ll also be doing a handful of live shows the following month, including a trio over in Yorkshire at the likes of Leeds’ First Direct Arena and more; you can see those dates down below:
February 2027
Tuesday 2 February – BIC, Bournemouth
Wednesday 3 February – Utilita Arena, Sheffield
Thursday 4 February – Connexin Live, Hull
Saturday 6 February – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Sunday 7 Feburary – Vaillant Live, Derby
Presale to see Jack Whitehall in Manchester goes live from 10am on Wednesday 18 February, and Co-op members can also enjoy early access via the venue.
As for general admission tickets, they will be available from 10am this Friday (20 Feb).
Gig review | DMA’s have Manc in their DNA, whether they know it or not
Danny Jones
Yes, we saw the crowds in Brixton, Leeds and so on, and they were also box office, no doubt – and we’re sure there’s plenty of bias coming in here – but DMA’s final night in Manchester was just magnificent on every level.
Still managing to bring a real Friday feeling even though it was a Sunday night following the protracted Valentine’s celebrations, when most were already dreading the inevitable Monday blues (morning, all), it felt like the perfect way to close out a weekend with everyone’s first love: music.
During a period when we’re all encouraged to be a little bit more sincere and spread pure positivity, seeing the sea of happy, smiling faces watching DMA’s on night two at the O2 Victoria Warehouse was just the injection we needed.
For starters, you can’t ask for much more than getting to hear not only Hills End from start to finish but ‘Lay Down’ live twice in one night. The limbs were just as mad the second time around, if not even more.
To quote a fan speaking in the comments under this video, for some, it was beyond good: “The best gig I’ve been to in my 45 years on this planet”, apparently.
Quite the bold statement, and while we’re not sure we’re quite ready to be so superlative just yet, hearing them play their debut album from cover to cover on its 10th anniversary did make for a perfect set and an “unreal night” as we’ve heard and seen so many remark in the hours since the gig.
One person wrote, “If the next album is good, these will be absolutely huge”, while another declared that they’re “the greatest on Earth” already.
Whatever point on the scale you land on, pretty much everyone almost universally agrees that their first record is still their best, even with all the bangers they’ve put out since.
One of the best moments of the entire nostalgia trip was when they bookended the show with ‘Timeless’ and played their usual extended outro with multiple repetitions of the chorus and a proper breakout, letting their instruments do the talking in a fast, frenetic flurry as the crowd thrashed around.
DMAs never let you down when it comes to a performance, and neither do Manc crowds.
One of those where you saw way more arms in the air than phones. (Credit: Audio North)
And maybe that’s just it, as far as bands that come to this region and do well, the Sydney trio are one of the VERY best, vouched for by pretty much every mate and regular gig-goer whose opinion you trust implicitly; you can certainly add us onto that list.
Maybe it’s somehow to do with some of those Melbourne roots, too, as we’ve often heard the parallels drawn between the two cities, and they even asked if there was anyone in from ‘Melbs’ between songs – there was a notable cheer – or maybe it’s just some kind of uncalculable magic we can’t understand.
Either way, besides the ongoing rise of Aussie rock and Anzac bands doing very well around the UK in general, there is something very special about this particular indie outfit’s connection with the North West and Manchester, specifically.
Johnny, Tommy and Matt have all themselves cited it as a ‘second home’ throughout their career, having hit the ground running and finding a cult following here right from the off.
In fact, they admitted that the full touring band still regularly flies into Manchester first whenever they’re heading to the UK. Love that.
‘Olympia’ and ‘Silver’ were also big standouts beyond the Hills End part of the setlist. (Credit: The Manc)
Perhaps labelling them part of the ‘Britpop revival’ is a bit reductive, but it certainly hasn’t done them any harm thus far, and conversely, it’s definitely done them plenty of favours here in Greater Manchester.
They’re not just adopted Brits who understand our history as a nation of audiophiles; they get our crowds and this city’s culture down to a tee.
Put simply, either through blind luck or divine intervention from the music gods, DMA’s are Mancs by proxy, and whether or not that means anything to them, it sure as sh*t means a whole lot to us.
Here’s to HE10, and we can’t wait for the next celebration in whatever form it comes.
Katie McCall -
8th March 2024 
