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
The Streets at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and all you need to know
Lydia Mastrolonardo
The Streets are coming to Manchester this weekend to play their landmark album, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, on tour and in full for the first time in full since its release in 2004.
It remains one of the most influential albums of the 21st century, having had a huge impact on culture and UK music, and we couldn’t be more excited to FINALLY hear it in its entirety live and direct.
Speaking on the seminal release, frontman Mike Skinner says he “wrote it as a story from beginning to end, even studying screenwriting to shape it and without the faintest idea how people would react.”
Ahead of this bringing it back to the stage in its entirety, he said: “We’ve been looking for something bold to do with the live show, and we landed here: some tracks have never been played live, others haven’t surfaced in years.” With that in mind, we can’t wait for their 2026 Sounds of the City set. Speaking of…
The Streets at Castlefield Bowl for Sounds of the City
Are there tickets left for The Streets’ Manchester dates?
Skinner and his band are set to fill Castlefield Bowl, and we’ve been blessed with not one, but two nights at this iconic outdoor stage in the heart of the city, on Friday 10 July AND Saturday 11 July – lucky us.
While tickets for the first gig are all sold-out across the board, you can still grab general admission for the second show this Saturday; secure yours HERE.
Known for their lively stage presence, tongue-in-cheek demeanour and unwavering crowd engagement, Skinner and co’s latest visit is not one to miss lightly.
Oh, and if you too were ‘Prangin Out’ about the footy clashing, ‘Dry Your Eyes’ and fear not: you no longer have to choose, thanks to a welcome update ahead of England’s crucial World Cup quarter-final against Norway.
Saturday, August 1, 2026 – Scarborough Open Air Theatre – Scarborough
Friday, August 7, 2026 – Audley End Estate – Essex
Friday, August 21, 2026 – Earlham Park – Norwich
Saturday, August 22, 2026 – O2 Academy Birmingham – Birmingham
Friday, August 28, 2026 – Rock N Roll Circus – Sheffield
Thursday, August 5, 2026 – Depot Mayfield – Manchester
Yes, in case you weren’t aware, the gang are also playing The Warehouse Project as part of the WHP26 programme; tickets for that are also live.
Get them before they go!
Support acts and stage times for The Streets at Castlefield Bowl
For ‘Those That Don’t Know’, there are set to be some amazing support acts joining The Streets on tour. We are lucky enough to get rising Mancunian artist Antony Szmierek, as well as rap and grime MC CASISDEAD for the two days at Castlefield Bowl.
They’ve also kindly given us a very clear rundown of the stage times for each artist’s set, too:
Thankfully, bringing back an album to play start to finish means that we pretty much know almost for certain what they’re going to be playing. Here’s the tracklist as it appears on the original album:
Set 1: A Grand Don’t Come For Free in full
It Was Supposed To Be So Easy
Could Well Be In
Not Addicted
Blinded by the Lights
Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way
Get Out of My House
Fit but You Know It
Such a Tw*t
What Is He Thinking?
Dry Your Eyes
Empty Cans
That being said, we’re almost certainly going to get a few more hits as part of the encore, be it ‘Turn the Page’, ‘Who’s Got the Bag’ and ‘Let’s Push Things Forward’, just to name a few.
What would you most like to hear from elsewhere in their discography for the Sounds of the City (SOTC) double bill? Let us know in the comments.
Transport and travel advice
Getting to Castlefield Bowl
Castlefield Bowl (M3 4JR) is on Rice Street just down Liverpool Road, which cuts off the main Deansgate strip in the city centre, and you can enter Manchester’s much-loved outdoor amphitheatre via Duke or Castle Street.
Tram
It’s just a six-minute walk from the Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop, or ever so slightly further is the St Peter’s Square tram stop, where you can find regular trams running all over Greater Manchester from both. You can check the first and last trams from the stops HERE.
Train
The nearest station to Castlefield Bowl is Deansgate train station, being a mere six-minute walk or Manchester Oxford Road, which is only 15 minutes away, with Piccadilly and Victoria being slightly further afield but still not miles away, clocking in at just a few minutes from the gig.
Whichever route you choose, none are unrealistic – just be sure to check last train timings to not get caught short.
Bus
A variety of buses stop close to Castlefield Bowl on their route, such as the 33 or 33b, which stop just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE
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Getting to Castlefield Bowl by car and parking info for The Streets
If you’re driving there, Great Northern Warehouse’s (M3 4EE) car park, as well as two other NCPs near Bridgewater Hall and on Quay Street in Spinningfields.
You can also park your car for free and get the tram to the gig from one of Greater Manchester’s 24 Park and Ride sites.
Walk/cycle
If you’re that bit more climate conscious, then there are plenty of options for you too. Why not use the TfGM journey planner to find the best cycle route for you?
If you’re up for saving some pennies, the planet and want to take in your surroundings on a summer evening, then walking is a great option to beat the queues. Even walking a portion of your journey may be a wise idea!
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Just make sure you save some energy for an all-night party (here’s hoping England can take it long into the early hours).
If you’re wondering what the vibes have been like at SOTC 2026 so far, here’s a taster from night two…
Safe to say @wetlegband continue to 'level up' when it comes to live shows. 🔥
Featured Images — Ben Cannon (supplied via SJM Concerts)/Audio North/Atlantic Records
Art & Culture
Greater Manchester music community unites to pay for local band’s new tour van
Danny Jones
In a touching bit of news that just goes to show the power of the grassroots music community here in Greater Manchester, a local band has successfully raised enough money to finally buy a tour van, all thanks to donations from fans like you.
You just love to see it.
The group in question is Spangled, who we’ve been following for some time over on our Audio North page, and they’ve featured as one of Artists of the Month.
More importantly, however, just a few weeks after setting up a fundraiser to help pay for a proper touring vehicle, they’ve smashed their target and then some, meaning they’ll be back hitting the road in no time.
Setting a £10,000 target when they first created the GoFundMe at the end of May, they breached the halfway point on 23 June, and now, just over a fortnight later, they’ve amassed £10,455 and counting.
Incredible stuff.
Writing an emotional post following the conclusion of ‘Project Vangled’, the post-punk rockers wrote: “You lot fucking did it. Somehow we’ve smashed our £10k target for the van, meaning we’re in a phenomenal position to go and buy one as soon as we can over the next few weeks.
“Special thank you to Robert Mitchell – who donated an outrageous £4.5k. We’re truly speechless and blown away. Robert, you are the man. Please drop us a message or an email, as we’d love to do something special for ya in return.
“The next Spangled chapter is upon us. And it’s all down to you, the people. LGFS.”
We’re sure you guys can figure out that final acronym all on your own, but if you’ve even been lucky enough to be at a Spangled gig, you’ll know exactly what it means; at the very least, if you haven’t listened to their stuff yet, you really need to.
Have you checked our first monthly listening round-up of the year? 🎧
Our inaugural cover stars of 2026 are the incredible @Spangledband – or rather the great bit of artwork for their latest single is. 👌
It’s also been great to see the reactions to the news on social media, with fellow industry peers such as promoters This Feeling and music outlet RGM Magazine both popping up in the comments to pass on the congratulations to the lads.
Oh, and big Rob Mitchell, whoever you are, you’re an absolute legend.
We just love hearing stories like this, especially when it involves up-and-coming artists that we know and love, not to mention truly believe can go all the way if given the right kind of access and a helping hand every now and again.
So to all those who have, give YOURSELVES a hand, and continue to show your support for the rising stars of the future like, well, these guys…
Katie McCall -
8th March 2024 
