Amorous Cat

I love this shop! From the sign that says to watch your head on the stairway to the bit of carpet stapled to that overhang above the stairs so that you DON’T bang your head – everything is adorable. :)
I love the little hidden cats throughout the shop. How many can you find? And I love the name of the shop, and the colours, the layout – how it’s all so old and like an attic of lost treasures.
I wanted to give it a 5, but I couldn’t for two reasons.
1. I wished the prices were a little lower. I know they are reasonable and I know the cat has got to eat – but I couldn’t justify spending what they were asking at this point.
2. The craft section could use some bolstering. The books are not cool there. I know vintage is in, but one must be very picky about which vintage craft books one stocks. Trust me – they are not ALL cool. In fact, most are not.
Other than that, this shop is fab. I love the stairs, the shelves, the way everything is laid out, and the way the owner just talks to her friends openly about all sorts of personal things even though she knows you can overhear her …
(But now she’ll probably stop!)

If you’re ever going to open a book and end up within a hidden kingdom with evil pixies and talking curry dishes, it’s in the Amorous Cat on Lark Lane.
Compared to modern day bookshops, it’s, apologies for the cliché, a real hidden gem. Walking up the steep staircase is perilous, especially after a night boozing on the lane, and on the top level you sometimes get the feeling you’re about to plummet through the floor. But it’s floor to ceiling with books of all genres and ages. Browsing the shelves is a voyage of discovery.
Sometimes the Alsatian from the furniture shop along the road used to pop in to say hello to the Cat, but she recently passed away. RIP, a real character of the lane.
The Cat is everything a bookshop should be. Kudos.

I’m not a huge fan of bookshops but seeing the interestingly named Amorous Cat on Lark Lane, I decided to pop in and have a browse.
The shop is tiny but it is crammed with a huge variety of second hand books. Once you struggle up the old spiral staircase to the upper floor you find more of the same spread over a couple of rooms.
The books are well organised alphabetically and into categories just like the mainstream book shops and although they dont have the same stock as a high street book shop they do still have a lot of choice. The books, being second hand, are inexpensive. You can often find some rareities within the stock and walk away with a bargain.
The staff are extremely friendly and welcoming and always happy to help. This is an excellent little shop and I have been back many times for a browse.

Owing to its size, the Amorous Cat is crammed nose to tail with second hand books and, with its creaky floorboards and jolly owners, can sometimes feel like a film set. That quaint, narrow staircase was just installed for the latest Harry Potter, surely?
This coziness means the categories aren’t exactly separated by any gaps, meaning you can start off inspecting the travel section and in seconds be unwittingly peering at something on Cajun cooking, how to build a kayak or the Khmer Rouge.
One time I noticed a handwritten note pinned to a shelf that was aimed at the person who had been stealing from the shop. It spoke of how ‘we’re just a small, family-​run business’ and concluded with something along the lines of ‘come on mate, don’t do that.’ I felt so unnecessarily guilty I emptied my wallet onto the floor and sobbed.

I wonder what was going through the owner’s head when they decided on the shop name…
‘Well, I want it to epitomise cats and love… The Loving Lion? hmm, no… The Affectionate Feline? not quite… The… Romantic Kitten? Something is missing here… The Amorous Cat! Eureka!’ or something along those lines anyway…
This is a quaint little book shop and as a self professed book worm this is a good place to spend a while perusing some classics and you can get a get selection of stuff on the history of the area.
The thing that I really like about The Amorous Cat however, is the range of really old copies children’s books that are tucked away like the Beano and Books for girls and Adventure books for boys.
Like most places on Lark Lane, the opening hours are a bit unpredictable to say the least, so don’t be too disappointed if when you get there you can’t get into the beloved trove of treasure, it just makes it that little bit more valuable!

This is so cute it makes my heart sing. A little second-​hand bookshop called the Amorous Cat. Is there anything more precious?
It’s dinky so it mainly deals in online sales and tends to work as an office, but if they pop the wooden cat outside it means they’re open for business and have staff working in the store. The book range is large and extensive, especially if you look at the online contingent, but anything related to Liverpool, the Wirral and Merseyside in general can be found here — it’s something of a speciality in the Amorous Cat.
There’s a history room and varied literature sections as well as an emphasis on Irish culture, and if you find something you like you can grab it there and then or find it online after browsing. The staff are lovely, very knowledgeable and friendly to boot. It’s quaint, it’s adorable and you’d have to be very hard of heart not to melt in here. Just lush.

A bohemian looking bookstore with red walls and a cute frontage, the Amorous Cat is a must for local bookworms.
Located on Lark Lane, it’s an independent, secondhand shop with friendly owners that are clearly mad about reading. The space is tiny compared to chains like Waterstones but if you can’t find what you’re looking for, it’s worth asking as there’s extra stock hidden away elsewhere. As you’d expect from the location, there’s a good mix of local history and local interest books alongside more arty subjects like literature, poetry, theatre, film, art and literary criticism. The only catch is as the owners mainly run it as an internet business, the opening hours can be rather sporadic. The key is, if there’s wooden cat outside, they’re happy for you to browse and buy to your hearts content. If the pavement is empty, come back another time!

Well it has books so how could I not give this quaint little indie book shop less than 4 stars? It would take someone pretty hard hearted to rate this little Lark Lane stalwart with only two stars — ‘hmm, tut-​tut, no Pablo Neruda, bah 2 stars for you!’
The Amorous Cat — still not sure about the name though! — crams its books from floor to ceiling into its tiny frame with a good selection on a range of topics. Typical of Lark Lane, however, the Cat is untypical as it doesn’t really have any set opening hours. It works largely as an online book retailer so is only open when the owners turn up to sort out their orders — perfect for those strolling down the Lane and happen to chance upon this cute little bookstore but not so good for those wanting to get hold of the latest Marion Keys behind the shutters!

This delightful second hand book shop is where I whiled away many a happy lunch hour when working in Aigburth. I have such fond memories of my mooching in here not to mention great finds which I still have on my bookshelf to this day. A gem!