Any second hand bookshop addicts here?
Discussion
I keep meaning to find a day to pop to Hay, interesting to hear there's still a lot of bookshops though I'm not sure they're really the kind of thing I'm after.
Prices are always interesting - there's a local bookshop on a small craft / antiques outlet who seems very expensive on his fiction - used fiction hardbacks for about £8 each, which to me is on the heavy side, quite aside from the fact you can usually get them around that point brand new from Waterstones when they're first released. And yet on the same outlet there are "general" stalls where fiction tends to be £1, sometimes less, and these are the ones that tend to move. Main bookshop must be doing something right, though, to pay the rent.
I can't remember whether I've mentioned the Bookstore at Brierlow Bar, a couple of miles outside Buxton. That's what I'd describe as a publishers outlet (though I don't know if that's how they work) - all new books, but at pretty good discount. Not buy-it-as-its-so-cheap fiction prices, but a lot of non-fiction at big discounts off list price.
Prices are always interesting - there's a local bookshop on a small craft / antiques outlet who seems very expensive on his fiction - used fiction hardbacks for about £8 each, which to me is on the heavy side, quite aside from the fact you can usually get them around that point brand new from Waterstones when they're first released. And yet on the same outlet there are "general" stalls where fiction tends to be £1, sometimes less, and these are the ones that tend to move. Main bookshop must be doing something right, though, to pay the rent.
I can't remember whether I've mentioned the Bookstore at Brierlow Bar, a couple of miles outside Buxton. That's what I'd describe as a publishers outlet (though I don't know if that's how they work) - all new books, but at pretty good discount. Not buy-it-as-its-so-cheap fiction prices, but a lot of non-fiction at big discounts off list price.
droopsnoot said:
I keep meaning to find a day to pop to Hay, interesting to hear there's still a lot of bookshops though I'm not sure they're really the kind of thing I'm after.
Prices are always interesting - there's a local bookshop on a small craft / antiques outlet who seems very expensive on his fiction - used fiction hardbacks for about £8 each, which to me is on the heavy side, quite aside from the fact you can usually get them around that point brand new from Waterstones when they're first released. And yet on the same outlet there are "general" stalls where fiction tends to be £1, sometimes less, and these are the ones that tend to move. Main bookshop must be doing something right, though, to pay the rent.
I can't remember whether I've mentioned the Bookstore at Brierlow Bar, a couple of miles outside Buxton. That's what I'd describe as a publishers outlet (though I don't know if that's how they work) - all new books, but at pretty good discount. Not buy-it-as-its-so-cheap fiction prices, but a lot of non-fiction at big discounts off list price.
You might want to do a bit of research on the shops before visiting Hay - they do have quite a range and some specialise in different areas, so you might get lucky.Prices are always interesting - there's a local bookshop on a small craft / antiques outlet who seems very expensive on his fiction - used fiction hardbacks for about £8 each, which to me is on the heavy side, quite aside from the fact you can usually get them around that point brand new from Waterstones when they're first released. And yet on the same outlet there are "general" stalls where fiction tends to be £1, sometimes less, and these are the ones that tend to move. Main bookshop must be doing something right, though, to pay the rent.
I can't remember whether I've mentioned the Bookstore at Brierlow Bar, a couple of miles outside Buxton. That's what I'd describe as a publishers outlet (though I don't know if that's how they work) - all new books, but at pretty good discount. Not buy-it-as-its-so-cheap fiction prices, but a lot of non-fiction at big discounts off list price.
There seems to be so much fiction around, used as well, that I'm amazed any would sell at 8 quid a pop. My local Age UK bookshop sells most things at a pound each - and talking to 1 of the guys running it recently, they have a turnover of thousands of books a month. So I guess being so cheap will mean you shift stock. By contrast, I visit a local collectibles/antiques place where the owner rents cabinets to people with things to sell - and some people charge stupid amounts for raddled old books and consequently they're there for well over a year in some cases.
In fact 1 seller of pristine but expensive hardbacks had left the charity shop price on the back of something he was charging 12 quid for - he'd evidently got it for £2 and thought he was on to a winner. That stayed there too.
We've been in central London for a couple of days this weekend. Ostensibly to go to the Ideal Home Exhibition at Olympia (we had free tickets for BH Monday) but my OH booked a hotel for Monday night to make an event of it; stay overnight to let me visit the Folio Society bookshop as it's closed over the weekend when we normally seem to end up in London, and do some bookshop trawling whilst we're there.
Monday, in one of the Charing Cross Road bookshops I came across leatherbound copies of Dan Simmons' Ilium and Olympos. They're published by Subterranean Press, who are a small press from the US. I rarely see any of their editions outside of Forbidden Planet, so had to snap them up for the price.
Then this morning, before visiting the Folio Society shop, we visited a couple of bookshops in the Bloomsbury area, including the Oxfam bookshop there. I came away with an older FS copy of Wind in the Willows with a lovely silk cover, and a FS free gift book called How to cook a Hippopotamus, plus a fantasy book called Desdemona that I've looked at as I love the work of the cover artist but never got around to buying, and a copy of The Dragon Lover's Guide to Pern as I'm a long time Anne McCaffrey fan.
Total spend on these £92...
Monday, in one of the Charing Cross Road bookshops I came across leatherbound copies of Dan Simmons' Ilium and Olympos. They're published by Subterranean Press, who are a small press from the US. I rarely see any of their editions outside of Forbidden Planet, so had to snap them up for the price.
Then this morning, before visiting the Folio Society shop, we visited a couple of bookshops in the Bloomsbury area, including the Oxfam bookshop there. I came away with an older FS copy of Wind in the Willows with a lovely silk cover, and a FS free gift book called How to cook a Hippopotamus, plus a fantasy book called Desdemona that I've looked at as I love the work of the cover artist but never got around to buying, and a copy of The Dragon Lover's Guide to Pern as I'm a long time Anne McCaffrey fan.
Total spend on these £92...
Productive trip then 
At least I can point my good lady to this thread and say "see? I've never spent that much in 1 go!" 
I work around the corner in Bloomsbury - was at the Oxfam shop half an hour ago! Nothing for me this time - their prices range from reasonable to "hahaha, give over..." - but always worth popping in. Skoob's about 20 minutes walk north of there is well worth a look if you're ever in the area. Much bigger than the Oxfam shop, and most of the charing x ones too.
At least I can point my good lady to this thread and say "see? I've never spent that much in 1 go!" I work around the corner in Bloomsbury - was at the Oxfam shop half an hour ago! Nothing for me this time - their prices range from reasonable to "hahaha, give over..." - but always worth popping in. Skoob's about 20 minutes walk north of there is well worth a look if you're ever in the area. Much bigger than the Oxfam shop, and most of the charing x ones too.
Flip Martian said:
Productive trip then At least I can point my good lady to this thread and say "see? I've never spent that much in 1 go!"
I work around the corner in Bloomsbury - was at the Oxfam shop half an hour ago! Nothing for me this time - their prices range from reasonable to "hahaha, give over..." - but always worth popping in. Skoob's about 20 minutes walk north of there is well worth a look if you're ever in the area. Much bigger than the Oxfam shop, and most of the charing x ones too.
That's not the most I've spent in one go... about 5/6 years ago I paid £550 for the first three books in a series. I could probably sell the first one for more than that, so I have no regrets. At least I can point my good lady to this thread and say "see? I've never spent that much in 1 go!" I work around the corner in Bloomsbury - was at the Oxfam shop half an hour ago! Nothing for me this time - their prices range from reasonable to "hahaha, give over..." - but always worth popping in. Skoob's about 20 minutes walk north of there is well worth a look if you're ever in the area. Much bigger than the Oxfam shop, and most of the charing x ones too.
I think half the problem with 2nd hand bookshops is finding which ones have a good selection to your own particular tastes. One off unexpected finds are great, but for frequent visits, you need something that draws you back.
cherie171 said:
That's not the most I've spent in one go... about 5/6 years ago I paid £550 for the first three books in a series. I could probably sell the first one for more than that, so I have no regrets.
I think half the problem with 2nd hand bookshops is finding which ones have a good selection to your own particular tastes. One off unexpected finds are great, but for frequent visits, you need something that draws you back.
Interesting. I guess it helps if you know what you're looking for - I rarely do! I do have 1 or 2 things on my list but in the main I just browse and more often than not come across something I like. I picked up a first edition of Mark Twain's first book for 6 pounds - I only bought it as it was quaint and old (and in good condition), not thinking "wow, they have no idea what this is worth". 1 book seller later pronounced it in genuine original condition and reckoned it should be worth 3 figures. Not that I want to sell but I have no real intent to collect any one thing until something takes my eye. Which makes for a relaxing shop for me - but it drives my wife mad. I suspect trips to the Book Farm, Brackley and Fineden will be on my own in future I think half the problem with 2nd hand bookshops is finding which ones have a good selection to your own particular tastes. One off unexpected finds are great, but for frequent visits, you need something that draws you back.
The Mrs has got me started on it now. We already got the entire Mark Billingham DI Thorne series from charity shops, and now we keep browsing them for more Jack Reacher novels. the problem with looking for books in a series though if we've got several that are ahead of where we've read to, and we've got a missing one to find before we carry on
RizzoTheRat said:
The Mrs has got me started on it now. We already got the entire Mark Billingham DI Thorne series from charity shops, and now we keep browsing them for more Jack Reacher novels. the problem with looking for books in a series though if we've got several that are ahead of where we've read to, and we've got a missing one to find before we carry on
If you get really stuck, check out www.abebooks.co.uk
We (or more accurately I) finally got around to visiting the Astley Book Barn today... whoops! 3 Folio books, another 1st ed hardback that I've been meaning to pick up, 2 newish paperbacks, and 2 1970's Andre Norton books with cover illustrations by Rodney Matthews. I love his artwork, so couldn't walk away from the them once I'd found them. A productive, if slightly expensive trip.
Plus tea and a panini each in the café.
Plus tea and a panini each in the café.
cherie171 said:
We (or more accurately I) finally got around to visiting the Astley Book Barn today... whoops! 3 Folio books, another 1st ed hardback that I've been meaning to pick up, 2 newish paperbacks, and 2 1970's Andre Norton books with cover illustrations by Rodney Matthews. I love his artwork, so couldn't walk away from the them once I'd found them. A productive, if slightly expensive trip.
Plus tea and a panini each in the café.
Glad you enjoyed. That sounds quite restrained! I generally come away with an armful from there. My wife now stays home while I go alone...which generally means I stay longer and buy more. Tough life. Plus tea and a panini each in the café.
The cafe is the best book shop cafe I've come across.I'm on holiday in Dorset so have been to a few down here (in between beach hopping).
Chapter House Books in Sherborne today was worth a trip with a decent history/military/children's/topography selection plus much more (I don't really do fiction but they had plenty). A bit of a messy shop though - stuff in boxes and piles.
Bridport Old Books in Bridport (surprise...) is small but worth a visit (as is Bridport, actually). Well organised stock and not pricey. Wild and Homeless Books across the road from there is the worst I've been in - totally disorganised, 2 floors of unordered chaos. I gave up after 10 minutes of getting increasingly irritated at the lack of care and order.
On a beautiful sunny day in Lyme Regis the other day, I called in to The Sanctuary bookshop on the way back to the car park. Piled high with books everywhere, along with some antique curios also for sale. A bit eccentric but if you have some time, worth a mooch. For anyone collecting old kid's annuals, they had loads of children's books which were far cheaper than ebay.
Another decent place to add. Somewhere in this thread I mentioned the Old Hall bookshop in Brackley - well 5 mins walk from there is a large antiques place called the Brackley Antiques Cellar (they have a website). The kind of place where multiple dealers sell antiques and collectibles. Its very large and there are several places in there selling old books at reasonable prices amongst other stock. If you're in the area its definitely worth checking out. I think they're open 7 days a week. They do have a cheap and cheerful cafe too (although not as extensive a selection as the Book Barn's).
Some lovely antiques and old furniture in there too, often priced quite reasonably. I picked up a small 1930s bookcase quite cheaply the other week.
Some lovely antiques and old furniture in there too, often priced quite reasonably. I picked up a small 1930s bookcase quite cheaply the other week.
If you're ever in Market Harborough, don't forget to nip in to the Oxfam bookshop. As with any Oxfam, their selection can be hit and miss, but I picked up a Stephen King Dark Tower hardback for 99p, and the Folio Society book chronicling the deciphering the Enimga code. They also had a stack of Folio Society Dickens' books ranging from about £11 to £60. Definitely one I'll be revisiting now and then.
That's interesting, I've always thought my local Oxfam bookshops are a little overpriced on used fiction paperbacks, never mind hardbacks. Though some of my stuff ends up there, largely because they've got a big "bin" (like a bottle bank) that you can put stuff in when it suits you, rather than having to go into the shop in opening hours.
cherie171 said:
If you're ever in Market Harborough, don't forget to nip in to the Oxfam bookshop. As with any Oxfam, their selection can be hit and miss, but I picked up a Stephen King Dark Tower hardback for 99p, and the Folio Society book chronicling the deciphering the Enimga code. They also had a stack of Folio Society Dickens' books ranging from about £11 to £60. Definitely one I'll be revisiting now and then.
Thanks for that (and resurrecting my thread! haha). I've not been to MH for a while but its a nice drive from here through Northants so I'll give that a go. Someone recently recommended The Eagle Bookshop in Bedford to me, if you're ever along that way. Website only has very expensive bits on it which had put me off but apparently they cater to most budgets.I've not been into Bedford in a couple of years, not since before we moved. I never even knew that bookshop was there. I'll have to make a point of finding if we ever go to Bedford for anything ever again.
Another one that I'd recommend, I'm not sure if it's been mentioned before is the Big Comfy Bookshop in Coventry. I spent a good half an hour or so in there browsing and enjoying a cuppa before relieving them of some nice 1st editions. The same day we trekked over to Astley Book Farm... that was expensive day!
Another one that I'd recommend, I'm not sure if it's been mentioned before is the Big Comfy Bookshop in Coventry. I spent a good half an hour or so in there browsing and enjoying a cuppa before relieving them of some nice 1st editions. The same day we trekked over to Astley Book Farm... that was expensive day!
cherie171 said:
I've not been into Bedford in a couple of years, not since before we moved. I never even knew that bookshop was there. I'll have to make a point of finding if we ever go to Bedford for anything ever again.
Another one that I'd recommend, I'm not sure if it's been mentioned before is the Big Comfy Bookshop in Coventry. I spent a good half an hour or so in there browsing and enjoying a cuppa before relieving them of some nice 1st editions. The same day we trekked over to Astley Book Farm... that was expensive day!
I've not come across that one in Coventry; thanks I'll look it up. I rarely spend less than 2 hours at Astley (but then I usually have lunch too). I came away from there with an armful of 12 books only a few weeks ago. I'm going to try and stay away until 2017. Another one that I'd recommend, I'm not sure if it's been mentioned before is the Big Comfy Bookshop in Coventry. I spent a good half an hour or so in there browsing and enjoying a cuppa before relieving them of some nice 1st editions. The same day we trekked over to Astley Book Farm... that was expensive day!
cherie171 said:
7 and a bit weeks, I'm sure you'll manage!
On the other hand, I'll be heading to a bookfair near Peterborough this Sunday, so hopefully I can find some gems there.
7 and a bit weeks is probably the longest I've been away from there all year actually haha. If I manage to stay away from every bookshop until then I'll be doing even better! Enjoy the book fair. On the other hand, I'll be heading to a bookfair near Peterborough this Sunday, so hopefully I can find some gems there.
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