Second Hand Bookshops

Yeah, me too. In college some of us used to shop at the Salvation Army for clothes. We called it Sal's Boutique. There was some really good stuff there for almost no money. Part of the attraction of a used bookstore is that you don't know what you'll find. It's fairly predictable what a new bookstore will have on the shelves. Not so with a used books store. It's a little adventure. I recall a dusty little basement bookshop in Brooklyn Heights (just across the river from the Wall Street area) near where I lived in the 1970s. The owner was this eccentric pipe-smoking German (fire hazzards notwithstanding) who held court in his tiny shop, armed with tea, a hot plate to heat the water, and a sleepy cat who was likely to turn up anywhere in the stacks. Great place, but not if you were allergic to dust. Shameless plug for Warsaw Tales, available at www.new-ink.org

Dead right that the eclectic selection is the attraction. I tend to use oxfam as a lending library and even with their limited selection end up reading all sorts of things I never would have considered looking for on amazon. I also love second hand CD stores, every few months I will go down to Berwick St and spend hours browsing through every CD shop in turn. All clothes shops, second hand or otherwise, mintimidate me. There's a particuarly wonderful bookshop in Leeds called 'the arches' or 'under the arches'. It's under some arches.

Recently found an 1872 edition of "The Coming Race" by Lord Lytton - proto sci fi - in my local Aids Charity secondhand shop. Result! (for me anyway). Between Clapham High Street and Clapham junction I'm spoilt for choice for charity shops and they're my first port of call whether i have money or not (usually not) - any other form of shopping just aint so much fun.

There is a second hand book store nearby that has a huge SF section. Unfortunately it is run by an old lady who doesn't have the time to sort the books alphabetically, so its a bit hit or miss. When I was 14 I found a great basement shop in my old town . It did reek a bit and I could handle the smell of old books for the most two hours. I built up quite a good collection of books from that shop.

Ah..the appeal of a second hand book. I collect books that have messages written in them. My fave is a book that a little boy sent to his father during WW2. So much more character and a joy to read knowing that these pages have experience. Hear my music: http://music.download.com/3600-5-100795586.html

george orwells thoughts on secondhand bookshops http://www.george-orwell.org/Bookshop_Memories/0.html keep your grubby mits off my website http://www.too-many-monkeys.com

I know one where there's a copy of 'The Struggle for Mastery in Europe' with a handwritten letter from A. J. P Taylor to the original owner answering various queries. It's still there every time I look.

hay on wye is the place to go for second hand book shops, hours disappear as you wade through all the books on offer

Yes, Jean and I have made a couple of book-buying trips to Hay. Charity shops are good for newer books. If you want to buy my book, visit my blog: http://whatisthisstrangeplace.blogspot.com/

York is also good for book curios Hear my music: http://music.download.com/3600-5-100795586.html

I made my second hand book shop rounds to day. I bought 'The last three minutes' by Paul Davies. £79p. Leading Scientists describe the current state of Knowledge in their subjects. The Meaning of Relativity By A.E himself £5.99 The Nature of the Universe By R.E. Latham £1.50 The Size of the Universe By F.J Hargreaves £1.50 Relativity for the Layman By James A. Coleman £3.49 A nice little collection for the prices and all in quiet good condition.

Absolutely Jude. Like the web sight btw. Its not boring. Its to the point. Pity more sights didn't apply the same principal.

My pleasure Jude. I haven't plugged it yet Jude as its still under construction and probably will be for months to come. The first one is P.a.s.d. 'A Professional Authors Source Directory' It will be a Research portal for creative people like yourself. I omitted part of the name for the moment as my private information is public. Once I figure out how to hide it from view, and sight running smoothly, I will give you the link so you can have a look.