Open: Monday - Saturday 9.00 - 6.00, Sunday 11.00 - 4.00.
Donated books, CDs & DVDs.
For a charity bookshop this one is really pretty impressive. It has a very nice atmosphere and has lots of well-sorted, good quality, quite literary books at reasonable - but not dirt-cheap - prices. Some 'collectables' behind glass are perhaps priced rather hopefully. But I'd say it's the sort of bookshop from which it's almost impossible to escape without buying something - and, judging by how busy it was when I visited, I suspect they do very well here in once-sedate Palmer's Green, where Stevie Smith lived with 'The Lion Aunt' for so many years... Steve Archer 14.06.11
Now open 10 to 6 pm on Mondays to Saturdays and 11 to 4 on Sundays. Still a well stocked and well organised shop. Very large stock of comics but no longer stocks videos, only DVDs.
Not my normal haunts but having read the review and working not far away I ventured into the hinterland of north London. This shop is WWAD. It is probably the best stocked charity bookshop I have come across in ages and puts most Oxfam shops in the shade both in terms of stock and price. What on earth it is doing in an obscure part of North London is anyone's guess. There is a really good stock of fiction and various categories of non-fiction. New and proof copy books abound and I knocked five off my wish list. Prices are reasonable, the shop is bright, well organised and well run. Even the trays outside outside are quality stock. There are several other charity shops in the immediate vicinity and the shop is but a short walk from the station. A treat indeed AND open on a Sunday and at advertised times ... Other shops take note! Jon Morgan 20.07.15
I have become a regular devotee of this place but have noticed that the donated new / proof stock has diminished as the prices have risen. Still worth a detour! Jon Morgan 20.11.17
This shop is superb. It is the first charity bookshop I have found which has no less than four glass-fronted areas containing 'collectables.' The shelves were packed with a good variety of titles all well categorised. Agree with Jon: WWAD. Chris Harte 14.06.18
Above average charity shop, excellent selection. Worth a look-walk from Palmers Green BR or frequent bus from Wood Green tube. Norman Davies 10.07.18
Far better than your average Charity Shop bookshops. Good selection of books and at reasonable prices too. An oasis in the bookshop desert that North London has become. Steve Newman 10.11.21
A word of warning. This shop is under new management and it appears quite a few of the long time regular staff no longer work here. I had called in last week but it was closed. Never known this shop closed before. Today it was open, I went to the section where the Observer Pocket Books used to be kept. There were none there. I asked the staff on duty where they were, neither had heard of Observer Pocket Books. The staff told me that every book now needs to be recorded on a database, and they had been busy doing that. Books now carry a very large sticky label, presumably giving details of the database entry. I hope it is of the easy peel variety.
Another annoying new trend was asking customers if they would like to round the price up to five pounds or ten pounds. Three customers asked all politely decline, but presumable departed well peeved that this once excellent shop has now resorted to such tactics.
Oh dear BRX, what have you done to one of the best bookshops in North London. Steve Newman 05.03.22
Just an update on the last comment. The large stickers are hard to remove and will take the surface off any old paperback or dustjacket if you try. PeterM 14.04.22
Oh dear indeed!
Now completely re-organised and prettified. The window shelves are now accessible but the downside is that you tend to have your backside pressed against the window whilst scanning the shelves.
The prices of the new books - donated review copies have gone through the roof and this is no longer the place for bargains. One book, recently published was £8.95 and many others upwards of £6. This is prohibitive if you are considering taking a punt on a new author or subject area.
The 'Thriller' section is still better priced and most are £1.99 Why no separate crime fiction now, I have no idea. There is a signed section with stupid prices and, imitating Oxfam, an equally daily titled and priced 'collectables.'
Staff are still asking the annoying round-up question. I am already funding the charity through the purchase of books. Stop it! It is annoying and as one previous reviewer has said - off-putting.
The labels are a real bugger to get off many book surfaces too. No tears, this time, but lots of sticky residue from the allegedly peel-able stickers.
This was much better when slightly disorganised. I suspect that many of the overpriced new books will end up substantially reduced in time. firedrake 1942 17.10.22
The last three times I have visited this store it has been closed. The Oxfam across the road last week said he believed there was no manager and that he thought the shop had been closed all week. On Tuesday this week there was a notice on the door saying the shop would be opening at 1230. I asked in the BRX charity shop adjacent and was told new staff were coming in later that day.
However, I did not wish to hang around for 2 hours just in case, so left.
Obviously, something has gone seriously wrong here. As I understand it rather than give the Managers job to one of the existing staff when previously advertised, an outsider was bought in. As a consequence, most of the existing long serving volunteers left.
Perhaps not the wisest decision BRX have ever made, this shop had been one of the best run Charity Bookshops in London so surely the old adage 'if it isn't broke, don't fix it' applied. Or should have. You only need read the recent comments above to see the resultant outcome.
One can only hope that if as suggested by the adjacent store new staff are coming in, this will have a beneficial effect and a return to former glory may be on the cards. The shop being open when you visit would be a start! Steve Newman 24.11.22
At last I found this shop open today. New staff in, and I am told now opens regularly. It was closed completely for 3 weeks I believe when the previous manager left.
Stock and prices much the same as before, Let us give the new staff time to bed in, but hopefully the road to recovering one of the best book shops in the area is not too long and winding. Steve Newman 23.12.22
Still a good charity bookshop, but not as good as it used to be. Where shelves used to be packed there are now big gaps. Previously well stocked sections such as transport, local history, collectible paperbacks are very much reduced. And the horrible sticky labels that damage books are still in evidence. PeterM 19.01.23
Well a mixed bag really. The sticky labels are no more. And the shop is now opening regularly. However today the girl serving was looking at her mobile phone all the time I was browsing. I actually found a book to buy, when I asked her a question the response I got was 'I am only looking after the shop for the manager, I know nothing about the stock I am afraid'.
The manager is helpful enough when there, but knows little about books! I was told by another member of staff that he looks after both the Bookshop and nearby BRX Charity shop too, so not a dedicated book man I guess.
So not the gem of a shop it once was, sadly. Still cheaper than similar Oxfam's, but the stock not as good as before, and a reorganisation of shelves takes some getting used to. Hopefully it will improve with time, but unless more knowledgeable enthusiastic staff are bought in I can not see it returning to former glories. Steve Newman 02.02.23
I stopped by on Sunday on my way back from 66Books in Hemel - a remainder warehouse where books are 30% of the cover price. The stock in the BRC at Palmers' Green has diminished significantly although there are some gems. Whoever was donating the review copies, no longer seems to be doing so and this has diminished the place even further. Someone has tried to make it all trendy with 'antique' packing crates and a couple of sets of old wooden cinema seats. Far from being WWAD which it once was, It is now no better than an average charity shop book outlet. Prices are reasonable, apart from in the 'signed' and 'collectable' section. Firedrake 09.11.23
Sorry to disagree with previous comments but the big, book damaging stickers are still the norm. I even saw staff applying them. I don't think the people who run this place have much idea about books. Some shelves look as though nothing has moved all year. Sadly, now NWAD. PeterM 23.12.23
Open at advertised times
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