A community bookshop in the heart of Chesham selling pre-loved books and more. Proceeds to the Hospice of St Francis.
A cut and a half above most charity bookshops, and surely one of the best in the Home Counties. The stock at this very large shop, which has been open at the clock tower end of Chesham’s long high street for more than three years now, is impressive not just in quantity, but also in quality. Although standard charity shop fare is here in abundance, almost every section boasts plenty of books of better quality too. The fiction (mostly paperbacks, priced between £2 and £4) is outstanding for a charity shop, far superior to that in most Oxfams, for example. The history, military and biography sections are fairly strong, as is the selection for art, architecture, photography, crafts, design etc. Children’s books seemed to be a particular strength, with a huge array on offer. A small but decent selection of foreign-language fiction was an unexpected find. Also a bookcase filled with folio editions. Pricing is reasonable throughout, even for the small number of books deemed antiquarian/collectible. This shop is so obviously managed and staffed by people who absolutely love books. I got chatting to a couple of the volunteers, who were highly knowledgeable. The turnover is apparently very brisk indeed, which seemed to be borne out by my own observations - this is a busy shop. The stock is frequently renewed as the Hospice of St Francis is a popular local charity and the shop attracts large amounts of donations. In many sections, any books that do not sell within two weeks are taken off the shelves and replaced with new stock. It was a pleasure to visit this thriving shop, which is well laid-out, with a nice seating area where you can browse through your prospective purchases in comfort. After my visit, I went to a local coffee shop and overheard a fellow customer telling someone on his phone about “a fabulous bookshop” he had discovered in Chesham. I checked with him (no need, really!) and it was this one. Of course. Chapter Two is doing absolutely everything right. Highly recommended. Booker T 15.02.24
Prompted by the above review I pootled around the M25 to this shop. It is much as described, a definite front runner in terms of a Charity bookshop with books new and old, It is a model for other such shops.
The prices for the more recently published were on the high side for donated items, but in general the prices were very good. It is bright and well laid out and was very busy on a wet and miserable Thursday morning. A good solid history section and I bought a long sought book on the SOE for £3.99 - A bargain.
Chesham has deteriorated significantly in the (many) years since I was there last and is a bit of a ghost town with shops closed and the no doubt well intentioned pedestrian high street's blood paving showing its age.
The shop is worth visiting in the area but NWAD from further afield. Firedrake 29.02.24
What a super shop and staffed by people who could not have been more helpful and charming. My wife went on a buying spree of books for the grandchildren while I just watched her in amazement. The classifications were well noted and laid out for easy checking. This, no doubt, due to the volunteer manager who is a former librarian. There was no dross anywhere and it was obvious that paperback fiction had all been checked for quality. Chris 12.03.24
Lovely people and a very well laid out shop. Kept finding new categories with every corner and a fine display of vintage penguins. Came away with some useful biographies at a good price. Herne 06.04.24
I am in agreement with Booker T (above). A very welcoming bookshop both in terms of layout and staff and well stocked across all the obvious categories. Chesham, as has been said, is not what it used to be but there are still places to get a cup of something and several of the other many charity shops in town have a worthwhile selection of books. However I would advise starting at Chapter Two and be prepared for a long stay. I have not made it to Wolverton for several years but I think Chapter Two would run it very close for the 'Best in Bucks' rating. Steven 04.11.24
Repeat visit. If anything, I came away more impressed than last time helped, quite probably, by it being a lovely day and so a pleasant walk from the car park. As has been said, the shop is well presented and the quality of the stock is of a high calibre although everything I looked at was priced to sell. Some of the vintage paperbacks were showing their age but were still more than acceptable. Lots of shiny dust-wrappers on the hardbacks if you like them and some signed copies at a good price. I left with my book bag full but wallet only relatively lightened. WAD Steven 30.01.25
Another visit - I am becoming quite the regular. It is an easy journey for me so I am not making a detour as such and it certainly repays repeat visits. I did well as a reader, picking up several good condition paperbacks at £2.50 each and while the collector in me was tempted there was nothing that I had to have this time. However it is always a pleasant shop to browse with room to move and strategically placed armchairs for the weary. Staff are helpful and enthusiastic and there is a rather nice tea room immediately opposite. I found the vintage section less to my taste than on previous visits but thought the children / young adult sections were stronger than I remembered. Steven 24.03.25
I visited this shop based on the very positive reviews here. I actually found it a very strange experience: it didn't look to me like a second-hand bookshop at all! All the books appeared new. I had also noticed how little classic literature they had: almost all the fiction was modern, mass-market stuff. The only older books of any subject I could see were rows of out-of-date Pevsner guides plus sets of Beatrix Potter, Observers' guides and a few others, all in pristine condition of course.
After doing this digging and finding nothing of interest, I asked one of the really helpful volunteers how they selected their stock. "Anything valuable goes on-line, otherwise it's based solely on saleability, which means pristine condition and nothing academic. Everything else goes to World of Books or is pulped".
So if you want good-quality paperback fiction or recently-published non-fiction, then this is for you. If you want anything older or unusual, forget it. PLF 05.06.25
I think PLF's concluding comment (from 05.06.25) is spot on. Lots of above average calibre books for readers but very little for collectors, particularly if your specialist subject is academic. It remains a pleasant shop to browse but Chesham as a town is getting more and more run down. Steven 08.07.25
Open at advertised times
Phone before travelling
Appointment necessary
Status unknown, update requested
