A small but cosy shop, with a wide selection of subjects, including local and maritime interests. It’s a good second hand bookshop, and you can usually find something that would interest you. Usually reasonable prices, some of the rarer books cost about £25, for example, the first editions. The two chaps that man the shop are jolly and eager to recommend a book and give lots of relevant advice. They will also buy your old books from you.
My favourite sections in this small shop are the great selections of really old Penguins, the beautiful volumes in the poetry section, and most of all, the children’s section. I used to pick up countless Point Horrors here. Most recently, I have discovered my love for very old fairytale books. The shop has several desirable Andrew Lang books with beautiful covers and generally I want them all.
It was Andrew Lang’s Blue Fairy Book that was my greatest purchase from this shop. I love old books, and this definitely was an old book. Compared to the other Andrew Lang books, this book cost £10 compared to about £25. The book man explained to me that because after recent repairs the title page and the copyright page were lost, and therefore it is pretty much impossible to figure out what edition the book may be. There’s a strong chance it is first edition – I’ve seen Lang’s book online selling for over £100 so it was a definite bargain! I could hardly contain my excitement as I slipped it out of the paper bag and turned the pages. It is an amazing book, and I love thinking that maybe a hundred years ago other people would have enjoyed it and treasured it as much as I am.
I think this shows the absolute dedication of The Bookroom to stock their shelves with something that someone might treasure.
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