| Barrie Marks Ltd 
24 Church Vale
MUSWELL HILL London N2 9PA map
tel: 020 8883 1919
Black Gull Books
121 High Road
East Finchley
FINCHLEY London N2 8AG map
tel: 020 8444 4717
Open: 7 Days a week 9.30 - 7.00.
Books bought and sold. Remaindered, secondhand and antiquarian. Art, philosophy, psychology, history, fiction, film. Books of Irish Interest.
Great stock changing regularly with a wide spread. - D Marcus.
Book prices here were so outrageously high it was funny to check them. My usual £8-20 titles started at £180 and progressed higher. However, very good for Jewish historical matters and Yiddish books. If you can stand the owner's continual breast-beating then pop in for a glance. - Chris Harte 27.06.09.
We welcome any comment good or bad about our shop but we do take exception to remarks which are neither accurate nor from correspondents who may have an ulterior motive in damaging our good name. To point out the inaccuracies - we do not, alas, stock any Yiddish books, and our 'Jewish historical ' section is perhaps 4 or 5 books strong at any one time. As for the matter of pricing, the clue 'my usual 8-20 pound' range suggests a fellow bookseller attempting to muddy the waters by rather underhanded means. Any fair minded browser in the shop would quickly realize that our stock is overwhelmingly priced to sell at 3- 20 pounds with a strong antiquarian section that reflects prices as noted on the net. I realize that this email may add to my reputation as a 'breast-beater' but I can live with that, misinformation and maliciousness less so. - Chris Overfield, Black Gull Books 04.08.09.
Can I add a comment on this bookshop as a regular if infrequent visitor with no vested interest? It is a traditional secondhand bookshop. Large varied stock of books in good condition and just like second hand bookshops used to be but neat and tidy. As the owner says the prices are not especially high (not cheap either but I suppose he has to make a living) and it is also true that there are not a significant number of Jewish books there. I wonder if Chris Harte (who usually seems to make very sensible comments) has mixed this bookshop up with Josephs Bookstore in the Finchley Road near the junction with the A406 which is very close to East Finchley and is mainly a Jewish bookstore and did seem awfully pricey when I went in once. (Come to think, you don?t list that ..) - Anthony Davis 07.09.09.(I have remedied this oversight today - TBG.
So appalled at Chris Harte's review that I felt compelled to write a few words myself! I love this bookshop! interesting and fairly priced selection of books find it hard to visit without making a purchase. - George Drew 05.12.09.
I think this is one of the best second-hand bookstores I've been to. Its fantastically curated, a great selection interestingly juxtaposed. I think these guys have figured out what a second-hand bookstore is for in the age of Amazon. India Cicolini 08.12.10.
Having not been here for a year or two, been twice recently and found good stock at much better prices than I remembered previously - very much worth a visit. - M&O 14.04.12.
"All books are individually priced" it claims; ironic, then, that the very first two I pulled off the shelf had no price in them. So I took them to the shop assistant who, no doubt after perusing ABE, Amazon, etc, came back and said "Oh, you happened to find two expensive books" which he had now priced accordingly. No one likes to be taken for a fool, so I promptly left the shop never to return. - Mandalay Bookshop 12.07.12.
Everything a local second-hand bookshop should be and my favourite in London. Incredibly eclectic and regularly changing stock, typically in excellent condition, with collectible books priced very competitively. Particularly strong on Art and Irish. Really excellent. - Neil Goodlad 30.11.12.
British Red Cross Bookshop
385 Green Lanes
PALMERS GREEN London N13 4JG map
tel: 020 8886 8364
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 4.00.
Donated books, CDs & videos.
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.
Charity Book Shop
Animal Aid and Advice
203 Blackstock Road Highbury
HIGHBURY London N5 9LL map
tel: 020 7359 0294
Open: 7 days 10.00 - 6.00.
Very similar to the shop opposite, I overheard a conversation that these used to be the same charity, but a split ensured and the second shop was opened. Again, a wide selection of reasonably priced books. This shop has only been open 6 years! - Steve Newman 12.11.12.
Church Street Bookshop
142 Stoke Newington Church Street
STOKE NEWINGTON London N16 0JU map
tel: 020 7241 5411
Academic & scholarly books
Rather wider selection than your entry suggests. Good general stock with a decent bargain box. Good music section. Shop over the road sells mainly records but has some books - unfortunately didn't get name. Rather a random selection of fiction mainly. - Herne 26.04.10.
House Of Hodge
Charity Book Shop
174 Blackstock Road
HIGHBURY London N5 1HA map
tel: 020 8127 4765
Open: 7 days 10.00 - 5.30.
The shop is crammed full of books of the cheap and cheerful variety, but good stock and reasonably priced too. Run by an elderly lady on my visit. Apparently this shop has been here 20 years, and is an animal welfare charity. - Steve Newman 12.11.12.
John Trotter Books
80 East End Road
FINCHLEY London N3 2SY map
tel: 020 8349 9484 e-mail web
Open: Monday - Thursday 8.00 - 5.00 and occasional Fridays and Sundays.
A large selection of books ( 20,000+ ) of Jewish interest, theology, Near and Middle Eastern studies, ancient history. Situated in the stables of the old Finchley manor house. Cafe on site, parking in local streets is free.
Mind Books and Music
329 Archway Road
HIGHGATE London N6 5AA map
tel: 0208 3411188
Open: Monday - Sunday: 10.00 - 5.30.
Shop is only about 100 yards south of Ripping Yarns and offers the usual charity fare but at prices more reasonable than the equivalent local Oxfam's. - Steve Newman 05.10.10.
Oxfam Books
378 Muswell Hill Broadway
MUSWELL HILL London N10 1DJ map
tel: 020 8883 5171
A very average selection of mostly overpriced and tired stock, not worth bothering with. - Mandalay Bookshop 24.07.12.
Oxfam Books and Music
22 Park Road
CROUCH END London N8 8TD map
tel: 020 8 3477942
An excellent selection at very reasonable prices; recommended. - Mandalay Bookshop 24.07.12.
Oxfam Bookshop
47 Highgate High Street
HIGHGATE London N6 5JX map
tel: 020 8 347 6704
A good shop. A little on the expensive side - but then again this is a pricey part of London. Worth a visit! - The Brummie Bookman 16.07.11.
Used to love this shop - yet no longer. Whats happened to it? Now very expensive! - Bookworm 20.02.12.
By a long way the most expensive of all the Oxfam bookshops - way more pricey than the internet and a total rip-off. - Mandalay Bookshop 03.05.12.
High prices in Highgate. The lack of oxygen at 442 feet above sea level results in a rather uncharitable pricing environment. - Rickenbacker 07.03.13.
Oxfam Bookshop 
48 Upper Street
ISLINGTON London N1 0PN map
tel: 020 7 3596020 e-mail
Recently opened, I was told about this one by the Palmers Green store I regularly visit (not a bookshop). Quite a good selection of books, but at Islington prices. A 'Hippo' for £6.50 anyone? - Steve Newman 30.10.12.
Ripping Yarns
355 Archway Road
HIGHGATE London N6 4EJ map
tel: 020 8341 6111 fax: 020 7482 5056 e-mail web
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 11.00 - 5.00, Sunday 11.00 - 4.00.
We specialise in children's and illustrated books - William, Bunter, Biggles, Rupert, school stories, boys' and girls', Ladybirds, annuals etc. We also have a large general stock - literature, poetry, plays, crime fiction etc. We are opposite Highgate tube. Parking available within 50 yards. Come and browse or contact us with any wants.
A lot of stock - that never seems to change - crammed into small premises, not worth a detour. - Mandalay Bookshop 05.04.12.
Word on the Street
Holloway Road
ARCHWAY N19 4DJ map
tel: Not known web
Open: Thursday 10.00 - 5.00, Saturday 11.00 - 6.00.
Bookstall with over 3,000 secondhand titles. Customers are encouraged to 'Give what you can and take what you like'.
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Appointment necessary
