| Bear Island 
Stalls 178-180
Central Market
CARDIFF CF10 1AU map
tel: 02920 388631
Open: Monday - Saturday - 8.00 - 5.30.
Very good range of stock, pretty good layout, reasonable prices. Found this by accident wandering round market, was one of the best bookshops in the city, well worth a visit. - The Wanderer 30.10.09.
Has possibly changed since the above review. Now all paperbacks with piles of SF and Commando magazines. NWAD. - Chris Harte 19.11.12.
Have visited for the last 7 years. A fair selection considering its size but doesn't have a lot of new stock or newer books. doesn't accept hardbacks. - Candy 19.01.13.
Books To Go Bookshop
The Victorian Arcade
The Pumping Station Penarth Road
CARDIFF CF11 8TT map
tel: 07779 245 440 e-mail
Open: Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 - 4.30.
We have a wide selection of books for sale including vintage paperbacks, film tie-ins, contemporary fiction, kids books and Welsh interest. Find us downstairs in the Victorian Arcade (opposite the lion) next to the cafe.
Poor, small stock (yes I know they say size doesn't matter, but they lied), nothing to make the trip out from city centre worth the effort. - The Wanderer 30.10.09.
Broadleaf Books
16 Monk Street
ABERGAVENNY Monmouthshire NP7 5NP map
tel: 01873 857127 e-mail web
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
Good selection of local history, natural history and just plain history. Photography, architecture and art along with cooking and gardening as well as much more. Always welcome to visit in this historic market town. Books are bought as well as sold.
Broadleaf traded for over five years in Blaenafon and has now moved to Abergavenny. - TBG 23.06.09.
I was completely surprised today in Abergavenny to find a fantastic cookery section filled with classics, ethnographic cookbooks, food histories, natural and wild food, foraging - basically, so many gorgeous, interesting and well-priced books I had never seen. I could not resist buying three books, and wanted many more. I also left with a title in mind to look up on Amazon, and I told the proprietor this, and she so kindly found the best on-line price for me and matched it, so I bought a fourth one. AND she was really nice to my children who were embarrassingly misbehaved. - Annie Levy 17.08.10.
Finally found it. Superb shop with good quality books, extensive collections including for me Wales, Art and Biography. Great proprietor. Well worth a detour. - Norman Davies 08.05.12.
A bookshop as bookshops should be (with that classic book scent that can't be found anywhere else). One to lose yourself in and stumble upon something unexpected but wonderful, as has happened to me many times. Covering fact and fiction, new and old, and always a pleasure to venture into. - Linus Harrison 18.07.12.
Browning Books
33 Broad Street
BLAENAFON Torfaen NP4 9NF map
tel: 01495 790089 e-mail web
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
Stephanie and Andrew Nummerlin specialise in childrens' literature and also stock books on transport and local interest.
Capital Bookshop
27 Morgan Arcade
CARDIFF CF10 1AF map
tel: 02920 388423 e-mail
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.30
A glorious looking shop in one of Cardiff's most elegant arcades, but let down by the stock which is getting rather old and tired and needs a good clearing out and restocking. - George Marshall 26.02.09.
I last visited six years ago (and the owner recognised me!) and it seemed that the stock had hardly changed. Pleasant time chatting and browsing. Told that the landlord had upped the rent so steeply the shop might not have a future. Very little rare material but nice general books. - Chris Harte 03.09.09.
Disorganised, shabby and not a lot worth looking at. Got to agree with George Marshalls comments from 26/02/09. - The Wanderer 30.10.09.
Negative comments can do a bookshop a great deal of damage. The negative comments you post on your website re the above shop put me off seeking it out but I stumbled upon it while walking though Morgan Arcade anyway and found your negative reviews wholly unjustified - a shop where the stock is not on the web is always worth a visit and this is no exception. I think you should remove your perjorative [sic] reviews - you are supposed to be helping not hindering the booktrade. - Ian Mathieson 22.11.09.
I have had great books from here and love nothing more than a browse when visiting Cardiff. Yes it's shabby but I tell you there are some rare items for real enthusiasts. I had a mint set of 6 Heinrich Heine 1936 (Leipzig)for under £40 & you can't fault that. The illustrations were superb (even if you didn't speak Deutsch). A leather Columbus £15, Fabres Insects; Audabon; Crighton's History of Arabia 2 vols., Darwin's Beagle leather bound. Can't be bad. - audreyannmold 04.12.09.
Have you any idea how difficult it is for a bookshop to compete with the internet? So easy to criticise without understanding the economics. After 20 minutes browsing in this bookshop I came away with 3 books I am very glad to have found. Next time I'm in Cardiff I'll visit it again. - Paul Latcham 22.11.10.
Appearances can be deceptive. A first glance at the exterior of the shop showed antique books (not my cup of tea), but inside (particularly up the narrow staircase) was a treasure trove of books. Great place and a nice bloke who runs it too. - Iain Baille 22.11.10.
No obvious organisation to the shop, so allow plenty of time - a real joy to browse, by and large reasonable prices, we had some great finds. - M&O 25.11.11.
Finally found it. A good general s/h shop. Contains much usual but also some treasures. I did not go away empty handed. - Norman Davies 08.05.12.
Its like an antique bookshop, interesting selection of books not what you will find in yoru average bookshop. Go in to have alook even if you dont buy anything. Lots of history book and interesting finds. - Candy 19.01.13.
Flea Market
Abergavenny Market
Cross Street
ABERGAVENNY Monmouthshire NP7 5HD map
Open: Wednesday 8.00 - 5.00.
Stalls have a variable number of Secondhand books.
Oxfam Bookshop
36 St Mary Street
CARDIFF CF10 1AD map
tel: 029 20 222275
General stock which must have been supplied from a central depot as all categories were uniform and just fitted into the right shelves. Nothing of value. - Chris Harte 03.09.09.
Regarding your reviewer's comments - I volunteer here and our books are not centrally sourced. We collect direct from donors' homes in Cardiff and only sell good quality books. - marg.wat 04.09.09.
I was surprised at the wide range of books and once you get away from the general paperbacks, prices were very reasonable. I actually liked the shop and even found the staff friendly. (now there is a novelty for me, praise for an Oxfam shop) - The Wanderer 30.10.09.
Suffers from Oxfam overpricing of good books but this is definitely a better than usual Oxfam with a much better selection of non-fiction than most. - Norman Davies 08.05.12.
Serendipity
4 St Mary's Street
CHEPSTOW Monmouthshire NP16 5EU map
tel: 01291 622367 or 07846 498483
A secondhand, pre-loved and vintage shop with lots of books. 100s added every week, with prices as little as 20p each, or 6 for a 1.00.
From the front you would not realise that there were hundreds of books at the rear. Quite a number of shelves of run-of-the-mill titles, however there were a few railways gems noticed. - Chris Harte 16.08.11.
St. Mary's Collectables
23 St. Mary's Street
CHEPSTOW Monmouthshire NP16 5EU map
tel: 01291 622299 or 07799 646630 e-mail
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.00 - 5.00.
Although this shop has much in the way of "collectables" it actually has a fairly large offering of books, many of which are of a surprisingly good quality. The shelves behind the entrance are floor to ceiling with local/regional history and culture books with another block of shelving displaying titles circa 1890-1920. It's worth a visit, as is the coffee shop next door. - Chris Harte 04.08.10.
Stella Books
Monmouth Road
TINTERN Monmouthshire NP16 6SE map
tel: 01291 689755 fax: 01291 689998 e-mail web
Open: Open daily 9.30 - 5.30.
A large stock of 30,000 books on all subjects, specialising in children's and illustrated, UK topography, railways and natural history. Picture gallery with wide selection of antique views of local area. Free booksearch service. Catalogues issued. Stock available on web site.
A lovely bookshop in a superb setting. Quality titles all over the place and a visit is highly recommended. There is nothing to criticise regarding the shop itself although I do have considerable reservations about their on-line selling and the carelessness in book descriptions. Attention to detail is paramount and needs consideration. - Chris Harte 19.04.11.
Lovely location with distracting view of Tintern Abbey. Interesting stock sorted by budget. Books may all be on-line but browsing adds new interests. - Simon Procter 14.05.11.
Sue's Books
2nd Floor
Jacob's Antique Centre West Canal Wharf
CARDIFF CF10 5DB map
tel: 07854 833375 e-mail
Open: Thursday - Saturday 10.30 - 5.00.
Secondhand books, vinyl records, DVDs, jigsaw puzzles and knick knacks. Come and have a look around.
The Railway Shop
13a Broad Street
BLAENAFON Torfaen NP4 9ND map
tel: 01495 792263
Open: Please ring for opening times.
Railway hobby supplies in aid of the Pontypool and Blaenafon Railway. Has some new and secondhand books - TBG.
Troutmark
Newport Market
High Street
NEWPORT Gwent NP20 1LR map
tel: 01637 216208
Open: Monday - Friday 9.00 - 4.00.
Paperbck fiction and some hardback non-fiction.
Troutmark Books
39-43 Castle Arcade
CARDIFF CF10 1BW map
tel: 029 203 82814
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
Tucked just inside an arcade opposite Cardiff Castle, this is the largest (and I think the cosiest) second hand bookshop in Cardiff. Three floors offer a good coverage of all topics. Books are in good condition, well presented and include a good proportion of recent publications, Troutmark is especially strong on modern literature and dedicates its top floor to science fiction/ pulp magazines/ephemera and comics. - George Marshall 26.02.09.
Many books over three floors. Huge number of paperbacks; lots of science-fiction; boxes of magazines but very little material pre-1960. Good for the general reader. - Chris Harte 03.09.09.
Lovely shop, very well laid out and large stock. Sadly though I found them to be rather overpriced with very few affordable collectables. Should have listened to Chris Harte. - The Wanderer 30.10.09.
Great shop, with a top floor devoted to Sci-fi and comics. Reasonable prices. - Iain Baille 22.11.10.
I like this, it is a good old fashioned s/h bookshop with books crammed in but ordered. I found prices sensible. - Norman Davies 08.05.12.
A very large selection of books, well laid out and probably the largest second hand book shop in Cardiff. I looked everywhere for a copy of 'one flew over the cuckoos nest' and this was the only place I found a copy in stock and it was pretty much brand new. - Candy 19.01.13.
Whitchurch Books Ltd
67 Merthyr Road
Whitchurch
CARDIFF CF14 1DD map
tel: 02920 521956 fax: 02920 623599 e-mail
Very difficult to open the front door as this is now a storeroom with owner working on the internet. Impossible to browse. Only books visible to read the title were in front window. My detour was a complete waste of time. - Chris Harte 03.09.09.
Jammed to the doors during my visit. Books overpriced. Staff were could-not-care-less; one was offensive. Very little on the area, Wales, and Welsh. Only the shops in the Castle Arcade (overpriced) and the Capital Bookshop are worth a visit. Cardiff is so poor for secondhand books - R Morgan 24.02.10
|
Phone
before travelling 
Appointment necessary
