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fodors and book aholics....

hi, just finished reading the book browsers thread and got a big kick out of that. i am a vorocious reader and book collector. i think i asked this before but only got a few recommendations. i will be in london and paris in october. need list of bookstores for both places. i know charing cross rd in london, but a list would be nice? in paris, the only suggestion for english books was that shakespeare & co. i go anywhere! i am a book collector. i spend half my leisure time visiting ubs's across the southern and mid atlantic states. if i visit a town, 9 times out of 10, i find the bookstores first. it is a joke between me and my friends. "where's sandy?" quickly becomes "where's the nearest bookstore". i am also unashamedly a romance paperback collector. i also love biograhphies, travel books, old classics. my first purchase in london was a small set of 10 hardbound palm sized books with gold tip edges of shakespeares work. i read lots, lots of fiction and usually have 3 or more books going at one time. for this trip i started reading rutherfurds "london". and i am in the mood to find his books in england in used hardback. any used bookstore recommendations are welcome also. particularly fiction paperback stores. also any british natives know of any library sales the week of october 11-17th in london? or bookstores in the salisbury-bath route. we are going solo to these places would love to find some bookstores there. i try not to buy books at gift shops because you spend way to much. first trip to uk i spent almost $300 in travel guides and site books. had no idea until it was all over. i am also a bookmark collector. spent way too much on leather bookmarks. also suggestions for getting books home? would i be better off just bringing an extra suitcase, or just ship a box home from each city, bookrate? so lists please? oh, bookchick when is your trip again? and where? thanks to all sandy c north carolina

For buying used books at home go to www.half.com -- besides new and used books at reduced prices, you can also buy CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes amongst other items. The prices are great, as the books may or may not be overstocks from other bookstores, publishes and distributors, but also from individuals. But, in my opinion the shipping prices are a bit high, but when you take in account the price of the book, it's a de minimus charge. Also, Half.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ebay. I've had great luck buying books from them and found the condition of the books to be excellent.

I'm not sure if I understand your request for Paris -- are you just looking for a bookstore with English-language books because you think you'll want something to read? If so, I know a few. However, if you are looking for used or collector items, obviously Paris is not the best place for finding such things in English. The only such places I know are Shakespeare & Co and Tea & Tattered Pages (24 rue Mayet, 6e); I would not count on finding anything collectible, however, just used stuff to read. Mainstream English bookstores (but why go to Paris for this? buy in the US or from Amazon.com) are Brentanos at 37 av de l'Opera, and WHSmith at 248 rue de Rivoli. There's another bookstore near WHSmith that has English books also, Galignani. Another maybe less mainstream but only selling new stuff as far as I know is Village Voice at 6 rue Princesse, 6e. Most bookstores have travel guidebooks in a variety of languages; the museum shop at Musee d'Orsay has some books on art and architecture, as well as guidebooks. There is an American Library in Paris in the 7th arr but I don't think they sell used books. I think their URL is just www.americanlibraryinparis.org

hi everyone, i found this in a earlier post: Author: Q.P. ([email protected]) Date: 3/11/2001, 12:41 am ET Message: Judy, I can highly recommend Skoob Books, at 15 Sicilian Avenue--a wideranging selection, intelligently organized and priced. (Sicilian Avenue is a small pedestrian arcade between Bloomsbury and Southampton Row, near the Holborn tube station.) Skoob also publishes a comprehensive guide to London's secondhand bookshops that you can find there. There's a good browse to be had in another such arcade, called Cecil Court, just off Charing Cross Road and just beyond the Leicester Square tube stop. Several small bookshops here, all secondhand and antiquarian, each with an interesting specialty--for example, children's books or books about music. I've heard good things of, but never been to, Primrose Hill Books, 134 Regent's Park Road. You're right about Charing Cross Road--not much there these days in the secondhand category, and what is there is seems overpriced to me. This subject is obviously dear to my heart, but here's one last tip: don't forget that one of the most useful guides to British bookshops of all kinds is right here on the web. It's the rec.arts.books guide maintained by Evelyn Leeper (bless her heart)at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/uk.htm. Happy browsing! Q.P. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Maira ([email protected]) Date: 3/11/2001, 8:02 am ET Message: I wholeheartedly second the suggestion for Skoob Books Ltd. The year we visited (1998), it was named the best secondhand bookshop in London by the Washington Post. It was within walking distance from our hotel in Blomsbury, also walking distance from the British Museum. Just as Q.P. said, it is located on a small arcade-type of street across from the Bloomsbury Square. The selection and prices are good. I was elated to find "A Distant Mirror" by Barbara Tuchman, and "The Eye of the Storm" by Patrick White (1973 Nobel/Lit; can't find his books not even on Amazon.com), both secondhand and in great condition. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the site that QP recommends is a godsend...wonderful references and directions to all types of used store in london. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/uk.htm. as far as paris goes, it doesn't have to be an english shop, just a good used bookstore. i am trying to find several books in english translation. i don't even know if they were ever translated, but i continue to search. thanks everyone!

ohhhh bookchick, that site QP mentioned above also has a section on paris.... http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/eu-fr.htm#paris great recommendation!

I can't wait to try the websites mentioned, but before I go -- Sandy, don't go to London without reserving half a day for Hatchards in Picadilly. Floor after floor of paradise for book lovers! Hatchard's is one of the oldest and best-known bookstores (along with Foyles) in London -- you will see it mentioned in many novels and histories. I like to go in the morning, then take a break for lunch at Fortnum and Mason's next door (scenes in many novels take place at Fortnum's tea shop) then stroll through nearby Burlington Arcade like Mrs. Dalloway, then....back to Hatchards.

ttt for the nice lady going to London and looking for secondhand bookstores suggestions. Enjoy!