Second hand bookshop
Every book here
has been read before.
Margin Notes is a small shop of used, out-of-print and quietly excellent books. Pencil underlinings, inscriptions to people we will never meet, the odd pressed leaf: we think that is the good part.
What you will find
Roughly nine thousand books, shelved by a system that makes sense once someone explains it. Ask, and someone will.
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Fiction, mostly
Modern novels, translated fiction, battered paperback classics and a poetry corner that gets more attention than its size suggests.
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History & ideas
Biography, politics, philosophy and popular science, including a good number of books that were only ever printed once.
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Art & cookery
Exhibition catalogues, monographs and mid-century cookbooks with handwritten adjustments in the margins.
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Children's shelves
Picture books, chapter books and the annuals you had forgotten existed, all at the height a child can reach them.
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Rare & collectable
First editions, signed copies and fine bindings in the locked case by the counter. Happy to get anything out for a look.
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The one pound trolley
Outside the door in dry weather, inside when it rains. Restocked every morning we open.
Selling your books to us
We buy books over the counter during opening hours, no appointment needed for a box or two. For larger collections and house clearances, call ahead and we will arrange a time to come and look.
We pay cash or shop credit, with credit worth more. We are choosier than we would like to be about textbooks, book club editions and anything damp.
- 1 Bring your books in, or send a photo of the shelves.
- 2 We sort through them with you, usually in ten minutes.
- 3 You take an offer, and anything we pass on can go to the charity crate if you would rather not carry it home.
Opening hours
Closed Mondays, apart from bank holidays, when we open and close late.
| Monday | Closed |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Friday | 10:00 to 20:00 |
| Saturday | 09:00 to 18:00 |
| Sunday | 11:00 to 16:00 |
Late opening on Fridays, when the reading group meets upstairs from 18:30. New members welcome, no need to have finished the book.
Getting here
Five minutes' walk from the market square, on the corner opposite the launderette. Street parking is free after 10:00.
Step-free entrance at the front. The rare book room is up a narrow staircase, so ask and we will bring anything down to you.
Well-behaved dogs are welcome. So are badly behaved ones, within reason.