A week or so back I wrote about my wish to find a mind-bogglingly inexpensive used book store in west London and to my absolute delight I found one without even trying yesterday while on my way back from the Portobello Road market. I had gone to the market with the dual intent of people-watching for the afternoon along the busy street and getting some replacement pieces for a damaged earring from a bead and craft store in the area. On my way back, I happened to pass Book and Comic Exchange just around the corner from the Notting Hill Gate tube stop. Not having had much luck with the quality of previously visited used book stores, I wasn’t entirely optimistic but decided to poke my head in.

Photo courtesy of Google Street View

I have one major complaint about the store – the number of interesting and engaging books in that shop was so ridiculously high that it would have taken at least a day to properly browse them all – and I didn’t even visit the basement section! As far as I could tell, all of the books I saw were in great condition (many of them were proof copies so hadn’t even been read). I didn’t see a single volume priced over six quid and the majority were two or three. I got stuck in the a-z literature section – a floor to ceiling collection that stretched along one entire wall of the shop – so didn’t even begin to look at genre fiction, non-fiction, comics, movies, music, games or movie memorabelia.  It was a lit-lover’s dream come true as far as I was concerned and found myself leaving with over 1500 pages of fiction for less than a Starbucks coffee. I highly recommend a visit if you’re in the area.

Book and Comic Exchange
14 Pembridge Road, Notting Hill, London W11 3HL
0207 229 8420