Avon Books

Mmm the smell of old books. This is a lovely little book shop with a good selection of old classics and rarities. If it is possible, I got the feeling that Avon Books was aimed slightly more towards the male audience, whether or not this is a conscious decision on their part or I’m just a sexist presumptuous pig who knows, probably both, but the books seemed more for people who enjoy to read for information (stereotypically men) rather than those who enjoy fiction and novels (stereotypically woman). I mean the first section that caught my eye was the Military War shelf; that’s too manly for me.
But I did notice a beautiful selection of art books and one on Manet that I bought for my Gran (et). They also had a very cool, probably expensive, rare Rolling Stones book in the window, but then saying that their prices were very reasonable and the owner is lovely and welcoming.

It was the owner sitting outside having a quiet smoke that made me want to have a look inside this shop. A proper old bookshop, run by a proper bookish booklover, it’s lovely for browsing, and is well organised if you’re looking for something specific. I love buying books this way, rather than brand new from shiny big high street bookshops, and Avon Books does a good job of providing a classic library atmosphere to satisfy the old-​fashioned among us.
True to its local name, it stocks a good section of books about Bristol’s history, which I’m sure get picked up by tourists on their way back from the Suspension Bridge.
The classics section is large, so students of English Literature, take note: this is a good place to come if you need to stock up on books from your reading list.

All my life I have greatly enjoyed reading books but almost as much as I enjoy reading them I enjoy finding them. Never been one to peruse the clean cut aisles of W H Smith or Ottakers for instance, or to click through pages of Amazon — oh no, I prefer the real mc coy.
Book shops like this one are a dying race and it’s a shame. These books are all pre-​loved and you can really feel it; the notes in the margins, the underlining of key points or simply the messages in the inside cover.
Avon Books is an old fashioned affair complete with well spoken gent behind the till and a musty smell of ciggies. The stock is mostly on the subjects of war, espionage, natural history and philosophy but you can root out a few gems too. Recently I found the entire Gray’s Anatomy for just a quid! Try and beat that.

Small shop with a carefully selected stock. You can be in and out in a jiffy if you know roughly what you’re looking for.
You get the feeling nothing stays on the shelf more than a couple of months. (If it achieves this, it’ll probably end up in the pound pile on the floor!)
The proprietor knows the second-​hand book trade very well indeed, so can advise how to obtain what you want, and also whether books you want to get rid of are worth anything.