Oxfam Books

Great place to find used books, CDs, and movies. They have various sections from history, biographies, art, science, research, classics, fiction, non-​fiction, and a sizeable children’s section (considering it is a secondhand shop). Most of the prices are good and sometimes there are multiple copies of the same item. I love this place and it’s nice to know I’m helping Oxfam and giving a used book a new/​temporary home.

Unofficially The Best Bookshop In The World! A huge, double-​fronted store. One side is mainly fiction with a huge range from classics, through genre, to chick-​lit. The other side is non-​fic: literature, academic, foreign language etc. Also sells postcards, audio books and DVDs. A place to lose yourself in for a good hour.

I have so much love for this place… almost as much as my boyfriend, who begs me to come with him here every weekend as if it were Disneyland and he were an excitable seven year-​old.
He’s got good reason though — any book lover will love this place. Despite its small size the word ‘rambling’ comes to mind as you survey the shelves stuffed with second hand books. It’s not uncommon for us to drift apart (him to the reference, me to the fiction) and emerge some time later blinking like moles, laden with books and about £20 poorer. Not that it’s too pricey you understand, just that there’s so much choice, and it’s so hard to say no to a £2.50 book you just HAVE to read.
The staff are a little strange but that just adds to the charm really. Word to the wise: don’t buy anything racy unless you’re prepared for some ribbing. Not that I’d know anything about that…

Here is as good a place as any to admit that I arrange my bookshelf to make myself look more intelligent than I actually am. Orwell, Kerouac, Hellier and Vonnegut get placed at eye level. My Booky Wook and Harry Potter go on the bottom shelf. The tragedy is that noone has EVER noticed or cared.
Helping maintain this tragic farce is the Oxfam Books shop. A good sized and very well stocked book shop in Central Headingley. I have been impressed several times with the range of titles that they have available, more than once going in with something quite specific in mind, and not being disappointed.
The pricing always very reasonable, with an average paperback usually being around the £3.50 mark. The staff has always been pleasant and helpful.
So if you too wish to cultivate a bookshelf that will impress imaginary people without breaking the bank and help a charity at the same time, you could do much worse!

For me there’s something rather fabulous and decadent about shopping for new books. New titles to be added to the collective. And when there’s a charity involved you feel less guilty about adding more books to your tiny apartment whilst it’s all going to a good cause. Yeah but is it? There are totally contradicting reports as to where and how far the money made from Oxfam is used and the corners of the globe it extends, and for this reason I am always sceptical about my purchasings from Oxfam as a charity store. It is most shrewd in it’s business operations which is often reflected in the prices, which p. s are not much cheaper than the brand spanking new alternatives I could get off Amazon, which somewhat irks me when mooching around Oxfam Books, and I know good causes and all that, but really, sometimes it’s just plain extortion. That said, Oxfam Books is incredibly well stocked for a second hand or pre-​owned book store, and it is very well organised, all sections are precise and full, which is as I said impressive considering the unpredictable nature of the stock pre-​owned book stores have. Interesting sections, good for a poke about, excellent way of donating to charity if you don’t mind paying full whack for pre-​owned books. If however you want your new titles to be as good as new, then redirect your pennies to a cheaper outlet of less charitable means.

Oxfam books is more than just a charity book shop in Headingley. It is a really good place to find second hand books as it is quite large and has many sections. As well as a large fiction section (where books are place alphabetically, which is quite unusual for a charity shop) you can find books about transport, topography, sport, natural history and sociology. This is probably due to the student population of Headingley that feeds this shop with quality titles. If you are looking for course texts its always worth looking here before buying a brand new copy. There is a nice section of staff recommendations — always useful if you’re just browsing and need some inspiration. There is also a section of antique books — very exciting for one who covets books like myself.
It has a real community feel about it as every couple of months there are free poetry evenings and there is a book group based around the shop, who advertise their novel of the month via cute hand-​drawn posters. I have found some absolute treasures here in the past but the only reason I can’t give Oxfam books a 5-​star review is because of their pricing. For second hand books I think that many are over priced which almost takes the joy out of it. In some cases I’m sure I could find cheaper second-​hand books on the internet that haven’t been half as battered.

Oxfam Books is jolly good indeed. It is rather large and has clearly labelled sections with areas including gender studies, philosophy, gardening and much, much more. It’s the kind of place you could spend forever in, browsing, reading, then curling up in a corner engrossed! It has a lovely, library-​like feel to it with many other people flicking through pages and browsing the shelves.
For the most part the books are very good value for money and the huge selection means you are absolutely guaranteed to find something you want to take away. They also sell a tasteful range of greetings cards. The staff seem lovely and you get the impression they really enjoy their job. Next time I have some pennies to rub together I’m definitely heading over there to stock up on books in preparation for springtime reading under a tree in my local park! Can’t wait!

I’m not the biggest fan of Oxfam on the whole, as charities go it is the one that has most obviously become more of a business. In many cases the Oxfam shops sell second hand clothing at ridiculous prices under the guise of vintage, and I’ve even seen Primark clothing on sale there for a little more than it sells brand new! But Oxfam books is a shade different.
Here there are literally hundreds of different books on sale. As with the standard Oxfam shops, some of these are a little overpriced, but with so much variety it’s hard not to find a bargain in here. There are lots of popular texts, but also some really quirky old books, which have that lovely antique vibe. I wanted to find some specialist literature based around gender studies and feminist non-​fiction and found a far better range and highlighted section than even Borders — which had merged those texts in with lesbian erotica! Oh the irony!
Every item that I chose to purchase was super cheap and it was pleasing to know that some of my money, however much, should go to a good cause. A great gem of a bookshop for wee Headingley.

As a foreign language lover, I always find something, specially in French, well I m French ah ah. So yes, and a lot of good old English literature, love it. I finally grab a piece of organic milk chocolate (or white or orange, etc.)All for charity, I gave them a couple of coins I had and was much warmly thanked. A pleasure for second-​hand books lovers!

The Oxfam bookshop has something of the atmosphere of an old-​fashioned library, and it’s a very relaxing place to browse. The selection is more eclectic and interesting than a regular old Waterstones or Borders, and the vibe is cultured and a little bohemian. If you love the faintly musty scent of second-​hand books, it’s the place for you! The prices are a little steep compared to a lot of charity shops, but hey, it’s all in a good cause. And compared to other charity shop book sections, it’s much better organised with a vastly wider selection, so the price hikes aren’t that unreasonable really, considering the number of man-​hours involved. There is a record section also, for all vinyl lovers out there.

Charity shops are all good, though this is very expensive which sort of puts me off using it, because I like to be able to afford things in a charity shop! But it’s all for a good cause, and there’s always a good variety of quality goods. Plus the funny cards are great!

A great bookshop with a really wide range of stock including some rather bizarre individuals amongst them. They used to sell vinyl as well. The books are reasonable in price and the proceeds go to charity.

I think I’ve got the right Oxfam. They redid a couple of the Headingley ones and merged the record shop with the other one I think.
Anyway, I’m a fan of charity shops in general, so Oxfam always gets my vote. They’re more expensive than some of the other ones around (Help The Aged is the cheapest!), but then they stock a lot more than just secondhand clothes. We get fairtrade ground coffee from here — there’s one that tastes a bit like chocolate which is super tasty, and it’s only about £3.50. Plus it gives you the feel-​good factor for helping out a charidee.
There’s a ‘vintage’ section at the back — not quite as impressive as the Oxfam near the Corn Exchange — and plenty of jewellery and accessories. The record shop is in the next door bit, where the furniture used to be (I think!).
I like the window displays when I drive past. The mannequins always look nice. They’ve got yellow tights on at the moment :)