One of my favourite shops in town. A good selection of fiction, non-fiction, cds, dvds and new…read moreOxfam fairtrade goods. Oxfam always do a great range of cards, diaries and stationery, and are bound to have some interesting new or secondhand gifts for Christmas.

I really enjoy the atmosphere of old bookshops. Having said that, I found the prices to be a bit…read moretoo high for many worn, secondhand books. Their overall selection is decent for their size, so it's worth popping into if you're in the area.

Janette Ray specialises in rare books and out of print ones. It's a small shop just on Bootham-a…read morebit out of town so I think you'd only go if you knew it was there. I've been in a few times but not bought anything. It is slightly pricey but that's to be expected due to the nature of the books sold (rare ones.) People working there are friendly and nice.

Martin's is a little corner shop/newsagents type shop in Haxby. It's a nice friendly little shop…read moreselling things like magazines, confectionary and drinks. There is a Co-op round the corner which probably takes a lot of custom from this shop but I prefer Martin's. The only things is they obviously don't sell as much or as big a range of things.

Lendal Newsagents is one of those old little newsagents that's been there years and it's nice to go…read morein as a lot of those kind of shops either don't exist now or they've been turned into big chains. The staff in there are friendly and they sell things like sweets, cigarettes and magazines. Reasonable prices too.

The Works is a brilliant shop for super cheap books. Sometimes they're about 3 for a fiver which is…read moregreat value, and some of them can be fairly new titles as well. Nice big range of stuff too although it can take a bit of digging to find what I want.

This W H Smith is at Monks Cross Shopping Park and I used to pop in when I worked a few shops away…read morefrom it. I find W H Smith quite overpriced but I do think the staff at this branch are lovely. The shop sells mainly books, refreshments, magazines, games, and cigarettes.

WHSmith on Coney Street is a useful store, it features a Post Office, while also stocking a good…read moreselection of stationery, cards and many of the usual items you would expect to find in a WHSmith, yet without the toxic horrible carpet, instead they have opted for a refreshing, modern flooring. Prices are usually a bit more expensive here, as with any WHSmith. Customer service in the store could be improved, it can be hard to find someone, plus the checkout area is occasionally unattended. 4* - A useful store within York city centre, in a good location

We visited this store two days ago - and although it's small, it has a good selection of history…read morebooks in particular. It also has a very nice selection of lovely cards and many beautiful puzzles. The two women working there were very pleasant. (Note that this store is in the village of Helmsley).