This is a magical place: all sorts of wonderful books, a super, eclectic selection. Staff very…read morehelpful. And good value. Do call in, worth a special trip!

Good little shop for second hand books, I find myself in here a lot, whenever I walk past I can't…read moreresist popping in for a new (used) paperback. Characterful shop and as with all used books shops you never know what you'll find inside, which is half the fun.

Excellent shop by far the best one I've been in very friendly & helpful staff if you ask for things…read morethey don't sell they'll make a note of it, and you can bet it will be on the sheet for the next delivery. And all reasonably priced

WH Smith is located on King St in South Shields, it has been around for what seems an eternity. It…read moreis a smallish branch that has a range of books and stationery as well as some gifts as well. This outlet is well priced and has quite a large range in despite its size. The staff are very helpful and chatty and will try there best to help you out, The range of books is not the best but they can order anything from a larger store for you and have it delivered within a couple of days which is always handy.

Anyone who has any interest in sci-fi and anime will have spent every Saturday in one of these…read morestores. Dotted around the country, you were lucky enough if you could visit one of these stores on a regular basis. For me, whilst others dabbled in long sessions of clothes shopping, I geeked out in one of these stores whenever I had a chance. After all, this was basically the only store that remotely sold anime-related paraphernalia or quirky little bits and pieces. Unfortunately, as a tween, anime was not as popular as now and the section dedicated was tiny in branches I visited. Over the years, the manga book selections have increased but at this particular store, it is still quite limited. For me, this store didn't offer much. I'm not a gamer (board and card) or particilarly comic-book orientated but this store defiantly would meet your needs if you are. There lots of comicbooks, board games, card games, cool artwork books etc... and it is to my understanding that members meet to play and socialise regularly.

The selection in Forbidden Planet is pretty good, but overall subpar compared to other FPs I've…read morevisited. The store itself is greatly in need of a refit, and more importantly the staff are rude and have zero skills in customer service. I said thanks to the guy behind the till as I left and he just blanked me. Great job. There's another comics/manga store just a few doors away, sadly I can't remember it's name, but it's better in every way than this store. Especially customer service.

Great staff and great shop. Exactly what you want it to be and are more than happy to help with…read moreanything you could want and need

It's THE place for geeks and gamers in Newcastle, fun atmosphere, nice food, really friendly staff…read moreand a great selection of stuff to buy.

My favourite shop in Newcastle! Packed with comics, graphic…read morenovels, manga books, figurines, Studio Ghibli plushies, board games and loads more. Staff are knowledgeable and friendly and you can easily pre-order anything that's not in stock which has been really useful at times! Some of the chunkier graphic novels are occasionally on the expensive side (sometimes I have found cheaper elsewhere), but with a Travelling Man members card, discounts on certain titles or 3 for 2 (for example) offers are available sometimes so it's worth keeping an eye out for those. The shop can be a little awkward to sidle round when there's a lot of people in, but it's well laid out and organised and easy to spot on the outside with it's bright orange/blue storefront. Found many a Birthday/Christmas gift from there for like-minded geeky friends and family. They have a great small press section which is regularly replenished and aspiring comic artists can potentially sell their self published comics/zines in that section too. They also have a small Nobrow/Flying Eye book section which I love, as they are rarer to find in other places like Forbidden Planet. Monthly 'Paper Jam Comics Collective' meetings are held there on Thursdays as a get-together of comic artists/writers/fans to chat, make comics (and head to the pub after!) and the basement area is also host to a few gigs now and then. Heading there for Free Comic Book Day (1st Saturday in May) is a must! I went with my partner last year and unlike Forbidden Planet down the road who gave us a ready made bag of a few of the free comics on offer, at Travelling Man we could walk round the shop and choose any (or all) of the free comics available. Worth knowing if you're into that sort of thing :) Overall an awesome place!

Great selection of manga and comics in this store, I found a few I'd been unable to find elsewhere…read more Store is well laid out and up-to-date, and staff are friendly and knowledgable. The prices are good for the area. Overall very good, better than the other similar stores in the area.

This branch of Waterstones is a fairly nice branch and one of the more modern branches of…read moreWaterstones I have visited across multiple cities including my home-town of Manchester, Liverpool and even the branch in Newcastle city centre, which as far as I'm aware (the latter) is located in a really old, listed building. This branch follows the new Waterstones approach, the store overall feels modern and new, which is nice for a bookshop, the headings are clearly labelled to show what they are such as Education, Crime, Action and Non-Fiction etc as I recall, which I found pretty cool as it made the store easy to navigate. This store, of course, is located in the intu Metrocentre, it is in a fairly central location, close to one of the few lifts in the mall, for navigation purposes I am aware it is classed as being part of Platinum Mall in the Metrocentre, which are categories I don't seem to understand, they basically just confuse me. The staff around the store didn't seem too stand out, which was a shame, and the product range was okay, albeit selling a slightly better range would be better as well as making sure the book prices were clearly labelled, to avoid having to scroll through the front and back pages to look for the RRP which I presume they are selling the book at, even though in some cases the RRP is outdated as it is the old book, and sometimes there isn't even one printed, making it annoying as I like to know prices before I buy, rather than asking a member of staff at the checkout perhaps. Overall, how the prices of the books are displayed need to change, perhaps extending the product range too to make this store not just a modern store, but a product with great selection would also be good, improving the helpfulness and welcome from the staff would always be good, but my shopping experience here was reasonable / good and for that I feel this is one of my preferred book shops, and perhaps favourite Waterstones branch I have visited, despite it not being the largest, in size it doesn't compare to the branch in London over multiple floors and the branch in Liverpool over two floors, yet I still think this store deserves a three star rating I'm pleased to report.

A fabulous independent book shop in Corbridge market square that stocks loads of great books you…read morewon't find in high street shops. The displays are imaginative and attractive, showing off the books to a treat. There's a great little sunken area with a comfy settee for closer browsing and a great stationery corner too. Excellent for greetings cards I to the bargain.

Great little bookshop with a good range of books. Also stocks stationery including a range of the…read morewonderful Moleskine notebooks and diaries. Ordnance survey maps, local guide books and lots of local history titles too. Cheerful and friendly proprietor/staff. Nice little shop!