I love bookstores: the smell, the colors, and the possibilities for adventure and escape. Where I…read morelive there aren't many left, so it's exciting to visit as wonderful as Unity Books. In Auckland there are quite a few places to go, but this one is independent and probably the best. Unity Books has its main store and children's book separate on the same street; both are fun to browse through. I came here both to browse and with a mission. I wanted to purchase the complete Lord of the Rings and Hobbit filming locations books. They're printed in New Zealand and cover places we visited, and others we'd love to return to. Their prices were what I expected; with the exchange rate, I was happy. The store was organized and they were easy to find, but one of the books' spine was broken. I asked a friendly clerk and they quickly went to the back and got another copy. It made buying them there easy. They had so many happy customers, it's easy to see they're doing well. I will definitely stop here on our next visit.

Service was fast and friendly, called to put a book on hold and showed up about 35 minutes later…read more They had it ready to go and were very nice.

I buy books online because they are cheaper but every so often when I am in Newmarket I will come…read moreand take a look at what Book Barn has because it is a book bargain bonanza! My mum goes through books like crazy and I she picks up paperbacks here for around only $5 each which is so good. They have cook books too and for those who like to cook from a book and have a picture you can pick up some cheap ones here. I got a couple of vegetarian cookbooks a while back and some baking books for my mum, hard covers and all under $15 each. Sure the range is not huge but like all stores like this you don't expect it to be like Whitcoulls or anything. There is still a good variety and with stock that changes frequently a store to check out every once and a while.

It's almost ludicrous the amount we pay in New Zealand for books. If you are anything like me, you…read morewill have 3 or 4 books in you arms within the first five minutes of walking into a bookstore and have to sort through your stack via process of elimination. Book Barn has rows of books, all seemingly on special tables to save you the heartbreak of having to discard chosen books. Fantasy, cooking, kids (sadly not all three together), a great classics section in the gorgeous Collins Classics covers and plenty of murder thrillers. The genres are diverse and the reduction in retail price makes it economical. Run by a friendly couple, The Book Barn maybe the single best place in Auckland for cheap and contemporary books.

Found this place quite by accident, and to our pleasant surprise it was open quite late. We took…read moreages wandering around and seeing what lovely old titles were to hand. Several patrons were sitting in seats reading before purchasing. I loved the smell of old paper, also the old products dotted around the floor and tops of the book shelves added to the magic of the place. On seeing the mini display of Thunderbirds characters and their craft by the till brought back so many memories. We had a second visit the following night to see what we had missed first time around.

Promises quality books, but in reality it's just overpriced paperbacks and tired old reference…read morebooks. I had to laugh at the ridiculous 8m high bookshelf, good luck if you're interested in browsing any of those up there. The woman who runs it is pretty sour faced and uninterested too. Don't go out of your way.