Emmaus is a charity shop specialising in second-hand furniture and books. The charity supports…read morehomeless people to "move on from homelessness, providing work and a home in a supportive, family environment. Companions, as residents are known, work full time collecting renovating and reselling donated furniture. This work supports the Community financially and enables residents to develop skills and rebuild their self-respect." (www.emmaus.org.uk). The furniture is generally of a high quality and very reasonably priced with some quite charming vintage-style cupboards and shelves. The books are very cheap at 50p for paper backs and £1 for hard backs. Although there isn't a huge amount of books, what they do have covers a wide variety of types and genres. I would definitely recommend checking out Emmaus if you're looking for decent furniture at an affordable price, especially if you want something with a bit of character. It's great to know you would be giving unwanted furniture a new appreciative home while supporting a very worthwhile cause.

This branch of Emmaus is great. It sells second hand furniture and a few books in support of this…read morecharity helping people out of homelessness. There is a larger branch on the edge of the town centre but it is a bit out of the way. This one provides cheap, good quality furniture whilst making people aware of the cause. They have tables, shelves, sofas and lamps. The staff are pretty friendly and if you can't find what you want here, are happy to point you in the right direction of the larger shop.

Rock A Boom is my favourite independent music shop in Leicester. It is located in ST. Martin's…read moresquare which is about 5 minutes away from Highcross shopping centre - Firebug bar and McDonalds are nearby. Rock A Boom is only a small shop and can't compete with HMV for sheer physical space. What it can offer though is very good value on cd's and a small selection of vinyl. They cater to alternative music fans, so you can find some right gems searching through the racks on everything from punk rock to drum 'n' bass. The reason I come back here is because the staff are incredibly friendly and chatty. I don't just come here to buy a record, I come here to have a natter. The attendant will often talk to me about what he's been listening to and recommend things to try. This is the sort of banter and experience you just can't get at bigger corporate record stores.

A Leicester institution, and rightly so. For those looking away from the mainstream for their…read moremusical thrills, this is the best little shop in the city, jam packed with musical obscurities and latest releases. The staff know their stuff, and you can get gig tickets for anything that's going on in Leicester, which is extremely handy. Prices were a little on the steep side before, but I have been informed that they're now extremely competitive. Plus, with certain albums, they occasionally give away free posters and stuff too. Lovely.

Grantham Indoor Market opened its doors in September 2011, since when it has gone from strength to…read morestrength. The market has been established within the rambling and historic Victorian school which has been tastefully decorated to give a fitting backdrop to the colourful stalls and huge variety of merchandise now displayed there. We invite you to come on a journey of discovery and explore the warren of rooms throughout the old school all of which are filled with a wide range of merchandise from fruit and veg to plants, crafts to clothes, haberdashery to fishing tackle, cake making accessories to baby wear and lots more. Many of our stallholders are permanent within the market complex, however at the weekends there are day traders who come along to sell their wares. We hope from the selection of market stalls you will be able to find just what you are looking for, and after your shopping experience you can enjoy a welcome cup of tea or coffee and a bite to eat at our award winning café.

Had a jacket potato with tuna and salad, and a lovely milky coffee. Well done to the ladies who…read morehave taken over the Old School House Cafe. Still early days, but they are doing well. Will be back again soon. Good atmosphere.

Extremely friendly and helpful staff; willing to give advice and recommendations, nice-looking and…read morewell organised shop, orders available (including various imports), great prices and caters for any customer. One of the two shops in the country, still stocks older console-games, and they will be willing to try-and-order others if necessary. You also get to know staff on a more-personal level compared to those of bigger retailers such as Game and Gamestation.

One of the best shops I have been to. A great selection of comics plus a continual supply of…read morespecial offers.

When I lived on Oldham Street many moons ago, I used to pop into Forbidden Planet on a weekly basis…read moreto pick up new copies of The Sandman, The Invisibles and other cool comics. These days, I only venture in now and again for something specific, like Reinhard Kleist's awesome graphic novel based on the life of Johnny Cash - I See A Darkness. For me, the layout and interior of Forbidden Planet lacks the ambience and wow factor of somewhere like Dave's Comics in Brighton but their range of comics, manga and graphic novels is faultless. For true fantatics and collectors, they also stock a massive range of cartoon, comic and pop culture memorabilia including tee-shirts, games, videos and toys. Personally, I have my eye on one of Frank Kozak's toy smoking rabbits complete with eye patch.

I have to give a major shout out to Paramount Books - a fantastic independent bookstore nestled in…read morethe sometimes overlooked and forgotten Shudehill area of town. Ok so there may be a million KFC ripoff takeaways and a few random shops that have seen better days around it but Paramount stands out as a well looked after 2nd hand book store with loads of character! I was pulled in on a wet and windy Monday by their comic book sale - in fact there's a whole area in the back dedicated to rare comics and graphic novels (fantastic selection) - inside there's a fantastic selection covering everything from music and film to politics, history and philosophy - really good to browse and possible pick up a tome to take home (wow that rhymes...) The best part of this place is the owner who basically is exactly what you'd be looking for if casting this place in a Hollywood movie. With glasses dangling from his neck and a scholarly look as he sorts the shelves - the classical music in the background makes you really feel what a unique place this is in the world of chain stores and amazon. Make sure you check out Paramount soon and enjoy a slip back into yesteryear!

Thank the lord for Paramount Book Exchange…read more One of the few independent bookshops left in Manchester, it's a strictly DIY affair run by a genuine book lover. The sign outside suggests it's only open Fridays and Saturdays but it's usually open Monday to Saturday unless the owner has popped out for something. The lively window displays give a great indicator of what's in store with stacks of new, vintage and secondhand books everywhere. Fans of cult fiction, sci-fi, horror, crime noir, queer fiction, biographies and pop culture will find much to treasure here as the stock leans more towards William Burroughs, Poppy Z Brite and Neil Gaiman than Harry Potter. There's also a small selection of 60s-90s vinyl for crate diggers. All they need is a coffee machine and I'd happily move in!

This is a fantastic place for both stationary and literary bargains. Craft goodies along side…read morelatest autobiographys and calenders. Nothing in here is expensive and they have some lovely gift ideas and stocking fillers for the children. They even hd wheat bgs at £1.99