There are rumours that Jared, owner of OK Comics, hatched from an egg from atop a volcano. I cannot…read moreconfirm this, but I can say that a world without OK Comics would be a a world without joy. Everything a comic book lover needs is nestled in this cosy little store. Downstairs you have the latest releases (as I like to call it, the Wednesday Wall) plus back issues from some of the bigger publishers. You also have graphic novels, trades, and manga - often some of it at a discounted price. - perfect for people just getting into comics. Upstairs is like a comic museum. 50p back issues in classic cardboard boxes and even more trades to whet your whistle. This is a great place if you're looking for that one issue to complete a story arc. Back to Jared and co. The staff are some of the friendliest and most knowledgeable that you could ever come across. I've been in other comic book stores around the country (and world) and very few can compare to the awesomess of the OK staff. If you're a comic book fan, get your fleshy behind to OK Comics. If your interest in comics has been piqued by recent box office smashes, then let your legs escort you to OK. Is that enough gushing? You want something negative? Ok, well, I heard that at the stroke of midnight the comics in the store come alive and contribute to 60% of the grafitti in the city centre.

OK comics is a valuable addition to the independent shops in Thornton's arcade, providing a broad…read moremix of genres from the predictable sci-fi to a hardback Moomin book nestled in the window. The shop has a clean, light feel and is tidy and organised enabling enjoyable browsing through their many high quality comics and unusual books. The staff are friendly and welcoming, even if, like me, you are a bit clueless about the world of comics, having ventured in there looking for a present for my dad! This is a shop with a real sense of identity adding to the buzzing scene of quirky shops in Leeds'city centre, and having won the Leeds Guide retail legend award, it clearly offers a quality range of products and offers excellent customer service.

I came here recently to fulfill another passion of mine; reading. Well, obviously, it's a book…read moreshop. But I'll get to the point. This store is certainly a handy locale for the many students that Leeds houses, and has a huge collection of virtually every specialty, it seems. With the exception of feminism and gender studies. Imagine my disappointment when browsing the various obscure specialty subjects on offer here, only to find a distinct lack of books surrounding my particular subject of interest. There was barely a book in relation to the subject, and I was directed to try and seek out material in psychology, of all categories! So, some of you may chirp in that it's neither a particularly popular subject, nor a common one, which is as may be. However, since I know that both the Universities offer courses in Gender Studies, and the various surrounding elements (of which there are many tangents), I thought this was a little disappointing. They aren't out on a limb though, it seems the only place I've found which actually caters to this subject has been the Oxfam books in Headingley. Even Borders, when it was still around, went from having a Gender Studies section to a smattering of books lumped in with Social Studies and lesbian writing. I shan't give up my search in any case! However, in spite of the lack of material in that particular area it has to be said that the store has a lot to offer. With many other specialty subjects catered for, a wealth of popular and classic fiction, and some interesting gift style items (see the Leeds pubs posters and similar) this shop would satisfy most of the general custom it supplies. Staff have always been as friendly and helpful as I've needed too, so all in all, one can't complain too much. If you're looking to expand your mind thoughts, this place is certainly somewhere to start. With the exception, of course, in gender studies.

A relic to what it was like to be a student in the days before Amazon, a visit to Blackwell's makes…read moreyou feel like proper student even if the closest you've ever been to higher education is getting caught in an Otley run trying to walk home on a Friday night. The shelves are packed high with textbooks and academic tomes on every subject imaginable, and there's a good selection of non-academic works too. Books are both new and second hand, and you can get money in exchange for bringing your old books in for resale. The only downside is the price, and many students seem to use it as a venue to preview books before ordering them for cheaper online.

I'm creative. Since I was able to write, I have written, and the minute I was given a camera I took…read morephotos of everything I could. I still do. The world is so confounding and obfuscating that I don't think I'll ever tire of trying to suss it out with words and pictures and sounds. I'll get to the point -- I have a personal take on being artistic. So, when you walk into a place that's full of incredible, intriguing art that seems as though it's in an entirely different language to your own, it can be challenging, daunting, and exciting. That's how I feel when I go into Village Bookstore. I almost feel like a poser. An imposter. A petty pretender. Because, the majority of the material in here seems foreign to me -- I might not be able to understand it, but I'm drawn to it and want to figure it out. I long to translate it into something I can understand. The collection in here is incredible. A lot of it seems photography-focused; there's a sizeable collection of photography books, both assortments of work and a few "how-tos". I use inverted commas, as the book that I bought is a sort-of how-to -- it's this amazing book, called The Photographer's Playbook, that has 307 assignments and ideas that you can do yourself. It's filled with snippets and thoughts from established photographers, and it's wonderful. As well as photography, there is a myriad of books with a modern art focus (perhaps where the "foreign" feeling comes from -- I find modern art hit and miss), contemporary design, fashion, and more. It's independent, it's quirky, it's filled with self-published zines, and (I'm sure I'm not making this up) they even sell coffee. Last time I was in (around Christmas) they had this camera set up to photograph what appeared to be a gemstone collection, but I think this may be where they photo the new collections for the website. Anyway, it's another curious detail of the shop. The staff are friendly but make no attempt to coerce a sale or upsell products -- I like that. Essentially, it's an outlier. It's in danger of being accused of hipsterism. But it's entirely different to any other bookshop, or even regular shop, that we have here in Leeds and you've got to get in and see for yourself. Explore your artistic side, face something challenging that might not look like the art you know, and see everything with eyes anew. Take a wander.

Leeds City Books is a charity book shop selling a wide range of books and a small selection of…read morejewellery. The charity it supports is Leeds City Mission, a Christian charity - thus many of the books sold are of a Christian or religious nature. When I popped in for a browse though, the woman running the shop asked whether I was looking for religious books, then kindly pointed out the non-Christian literature. I then felt welcome to browse the substantial collection, with much of the fiction of high quality and many books looking brand new, but at good prices. For any fan of second-hand book shops, whether Christian or not, Leeds City Books is definitely worth checking out.

Whilst the Leeds City Market has an abundance of fruit and veg, cosmetic and cheap clothes stores,…read moreit really lacks anywhere selling books. So I was happy to stumble upon this place. When I went in the three people sitting around having a chat paused their conversation, asked if I needed any help and then carried on. As my eyes scanned the titles I quickly realised that most of the books where of a Christian nature - many copies of the Bible and one about the ethics of abortion. I didn't see many books that interested me so made a hasty exit, nearly knocking over the single stand holding cheap jewelry on the thresh hold.

Don't think I've ever felt less valued as a customer or witnessed anything as rude…read more In the middle of helping me the staff member just left me to take a payment for someone else who rudely interrupted, therefore indicating their time is more valuable than mine. I hope it was substantial as I will not be returning and I am a regular, repeat customer.

I used to love this Waterstones store until i discovered Borders on Briggate. It's so unfortunate…read morethat borders have now gone into administration. Anyway, Waterstones has always had a place in my heart and being a lover of anything I can get my hands on to read, this place has been a god send. From fiction to science-fiction, self help and non-fiction. Waterstones stocks so many different genres and kind of books that it's kind of impossible to not find something you don't like the sound of. They frequently have 'celebs' coming in to the store to sign copies of their books for customers so that's another good thing. If they don't have the book you're looking for, they're happy to track it down and order it in. Worth a look.

WH Smith has become a staple of British travel, it seems every train station big or small pretty…read moremuch has one. This is pretty much your average location. The selection is pretty good for travel essentials, yet at an inflated cost which seems to be more expensive than anywhere else in the station. This Leeds Station branch appeared to be modernised slightly as a part of the station's improvement work. There was a good selection of snacks and drinks as well as newspapers, magazines. The alcohol here was VERY overpriced, you'd be better off heading to Wetherspoons at North Concourse if you're looking for a drink, with fresh drinks costing around the same as what you'd pay or the canned ones here. I get it, it's a train station and you're paying for convenience. The queuing area seemed to be a bit of a mess, with an employee appearing just to be talking to a number of people, who were blocking the self-service checkouts. I do think this could have been handled better. 3* - A great pitstop right next to the ticket gates as a last resort, but obviously much better options for price and selection within the city centre and cheaper options at the other end of the station if you have time.

The Smiths in the train station totally deserves a mention. I'm not saying I'm over the moon about…read morethe place - let's face facts. Everything in here has just that tiny bit extra on the price, purely because it is in the station and they will rely on you purchasing items before rushing to your train. We know this. However, being a massively panicky traveller who is useless and massively disorganised, this place can truly be a life saver. Rushing to train - no drink - argh need water! - Smiths=done. Rushing to train - no food - argh feeling hungry! - Smiths=done. Rushing to train - no entertainment - argh need paper! - Smiths=done. I could go on, but I won't. Also, the staff there are really nice. Had a very pleasant flirt with the chap who served me before rushing to my train - it certainly made me smile!

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.

I came here to pick up a few bits for my sketchbook after hearing about it from a friend who's…read morepretty arty. I can't say I found anything completely inspiring or unusual but the basics of the kit you need were there. Brushes, Pencils, Card, Crafty bits and bobs....etc. The shop is reasonably priced and does have some nice quality materials.

Headingley don't have many arts and craft focussed shops around, but tucked up a back road,…read moreDisdale's is a resource for the artier of Headingley's residents. It is a traditional arts and crafts shops, selling quality materials in the way of fine paint brushes, drawing pencils of many kinds, quality paper meant for certain tasks etc. As I say in many other of my reviews, I prefer a more creative way of finding imaginative materials in unexpected places, rather than conforming to these sorts of traditional (overpriced) shops, but for what it is, it is a great thing to have in Headingley, away from the busy pub ridden road.