Loved this shop and could have stayed for hours!! As it was I went there two or three times and…read morebought several books. It's a well lit and beautiful shop with everything neatly arranged in clearly marked categories, so it was easy to find what you were looking for. A good range of maps, guide books and books on Scotland; novels, biographies, a great children's section too and much more besides. Best of all, the lady at the counter was extremely nice. I'll be going back there the next time I'm in the town!

A small but well stocked second hand bookshop. I visited it several times recently and bought…read moreseveral books - good, clean, paperbacks at low prices (one was 75p, another £1). There are, of course, many hard-backs for sale as well, plus magazines and videos. Everything is laid out neatly on shelves which are clearly marked so it's easy to find what you're looking for. Helpful staff too.

Voltaire & Rousseau is the book shop of Bernard Black's dreams. There's no chatting, no coffee, no…read morecustomer service, just books; books & books & books (oh and a cat!) I L O V E this shop, to me it's a Glasgow institution, a unique treasure trove of literature that appears to be completely unaffected by the world outside. If you remember seeing Scrooge McDuck diving into his vault of gold coins, I have this image of the owner jumping off the shop's ladder into all those books! What I love about this place is the fact that it's so jam-packed with books, a good number of which are probably at least 20 years old. It's like stepping back in time in the history of publishing. I've bought some of the most enjoyable & informative books I've ever read. Even if you don't like reading, then how about an old Oor Wullie annual for £1? Look up to the wooden shelf to get a (rough) idea of the subject of the books in front of you, just bear in mind that the books are three rows deep & tall enough to bury a child. I noticed a book in the shop today on mountain disasters & I felt a chill run through me, as if the cries of children, trapped behind the rows of books, were calling out to me. It also occurs to me that the current shop cat may not be the original... The two guys running the shop aren't the most animated of shop owners, usually they only move to make a cup of tea or if one of them is rolling a cig. There's a book for everyone in this shop, just don't expect any help finding it. While they're not particularly chatty, they're no Bernards either, so don't let a lack of a welcome put you off coming in to (carefully) rummage through the piles of brilliant, cheap books. Just leave a trail of breadcrumbs or maybe take a GPS marker if you decide to venture in past the first row!

V & R is exactly what a second-hand bookshop should be - it's a decaying old building with books…read morestacked from floor to ceiling so that you feel it can only be the books that are stopping the place from collapsing. The shelves have long ago been filled and are now half-concealed behind the piles of books on the floor. Don't expect an organised filing system here - I'm sure there is one but it's pretty impenetrable. Fortunately the chaps who run it have a positively encyclopaedic knowledge of what they have and can usually point you in the right direction. There are some great finds to be had if you're willing to spend the time looking; in the past I have found some rare esoteric books in here. They're not so good at buying books from you as I discovered recently when I was offered a pittance for 5 boxes of quite unusual books from my library, all in good or better condition. I appreciate they have to make a living and it can't be easy in this age of e-books and Amazon; anyway I declined the offer and I still have the books for the moment. In winter it's a bit chilly and the sole heating appliance appears to be a portable Calor gas fire - not the safest thing to have in room full of nice flammable paper you would think and I'm sure it's an accident waiting to happen. Definitely not the place to visit if you're in a rush; expect to lose an hour or two browsing around in here. It has to be my favourite second hand bookshop in Glasgow and long may it continue to be so.

I was in the store today more so for the coffee at costa than anything else. Like every other…read moreshop, the service was extremely slow. Any vacant tables was littered with previous customers empty dishes etc. No staff in sight to clear away. The chain really needs to consider how they improve on this. On a positive note, the cappuccino was nice.

This store has been taken over by Waterstones..see review for this. The store lay out is exactly as…read morewas so you wont really notice the difference only by the sign out side, and the prices which are alot less.

Why has this place not been reviewed yet? It's so resourceful!…read more It's tucked away off the main street but seriously, swerve left before you hit Tattie Mac's, take a wee right and you're there! And you won't be disappointed. Like a better organised Voltaire and Rousseau or a more reasonably priced Caledonia Books, this place has a large collection of lit crit for the uni student, a ton of sheet music past and present, and a plethora of fiction and non-fiction, all organised into appropriate sections. The guys who own it are really friendly, always eager to ask if you need assistance and will find you what you need in a second flat. Great selection, the books are pleasantly priced and in good nick. I bought A Clockwork Orange today (bit of light reading, ha) and not only was it only four quid but it looks like new! The owners are always very knowledgable of their craft and banter is free. Very useful for uni students but also accessible if you just fancy a new read. Thistle Books are a service to the local literati community!

As much as I appreciate playing a game of potentially life threatening over-sized Jenga with the…read morebooks of Voltaire and Rousseau is part of the shop's appeal, sometimes all you want is a little bit of order. On those occasions, pay a visit to this little gem, which is situated in the lane adjacent to V+R. Like its neighbouring competitor, Thistle is a second hand book mecca, stocking virtually every genre you could imagine at extremely reasonable prices. Unlike V+R, it is set out neatly and something resembling orderly, meaning you actually have a chance of finding a specific title. Don't get me wrong, Thistle is no Waterstones. It retains the tattered, rough around the edges appeal of all second hand book shops in this neck of the woods and, most importantly, offers ample opportunity to uncover hidden gems at a fantastic price. The staff are also very welcoming and content to let you spend the day browsing and reading. Hell, they'd probably even make you up a bed for the night if you wanted to stay.

The Red Book Shop is situated on London Road, five minutes walk from Trongate. I'd never heard of…read morethis place before I saw it today, lucky since I was just passing and would've missed it had I gone on my usual route to the Barras. It's small and apparently only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday but it's worth checking it out if you're looking for some studying material (especially if you're into your politics, which I'll get to later). Each bookshelf is well ordered and split into sections so it's easy to find what you're looking for if you're in a hurry. It's very well priced and I can imagine it being interesting for book collectors as many of the novels and theory books looked like they were at least 50 years old (great for nostalgia). The books looked in good enough second hand condition, and sometimes it's nice to buy a yellowing, well fingered read, anyway. Shows the book's had more than just a shelf life. The shop also has a collection of political activist T shirts on offer, of a socialist nature. I know statments made on similar T-shirts have been consistently popular amongst fashion conscious students but these ones are especially designed to convey politial messages. I picked up 3 books; one of which was Sense and Sensibility with a gorgeous, well adorned hardback 70s cover. It was what attracted me to it and it didn't escape the attention of the shop owner, who without me having to say began educating me on the style of cover art from that era. The two guys who were in were full of friendly banter and I got 3 books for 3 pounds so I was a happy customer. A lot of the books were political commentaries, and I got the impression the shop was aimed towards people interested in socialist theory (hence the 'Red' in the shop title), but it's not all it's got to offer and so is worth a gander. The emphasis this shop seems to be on ideas and intelligent reading. Be your purpose here be political, on a quest for learning materials or just for kicks, you won't be disappointed (and on a superficial level, it's worth going in just to get a sniff of that delicious old book smell).

Everything you could possibly need in a vinyl music store, including non-vinyl music!…read moreFriendly helpful proprieter and an enthusiastic clientelle. Also acts as a ticketing agency. No card, all cash operation. Located at bottom of Sandgate with pay and display parking just across the bridge or free parking at multistorey behind nearby TK Maxx.

This place is awesome! Ian, the owner, is informative about all genres and you'll get caught up in…read morea conversation for hours! I was recommended to "definitely stop by" by a local and I'm so glad I did. He accepts card and cash.