hooked on books is a great shop offering second hand books. They only sell books that are in very…read moregood condition so although they are cheaper than buying new the prices can be half the original cost. The shop is well laid out with ample space for wheel chair access. They sell both paper back and hard back books. They will also offer to buy your used books off you but you need to check with them before taking them in as they do some times have too many books and will not purchase anymore at that time. The owner is usually manning the shop himself and is friendly and helpful. The shop always has large selection of well known authors books on their shelves

I really do love exploring and browsing book stores, even though I pretty much have everything I…read morewant (though I do end up finding stuff that I want). Anyway, yeah, this was a pretty cool bookshop, and there were a lot of interesting books here. Honestly, I could spend hours here.

Not that I consider myself a bookshop connoisseur as such, but I always love to check out…read moresecond-hand bookshops when I travel. This is in my top 3 bookshops I've ever visited (the other two, in case you were wondering: Shakespeare & Sons, Prague, and The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles). This place had thousands of books, with that old book smell that I love. The store seems to go on forever, and there are so many nooks and crannies filled with more books! I particularly loved the old books section; we got some classics (Jane Austen, DH Lawrence, Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo) that were editions published in the early 1900s for £3-£5. My husband raided the sci-fi section while I raided the general fiction and we came up with another 9 books between us, all between 99p and £3, and all good quality. We were only able to spend 1 hour in there. It wasn't enough. I felt rushed. I needed more time! Living in London, Rochester is only 45 minutes away. I'll be back. The guy who I believe is the owner, was friendly and sweet. This is such a great find. FYI a lot of Rochester high street is filled with little independent stores, it's a really lovely place to visit!

What a gem! This place will have the rare secondhand book that is elusive elsewhere. The shop has…read moretwo floors with helpfull staff. It even smells like a big friendly bookshop. Its a cosy little venue to mill about for hours. Its not as cheap as some places but it gives value by having That book!

If you like books you will love this bookshop - although you may find yourself spending more time…read morein there than you'd bargain for. As soon as you step in through the door it's just books upon books upon books. The outside world disappears and time goes with it. If you know what book you want then the helpful and friendly staff should be able to find it for you and you may escape while there is still daylight, but if not you can happily trawl through more books than you could read in a lifetime to find that perfect match and after paying what others may think is too much, you exit the shop clutching your book in two hands and squint at everything around you as your eyes reaccustom themselves to the daylight.

The problem with most bookshops these days is that they are almost entirely pointless. The largest…read moreamong them can't hope to stock more than a tiny fraction of the books on sale in the world, while their online competitors stock everything. As such, the only thing that can make a bookshop worth the space it occupies is the quality of the fraction that they select. So many bookshops - independents as well as majors - choose to stock the tiny fraction at the bulbous head of the demand curve, presumably in the hope that the public will be so in love with the idea of their businesses that they'll shun the urge to pick up their copy of The Hungry Vampire Games at Tesco or on amazon and romantically saunter into a bookshop instead. It's the kind of thinking that sees To Let signs replace Cardboard cutouts of Hogwarts in shopfronts across the world. The only thing to do, really, is to treat your choice of books as the beating artistic heart of your business. Stocking a bookshop should be an act of curation - designed to sell people books they didn't know they wanted when they walked into your building. It is in this that Much Ado excels. If you can read at secondary school level, I defy you to spend half an hour in this shop without finding something to covet. The selection of new books is a marvel of discriminatory taste - the second hand section plentiful and engrossing. Buy a gift and they will wrap it for you more efficiently and more prettily than any package you've ever seen. It looks quaint, it looks old-fashioned, it looks like the past - but it isn't. If there is to be such a thing as a future for indpendent bookshops, then this shop is it. Long may it continue.

I would like to start by expressing how I would usually only leave reviews for positive reasons…read more The world can be a sad place that focuses heavily on the negative which is why having to leave a somewhat negative review saddens me greatly. However, I feel it is appropriate in this instance. I have visited 'Much Ado Books' on a couple of occasions since discovering it last year. I enjoy the store, layout, vibe, people, and of course the well curated selection of books which I have purchased one or two of when visiting previously. I was looking forward to popping in on my way past after a dog walk. I left my partner and pup outside while I perused. I entered the store and read the blurbs of a couple of titles. I took a photo of one title which I was going to send to my mum as I thought it might be a good gift for my dad (my mum was not present with me at the time). Now I absolutely understand not photographing art and handmade works etc, and of course happy to be asked not to take photos of the books. Perhaps I should have asked prior to taking the photo, but it really didn't cross my mind in the moment and I could not see anywhere a sign that asked for no photos, just like the 'no dogs' sign. My upset comes not from being asked not to take the photo, this is of course at the stores discretion but the manner in which I was addressed by the woman at the desk. Initially telling me "We don't allow our customers to take photos of the books" To which I responded "I'm really sorry, I wasn't aware, I was taking the photo to send..." and before I could finish my sentence, I was told verbatim "We expect our customers to be SMART enough to remember what books they want to purchase". I am quite appalled by the attitude of this woman who should know better at her age. I am disgusted by how judgemental her words were and I was really quite taken aback by the insinuation that they only accept smart customers. Everyone starts somewhere, everyone has different abilities and book shops are not gatekept by academics, anyone can enjoy a book shop and reading a good book, you do not have to be 'smart' to do so. This comment shows a distinct lack of emotional intelligence and understanding of other people and the world we live in. I am truly sad to say that I walked out after less than three minutes, and did not purchase anything, having been previously excited to do so. I also did not send the photos to my mum to see if she wanted me to purchase anything on her behalf either. Please teach your staff some kindness and perhaps some training on general open mindedness.

This book shop is like the Tardis it doesn't look that big from the outside but once you're in…read moreyou're almost in a different world one that is crammed with any book you could want. Everything is laid out in a logical order by genre and the staff are very knowledgeable and happy to help you find what you're looking for. They can even tell you release dates and preorder books for you. The kids section is great, they are happy for kids to have a look at a book before you buy it and I've never had any trouble returning unwanted presents. Prices aren't cheap, but you can't compare specialist book shops to supermarkets really.

This bookstore has a good selection of fiction and non fiction books. It offers a wide range of…read morebooks for adults and children. I have found it to stock whatever I've been after. There are sometimes good promotions on. This store is bright, clean and tidy, with knowledgable, helpful staff. Sometimes they have an author in for a book signing. Details of these events are advertised at the entrance to the store.

How can a visit to Canterbury be complete without a visit to a bookshop called Chaucer's? I spotted…read morethis bookshop while trying to find a parking place and went back after lunch. I didn't buy anything but had a good browse around and took the shop's permission to take photos of their premises and books. So the bookshop space has been converted from two houses and its massively more spacious than it looks like from outside. The books are also spread out over two floors and at least 8 rooms and the shop seems to have a good variety of something for everybody. Everything is very neatly labelled and their collection of older children's books is amazing - I coveted, oh how I covered some of the stuff I saw on the shelves! I also came close to buying these gorgeous cards that converted into bird mobiles (see pics) but in the end decided I have so much stuff already, didn't want to add to the clutter already existing in my house. So if you are a bibliophile like me and visiting Canterbury and have some time to spare, would totally recommend checking this bookstore out - it's awesome!

This book shop really fits into the Canterbury culture. It's a little off the beaten track but it…read moresells old and antique books. It's window display is interesting and they try and update it with the seasons. A book lovers dream. Staff are helpful and knowledgeable. A good place to go for advice.

A rambly old bookshop that is crammed full of second hand books, you can easily while away a whole…read moreafternoon here. You won't find the latest bestsellers here but you'll always get a real find - really random selection but the owner is extremely knowledgable - he's probably read every single book in there! So as far as book shops go if you like second hand books (there cheaper) and read alot this place is worth paying a visit for sure you'll find something you like at a good price.