Nicolas Chinardet Biblio-Text: Any Amount of BooksA previous incarnation of the shop The art books section Bargains! Rare books or bindings by the yard? Selection of foreign language books (mostly German, French and Spanish) The groundfloor Hardback fiction You've been warned! London Magazine Mirror, mirror, which is the cheapest of them all? DON'T TOUCH! The stairs to the basement, lined with posters of current shows and a few prints for sale Boxes of new stocks waiting to be unpacked
Charing Cross Road used to be the heart of the second-hand book trade in London. One of the all too few remnants of the those glorious days, is Any Amount of Books at No 56. There has been a second-hand dealer in the premises since the 1920s (and probably well before that).
To this Londonista, Any Amount of Books (AAOB), is probably the best second-hand bookshop there is (and the Guardian seems to agree with us); the proof being in the amount of money left behind over the years and the silly number of books cluttering furnishing our small garret, most of which come from AAOB.Let it be said, however, that the ire of our bank manager is not warranted by the price of the books, which are very reasonably priced, especially for central London. Many a bargain was had by this collector of modern first editions. Several times a year, the basement stock will be put on sale with all books going at £1 (our visit took place soon after one such event, the shelves being usually very well stocked).To anyone enjoying spending hours of expectant browsing, AAOB also presents the advantage of a wide choice of books on fairly high turn over. Those of a more superficial mind can even purchase bound books by the yard for decoration purposes.Beyond this, however, the quaintly dilapidated shop, which is on two levels (ground floor and basement), has its own idiosyncratic atmosphere that makes it stand out and gives it its special place in our bibliophilic firmament.A visit to AAOB is guaranteed to see you coming out with at least one book under your arm. You have been warned.Any Amount of Books, 56 Charing Cross Road. Images author's own. Know a good bookshop? Email us at londonist (@) gmail.com.Zoom out to see other bookshops we've visited. View Biblio-Text in a larger map
