Bay Books & Records
10a Norham Road
WHITLEY BAY  Tyne and Wear  NE26 2SB
tel: 01912 514448  map
Open: Tuesday - Fiday 11.00 -4.00, Saturday 11.00 - 5.00.
    At one end of the main shopping area of Whitley Bay, this smallish shop covers books and LPs with a DVD & CD shop several doors down. Both stock a small selection of children's toys. The main bookshop has a general range of titles typical for a seaside town but excels in its stock of children's books and particularly of 1970s and 1980s children's annuals which make it worth hunting out. - Jeremy Briggs.

Black Flame Books
1a/1b Bolingbroke Street  Heaton
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE  Tyne and Wear  NE6 5PH
tel: 0191 2094093  e-mail   website  map
Open: Monday - Saturday - 10.00 - 5.00.
Genre fiction, particularly SF and horror. Mind, body and spirit, counter culture and politics, as well as some antiquarian and modern first editions.

Books For Amnesty
92, Westgate Road
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE  Tyne and Wear  NE1 4AE
tel: 0191 2220920  map
    A small to medium sized shop close to the mainline railway station, very tidy and well laid out. Probably leaning more to non-fiction books than fiction, it also has a small children's section which, when I was there at least, was a true elephants' graveyard of Blue Peter titles - annuals, paperbacks and small hardbacks. I have never seen so many Blue Peter books in one shop before. - Jeremy Briggs.

Keel Row Books
11 Fenwick Terrace  Preston Road
NORTH SHIELDS  Tyne & Wear  NE29 0LU
tel: 0191 296 0664  map
North Tyneside`s largest secondhand bookshop. Sprawling nine room terraced house crammed with 150,000 books on every conceivable subject.
    I counted six rooms but they also use the hallways and parts of the stairs, but no matter what the room count is the shop is big, relatively easy to park at, friendly (being more than happy to pull books from the window display for me to look at) and well worth the visit. The upstairs hall was being used for piles of books and boxes of comics and magazines when I was there but the shop is tidy and well laid out. - Jeremy Briggs.

Olivers Bookshop
48a, Whitley Road
WHITLEY BAY  Tyne and Wear  NE26 2NF
tel: 0191 2513552  map
Open: Monday & Thursday - Saturday 11.00 - 5.00
General secondhand books.
    Easy to park at and only a short walk from the main shopping area of Whitley Bay, this bright, friendly, medium sized shop has a remarkable amount of books for it size. Many are in piles rather than on the shelves leaving you wary of removing any but the topmost ones, but it can be worth the risk as it has turned up a few surprises in its time. It has had some comics and magazines in the past and has a good comics related section. - Jeremy Briggs.

Oxfam Bookshop
7 St Marys Place
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE  Tyne and Wear  NE1 7PG
tel: 0191 232 2476  map
    Near the university and at the top of the pedestrian precinct area, this medium sized Oxfam is narrow but goes back deceptively far with a good general selection of books and an impressive collection of children's titles. - Jeremy Briggs.

Frank Smith Maritime & Aviation Books
92 Heaton Road
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE  Tyne and Wear  NE6 5HL
tel: 0191 2656333  map
Open: Monday - Friday 10.00 - 4.00
We specialize only in Aviation, Maritime and Motoring.
    This is a medium sized bookshop only covering transport. However if that is your subject then you really must seek out this shop. It may not be near the city centre yet it is very well laid out and organised, and I have never found another secondhand bookshop that has a better selection of aviation titles. - Jeremy Briggs.