Paul Davey recomends The Edinburgh Charity Map, a free colour leaflet listing all charity shops in the Edinburgh area and indicating which sell books. Available from all charity shops or phone 0131 538 5381.
    Jeremy Briggs points out that despite their addresses and postcodes, Aurora, Duncan & Reid, Second Edition and T&B Bookcrafts are all within a couple of minutes walk of each other.

Armchair Books
72-74 West Port
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH1 2LE
tel: 0131 229 5927  map
    Two long narrow bookshops side by side down the narrow West Port near the Grassmarket, Armchair looks a bit haphazard, particularly in comparison to some of its upmarket antiquarian neighbours, but with a large and varied stock it is well worth a look. The floor may be uneven and one of the entrances a bit too narrow but it has a lot of character as well as a lot of stock. Keep an eye out for the bookshelf in the shape of the Red Baron's plane and if you come eye to eye with a dog whilst looking at books on the lower shelves don't worry, he is just curious to see what you are looking for! - Jeremy Briggs.

Aurora Books Ltd
6 Tanfield
EDINBURGH  Scotland  EH3 5DA
tel: 0131 557 8466  fax:0131 557 8466  e-mail  website  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 6.00
We buy and sell secondhand, rare and antiquarian books. Our specialities include Biography, Fiction, Modern 1st Editions, History, Literature. Language, Reference, Children's, Scottish and Travel. Our stock can be accessed online through our Website and we also offer a Book Search Service.
    A medium sized, well laid out shop with a good selection of titles. - Jeremy Briggs.

Peter Bell
68 West Port
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH1 2LD
Tel: 0131 229 0562  map

Barnardo's Bookshop
45 Clerk Street
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH8 9JQ
tel: 0131 668 3142
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00-6.00, Sunday 12.00-5.00.
    A small charity bookshop well laid out with a decent selection of titles. About 5 minutes walk from Oxfam in Nicholson Street and Till's Bookshop in Hope Park Crescent. - Jeremy Briggs.

The Bookworm
210 Dalkeith Road
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH16 5DT
tel: 0131 662 4357  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.30 - 5.30
Paperback fiction, general stock and military history.
    Bookworm has two rooms, a big bright front room of mainly paperback fiction laid out like a record shop with the books in rows one behind the other, and a smaller back room of non-fiction more normally laid out in bookcases. Near Cameron Toll, this is more remote from the city centre than the rest of the Edinburgh shops, but worth the trip especially for their military history section. - Jeremy Briggs.

Cabaret
137 Westport
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH3 9DP
tel: 0131 229 4100  map
Open: 7 days 9.00 - 6.00.
A Jewellery and collectables shop with a couple of cases of mainly Victorian books, and a basement full of older books.

Duncan & Reid
5 Tanfield
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH3 5JS
Tel: 0131 556 4591  map
    A shop which is half books and half antiques. The books cover mainly art and antiques related subjects but the shop has a small but interesting selection of old children's books. - Jeremy Briggs.

Edinburgh Books
145-147 West Port
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH3 9DP
tel: 0131 229 4431  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 6.00
Scottish books, literature, military, music, theology and travel, as well as some antiquarian.
    Was West Port Books and has just reopened under new ownership. TBG 03.10.06.

Fidra Children's Bookshop
219 Bruntsfield Place
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH10 4DH
tel: 0131 343 3118  e-mail  website  map
Open: Tuesday - Friday 9.30 - 5.00, Saturday 10.00 - 5.00 & Sunday 12.00 - 4.00.
Classic 20th century children's fiction, both new and secondhand.

The Hospice Bookshop
233 Morningside Road
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH10 4QT
tel: 0131 447 9008
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 4.00.
    A small charity bookshop, well laid out with a decent selection of titles, barely a minutes walk from the Oxfam Bookshop just up the road. - Jeremy Briggs.

McNaughtan's Bookshop
3a-4a, Haddington Place
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH7 4AE
tel: 0131 556 5897  map

Main Point Books
8, Lauriston Street
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH3 9DJ
tel: 0131 228 4837  map

The Old Children's Bookshelf
175 Canongate  Royal Mile
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH8 8BN
tel: 0131 558 3411  map
    A medium sized bookshop split over two rooms on the Royal Mile, this shops does "exactly what it says on the tin". Children's books, both text and illustrated, hardback and softback, plus annuals, comics and magazines. They have reference books on, and biographies of, children's authors. The stock perhaps leans more to girls titles than boys but both are well accounted for. I don't know of a better selection of children's books anywhere in Scotland and it would take Northumberland's enormous Barter Books to match it in quantity of children's titles, although they would rarely match Bookshelf's quality and range of collectable stock. - Jeremy Briggs.

The Old Town Bookshop
8 Victoria Street
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH1 2HG
tel: 0131 225 9237  map

Oxfam Bookshop
109 High Street
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH1 1SG
tel: 0131 557 3539  map
    Located on Edinburgh's Royal Mile between the Bridges and John Knox's house, this is the fourth Oxfam bookshop in Edinburgh and, due to its location, the flagship store. A medium size, smart and well laid out shop it nevertheless seems lacking in character compared to the other Edinburgh Oxfams. Perhaps its spacious interior betrays the tighter layout of the other three shops making it feel slightly empty in comparison, or maybe its excellent condition stock is so good because no one was interested enough in the books to read them when they were new. Due to its location the shop will get a lot of tourist trade and it is obviously aimed at that much more general audience than the book hunter who would do better to seek out their other shops in the city. - Jeremy Briggs 12.06.08.

Oxfam Bookshop
210 Morningside Road
EDINBURGH  EH10 4QQ
tel: 0131 446 9169  map
    A small charity bookshop with Oxfam's typically good selection of books, barely a minutes walk from the Hospice Bookshop just down the road. - Jeremy Briggs.

Oxfam Bookhop
116 Nicolson Street
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH8 9EJ
tel: 0131 667915  map
    A small charity bookshop which includes CDs, DVDs and some comics in its stock, it can be a bit of a squeeze to get around at busy times. About 5 minutes walk from Barnardo's in Clerk Street and Till's Bookshop in Hope Park Crescent. - Jeremy Briggs.

Oxfam Book Shop
25 Raeburn Place
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH4 1HU
tel: 0131 332 9632  map
    A medium sized charity bookshop, and the largest of the six in Edinburgh, it has the best selection of stock and is only a few minutes walk from the Shelter bookshop on the same road. - Jeremy Briggs.

Andrew Pringle Booksellers
62 West Port
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH1 2LD
tel: 0131 228 8880  website  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 11.00 - 5.30.
We deal in a wide range of books but with some emphasis on Scottish books, literature, history, art, bibliography, heraldry, military, fine bindings and general antiquarian books. We are members of the ABA, ILAB and the PBFA.

Royal Mile Gallery
272 Canongate
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH8 8AA
Tel: 0131 558 1702  map
Prints and maps only.

Second Edition
9, Howard Street
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH3 5JP
tel: 0131 556 9403  map
    Long established and friendly medium sized shop with a large room at the front and a small room at the back. It has a very good selection of hardback novels and of reference books on most subjects. The best of the shops in the immediate vicinity. - Jeremy Briggs.

Shelter Bookshop
106 Raeburn Place
EDINBURGH  EH4 1HH
tel: 0131 315 0221  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.00 - 5.30, Sunday 12.00 - 5.00.
    A small charity bookshop with perhaps the most varied stock of the six charity bookshops in Edinburgh. A well stocked bookshop, it has a motley and rather disorganised selection of magazines and British & American comics. They would sell more of these if they only took the time to organise them properly. It is only a few minutes walk from the Oxfam bookshop on the same road. - Jeremy Briggs.

Southside Books
58 South Bridge
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH1 1LS
tel: 0131 558 9009  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 11.00 - 5.30 A remainder shops with a small section of secondhand books, including Scottish interest.

T & B Bookcrafts
2 Summer Place
EDINBURGH  Scotland  EH3 5NR
tel: 0845 073 1446 or 0131 556 7857  e-mail  website  map
Open: Saturday 9.30 - 5.30, Sunday 12.30 - 4.30
High quality general second-hand books reside alongside antiquarian first editions, rare & collectable tomes. Our stock includes classic literature, Scottish authors, contemporary fiction, travel, cartography and restored sets. Conveniently situated within 1 mile of Princes Street in Central Edinburgh and 50 yards from the Royal Botanic Gardens.
    Small bright shop of mainly hardback books only open at weekends. - Jeremy Briggs.

Till's Book Shop
1 Hope Park Crescent
EDINBURGH  Midlothian  EH8 9NA
tel: 0131 667 0895  website  map
Established in 1986, Till’s Bookshop has become an institution with generations of Edinburgh students, their teachers and locals alike.
    A friendly, medium sized, well organised bookshop split over two rooms at the east end of the Meadows, Tills has bookshelves rising up to a near vertigo inducing height and, on cold days, an open fire in the back room. Along with a good general selection of books, a big science fiction and fantasy section, and a very interesting section of film and television books, it always has original 1950s and 1960s film posters for sale, plus a varying selection of movie magazines and, at times, Front Of House stills. Around since the mid-1980s, the shop has survived the opening of two charity bookshops within 5 minutes walk. If you have only time to visit one secondhand bookshop in Edinburgh, make it Tills. - Jeremy Briggs.