Rod Collins

A while ago I announced we may do some bookshop reviews and the set the ball rolling with one - well the ball kinda stopped there so I’ll give it another kick !

Tim Smith Books a Horncastle Bookshop

I am a regular visitor to the Lincolnshire market town of Horncastle and it is without doubt Lincolnshire’s jewel in the crown for bibliophiles and lovers of secondhand or used bookshops. There is a huge range of stock available for browsing suiting all types, be they readers, collectors or anything in between.

There are 4 main outlets plus numerous antique centres for the visitor to browse

Tim Smith run by guess who ? … Yes Tim Smith !
Good for Books - Richard and Sarah Ingram-Hill
Jabberwock - owned and operated by Bob Flannagan
The Horncastle Antiques Centre - where the venerable Roger Lucas has stock

As you can already see it’s well worth a visit, but this review concentrates on Tim’s shop. It holds the largest stock in town with a good 17,000 odd volumes, give or take a few, I have to be honest and say I haven’t counted them all.
Fresh stock is coming in all the time, indeed about a 1,000 new books on my last visit alone. I was fortunate enough to leave with a large box of crime fiction - not many places you can do that today !
As well as good stock there’s good banter from one of Lincolnshire’s most experienced booksellers.
Books are very reasonably priced, in fact a lot of bargains - far more use than trying to shop on the internet.

That brings up another point; the owner does not sell on the internet at all, so no silly pricing and every chance of a ’sleeper’
This shop alone will keep most quiet but because of all the other outlets it really is worth travelling and making a day of it. Don’t forget to also check the other Horncastle Bookshop out, previously reviewed here Good for Books, as well as Bob at Jabberwock and the Antiques Centre.
I’d be amazed if you don’t come away with something, especially readers who can really stock up on great books for next to nothing.

There you go then, more to come at some point, I should also mention that this is not a paid post and I have no vested interest in any Horncastle bookshop - a genuine review in fact !