War On Want

War on Want have really nailed the charity books market in Belfast. They have several bookshops, each one varies according to the area and the staff. The one on Botanic (right beside train station) specialises in antiquarian and Irish books.
Because it’s set in the Queen’s University area of Belfast it has a higher than usual percentage of reference books, but still manages to have a good variety of other book types. It’s really busy, but extremely warm and welcoming, run by knowledgeable and friendly staff (again, I wonder why we don’t just get all the War on Want bookshops staff to run Stormont, or even just oversee the shananigans of the current encumbents!).
Prices are especially cheap, so take a strong bag or two and do all the other charity shops on Botanic first, or arms will be long and spaghetti-​like (on other hand, maybe go first in the hope that your arms, at least might take on a Jennifer Anniston-​type toned look!).

I am a book man so I do like randomly walking through bookshops and browsing. On top of that this book shop is for a good cause.
However I do have a problem. The majority of the books here are pure rubbish. Yes the stuff is all second hand and chances are you are never going to read it, but most of the stuff is utter rubbish.
If you are going on holidays or you have a table that has one leg shorter than the other and needs propping up, then come here.
However if you are looking for some Darwinian enlightenment then chances are you will have to browse a more independent bookstore because this one doesn’t quite cut it for me.
It’s worth a look but that’s pretty much the height of it

Compared to Oxfam books, just across the street, this place is a real let down. I don’t know what it is. Maybe the people who donate to War on Want just have really bad taste in books? I have been in here once to have a nosey, a regular thing for me when it comes to book stores. But all
I found was the biggest bunch of dull, B-​list books and I can completely understand why people wouldn’t want them in their house. I know it’s for a good cause and all that, but no ones going to buy just anything, so a little more effort wouldn’t go a miss.

I prefer this shop to the Oxfam across the road, which, although certainly better looking with a better selection of books, is a bit pricier than the War on Want one. Plus, this is beside Rusty Zip and the Marie Curie charity shop, meaning that trafficphobic me can shop for my books without having to cross the road. Yes, I’m that pathetic.
The fiction section is quite extensive for such a little shop, and arranged alphabetically so you can quickly find what you want if you already have a title in mind. Non-​fiction is a little less so, but I’ve bought a few old textbooks here in my time (I’ll read anything). There’s usually a box or two of books near the front in a small ‘bargain’ section, as well as a separate Irish section for both fiction and non-​fiction. Given that I write teen fiction, I always browse the kids’ section (well, that’s my excuse), and almost always come away with a battered Enid Blyton or yet another Chalet School story. Then I take my life in my hands and dash across the street to Oxfam to buy some more tomes.

This is a bit of a treat for any booklovers out there. Overshadowed by the slicker, better stocked Oxfam bookstore over the way there’s still a lot of hidden treasures in here. As with any University area the charity shops usually reveal a haul of more exciting reading than most areas.
First up was an almost mint copy of «The Girl Who Played With Fire» for a £1 and a couple of interesting looking John Peel hardback biographies which wouldn’t have broken the bank for £2 each.
Also interesting was the large selection of old textbooks and academic books. Not sure how relevant or up to date they would have been but definitely worth a rummage especially as the books are all correctly broken down alphabetically by genre.
If you’re passing do pop in, you never know what you might find.
Pros: Varied selection.
Cons: Small and usually quite busy, gotta be quick to get the good ones.

This is an excellent second hand bookshop on Botanic Avenue and is really handy if you are looking for a cheap read for the train.
The shop has a books in a number of genres fiction, Irish fiction, history and a small collection of rare books. I would say that the best sections are the general fiction and Irish history sections which are well stocked with a good variety of titles.
The shop is well laid out and the stock is sorted well, so it is easy to find out if they have what you are looking for.
Very friendly staff too!