SHARSTON.
Books and magazines are a wonderful way to broaden one's horizons – and light years away from the passive consumption of television and the internet.
As a fully registered tour guide for Manchester and the North West of England and as the editor of Manchester Confidential what did I know about Sharston before last Wednesday?
I knew nothing, nada, zilch, not a sausage.
This was my loss because lurking off Longley Lane is one of my favourite things in the whole wide world; a first rate second-hand bookshop. And it’s been there over two decades.
Manchester has been a terrible place for these humanising and civilising emporia in recent years. Paramount Books on Shude Hill is about as good as it gets but despite some decent stock, the indecent stock cordoned off and in brown paper bags makes the place feel confused. And tawdry.
Sharston Books is different. Ok you have to schlep down to the anonymous suburb between Northenden and Wythenshawe but the rewards are enormous for book worms. The prices are very reasonable too.
The website boasts about the place and for once the words aren’t hyperbole.
‘All of the shelves at our bookshop are packed with books and magazines of every description. We have a large selection of books on a wide range of subjects as well as classic and modern titles on all types of fiction. We stock a wide range of literature in every area of the English language, as well as some foreign titles and translations. We are happy to help any customer to find what they're looking for, and if it's not on the shelves, our order service will get it to you in a matter of a days.’
There are excellent art, literature, history, drama, poetry and popular science sections. The fiction sections and biography sections are very extensive and occupy shipping containers outside the main, ex-warehouse, bookshop.
Sharston Books is a little treasure but it is certainly not pretty. Who cares? As they say in the shop, ‘Books and magazines are a wonderful way to broaden one's horizons – and light years away from the passive consumption of television and the internet. Once in a while it's a good idea to treat yourself to a quiet browse, which is exactly what our well-stocked shelves will allow you to do.’
I found a copy of Nikolaus Pevsner’s ‘Pioneers of Modern Design’ – been looking for that for ages. Pretentious moi? In fact I could have bought about ten books on my first visit. If you can't make it in person to Sharston ring them up if you're looking for a particular book. They'll send it to you if it's in stock.
I’ll be back shortly.
Sharston Books, Unit 15 Wearlee Works, Longley Lane, Sharston, M22 4WT. 0161 945 8604
