First and foremost, we should say that we are not an internet based sales company - this web site is therefore for your information, both to tell you about who we are and what we do, so if you live in Newcastle, or such like, it's not going to be of much use, unless you are planning to visit Portsmouth in the foreseeable future!

So, having got that out of the way, just who and what ARE we? Let's start with the "who" ...

Yes indeed - Bookworms Plus IS a genuine family business, although it's now officially also a part of a larger company owned and run by the "head of the household", but to all intents and purposes, that fact has altered nothing as far as our customers are concerned.

Daughter Charley, who is one of the mainstays of the shop throughout the weekdays, was actually just two years old when the shop first started in Cosham High Street, and although she'd kill me if I gave you her exact age, let's just say we've been trading for a generation since!

You'll also get to meet the wife, Sharran, middle granddaughter Chloe and even the youngest granddaughter, Bethany - we have to let her help out, as there are no longer any chimneys wide enough to send children up!

In addition, there is family friend Chris and Chloe's boyfriend Dan, plus myself - and I'm Bob, the poor old beggar who started it all, back in 1985 ...

Since those early days, when we were actually tucked away into a converted and very cramped indoor loading bay at the end of a short lane, near the cinema and the railway gates in Cosham High Street, we've "enjoyed" more than a decade in the Tricorn, where we expanded into all sorts of music and video bargains, plus pop and movie posters and assorted other odds and sods.

And yes, for all most people have to say about the Tricorn, those were great days, trading in Charlotte's Superstore, alongside the historic Charlotte Street market, with a wealth of characters both as customers and fellow traders. And yes, I for one do miss that awful concrete monstrosity!

Of course, when it eventually became clear that the Tricorn's days were becoming numbered in lower and lower figures, we had to move - to our present location in North End, on London Road, just north of Kingston Crescent, and as dead opposite Chichester Road as it's possible to be!

And this is where we've been for the best part of the last fifteen years, and, believe it or not, we still have some of the customers who first found us during those few short months up in Cosham, more than a quarter of a century ago now!

In many ways, not that much has changed - we still have thousands and thousands of secondhand paperbacks, and videos have given way to DVDs, in the same way that cassette music tapes have given way to CDs.

From the outside, the shop may look a bit small - the frontage is quite narrow - but inside it runs back a lot further than most people expect, so we do have a fair old selection of everything we sell, so there's no excuse for not finding SOMETHING you might enjoy!

Mostly, though, we all simply enjoy having a bit of fun with our customers, old or new, and the place sometimes seems more like a club than a shop, so you'll quickly feel quite at home, believe me.

So, if you're reading this, and you're within striking distance of Portsmouth, either now or in the future, you really should make a note to pay us a visit. In our shop, shopping is still fun and friendly ...

And finally - on this page, at least - a quick note on how to get the best out of the various things we offer you - simply scroll back up to the links bar at the top of each page and click on the tabs for the various sections.

You should find them all as straightforward and simple to follow as this page has been, but if you still have any queries, you can e-mail us (click the tab provided) or telephone us in shop opening hours (link tab again provided!) on:-

023 9266 3564

Enjoy the rest of the site - and hopefully we'll see you soon! Cheers for now,