Rainbow Books

This is a superb second-​hand bookshop and I would challenge any avid reader to try to spend five minutes in there and not find several books they want, at ridiculously-​low prices. The place is piled-​high with books literally piled-​high and while you have to take a bit of care not to bump into one of the aforementioned stacks of books, not an inch of space is wasted. The man who runs the shop is very helpful if you want to discuss an item but is in no way pushy (he couldn’t be less pushy, actually!) and you can spend a very long time in there without feeling any pressure to buy anything, which in my case makes me want to buy more. The pricing system is simple rather than pricing every item individually, they are marked with small stickers, the colour of which denotes the price, so you can usually see how much of a bargain something is without even picking it up. I recommend Rainbow Books so highly because it is very rare for a bookshop to have all these qualities low prices, friendly service, a huge range, and no pressure to buy.

Rainbow books is a very well stocked shop. There is an aura of pandemonium about the shop and they certainly make use of ALL the available space. I wouldn’t be surprised to one day see books hanging from the ceiling.
Unless you want to spend some time exploring through the shelves and basement for your title I would recommend the owner being your first port of call. He has an almost photographic memory of his stock and can save you an extended search. He is also a pretty nice guy, so won’t grumble if you ask for help.
Most genres are well covered, including a pretty expansive non fiction selection. I was able to find a few anthropology books here for an essay I was researching that I didn’t expect to find. Prices are also reasonable in general and unless you are after a book with value, I doubt you will fell disappointed by the price.
Personally, I would always recommend making some time to have an explore around the shop, particularly the basement. The shop has a quaint feel and holds a great many gems.

When I was a kid, I used to watch a show called «Reading Rainbow». The show’s tagline was: «Opening Books — Opening Minds». Basically, it’s a show that encouraged young children to read. It was hosted by LeVar Burton, the man who played Kunta Kinte in the TV miniseries «Roots», and the man who played Geordi La Forge in «Star Trek: The Next Generation». The show «Reading Rainbow» is one of the reasons why I’m such an avid reader. And the show «Reading Rainbow» is the reason why I walked into «Rainbow Books».
There’s so much to flip through. It’s old, it’s dusty, it’s sort of organized, and there’s a lot of treasures to find. The books here are amazingly cheap, and I was able to find a decent copy of «The Wind in the Willows» for an absurdly cheap price. This is one of those places where you’ll be reminded of the books you cherished way back when. There’s so much here, you won’t be disappointed.

Rainbow Books is one of those places that preserves a veneer of picturesque disorder over its actually very well thought out system. The first room looks to be the only one at first, and it does conform to normal expectations by having bookshelves — albeit Alice-​in-​Wonderland haphazardly tilting ones. Deeper in, however, you discover the existence of the cellar. Then the real inversion of the rules of physics begins. Teetering book-​stacks frame a room insulated by towers of words, muffling the street sounds and creating a silent haven just out of one of the busiest areas of Brighton. It’s refreshingly down to earth — here is a shop that knows it is a second hand book shop with a coffee machine in the corner and hasn’t tried to add any extra glitz. You’ll find no prepubescent staff in tight black T-​shirts, and the odd speck of dust goes largely unnoticed. This all goes a long way to make you feel very much at home, and not at all awkward about browsing for hours on end. Preferably with a cup of tea and a penguin bar, not concerning ourselves too much with the sticky fingers.
There is a wide range of stock from factual tomes to modern fiction, and a good range of language books for a second hand shop. The owner also knows his stock really well and can direct you to specific titles among the apparent disarray. There is an enormous range of prices from the very cheap to the expensive rare items, but all are colour coded so you can see immediately what range you’re browsing in. It’s a pleasant, atmospheric retreat from the world above, and you can finish up with quite a sheaf of literature for small pennies.

I truly love this place: it is simply secondhand book heaven. A cavernous old-​school style bookshop, with piles of dusty books soaring from floor to ceiling, Rainbow is one of those places that makes me feel extraordinarily lucky to live in Brighton. It is neither glossy nor trendy, it is just good old books filling every nook and cranny! I bought a great deal of books for my literature degree here, and although I could never quite fathom how the books are organized, I would recommend taking your reading list in and trying your luck. In a way it is probably more fun to just get lost in the jumble and see what you come out with. The guy who runs the place is very knowledgeable and will endeavour to help you find whatever you need. Whether studying or just perusing for pleasure, you are bound to find something wonderful to read here! You can even sit down and have a read or weigh up potential purchases… this place is a bookworm’s paradise!

This brightly-​titled store hosts an epically disorganised array of second hand books, covering fiction and non, with prices ranging from a ludicrously cheap 20p, to a potentially excessive £20 plus. The condition of the items is often a little shabby, but as a ludicrously sentimental — or perhaps just mental– teacher once told me, ‘never judge a book by its cover’.

I love Rainbow Books for the simple reason I picked up a copy of one of my favourite books here for 60p. Yes, that’s 60p not £6.00!
As the crazy window displays indicate, Rainbow Books is a second-​hand bookshop that’s literally packed floor to ceiling with books. New books, old books, dusty books and books that are falling apart. There’s fiction, non-​fiction, biographies, sci-​fi, fantasy, horror, crime, true crime and strangely, quite a large selection of humour books. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, you could probably spend an hour or two in here and emerge with a bag of books you’d like to read.
In keeping with the community feel, there’s a coffee machine where you can buy cheap cups of coffee and a table and chairs where you can sit and flick through potential purchases. Oh and did I mention, the books are insanely cheap?
The book I bought? Ray Shell’s ICED.

When you walk into this shop and see the stacks of books piled everywhere you almost expect the cast of Black Books to appear from amongst the shelves. The room is literally filled with ceiling high bookshelves and books on every surface– I’ve been in lots of times and have never looked through the books on the floor– does anyone look at those?! There are some good second hand books here if you search through the shelves and the owner/​shopkeeper seems to strangely know what stock they have despite it looking like a bookbomb exploded in there. I do wish they would maybe dust or clear some books out of there sometimes– it can be off putting if you’re not in the right mood.

This is the business I would love to set up. A massive range of second hand books with a simple (once you get used to it) pricing system.
It is run by a lovely man who will make recommendations if you tell his the books you have liked. Amazingly he knows every book on his shelves!
There is a kettle and coffee machine where you can buy a drink for 50p and a penguin for 20p (last time I went, prices may be different now) and some tables in the window where you can read your purchases and have a drink. I find the atmosphere is there relaxed me even after a stressful morning at work.