The Works

The Works may claim to do the works in its choice of business title, but this isn’t quite true because it would be nearly impossible. But they do do a lot of stuff. Mainly it’s books. You’re not going to find the latest bestsellers of any gritty history books, it’s more autobiographies and bubblegum fiction. That’s not to say it’s not worth a little browse.
As well as this there calendars, gifts, wrapping paper, cards, toys, and various other bits and bobs. Plus, and here’s the key thing, it’s cheap. Super cheap. We’re talking bafflingly dirt cheap. As a consequence, there’s also a lot of weird stuff that I’m unsure who its aimed at. Sometimes it’s just worth a wander to stare in baffled amusement at an item that you’d never entirely be able to figure out what it is.

A relatively small The Works, much like any other store in the chain but with a relatively small stock. If you’re looking for a particular book or item you won’t find it, but if you’re just browsing for a cheap holiday read, some stationary, or a slightly cheapskate birthday or Christmas present, this will do the job.

Sat in the middle of Church Street, directly opposite Poundstretchers is The Works, and you get the feeling that Poundstretchers and The Works are in competition for who can look the tackiest without getting plastic surgery. And it’s a little bit of a shame, because The Works can be a great place to pick up a literary bargain or grab your art necessities and most people won’t find this out due to the bargain basement exterior.
The Works is actually a national company, with stores throughout the UK all built under the ethos of selling those books that every other shop has stopped selling, or the ones that no one else really wants to sell in the first place. Dan Brown, Dean Koontz and Maeve Binchy books are EVERYWHERE in this shop. But depressing as that is, stick with it. By digging around the shelves, you can find great copies of classic books for incredibly cheap prices, as well as finding some quality books that were sadly overlooked by the larger companies due to have such a limited release and very little publicity.

The Works, although a common high street store, has more of a feel of a outlet store. For anyone already familiar with any of the Booksale shops, then this is a similar type of thing. The books sections deal mainly in nonfiction, cookery and children’s books.
So if you’re after fiction the it’s probably better if you take a little trip over to Waterstone’s instead. Dan Brown and Clive Cussler are about the only fiction authors you’ll find here. But I guess that’s awesome if you’re into that kind of thing.
Most of my time spent in this shop was during my Art GCSE many years ago. This is because they have a great range of cheap art products. They have canvasses and paints, pastels and watercolours to keep even the most eager young artist pleased. But if you’re after professional products, then you’ll be better off somewhere else, because quality is certainly not The Work’s strong point on the products they sell.
This is the kind of shop that you might go into five times before you find a gem. Then that gem will give you hope for the future until you find the next gem.
This is not a great bookshop by any stretch of the imagination, but it is great for picking up cheap arts materials.

I really The Works, its great for picking up stocking fillers, cheap novelty books and the occasional cook book, but I especially like that it has a supply of cheap art materials. You can usually pick up a box of watercolours or oils for under a fiver, and they have different types of papers as well. If like me you like to dabble but don’t want to waste a fortune on creating your own masterpieces its great.
The shop itself can be a bit messy and you have to rummage around to find what you want but thats ok when everything is cheap. Naturally don’t expect to find the top ten bestsellers, but it has a good selection of kiddies books and really good bargains.

The works
The works is surprising bookshop in the centre of Cardiff as it has a magnificent selection of books at knock down prices For example they are selling three paperback novels at £5 enough to keep you away from the Box for some time. They also have hard cover books
with original prices in the £20 region for about £2. Children’s books are also for sale and there is a big selection of these. In addition to books there is a good range of artists materials from an assortment of paint brushes to watercolour, oil, and acrylic paints. Surprisingly reasonable in price are the artists stretched canvasses. A 20 by 16 inch canvavas costing under £5 There is a assortment of sizes the largest so huge that I was left wondering how the purchaser would get it out of the shop let alone transport it in in a car.
Also in this store there is a good selection of stationery including ready made cards and envelopes for those wishing to make their own greeting cards and the usual pens and paper.
I am certain to have missed something out but I did note a selection of DVD’s ranging from Laurel and Hardy to more serious subjects some illustrating steam locomotives.
The works is a shop for browsing when you find you have to wait for transport It is certain that you will find something of interest to purchase.

The Works in Cardiff city centre is a shop that sells books, stationary, DVDs, games, cards etc at really good prices. They always have a good selection of mixed stock and its an ideal place to buy books for holidays etc.

I enjoyed browsing around here today though I must say it wasn’t as good as some of the other branches of The Works in other towns (like Swansea). In other words, there were no greetings cards for sale, nor were there any budget DVDs or CDs. However, there was a very good range of stationery and plenty of bargain books.