This tiny place is a bit of a hidden gem if you are looking for gift inspiration…read more The entire shop is packed up to the roof with amazingly cheap books starting from £1-£2! Even the hardback books that you would expect to pay more for start at £3-£4. This is an outlet store so don't do expecting the newest releases, but there are some seriously good discounts available for those willing to spend the time looking through the shelves.

I think that this is a good little newsagents. As expected it stocks a variety of newspapers and…read moremagazines, as well as other things such as snacks and convenient bits and bobs. I popped in to grab a couple of magazines when I was passing through the area. I managed to find a good few magazines that I liked and so headed to the counter and picked up some chocolate on the way. The man who served me was polite and friendly and asked me if I was having a good day, which was nice. I like it when staff can give you a bit of small talk! The prices were not too bad, but I suppose shops have no control over the prices of newspapers and magazines. However, the chocolate bar that I purchased was of a reasonable price! Overall, it is a good newagents!

You can come here to have a look at the wedding accessories. However if you are a fan of Bollywood…read moreand you like your music, this shop is just for you. There are also Hindi films on DVD to buy as well. From classics to the latest films, you can buy film soundtracks on CD. I am into my Asian films which is why I spent more time in here than in a Ladies retail clothing shop. The CD's and DVD's are at reasonable prices and they are definitely affordable. I have brought one or two Bollywood film CD's from here and so have my family. I always enjoy coming here and will probably come back for more CD's. I do go to Leicester as well to purchase CD's whenever I am in the city. But this is the closest shop in terms of where I can buy Bollywood films on DVD and tracks on CD. Worth a visit.

If you're looking for unique or custom-made invitations then it's worth checking out Jaysons. They…read morehave some beautiful designs for various faith groups, which are customised with religious symbols made with plastic, metal or wooden trimmings. They are quite pricey though with the simplest of invites starting at around £1.50 - and I do mean simple! Besides invitations, they sell some wedding accessories like trays and decorative items to compliment certain functions at Asian weddings. These are very pretty but also quite pricey. The shop divides into invitations towards the back and music at the front. The range covers Bollywood, Hindi pop, Pakistani, ghazals, bhangra, religious and soofi music. I was impressed at the box sets of old-school Bollywood music, which make a fantastic gift. The owner, Mr Singh, is very helpful and friendly. If you're looking for a particular album, he'll know straight away where to locate it or whether he could order it for you.

My three-star rating here is neutral for a reason; I wasn't even aware this adult-only…read moreestablishment existed until two weeks ago but, hunting down new places to review with a friend for the purposes of reviewing on Yelp, the two of us - for the purposes of 'research', you understand - entered the premises on Hurst Street , which sticks out like a sore thumb with its 'hello, we're seedy here' red-and-black exterior. So, I don't frequent places like this and, besides trips to the actual Amsterdam where shops like this feel quite quaint amongst all the brothels and sex show venues, I have no experience to compare it to. The shop itself is an eye-opening plethora of skin vids, phallus-shaped playthings and all sorts of other (sometimes scary-looking) sex aids. The member of staff manning the till was quiet and discreet, which I imagine visitors to places like this appreciate, and he didn't bat an eye lid when my mate and I giggled at a nightmarish-looking rubber fist. A back door in the main shop leads through to a cinema, as advertised outside on the shopfront. I wasn't that committed to my research for this review to test out the cinema and discuss whether its seats were sticky or not, although I'm sure other more specialist sites may give those looking for an erotic cinema-going experience more of an idea of what to expect. So, yes - three stars as I wouldn't want to mark this place down purely for the fact that I'm not its intended audience. Avid sex shop fans may think it's good or bad but that's for them to judge - I'm just here to give the opinion of one curious, very baffled young man who feels really vanilla after my trip here.

Waterstones on High Street, just outside the Bullring is the largest location of Waterstones I've…read moreseen, this one is in Birmingham city centre. The store has six floors including two cafes and multiple floors with toilets - Click and Collect (online orders) is conveniently on the ground floor in case you're in a hurry and don't want to navigate throughout the whole store, which can be a little awkward as this isn't something you'd expect to do from a book shop. The staff seemed disinterested which is a shame, and not too willing to help and with a book store as big as this one - it is something you'd often need to enhance the experience from book recommendations to finding a book if you already have one in mind - they do have writing on "recommended" books but unlike other stores these are newspaper quotes which every book seems to have which are easily found online or even on the book its-self once you pick it up - I mean come on, are the staff literate with a passion for books and customer service? PERSONALISATION. Other than the size of the store, it doesn't really stand out - the store seems to follow the newer and more modern layout Waterstones are slowly rolling out (sadly this hasn't arrived in my home town of Manchester yet!) 3* based on a great central location in Birmingham and huge size over multiple floors, the layout and slightly cramped nature of the ground floor and disinterested staff really is a shame because without it the store could even warrant a high four-star rating.

This Waterstones is accessible from the High Street and also from the top floor of the Pavillions…read moreshopping mall. This store is large, spacious and airy with a huge selection of books. Anything you can think of you will find and if they dont stock it they will search to see if its at the New Street branch (the other large store) or order it in for you. There is a Costa Coffee on the first floor and the 4th floor has a large floor space dedicated to travel and the world. As you walk across to pay for your purchase you get a nice view of inside the Pavillions and as you take the glass elevator back down you get a whirl wind view of New Street :-)

There are Charity Shops and then there's Oxfam Book & Music!…read more Dedicated entirely to Books, CD's and DVD's, the shop is inviting and is well laid out with some fantastic stock which is regularly updated. While not a big store, it genuinely has a book shop feel to it with classical music playing in the background and a small area for sitting and reading. While the books aren't as cheap as other charity shops, you're much more likely to find a gem here. Recommended!

The Oxfam book and music shop in Knowle came up trumps today. I'd been experimenting with the…read morekindle i-pad app for my current read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and it hadn't been going too well if I am honest. With my next book club meeting looming I was in desperate need of a traditional copy of this work. So, as I was passing, I popped into this store on the off chance. Not for the first time my prayers were answered by an Oxfam shop. Sitting waiting for me was just the book I needed, in paperback and in excellent condition for a mere £2.99. I quickly browsed the rest of the store and it was in perfect condition. There is a nice reading area at the front of the store if you want to take your book purchasing a bit slower than mine. They also have a small but good selection of DVDs, CDs and vinyl. Thanks once again Oxfam!