We were amazed by the detailed information we got from you about book-hunting and book-collecting and being a book hoarder. We were expecting one or two short tales of lucky finds - and we did get those so do please keep sending them in. But it was amazing to read of those of you who are dedicated second hand book hunters with a serious knowledge of good book places, strategies for collecting and publishing lore. We certainly learnt quite a bit and because two or three of you wrote really very detailed pieces we decided not to cut them but to print them in full.

So keep the good advice coming in, because, remember, what is obvious to you will be someone else's hot tip of the month!

Building a home library
Atlanta Nelson says, "I am trying to turn my bedroom, my play room or any room possible in the house into my home library." Is anyone else doing something similar? If so, why not with Home Library?

Book collecting
Gill Williams, from Shropshire, emailed to say: "I've just discovered your web site and I'm pleased to see some common sense advice on buying books. As a Mother of a two-and-a-half year old I have built up quite a large collection from charity shops, all of which are in excellent condition. Just last week I bought a hard back Shirley Hughes Treasury (as new) for just £2. But many of my best buys have cost me less! The trick is to never stop looking, just 'popping in' will unearth some excellent buys!"

(Anne Fine agrees. She was in Oxfam in Swindon recently and got two lovely books for her grandchild: pop-up feelie books in perfect condition for just 50p each. Can't be beaten!)

Lucy Jones, 7, from Southampton wrote to say, "We were so excited about second hand books, so we went to Hay on Wye which is a long way away from where we live in Southampton. Sadly we did not find Peter Carter's The Hunted (Anne Fine, recommended this book in her review spot if you remember). We did find The Boy Next Door by Enid Blyton (another Anne Fine recommendation), and I have started to read it. Going back to Hay on Wye we bought 25 books in many different second hand book shops."

This was so interesting that we asked Lucy to tell us about how she goes about looking for second hand books and this is what she told us:

"I think book collecting is a fabulous hobby!! When I was learning to read, I found some Puddle Lane books belonging to someone else and I liked them so much that I asked Mummy to find some more. Mummy found lots more in charity shops. Then I could not stop reading them and they were so cheap that I could have lots.

"The best shops are Oxfam bookshops. They only sell books and have a lot of children's books. We go to the Winchester and Southampton ones. Church fetes are very good too; there you can find books that were around when your parents were children. School fetes aren't much good because they are usually baby books or books you've already got.

"Second hand book shops are good too, apart from the charity shops which aren't so good because the children's section is usually small and they are expensive hard back books. I don't mind what they look like, I just want to read them. I must tell you about Hay-on-Wye which is a little town near Wales that my parents took us to. There are hundreds of second hand book shops (dozens perhaps) with big children's sections, and 3 bookshops just for children!!!

"How do I know which ones to look for? I look for lists of famous authors' favourite books when they were children like Anne Fine and J.K. Rowling and I make a list of ones I haven't got. Also if there is a book that I have enjoyed then I look in the back and there is often a list of other books by that author with a little description that I call the blurb. If these sound exciting I put them on the list.

"My Mummy has lots of her old books and she reads them to my sister and me. There was one called Castaway Christmas about some children who were caught in a flood. It was very exciting and in the back there was another book by the same author called Cut off from crumpets about the same children caught in really snowy weather. We looked for it for ages and in the end my Mummy found it in a bookshop in York using the Internet and ordered it. It arrived today so we are all excited, including Mummy, who loves children's books like I do. We keep a family list of books that we are looking for and anyone takes it if they are going near the shops."

Heather Golding, 17, emailed us to tell us about a really good find in an Oxfam shop: "How about Boy and Going Solo both by Roald Dahl, one volume, 50p in Oxfam?? Pretty good I thought - specially as I've been looking for those for years."

Lucy Darling, 12, also emailed to say: "A good place to get cheap second hand books is the library, not to borrow but to buy. I don’t know whether it is the same in every library but certainly in my local one there is a large 'For Sale' section with all kinds of booms at very good prices."

Stephen Follows writes: "I'm about 20 years too old to be a proper part of My Home Library (you can do your own arithmetic...), but I thought your members in or near Oxford might like a few recommendations of shops here which are particularly good for children's books.

The best of all (you won't be surprised to hear) is our own Oxfam Bookshop, on St. Giles, in the centre of the city which has a very large selection downstairs, and is also extremely strong on all sorts of books for adults too. You could happily rely on that for everything you want, but there are a few others which are exceptional.

The Oxfam on the Cowley Road, just before you get to Tesco, is in a much more bohemian, raffish area of the city, and it shows: you're much more likely to find odder things there, and especially old prewar hardback adventure stories and the like. (If you like those, by the way, and you don't mind paying a bit more, Waterfields on the High Street has an awful lot which seem to have been sitting there for ages.)

For an even better selection of the oddball, try the very weird and wonderful Age Concern shop on St Clements near The Plain roundabout. It's run by a man with a splendidly strange sense of humour - his recent window displays have included shelves of beautifully arranged empty shampoo bottles - and an ability to dig out very unusual books, both for children and adults. He also keeps his prices well down, and you'll find a lot of good children's paperbacks for 10p or 20p.

There are loads of other good places round the city, so happy hunting!

On the subject of finding books in Oxfam, we felt that Ruth Raynor's advice was very useful: She writes: "I found this out when I went shopping in Windsor with my mum one afternoon. My mum was bargain hunting so she popped into the Oxfam at the end of the High Street. She asked if there were any books on sale there as she could find none in amongst all the old toys, clothes and other discarded items. The woman at the counter pointed us downstairs. To our wonder there were rows upon rows of books with really good prices. We managed to pick up 16 books that day including a Dorling Kindersley encyclopaedia for only £2.50 when it would have usually cost £15. All of the books in that Oxfam are cheap and in great condition. Please post that on the site because then people in Berkshire will know how good the Oxfam bookshop in Windsor is. PS. I love the bookplates on the site!"

Thanks, Ruth. Even if you don't live in Berkshire, we suggest that you ask at your Oxfam shop if they have more books if what is on offer seems a bit limited. Often Oxfam - and all charity shops - are pushed for space, or the books are displayed according to a particular theme that week, so it really does pay to ask what they have behind the scenes!

Miranda Wenaus, 15, writes from Long Island, New York, "My Mum and I check library bookshops and library book sales all the time in New York too. She taught me that another way to find hidden book treasures is to remember the publishers of books you like. For instance, I have a picture book collection that I started when I was quite young. I began to notice that often my favourite picture book authors were published by Walker Books (Candlewick Press in the States) so if I spot a Walker picture book even if by a "new-to-me" author I will take it down and have a look. I've discovered some beautiful picture books such as those by Kim Lewis that way.

"Now I am 15 years old and collect British school stories and books for girls and boys from the earlier part of the twentieth century. The books can be very sought after and expensive so it is thrilling to have a "library sale find." I always look out for big fat old books especially any with pictorial boards or dust wrappers (dust jackets). I look to see if the book has black and white or coloured plates inside. Some publishers worth looking out for are Chambers, Junior Country Life, Newnes, Blackie, Cassell and Collins' "Seagull" Library. I've also learnt that Children's Press and Armada editions are often, but not always, updated and abridged. I've learnt not to buy a book if it says "first thus" on the publishing information page. It usually means the text isn't the same as when the author first saw it published.

"Old-fashioned Christmas annuals are lovely too with beautiful colour plates and stories about girls' outfits and hairstyles from the twenties and thirties. Some of my favourite authors still have fan clubs that you can join very reasonably as a junior member, and they're very good at helping younger members find copies of the books and learn what to look for too. I belong to several: including ones for Elinor Brent-Dyer (author of the Chalet School books), Elsie J. Oxenham, (author of the Abbey Girls series), Dorita Fairlie Bruce (she wrote the Dimsie series), Malcolm Saville (his most famous series is about the Lone Pine Club of boys and girls), and Enid Blyton.

The clubs must be especially fun if you live in the UK since they often have get-togethers and book sales. The Arthur Ransome one even organises events where junior members can learn to do Swallows and Amazons crafts and activities! Even overseas, your subscription covers interesting newsletters that are often sent out a few times a year, as well as extras like a club badge, the opportunity to buy t-shirts with your favourite characters on, and the chance to become penpals with other fans your age.

"I think Anne Fine and the Daily Telegraph have done a super job on the "My Home Library" page. There's nothing more fun than being a book collector!"Hilary Martin, 13, from Brisbane in Australia, writes: "I followed the link to your site from cool-reads (www.cool-reads.co.uk - don't miss it!) and I think it's really good! I had a few suggestions/changes that you might like to add to your 'reviews for the even older readers' page. I believe you're wrong in saying that you'd be unlikely to find The Great Elephant Chase or Harry and the Wrinklies in second-hand shops. This might be simply because they are in new bookshops, I bought one of these books fairly recently at our local bookshop and greatly enjoyed it, and the other I got from a library. I have read quite a lot of books on this page.

"I wonder if you've read The Swish of the Curtain, by Pamela Brown? It is one of my favourite books, and if you look really hard you might find the sequels in a second hand shop, I did. Pamela Brown was only fourteen when she wrote it, so as a result it is very authentic."

Library Users
Of interest to readers searching for a book of which they remember only part of the title, or the author, here's a tip from Kate who emailed to tell us, "Essex has the whole of their book stock listed on an on-line catalogue (http://essexlibraries.essexcc.gov.uk/evs-app) which as well as being available in the libraries is also available via the internet from your own home!

"This database allows you to search by title, keyword, subject and author and - which is really good - to request anything you'd like to borrow. They have an automated 'phone system which will call you when the item you've requested is ready for you to collect from your local library. Even better it's FREE to under 16's!!! My two children often use it to request every book by a "new to them" author or in a series that they've just discovered. They also use it to get hold of non-fiction books on specific topics."

Staffordshire Libraries also has an on-line catalogue (http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk), as Viv Watkins explains: "You can search the catalogue by title, keyword, subject and author, and (if you are a member of the library and have arranged to get your pin number), you can request and renew your books. You can look at your requests to see if your books are ready to collect from the library you choose, and membership and requests are free."

So, over to you. Do check this out and if the place where you live does the same thing - it would be good to keep a list here of library authorities which offer this service - and encourage the ones that don't to do so!

Here's another useful tip from a reader. Ruth Waterston pleads with Home Library not to forget the importance of lending libraries in schools. "Although public libraries exist they are becoming more multi-media orientated, which leaves less money for books, and in many busy homes where both parents work there simply isn't time to visit them on a regular basis.

"I have recently launched a fiction lending library at the primary school my children attend. We open every lunchtime with a parent helper and let the children borrow books to take home. The response has been fantastic.

"I wish Home Library every success and would be very interested to network with other schools who have tried similar schemes to encourage fiction reading."