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This week's Write Space by Janice Giles.

I used to be a JAFA. Well, just for a while. I grew up in Mount Maunganui, went overseas, and then, like so many others, washed up on the tide of opportunity to Auckland.

Access to second hand book shops was one of the advantages of living in Auckland.

It seemed every suburb had one, albeit of varying quality.

The legendary Hard to Find was a favourite.

They had several stores, although all but the original (genuinely hard to find) moved from time to time.

Second hand books have their own charm.

I always read the handwritten dedications and margin notes left by previous readers.

To me, these add the extra dimension of history shown by sign in dog eared corners, old book marks, greeting cards, receipts, and dried flowers.

Many rainy Saturdays were spent climbing rickety stairs, flicking through dusty pages in dark corners, and coming home happily laden with my entertainment for the next few weeks.

I had thousands of books then and, if I enjoyed them or they were useful, they lived for a while on my shelves.

Back in Tauranga, I loved and, recently, lost B.A. Reader in Wharf Street.

Many called it the best second hand book shop in New Zealand. They might have been right.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to give it the attention it deserved. I feel sad about that.

A couple of weekends ago, I took a drive to Waihi Beach. Nice little East Coast seaside town, not too spoiled yet.

The usual service shops, good coffee, lots of women's clothes and, there, in the main street: a second hand bookshop. Better than that – a quality second hand book shop.

The Big Little Book Shop surprised me. Proprietor, writer, and book-lover, Shona Ellen Barnett showed me around.

She stocked good fiction; a collection of New Zealand books; art books; non-fiction; and literary works.

I sat and chortled my way through several Footrot Flats comics.

While I was there an elderly gentleman came in looking for poetry (Shona has a good selection); a Chilean couple browsed for works on Maori culture (they found an Elsdon Best); a young woman purchased some sci-fi for her boyfriend; and a girl in a fairy costume came in for white rocks to add to her collection.

Shona wasn't worried that I didn't buy a book this time. It's that kind of place, the way bookshops used to be. I'll go back.