How to make the most of your local book shop

Antiquarian book shop: a book shop that sells old, rare and collectible books. This is the perfect place in which to spend an afternoon browsing time-worn tomes.

Charity book shops: often have an amazing selection of rare books at bargain prices, and many collectors make a point of visiting them regularly to snap up bargains. They are also a great starting point if you are searching for a particular out-of-print book.

Christian book shop: a religious book shop selling Bibles and Bible-study books, as well as Christian fiction, music, devotional books and religious stories for children.

Codex: a bound, handwritten book. Technically your old school exercise book would count as a codex, but the term usually refers to valuable old works written by ancient sages and found in museums, collections or the very best antiquarian bookshops.

Dedication copy: a book in which the author has written a note to the person to whom the book is dedicated. Occasionally these turn up in second-hand book shops, and if the book is a well-known work it makes it extremely collectible.

First edition: the first print run of a book. A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone bought in a high street book shop in 1997 sold at auction for more than ?10,000.

Limited edition: a book that is produced in small quantities. Often these are numbered and signed by the author, and usually they are sold directly to collectors rather than being made generally available in book shops.

Mint copy: a book in perfect, as-good-as-new condition. Collectors scour book shops for mint copies of rare books.

Out of print: a book that is no longer being printed, and therefore hard to come by. If you are after a book that is out of print, you'll need to hunt it down in a second-hand book shop.

Second-hand book shop: the place to go if you're after a book bargain or obscure title. There are thousands of second-hand book shops throughout Britain, and if you're lucky you may unearth a rare, mint first edition dedication copy of a popular book that is worth a fortune.