Jump to content

Best Bookstore - Which Ones And What Do You Look For?


Christie

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 110
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • 3 months later...

Well I don't live in the UK so we don't have the same book stores here, in fact there's only one decent book store in my city, and it doesn't have much as far as books that I like, plus the English section is quite small, they tend to have just dutch books. So I order online.

 

But when I go to visit a friend that lives in Southampton, he always takes me to Waterstones, and I LOVE it there. Feel way more at home there than I have in any Dutch bookstore. So Waterstones it is.

He always goes into Forbidden Planet too, and they have a nice discount book section there, not big, but gotten some lovely books there for just a few pounds each.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Waterstones hands down - the staff are knowledgeable and friendly, they have good offers and have branches all over the place - they are very independent author friendly as well, unlike some who have recently gone bust that I could mention !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I love 'Waterstones' and can spend ages in it browsing, the fact that it has a 'Costa Coffee' in it just about makes it perfect.

 

I've been looking in the charity shops for classics and books on the 1001 books TRBYD list.

 

We don't have 'Borders' here anymore .. when I saw what had happened to the Oxford branch I nearly wept ... really cheap clothes, really loud music and still using the same shelving. RIP Borders. I used to love going to the one in Swindon, and though they were quite expensive ... I used to spend ages in it ... they had chairs and a 'Starbucks' .. I nearly always bought a book just because it was such a lovely place to go on a Sunday afternoon.

 

I hope Waterstones don't go the same way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Here in the U.S. I go to either Borders or Barns & Noble - and I usually go to Borders because I am a "member" which is free... and I ALWAYS have a coupon for like 33% off and the membership for B&N is $26 a year, and you only get like 20% off or something like that I don't really know...

 

B&N is so much bigger than the borders around where I live, so its really fun to go and browse because they have so much more, but I always go back to borders and find that book and use my coupon!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to work for Borders and was gutted when it went under. I have quite a few friends who still worked there when it went and it was awful, the focus had moved away from books by then and they were just shipping cheap tat.

 

There's a gorgeous children's bookshop in Huddersfield. My dream is to run one in Leeds, with pregnancy, baby and picture books on the ground floor, then 6-12 on the first along with more grown up picture books, then 9-15 and young adult and graphic novels and a little smoothie bar on the top floor :)

 

Waterstones are supposed to be training new children's book experts, which is good because at the moment ours are as useful as a chocolate teapot ;) I generally like Waterstones, but their customer service has been rubbish for a while. Apparently they realised when Borders went that they needed committed booksellers rather than just sales assistants, I know quite a few Borders booksellers who went to 'stones.

 

The head of the MA Publishing at my uni used to be the Waterstones children's buyer, and she predicted that they're going to massively expand their children's and teen sections to try and get a grip on the market.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I buy a lot of my books online, but if I am out & about I always end up in a book store .. or 2 ;)

 

WHSmith - I like some of the offers they have.

The Works - I love being able pick 3 books up for a fiver :lol:, it just takes some shuffling skills & determination lol.

Webberleys - a local bookshop that also has craft supplies upstairs. They usually have a great choice of books, but not too many offers.

 

I have a Waterstones nearby too but I find them a little pricey.

Sometimes I will pick the odd book up in a supermarket, I try to avoid the book section if I can (after all I need room for the shopping). Otherwise I walk past only to slowly step backwards to have a better look :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me, there is nothing like an independent bookstore. I happen to work in one:smile2:. Its just more personal. We know our customers, can give them the attention they want, remember their likes and special order at no additional cost. We carry everything except adult books (you know the kind). We are the largest in the state but in actuality, its not big at all. We have many loyal customers and work with the schools to make sure books are available for summer reading/required reading, etx. I just love that we can give them what they cant get in Barnes and Nobel and Borders, etc. We can do whatever we want to our store at the drop of a dime without having to get the okay from corporate!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know some people think this is terrible, but I prefer amazon.com.

They have the authors that my local bookstore does not have, and they are also a lot cheaper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know some people think this is terrible, but I prefer amazon.com.

They have the authors that my local bookstore does not have, and they are also a lot cheaper.

 

Of course it's not terrible. I'm lucky, I have some good bookshops locally, and I can afford to travel there, browse and buy books on offer or at full price if I want to.

 

Some people don't have that luxury, or simply prefer to buy online.

 

Personally, I don't think it matters. As long as people are still buying and reading books, that's all that counts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Amazon and Waterstones, it is a shame that a lot of the smaller independent book stores have dissapeared, we don't have one in Salisbury since Ottakers was bought by Waterstones. I do miss the physical picking up of books if I shop online but the price more than compensates, its also nice when a book arrives in the post which I have forgotten I have bought :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How far away is Bath from you, pickle? If it's a reasonable day trip, there are a couple of great independent bookshops there - Mr B's Book Emporium and Topping & Co, and there's a Waterstone's to boot! They're all within a couple of minutes walking distance of each other as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually go to a bookstore here(Iceland) called Eymundsson, because I look for variety and I like having a lot to choose from. I also look for a good collection of English literature and it's usually found there - if anywhere. A store here called Nexus only sells english literature but it's mostly Sci-Fi/Fantasy... I like going there as well but sometimes I'm looking for something completely different. :D This country is a poor market for books in English though, that is - a lot of the books are either by icelandic authors or translated, the latter of which I definitely don't like. Therefore I'd love to go abroad more to shop there. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With regard to bricks and mortar I tend to stick with Waterstone's - I love their 3 for 2 offers, plus I have a loyalty card - and WH Smiths, mainly because my local store has a permanent sale section and I've picked up quite a few great books for the bargain price of about 50p each. I've also been using my local Sainsbury's recently too, 2 paperbacks for

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I like the little, independent bookshops that, sadly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Most of them have closed down now as they are unable to compete with the likes of Waterstones etc. I also prefer the term 'bookshop' to book store. It has a more personal, almost 'cosy' sound to it in my opinion. But then I am just a sad old biddy, I suppose :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also prefer the term 'bookshop' to book store. It has a more personal, almost 'cosy' sound to it in my opinion. But then I am just a sad old biddy, I suppose
Then I'm a sad old biddy too :friends0: for I also call bookshops, bookshops.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Well, as I've been to visit Southampton again about a week and a half ago (time sure does fly, wish I was there still), I went to Waterstones again, I sure do love that store, and there are two close to eachother too, so we (the friend that lives there and me) always go into both. He says it's like watching a kid in a candy store. Ehm. Well.

 

BUT, anyone, I'd recommend Forbidden Planet. It's a comic/collectors items store, but they have great fantasy/sci fi and horror books. I got James Clemens' Shadowfall hardcover there on sale for three pounds, Robert Jordan's Crossroads of Twilight hardcover for 4 pounds and James A. Moore's Writ in Blood and The Pack (paperbacks) for 99p each! They have a great collection of sale books always, and very cheap too. Love it there.

 

Plus, they had bottles of Tru Blood. Seriously, okay it wasn't the real thing, but I mean.. bottles of Tru Blood?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

I would say Waterstones is the best book store mainly because it is pretty much just a book store, however I normal getting my books from amazon as they are a lot cheaper and free postage and package, because with Waterstones and WHSmith they use the price what on the back of the book, however with amazon the books normally a lot cheaper.

Edited by Punkafoo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...