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


Christie

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  • 2 months later...
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I am a big fan of Waterstones, I go to the new release section first off, then just browse.

 

Our store has just had a move round so not very happy a bit harder to find things now.

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We have a used book store called the Keelrow book shop near me. I love it theres about ten different rooms its like the tardis. They sell allsorts I could spend hours perusing around

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  • 4 weeks later...

Waterstones is deadly for me, I can't go in without buying something :D .

In my local one in Witney, there is one particular man who works in there that seems to know EVERYTHING about books and he is the one I go to with any questions or even if I am just looking for a new book, I will get him to recommend one!

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This is a bit off topic, but couldn't think where else to post it. I was in a bookshop last week, and it was quite quiet, and a guy came in and asked the assistant if they had the latest Dean Koontz book. I've never read a Koontz book, or even picked one up, yet because of visiting BCF so often, I knew it would either be crime or horror, so turned around to the crime section and pointed out the Koontz books to my OH including the one hardback which I assumed must be the latest one, and whispered "I think that's it there". The assistant in the shop said she'd never heard of it, but went to the computer to look it up, and it was three or four minutes before she found what she was looking for. I'm pleased she found it, but it made me think that this forum should be compulsory background reading for all book shop employees!

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Living on an island where there aren't many UK chains of bookstores is slightly annoying for me to find books. However when I was at uni I loved going to waterstones and using my card and buying new books of course with the 3 for 2. I miss england and Waterstones which I absolutely love!

 

However I do love going to the many chairty shops, local bookshops and car boot sales to get my book fix! There are many local events here throughout the year in which there is normally a huge secondhand book tent. I totally geek out and buy like 7- 10 books each time, for about a fiver or so :)

 

I also really miss a lovely little bookshop called The Eagle Bookshop I think in Bedford where I was at university, that had about five rooms crammed of interesting old and new musty second hand books. I used to go there with a friend of mine and buy a few at a time. That is where I found The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, and that is my all time favourite musical film :)

 

Man I so want to goo bookshopping but I'm skint till the end of may! :(

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  • 1 year later...

Physical bookshops - this one has changed a lot for me over the years. In the town where I live, there's only one bookstore in the city centre - Standaard Boekhandel, of the chain. They have a VERY limited collection, only in Dutch, and are seriously overpriced. I still like to go there to look around, though, as it was the only bookstore I knew in my childhood.

 

As I grew older and was allowed to take the train to a much bigger city, I discovered some other bookstores there. Fnac is an example, also a chain. While they have a much bigger collection than my local Standaard Boekhandel, and they do have Dutch, English, French and German works that I know of, they are also seriously overpriced. The books are displayed nicely, though, and it's always nice to walk around there. I also discovered De Slegte, a second-hand bookshop that sells all kinds of books and in various languages at generally rather cheap prices. Their collection is quite big, and it's always a surprise. You can go in and walk out empty-handed after an hour, feeling disappointed, but you might as well go in and walk out with a bag full of books after an hour.

 

When I started studying in this city, I discovered some other places. Oxfam Bookshop is also a second-hand store. Their collection isn't as big as that of De Slegte, but so far I've found much more titles I like there. They're very cheap, and so close to my college campus. Then there's this small coffee shop in a side street that also sells second-hand books at very cheap prices. Their collection is extremely limited, since it's not their main source of income at all - I reckon they have 50 to 100 books tops - but I've always found something nice there so far. Their coffee is an okay price - but not worth it to go there for the coffee only - and their brownies are delicious! When studying in this city, I also discovered a yearly book fest where they have a big giant hall full of books at very cheap prices. I've managed to walk out of there with more books than I can conveniently carry in various bags, only spending about €25.

 

Online bookshops - I've only started buying online a little while ago, so I'm hardly an expert. I started buying books online at Proxis and Azur, who have now merged to ProxisAzur. They're not any cheaper than stores, but naturally their collection is bigger than the average bookstore. I'd go there for books I couldn't find in my shops. Then bol.com gave the option to ship to Belgium, and while they are slightly under prices in bookstores, they're not that cheap really. They're also more of a last resort if I can't find a book anywhere.

 

Later on, I discovered The Book Depository. I can't praise them enough. Lots of books, very very good prices, no shipping costs. Only downside for me personally is that I have to pay through paypal, which always makes the wait a few days longer and the loss of money more tangible. I browse on amazon, but I don't have a credit card - I'm a student so I can't get one, which makes buying from there considerably more difficult. Once, I accidentally bought books there and came to the conclusion there was no way for me to pay for them, but that was fixed - good customer service. Then I bought the books from George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice & Fire' series with the German amazon, using my parents' credit card. I only managed to get it done because of how cheap they were, but I know they wouldn't let me use their card very often.

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  • 8 months later...

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