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How long do you take in a bookshop?


vinay87

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I wish I knew what it felt like to have family book shopping time
Awww, poor Vinay :D I do realise how very lucky I am, my entire family is one of voracious readers, so they'd never consider bookshopping time/money wasted.

 

I've actually remembered the first time I tried building a wishlist. I was in Waterstone's Liverpool, started at Fiction A and wrote down everything I liked the look of onto my piece of paper. I'm not sure how many hours later, I was nearly locked in the shop :D shame that I wasn't really, oh the fun I would have had!

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haha I do remember when my dad worked at this mall where the people from the books section told him that I looked like a kid who would ask to live at the bookstore if I could. I remember that my fondest times with my dad were when he worked there. Since I was an employee's son, I could stay past closing time. He left office at 11 PM... He'd take the lift to the ground floor and I'd take the stairs just so I could walk through the books section...

I tell you there is no place more romantic than a silent/dark bookshop at 10:30 in the night.

:D Talks volumes about my point of view of romance.

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Usually at least an hour - I read the first couple of pages of most books or at least browse through them before I decide to buy them to make sure that they live up to the blurb and I like the writers style.

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I think you are amongst friends here. I just love the smell of a second hand bookshop, all those old books.

I think he means the new books. I love old books for their smell too... I've never particularily observed the scent of new books though.

 

Oh yeah, I hate the smell of Bantam books though. They just smell.... sweaty.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Even if I've got a pre-planned list of what I want to buy, it's still rare for me to get in and out straight away.

I end up wandering around, looking at the displays, visiting my favourite sections (Mystery and Classics) and all the Bestsellers lists and everything. I'd estimate I take about an hour, average.

 

There was one memorable afternoon just before Christmas when I was in my local Waterstone's for around 4 hours. I kept striking up conversations with strangers and the staff about certain authors and books, they probably thought I was lonely :).

 

I can't walk past a bookshop without having a nosy, it's become a bit of a family joke. If I'm ever out shopping with my family they try and take the route which won't lead me past a bookshop. And if I ever wander off while they're shopping the first thing they do is check the bookshops before calling me :roll:.

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For me it's totally random. If I'm visiting the local bookshop, I usually stay there for less than 15 minutes because I get so depressed by the prices. If I'm visiting Akateeminen in Helsinki, I can stay for hours because they have a huge amount of English novels to go through :roll: And a very own section for crime fiction... and three floors... Swedish speaking customers... Everything's shiny... precious...

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There was one memorable afternoon just before Christmas when I was in my local Waterstone's for around 4 hours. I kept striking up conversations with strangers and the staff about certain authors and books, they probably thought I was lonely :).

 

Aw, that's nice of you! I'm not generally a sociable person but I would happily chat to anyone, anywhere about books, and I would love it if a stranger struck up a conversation with me (in fact, I made a good friend on my daily commute when he started chatting to me about Lolita).

 

I can't walk past a bookshop without having a nosy, it's become a bit of a family joke. If I'm ever out shopping with my family they try and take the route which won't lead me past a bookshop. And if I ever wander off while they're shopping the first thing they do is check the bookshops before calling me :roll:.

 

:) They should know better than to try to keep a book-lover away from a bookstore!

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Aw, that's nice of you! I'm not generally a sociable person but I would happily chat to anyone, anywhere about books, and I would love it if a stranger struck up a conversation with me (in fact, I made a good friend on my daily commute when he started chatting to me about Lolita).

 

 

 

:) They should know better than to try to keep a book-lover away from a bookstore!

 

I was surprised at how many people actually talked to me. I'd just make the odd comment such as 'Oh, I love that author' or 'have you read his latest?' or something like that, and it usually took off from there. There were, however, quite a few people who looked at me like I was mental :roll:.

 

And, yes, they should know by now!:):)

 

Oh, I adore Lolita!

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Oh, I adore Lolita!

 

Lolita is one of my favourite books :roll:

 

lol, I made a friend in a bookshop once. Offered me a job but I couldn't go meet him when he asked... though I told him I'd come. I lost his number too so he never called back.

:) rude of me.

 

Don't feel too bad; I'm sure he would realise that things happen outside our control sometimes. He probably gave you the benefit of the doubt. :)

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I was surprised at how many people actually talked to me. I'd just make the odd comment such as 'Oh, I love that author' or 'have you read his latest?' or something like that, and it usually took off from there. There were, however, quite a few people who looked at me like I was mental :roll:.

 

And, yes, they should know by now!:):)

 

Oh, I adore Lolita!

 

 

Actually, Laura Jade, thats a very admirable and social thing to do, strike up a book conversation, and too few people do it these days. i know i have never been spoken to by staff or stranger alike about certain books or authors. I would certainly enjoy chatting to someone about a mutual interest like favorite author or book, its a nice gesture :)

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Actually, Laura Jade, thats a very admirable and social thing to do, strike up a book conversation, and too few people do it these days. i know i have never been spoken to by staff or stranger alike about certain books or authors. I would certainly enjoy chatting to someone about a mutual interest like favorite author or book, its a nice gesture :)

 

Sometimes I find when I am buying a book the person on the tills will start talking about it if it is one of their favourites or if they love the author, so if there isn't a queue then I will stay and chat for a bit :).

 

I'm quite lucky in some ways, there is a Waterstones at my University so inbetween lecturers I can usually be found in there...the bad thing is I struggle coming out of a bookstore without buying anything so I often waste my money on books :roll:.

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Sometimes I find when I am buying a book the person on the tills will start talking about it if it is one of their favourites or if they love the author, so if there isn't a queue then I will stay and chat for a bit :).

 

I'm quite lucky in some ways, there is a Waterstones at my University so inbetween lecturers I can usually be found in there...the bad thing is I struggle coming out of a bookstore without buying anything so I often waste my money on books :roll:.

 

Yeah i know that feeling! I am trying to be much more sensible with money but i still tend to wander around a bookstore and, even when i know i dont need anything there as i have so much in my 'to read' list, i end up buying a book which caught my eye and wont read for months to come!

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Yeah i know that feeling! I am trying to be much more sensible with money but i still tend to wander around a bookstore and, even when i know i dont need anything there as i have so much in my 'to read' list, i end up buying a book which caught my eye and wont read for months to come!

 

Haha yes!! I got fed up a while back of my books thrown all over my desk and floor because I kept buying so many (over 100 that I haven't actually read yet) that I ended up buying a bookcase to de-clutter my room...my bookshelf will only fit around up to 10-15 more books on :roll:. I keep complaining that I need new clothes and shoes but spend the money for them on books.

 

I go into town a lot with my brother. Why? Because he can spend just as long in bookstores as I do, he is the only one who understands this book addiction. My parents do read but can only stay in a store for 5minutes. Me and my brother usually come out together with

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I have my wishlist with me at all times (saved on my phone), but despite this, I am incapable of just looking for books on the list. I love browsing in bookshops - I find something very comforting about being surrounded by books. I can spend up to a couple of hours in a bookshop.

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I have my wishlist with me at all times (saved on my phone), but despite this, I am incapable of just looking for books on the list. I love browsing in bookshops - I find something very comforting about being surrounded by books. I can spend up to a couple of hours in a bookshop.

 

I agree. To me bookshops are very peaceful and relaxing. Everything, the smell of the coffee, the tall stacks of endless pickings, is so peaceful to me. :D

 

Lists are great :( I usually buy my list books online and save store shopping for random buys.

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I was surprised at how many people actually talked to me. I'd just make the odd comment such as 'Oh, I love that author' or 'have you read his latest?' or something like that, and it usually took off from there. There were, however, quite a few people who looked at me like I was mental
Apart from the occasional Waterstone's bookseller, everyone I've ever tried striking up a literary conversation with in a bookshop has looked at me as if I were mental :D maybe I should get a t-shirt done that says 'TALK TO ME ABOUT BOOKS' or something, so the people who do want to talk about books but are afraid of being taken for people who are mental would know I'd never think such a thing... what d'you guys reckon?

 

so I often waste my money on books
'Waste' and 'books' don't belong in the same sentence :( remember what Desiderius Erasmus, quirky theologian of genius, said all those centuries ago: 'When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.' Edited by BookJumper
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Apart from the occasional Waterstone's bookseller, everyone I've ever tried striking up a literary conversation with in a bookshop has looked at me as if I were mental :D maybe I should get a t-shirt done that says 'TALK TO ME ABOUT BOOKS' or something, so the people who do want to talk about books but are afraid of being taken for people who are mental would know I'd never think such a thing... what d'you guys reckon?

 

'Waste' and 'books' don't belong in the same sentence :( remember what Desiderius Erasmus, quirky theologian of genius, said all those centuries ago: 'When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.'

 

I think all bookie people should have that t-shirt!!!

 

:lol:at that quote!

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