BookJumper Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Being a man of God, Erasmus obviously understood that books are more nourishing and warming to the soul than mere food & clothes...! Wise man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightwish Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 '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 I should copy that down and leave that note in my purse so I feel less guilty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFG75 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 To me, only having half an hour is rushing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carm Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 It depends on the bookstore- I can spend hours at the Housing Works Used book cafe because it's just a nice place to hang out and read with a nice cup of tea...I spend less time at Borders because the're usually crowded and its a longer commute from my house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I need a bookshop with a cafe in it, we have none here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenKingman Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 need a bookshop with a cafe in it, we have none here In Waterford City, we have a lovely bookstore called The Book Centre located in the heart of the city and it has a cafe and fountain on the main floor, with options like cappucinos, lates, chocolate and hot chocolate to whet the appetite and provide a pleasant background to reading. Also, many books are just left on the tables for you to peruse and hours can be spent without you even realising it. Here's a birds' eye view: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carm Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Wow- that place sounds fantastic!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 StephenKingman, that's amazing.... I'm so envious!! I love the yellow and red in the decorating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 ... purdy! *is jealous* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenKingman Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 (edited) StephenKingman, that's amazing.... I'm so envious!! I love the yellow and red in the decorating. Seriously if any of you people are ever over in Waterford, check it out, and that picture only represents a quarter of the shop, there is a whole section for computer and technical books, kids, travel, magazines, a fancy bookmark shelf and sport and autobiography. I am usually there for at least an hour every saturday morning and the place is a dream to browse-they play soft classical music on a loop all day and the seats are very relaxing. Oh and to sweeten the deal, if you order a coffee, they give free 'complimentary' fancy Leonadis chocolates and also they publish a quarterly magazine reviewing and previewing the latest releases. Not as detailed as the Waterstones one, mind you, but a nice touch all the same. Here is another nice pic, check out the scale of the shop, The Book Centre also regularly hosts special guests to sign their autobigraphies. Edited February 23, 2010 by Chrissy Had to remove GIANT picture ~ sorry SKM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Wow that looks like a great place! I like our local Waterstones but I can't imagine spending 9 hours there, I quite regularly spend somewhere between half an hour and an hour though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 In Waterford City, we have a lovely bookstore called The Book Centre located in the heart of the city and it has a cafe and fountain on the main floor, with options like cappucinos, lates, chocolate and hot chocolate to whet the appetite and provide a pleasant background to reading. Also, many books are just left on the tables for you to peruse and hours can be spent without you even realising it. Here's a birds' eye view: Wow, it looks amazing, I think I would stay all day there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 That looks like such a lovely shop. The colours are beautiful and I adore the curved bookcases. The fountain would make a nice touch too, with the soft sound of water in the background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 SKM - that's not fair. We have nothing like that in Cork city! Couple of extensive second hand bookshops, but nothing that pretty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenKingman Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 SKM - that's not fair. We have nothing like that in Cork city! Couple of extensive second hand bookshops, but nothing that pretty! What bookshops do you have in Cork City? I have not been there in a few years but i seem to recall an Easons there? I could be wrong though. Yes, The Book Centre is a fantastic shop and really the only proper bookshop we have here, we used to have a great second hand shop called Gladstones but it closed down few years ago. You cant fault Waterstones or Easons for content but personally i find the shop layout quite dull- its just one bland shelf after another with very little in the way of style or music or features like a cafe etc. The Book Centre adds maps, fountains and music, plus calligraphy writing on all the shelves, nice little touches. Nollaig, its only 2 hours from you ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 We have an Eason's which is sparse at best, and the Waterstones NEVER has books I actually want. Neither is amazingly pretty or big. I generally have to shop online for things. Soooo not going to Waterford lol. I have family there but I don't know them. And the only person I even vaguely know from Waterford is apparently in Brussels for six months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeeeve Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 In Waterford City, we have a lovely bookstore called The Book Centre located in the heart of the city and it has a cafe and fountain on the main floor, with options like cappucinos, lates, chocolate and hot chocolate to whet the appetite and provide a pleasant background to reading. Also, many books are just left on the tables for you to peruse and hours can be spent without you even realising it. Here's a birds' eye view: I am very very envious. I like the ye olde street type signs as well. This thread has inspired me to spend a lot longer in Waterstones (my only real local bookshop anymore) than I used to. Still nowhere near as long as some people but...yeah. I've kind of forgotten what I was going to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreader Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 How long do I take in a bookshop? Can I just bring my sleeping bag, some munchies and move in? I don't want to leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogued Scholar Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 How long do I take in a bookshop? Can I just bring my sleeping bag, some munchies and move in? I don't want to leave. Agreed! Although, I believe my max was around 5 hours. Still not long enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arewenearlythere Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 I find that I need to know about a book before I buy into it, I don't want to buy a book only to find out I don't like it (not sure on the refund policy ) . I also am a little scared of people staring at me for reading a book and not buying it! When I know what book I will be buying at a bookstore, I like to be a little cheeky and browse through other books as little a bonus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest albie Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 (edited) 9 Hours seems crazzy stuff? Why would you want to visit a book shop and spends hours of your precious time, when you can order them from the comfort of your home. These days people tend to buy books online as there are number of online bookshops available with quick delivery. Edited March 12, 2010 by BookJumper Removed website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 I think my maximum is about 2 hours. That was on a visit to a new independent bookstore I'd found out about, and they had some really interesting books I'd never seen anywhere else. @albie - the reason I don't buy books from the internet is usually because I find it a very clinical way of choosing a book - I have to already know the book I want to buy and in a few clicks all I will usually see is the cover before deciding to buy it. As a reader, I want to be able to see the book in its entirety, to feel the weight, look at the typeface, read the blurb, check the pages numbers and maybe even read a couple of paragraphs. I want to be excited at the prospect of reading an author I've never heard of, or finding a new book by a favourite author, or just being swayed by a beautiful cover, basically I love the serendipity of buying books in a shop. On an internet bookshop, it's very rare to find a book by chance, and even if I do find one, I would rarely buy it without having looked at it in a shop first. For me, internet book shopping is saved for expensive books that I can get at a cheaper price, or a book I know I want to read that isn't stocked in the shop and would need to be ordered in. My time is precious, but one of my favourite pastimes is browsing bookshops. The smell and feel of all those books, the atmosphere of calm and serenity, and that tingle of excitement of knowing I might just find the most wonderful book I'll ever read all add up to a heady experience that I wouldn't give up for the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 9 Hours seems crazzy stuff? Why would you want to visit a book shop and spends hours of your precious time, when you can order them from the comfort of your home. These days people tend to buy books online as there are number of online bookshops available with quick delivery.Just because you wouldn't do it doesn't make it 'crazy', Albie. You speak of 'precious time' as if bookhunting were something tedious to get over with as quickly and unobtrusively as possible - for me, it is one of the greatest pleasures in the world, and one I would spend much more time on if only I had it. I am not a shopping person, I'll only buy clothes etc. if all my old ones are falling apart; give me a day in the city centre and if I get a say in it I'll quite happily spend all of it in the bookshop(s). Case in point: a few weeks ago I visited a friend in Liverpool, and after a bout of shopping I was asked whether I wanted to spend 15 minutes in Waterstone's - I declined on the basis of 15 minutes not being anywhere near enough for me to work my magic. Websites are helpful in getting hold of the expensive, rare & out of print; they're also handy for recommendations and research - but ultimately, it is bookstore for the win as far as I'm concerned, and the longer I'm allowed to spend there the happier a BookJumper I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 It's a rare treat for me to get into a bookshop these days as there is not one anywhere near me, but 45 minutes would be an average kind of visit for me. About 20 years ago I used to work in Jermyn Street, London, which meant I was just two minutes walk away from Hatchards - bliss, you might think, but I had to ban myself from going in most of the time as I was never able to come out having spent less than Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 (edited) I'm like BookJumper - I can spend an entire day in a bookshop if I'm given half a chance. WHenever I visit my family in Northumberland, I try to get the time to go to Barter Books (a HUGE 2nd hand book shop in an old converted train station) and literally spend at least a while afternoon in book heaven! I don't get to go every time, but when I do it really makes my visit to the area even more enjoyable as I love it so much! Just wandering between the shelves and browsing at my leisure is my idea of a great day. I much prefer that to internet book shopping, as using a website makes it all so much more clinical. You can't touch or smell the books till they arrive and that reduces my pleasure a great deal. If I'm in a hurry, a website is great, as I can find what I want in seconds and order it and it will arrive within a short amount of time, but it can't hold a candle (not even a tiny candle stub!) to browsing in person. I found a few pics of inside Barter Books to show you (attached). It really is absolutely gorgeous. Edited March 12, 2010 by Kell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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