Where do I buy books?
I live in a small village but nevertheless it has plenty of places for me to indulge my passion for books.
The first is the ubiquitous chain store. This is a photo of the shop window of my local branch which is full of garish posters of the TV Book Club books and Mother's Day special promotions. It is certainly attention-grabbing, as it focuses on cut-price offers and doesn't display the actual books except stacked one on top of the other so you have to crane your neck and peer sideways down through the window to get a glimse of the stock they are selling. It seems vaguely insulting to just stack them this way. The least they could do is stand the top one up! As a book buyer it doesn't tempt me to stop in front of the window. A fair percentage of these piles in the window are celebrity hardbacks. I mostly use this shop to buy magazines, the local paper, and guide books to holiday destinations. Last week I bought some files and envelopes here.
The second is the Fireside Bookshop which displays rare and collectible seond hand books in its bay window. The window often features highly visual books on Arts, Antiques or lost cultures, and the display shifts and changes regularly. Inside it is like a cosy parlour with a real fire burning, and second-hand books on every subject all neatly shelved and labelled. In here I have found a lovely old copy of "Mayhew's London" and quite a few other non-fiction gems about my favourite period, the 17th century. When I go in, I inevitably come out with a parcel under my arm. Part of it is the attraction of it having a varied stock, not just the ones on the TV book club lists. Mostly I buy non-ficion here, though it does have a good selection of novels.
The third is my local charity shop. Actually there are three, all within a half mile of my house. This morning I bought Emma Donohue's "Room" from this one for £2. Not bad for a hardback. I asked the woman at the counter if I could take this picture and she apologised for the state of the shelves. Actually the untidy and random nature of it is part of its charm, I think. As you can see I could have come away with a bedside lamp or any amount of bric-a-brac as well, so I think I have been quite restrained.
None of these bookshops stock my book - the chain won't stock it till it's out in paperback, and even then, might not - "it depends on central office". And the second-hand ones haven't yet hit the charity shop shelves!
Where do you buy books? What sort of bookshop do you like best?
The first is the ubiquitous chain store. This is a photo of the shop window of my local branch which is full of garish posters of the TV Book Club books and Mother's Day special promotions. It is certainly attention-grabbing, as it focuses on cut-price offers and doesn't display the actual books except stacked one on top of the other so you have to crane your neck and peer sideways down through the window to get a glimse of the stock they are selling. It seems vaguely insulting to just stack them this way. The least they could do is stand the top one up! As a book buyer it doesn't tempt me to stop in front of the window. A fair percentage of these piles in the window are celebrity hardbacks. I mostly use this shop to buy magazines, the local paper, and guide books to holiday destinations. Last week I bought some files and envelopes here. 
The second is the Fireside Bookshop which displays rare and collectible seond hand books in its bay window. The window often features highly visual books on Arts, Antiques or lost cultures, and the display shifts and changes regularly. Inside it is like a cosy parlour with a real fire burning, and second-hand books on every subject all neatly shelved and labelled. In here I have found a lovely old copy of "Mayhew's London" and quite a few other non-fiction gems about my favourite period, the 17th century. When I go in, I inevitably come out with a parcel under my arm. Part of it is the attraction of it having a varied stock, not just the ones on the TV book club lists. Mostly I buy non-ficion here, though it does have a good selection of novels.
The third is my local charity shop. Actually there are three, all within a half mile of my house. This morning I bought Emma Donohue's "Room" from this one for £2. Not bad for a hardback. I asked the woman at the counter if I could take this picture and she apologised for the state of the shelves. Actually the untidy and random nature of it is part of its charm, I think. As you can see I could have come away with a bedside lamp or any amount of bric-a-brac as well, so I think I have been quite restrained.None of these bookshops stock my book - the chain won't stock it till it's out in paperback, and even then, might not - "it depends on central office". And the second-hand ones haven't yet hit the charity shop shelves!
Where do you buy books? What sort of bookshop do you like best?
No comments have been added yet.
