What is your favourite bookshop ?

[greenilex]

October Books in Portswood, Southampton.

And Waterstones.

And the Oxfam Music Shop next to the Bargate.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

If we're talking about internet sales, I use the Kobo bookshop. I chose Kobo rather than Kindle, because it isn't Amazon, and the range of books available is huge.

[vinteuil]

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... many second-hand bookshops have suffered, not just from the interweb, but also from the 'unfair competition' which Oxfam and other charities provide - these last obtaining their stock largely for free, whereas the 'professional' second-hand book dealer will be buying from auctions etc.

I used to be an avid second-hand bookshop forager, many happy memories. My rampant book-buying days are over (I now really ought to be reading the bloody things) - and amazon and abebooks etc satisfy almost all my needs. They have proved a godsend, enabling me to obtain missing volumes from classic sets - unimaginable in pre-internet days.

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[Stanfordian]

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... many second-hand bookshops have suffered, not just from the interweb, but also from the 'unfair competition' which Oxfam and other charities provide - these last obtaining their stock largely for free, whereas the 'professional' second-hand book dealer will be buying from auctions etc.

I used to be an avid second-hand bookshop forager, many happy memories. My rampant book-buying days are over (I now really ought to be reading the bloody things) - and amazon and abebooks etc satisfy almost all my needs. They have proved a godsend, enabling me to obtain missing volumes from classic sets - unimaginable in pre-internet days.

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Many charity shops in my area have so many books in stock and state they no longer want them in their charity bags.

[Beef Oven!]

If we're talking about internet sales, I use the Kobo bookshop. I chose Kobo rather than Kindle, because it isn't Amazon, and the range of books available is huge.

[gradus]

I like the Aldeburgh Bookshop and our local Waterstones is good too.

[french frank]

I like the Aldeburgh Bookshop and our local Waterstones is good too.

It depends whether you start off with the source - what have they got? Or the book - who's got it?

I'm usually scavenging around for the book - and a seller who isn't charging £285 on the Amazon marketplace. I do find myself buying repeatedly from the same marketplace sellers, and ought to consider entering into a 'private deal', I suppose, cutting out the middle man. (The sellers who are offering their books for 1p also have to pay Amazon a cut of the p&p. Sometimes they just want to free up some shelf space.)

[Historian]

When it's a book in print I order it from my local bookshop because I don't want it to close. This can mean paying more money, but worth it in my opinion. They can get most things by the next day; they always try really hard to obtain anything I ask for (some of the titles are pretty obscure.

Otherwise I use abebooks a great deal, occasionally the German version. Very little seems not to be available, although I haven't tried looking for music scores.

[Ferretfancy]

There are plenty of good bookshops here in London, but my favourites are Fred Holdsworth's bookshop in Ambleside Cumbria and Barter Books in Alnwick Northumberland. Fred is virtually retired now, but his friendliness is still very much there in this quite small shop. Barter Books on the other hand is vast, occupying most of the site of the old railway station.
As a tribute a little model train runs around part of the shop on top of the shelves.
There is a huge selection of second hand stock in what was the main station space, and cosy fires in the Waiting Room in winter, tea and coffee available.
The shop also has the original " Keep Calm and Carry On" poster, discovered some years ago.

Alnwick is a fascinating town, although I'm not too keen on the Castle Garden.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

When it's a book in print I order it from my local bookshop because I don't want it to close. This can mean paying more money, but worth it in my opinion. They can get most things by the next day; they always try really hard to obtain anything I ask for (some of the titles are pretty obscure.

[Joseph K]

I recently spent a nice half hour or so in the music section of Blackwell's, Oxford.

No other shop I've ever come across is so well-stocked with music books (good, interesting ones) AND scores - although, there is a desk and man sitting at it in front of the miniature scores, somewhat discouraging people from browsing them - it was better when Blackwell's music was a separate store.

[Old Grumpy]

There are plenty of good bookshops here in London, but my favourites are Fred Holdsworth's bookshop in Ambleside Cumbria and Barter Books in Alnwick Northumberland. Fred is virtually retired now, but his friendliness is still very much there in this quite small shop. Barter Books on the other hand is vast, occupying most of the site of the old railway station.
As a tribute a little model train runs around part of the shop on top of the shelves.
There is a huge selection of second hand stock in what was the main station space, and cosy fires in the Waiting Room in winter, tea and coffee available.
The shop also has the original " Keep Calm and Carry On" poster, discovered some years ago.

Alnwick is a fascinating town, although I'm not too keen on the Castle Garden.

, and

I also like the "barter" concept on which its name is based. You can bring in up to a bag for life sized stack of books (or indeed DVDs or CDs) and recieve credit for any items taken for resale (up to one bag permitted every seven days). This is then usable against any purchases. The whole system is based on an old fashioned library card system and so cannot be hacked by Cambridge Analytica, Facebook or any other hostile agency!

OG

[kernelbogey]

When I'm in the area, every few weeks, Topping Books in Ely. Huge stock and friendly, informative staff. A cup of tea or coffee offered on occasion. (Others have mentioned their two other shops in Bath and St Andrews.)

Thanks to TS I have recently tried Hive online, with no complaints.

Foyles in Charing Cross Road is of course good with a decent cafe where you can sit and read or work undisturbed like in an old Vienna cafe....

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have very fond memories of my two (so far) visits to Barter Books - and have the mugs to commemorate them!

Less fond memories of Foyle's, which I visited regularly in the '80s - early '90s: all that "get the book you want - take to one cashier - be sent to another to pay - sent back to the first once you've paid" - together with the then demeanour of said cashiers. I much preferred Collett's "next door" - and all those Eastern European LPs, too!


Thinking about this, I suppose that the "bookshop" I most frequently visit these days (and occasionally buy stuff from) "is" the two floors in Salt's Mill in Saltaire. Just a few steps from the Early Music Shop, too - which (as far as books are concerned) is always a disappointment - what on earth have late Twentieth Century Musicals got to do with "Early Music"? No copies of Music from the Musica Britannica series, nor collections of Monteverdi madrigals ... but "vocal selections" from Miss Saigon ... ????

(And I deeply miss the Bodhran Bookshop in Saltaire. Now an emporium of overpriced cheap jewellery. Have to drown my disappointments in Fanny's.)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Less fond memories of Foyle's, which I visited regularly in the '80s - early '90s: all that "get the book you want - take to one cashier - be sent to another to pay - sent back to the first once you've paid" - together with the then demeanour of said cashiers.

I remember that well. What were they playing at?