Bookshop dilemma!

[Nomorebollocks]

I live in France and only visit the uk every couple of years. Between my kindle, buying second hand cheap on Amazon and being in a book group with lots of swspping going on I have plenty of English reading matter to keep me busy. Nonetheless I love to go to a big Waterstones or Blackwells when I visit the uk, for a browse and to buy a few new books.

this summer I was in Edinburgh so I went into the big Waterstones on princes street - and it was just overwhelming! 3 or 4 floors absolutely crammed with hundreds and hundreds of beautiful books. I actually walked out without buying anything the first time. My reading habits are pretty eclectic, which doesn’t help, and I hadn’t planned ahead at all.

so how do you decide?

i did go back again and choose a couple from the ‘buy two - get second half price’ tables (Marriage Portrait by Maggie o’farrell , (still to read) and Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk (didn’t like it)). But it was a real effort to choose and I felt like I was really missing out on all the ones I didn’t buy!

Go to small independent bookshops instead.

I don't like buying from Amazon but I like the ability to 'look inside' and use my wishlist as an aide-memoire when I'm in an actual bookshop (booksellers tend to like that). And if I want something and my local Waterstones don't have it I buy from Blackwells online.

My Mum lives on an island and she tends to get overwhelmed by the choice when I take her shopping in our local big city, so I understand what you mean.

Do a reading subscription like this one at Mr Bs. It's a brilliant way to get books tailored to your taste and find some new stuff.
mrbsemporium.com/gifts/reading-subscriptions/?utm_term=mr%20b%27s%20emporium&utm_campaign=Brand+Campaign&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=2073676860&hsa_cam=14483476478&hsa_grp=129394622129&hsa_ad=542689288060&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-1446869524752&hsa_kw=mr%20b%27s%20emporium&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwxOymBhAFEiwAnodBLBMNW6hVl4BzNB6E_AFuwHfWwnmqrZ6elkoabkGZ84JSVi7YGZBkNhoCl4QQAvD_BwE

I love the Waterstones in Edinburgh. I do try and plan ahead with a list of a few books I’d like but often end up getting drawn in to what is out on the tables and spend ages perusing. I have toddlers and really hope that shop keeps going as the children’s section is a delight too.

I love Toppings in Edinburgh. A bit less overwhelming than Waterstones but a great collection of books

I definitely need to plan ahead with a list! It feels like such an indulgence to buy actual books, but we drove over this summer so I could have bought a lot more.

id been in Blackwells earlier the same day - DH is a teacher and was ordering some text books to bring back. Maybe both of them in one day was just too much 😂!

@JaninaDuszejko i can sympathise with your mum!

Golden Hare books in Edinburgh/Stockbridge - amazing selection!

This.
We are very lucky because we live near a brilliant book shop in Tavistock, you can just as easily find wonderful books to read and enjoy from a smaller stock.

Whatever book shop I go into I seem to 'decide' by bankrupting myself.

I'm on Goodreads though and I do thoroughly read reviews and see what's up my street and what other people say. Spoilers are usually marked so you don't read anything that ruins the book. It's good for creating lists of what you might want to read/buy next time.

Well, I read book reviews. I both have an informal short list of a few older books to snap up if I ever find cheap used copies, and a long list of titles of books, or authors that sound appealing. I think I would definitely need something like that as a starting point. Right now I have a list of about 100 books on my computer that I've heard/read about in the late 2-3 years that sound great.