Bookstore on My Mind.

BusyMom · May 20, 2014

Do you remember the time when we spent endless hours in the charming bookstore?

Since on-line stores give you more flexible and more convenient purchases, we seem to find ourselves less and less time to visit the old fashion bookstore. Like in the movie "You've Got Mail.", little book shops has been wiped out by the mega chain stores. I miss the unique smell of the old papers and resourceful clerks.

On my trips, either for works or on vacations, I usually spend a few days hunting the local bookstores. But for me nothing beats Blackwell's in Oxford's Broad Street, UK. I lived in the area during the 90's and there was where I spent a lot of my free time.
http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/stores/oxford-bookshop/

From the outside, it looks very small.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iftNPBEiJuw/TVryKnD5TGI/AAAAAAAADAE/a4FuqCzlEFA/s1600/P1250201.JPG

But it is actually very big inside.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7103/7232408882_7b07bd781d.jpg

And thank you Olympia for inspired me with this topic.

Sam-Skwantch · May 20, 2014

As you know and have posted in my Recommend A Book to a GS Friend I too am into reading. It comes and goes in spurts with me but as such and due to so many recommendations I just spent two hours in my local Barnes and Noble searching out the perfect book. The actual presence of going into a book store is not to be discounted. As a matter of fact I refuse to buy books online and usually spend at least an hour each visit. I found a cute little bookstore in Washington DC on DuPont Circle a few years ago and loved it more than about anything else in DC. Maybe second to the Museum of Modern art in Chinatown or the nightlife of Adams Morgan. It was quaint, had a bar that was for coffee/muffins and offered a small stage I assume for poetry and maybe solo muscician a. I've been back twice and the books I purchased there are with me to this day. I'm pretty sure it's Kramerbooks and Afterwords cafe. Lovely place

BusyMom · May 20, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
As you know and have posted in my Recommend A Book to a GS Friend I too am into reading. It comes and goes in spurts with me but as such and due to so many recommendations I just spent two hours in my local Barnes and Noble searching out the perfect book. The actual presence of going into a book store is not to be discounted. As a matter of fact I refuse to buy books online and usually spend at least an hour each visit. I found a cute little bookstore in Washington DC on DuPont Circle a few years ago and loved it more than about anything else in DC. Maybe second to the Museum of Modern art in Chinatown or the nightlife of Adams Morgan. It was quaint, had a bar that was for coffee/muffins and offered a small stage I assume for poetry and maybe solo muscician a. I've been back twice and the books I purchased there are with me to this day. I'm pretty sure it's Kramerbooks and Afterwords cafe. Lovely place

Cool. Your description reminds me of the bookstore in NYC called Housing Works.

Olympia · May 21, 2014

BusyMom said:
Cool. Your description reminds me of the bookstore in NYC called Housing Works.

I always look for bookstores! Thanks for this wonderful thread.

These days even the chain bookstores are in danger, because of Amazon and other online sellers and now Kindle tablets, so I feel comfortable buying at Barnes & Noble when I can't get to an independent bookstore. I like going where I can see the books, because you can never tell what will pop up that you never thought of to search for online. (This is how I came upon a book I never knew existed, the Canadian publication Tessa and Scott, which somehow drifted into my American Barnes & Noble one day.) Of course, this has led to a large accumulation of books in my home, but I regret very little about it.

BusyMom · May 21, 2014

Olympia said:
I always look for bookstores! Thanks for this wonderful thread.

These days even the chain bookstores are in danger, because of Amazon and other online sellers and now Kindle tablets, so I feel comfortable buying at Barnes & Noble when I can't get to an independent bookstore. I like going where I can see the books, because you can never tell what will pop up that you never thought of to search for online. (This is how I came upon a book I never knew existed, the Canadian publication Tessa and Scott, which somehow drifted into my American Barnes & Noble one day.) Of course, this has led to a large accumulation of books in my home, but I regret very little about it.

Yours have Tessa and Scott, mine has Johnny Weir.

But found one of Mao's book a couple of years ago.

Amazon is not that bad with their price deals (I prefer the Amazon UK though. Their selections are pretty impressive).

Kinokuniya (Japanese chains) in Bangkok is very good and their services and their employees are the best. I usually give them a list and they track them down for me. Once they got me a book from Chilean's distributer. :bow:

If they coundn't they kept it on their watch list. The best part is I can pick it up from any of their branches too.

Olympia · May 21, 2014

The Kinokuniya store in Bangkok sounds wonderful!

Amazon UK I haven't bought from, but I often look up books on that site because some of my favorite authors are obscure or out of print here in the U.S. these days, like Elizabeth Goudge, Nicholas Stuart Gray, and Ellis Peters (her earlier modern-set mysteries and her historical novels).

The other things you can get from a bookstore (even by special order, which is helpful) are CDs or DVDs. That can come in handy.

BusyMom · May 21, 2014

Also the school and art supplies. Popular (Singaporean chains) stocks with cool supplies. My kids love them so much. Too bad we don't have them here but every times we travel to Singapore and Malaysia it always be our daily activities. They have a very good collections of educational books too since Singapore is one of the leading nations in terms of education qualities in the last few years.
https://twitter.com/JasonElsom/status/463978076180086784/photo/1

LRK · May 21, 2014

Olympia said:
The Kinokuniya store in Bangkok sounds wonderful!

Amazon UK I haven't bought from, but I often look up books on that site because some of my favorite authors are obscure or out of print here in the U.S. these days, like Elizabeth Goudge, Nicholas Stuart Gray, and Ellis Peters (her earlier modern-set mysteries and her historical novels).

The other things you can get from a bookstore (even by special order, which is helpful) are CDs or DVDs. That can come in handy.

Have you tried the Book Depository, Olympia? I mean for books that are published in the UK - Book Depository has free post & packaging over most of the world (I say "most" out of caution - I don't know if there are countries they don't deliver to).

(I just got Mary Elizabeth Braddon's "The Fatal Three" from them the other day.)

Olympia · May 21, 2014

LRK said:
Have you tried the Book Depository, Olympia? I mean for books that are published in the UK - Book Depository has free post & packaging over most of the world (I say "most" out of caution - I don't know if there are countries they don't deliver to).

(I just got Mary Elizabeth Braddon's "The Fatal Three" from them the other day.)

Oh, dear! I sense many additions to the stacks of books in my packrat paradise. I will look at the site and will tell my Anglophile buddies about it. Sigh. Thanks, LRK! (You temptress--in the nicest possible way.)

BusyMom, thank goodness I can't get to Singapore. I would be broke within a few hours, I fear. That store sounds delectable.

dorispulaski · May 21, 2014

http://www.powells.com/locations/

Son Ken's favorite book store in Portland,Oregon, is Powell's. It's huge!

My 2 favorite local book shops both closed

Sam-Skwantch · May 21, 2014

I love this thread. Now when I go on vacation I have another goal. Find a new book store and analyze it :biggrin:

BusyMom · May 22, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
I love this thread. Now when I go on vacation I have another goal. Find a new book store and analyze it

On a bad note: books weight much much more than clothes and other souvenirs. :biggrin:

Olympia · May 22, 2014

Bookstores and quilt/fabric/craft supply shops are the places I always want to sample when I go somewhere.

LRK · May 22, 2014

Olympia said:
Oh, dear! I sense many additions to the stacks of books in my packrat paradise. I will look at the site and will tell my Anglophile buddies about it. Sigh. Thanks, LRK! (You temptress--in the nicest possible way.)

BusyMom, thank goodness I can't get to Singapore. I would be broke within a few hours, I fear. That store sounds delectable.

I know. Makes me feel Mildly Evil - in a Good Way.

But then Book Addiction is a unique kind of addiction, is it not? It's one where the addict a) is not in denial, and b) does not want to be cured. You could see a conversation going something like this:

"We need to talk. I think you have a problem. Have you ever thought that you might be a... book addict?"
"Oh, sure. So?"
"And you don't think that is a problem?"
"Not really, no. I mean, I wish I had more cash and time. I'm not at all sure about this whole 24 hour day business - but, then, there's really nothing I can do about that, now, is there?" (she said, in a reasonable voice.)

Let's not talk about the length of my reading list - this is "merely" my own books that I have to read. (That's not counting library books and my re-read list, of course.) Several hundred - last I tried to make some sort of calculation I guessed around 700 or so... And that was several years ago - it's longer now. And counting. (I've a parcel with five books in it waiting for me to go and pick it up as we speak.) Or not - counting, I mean. I'm not. Better not to know, say I!

BusyMom · May 22, 2014

Olympia said:
Bookstores and quilt/fabric/craft supply shops are the places I always want to sample when I go somewhere.

Here to feed your enthusiasm : http://uguisustore.com/

Olympia · May 22, 2014

BusyMom said:
Here to feed your enthusiasm : http://uguisustore.com/

Oh, how gorgeous. Thanks so much for this delectable link.

LRK, you have to take a look also. Just as a feast for the eyes, with no purchasing plans at all, it's rewarding.

BusyMom · May 22, 2014

My pleasure. Not so sure that I should posted the link or not. Hope it is allowed to do so.

Olympia · May 23, 2014

If there's a problem, the mods will fix it. But I think you're allowed as long as you've been here for a certain number of posts. (I, being a chatterbox, reached the number very early on!) I've never heard of a problem posting links to a business; after all, the Vogue covers with YuNa and Mao are commercial, and we've also had links to product ads YuNa has made. But again, the mods will sort it out.

Meanwhile, the images on that site are yummy!

BusyMom · May 23, 2014

Thank you. It is great, isn't it? I couldn't help myself! :biggrin:

Mrs. P · May 23, 2014

dorispulaski said:
http://www.powells.com/locations/

Son Ken's favorite book store in Portland,Oregon, is Powell's. It's huge!

My 2 favorite local book shops both closed

I love Powell's! I go to PDX every few months, so I always make a point to pay a visit there.

My town is really unusual in that all the chain bookstores went out of business (we had a Borders) but we still have a delightful mom-and-pop bookstore that has continued to grow and thrive. My newspaper actually has a cool partnership where we have the owner and her staff write book reviews for our weekly entertainment magazine.

When I was in Boston for U.S. Nationals, Mr. P and I got to visit Trident Booksellers and Cafe. Not only can you look at books, you can eat delicious food too. Here was my breakfast: http://photos-b.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-prn/1530818_1429419457295361_662212534_n.jpg :biggrin:

Bookstore on My Mind.

BusyMom

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

BusyMom

Olympia

BusyMom

Olympia

BusyMom

LRK

Olympia

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

BusyMom

Olympia

LRK

BusyMom

Olympia

BusyMom

Olympia

BusyMom

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

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