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Insightful, and chimes absolutely with my experience. I live near Oxford, UK, where we have the peerless Blackwells, an academic-biased but broad-based booksho
by Doctor_Fegg 11y ago
Insightful, and chimes absolutely with my experience.
I live near Oxford, UK, where we have the peerless Blackwells, an academic-biased but broad-based bookshop (http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/stores/oxford-bookshop/about-us/ http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/stores/oxford-bookshop/about...) where you can literally get lost for an afternoon. I would typically walk straight past Waterstones on the way there.
Now, since the Daunt era began, I spend almost as much time in Waterstones as I do in Blackwells. Waterstones is where I go if I want to be surprised with a new book I haven't yet heard of. The 'new titles' displays on the ground floor often showcase books from smaller publishers which I'd never have found myself. "Curated" is an overused word these days, but it's exactly what they're doing, and doing well.
What the article doesn't mention is that Waterstones, under previous ownership, took over other good UK bookshop chains - notably Ottakars and Dillons. This was generally met with rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, because Waterstones at the time was the lowest common denominator High Street bookshop. But Waterstones now is better than I remember Ottakars or Dillons ever being.
- irremediable 11y agoI remember when Borders (another bookshop chain) went bankrupt and they closed down the Oxford branch. By the time I reached it, they were desperately trying to sell trash books at any price, just to make back money. They were also begging people to buy the shelving.
- JulianMorrison 11y agoI remember when that place was awesome, and I spent many happy hours there. I was devastated to see it go, but yeah, in the end it had hollowed out to garbage, stationery, and toilet humor. Bleh.
- jamespo 11y agoI'm sure the coffee shop there was put in tourist guides as a good place to sit down all day... rarely did I see a coffee bought, just students with large piles of books in front of them
- JulianMorrison 11y agoHuh, I'd mentally flagged that one as "dead space, ignore". I should clear that flag and re-investigate.
- OJFord 11y agoYour last paragraph is exactly right. I remember the local Ottakar's changing to an at-the-time shabbier, down-market Waterstones. Today, when I go home there's a clean-fronted Waterstones that's warm and pleasant. My memory of Ottakar's is distinctly drabber; dirty even, worn out.