Foyles was interestingly weird but eventually got bought by Waterstones and became what it is now. I’d still say it’s better than some, just not by enough.
The expensive building changes to the Chinatown side didn’t help the smaller shops and it’s clear as their leases end the shops are closing and it’ll be like everywhere else with a generic mash of forgettable places.
Had a friend who worked in foyles packing mail outs. He used to get his jollies writing author sigs and dedications on the books.
Married a bookseller who worked at skoob, Sicilian avenue. The owner had worked next door to 84 charing cross road. We avoid second hand bookshops now, you can grow out of them.
Everyone raves about hay. The QT is on petersfield and the honour box system.
Petersfield is a wonder. The way it unfolds. I saw a full folio copy of Dante's Divine Comedy with Doré's woodcuts in there for £80... three decades ago? I'm still kicking myself that I didn't buy it.
Same here for a bookshop in Brisbane with pugin architectural drawings, and a bookshop in York which had Mervyn Peake original pencil drawing of his son for £300 in 1981
The expensive building changes to the Chinatown side didn’t help the smaller shops and it’s clear as their leases end the shops are closing and it’ll be like everywhere else with a generic mash of forgettable places.