Where Do I Buy Books?

Well you may be thinking that this is a stupid tab to have, but actually you would be surprised just how many choices you have - I'll run through a few of them and their pros/cons.

• AMAZON - good and cheap, delivered to your door without stepping outside. BUT 1- you can no longer get free super saver delivery unless you spend £10 or more (oh no, I'll have to buy more books!) AND 2- it doesn't really feel like much of a customer experience. Browsing for a book by clicking.. meh. Unless you're getting an e-book of course, in which case amazon makes a lot more sense than a bookshop...
  
• WHSMITHS - massively dependent on what book you are looking for and how big your local store is. HOWEVER I personally find that Smiths have a fabulous range of offers - often their bestsellers are buy one get one for £1 and their paperback chart buy one get one half price. This makes the value almost equivalent to amazon if you ask me, with the added joy of picking the book yourself and leafing through them. So, one or two up on the amazon experience...
  
• WATERSTONES - If you ask me, the best and most luxurious way to buy books - by walking into a shop that it 90% books (10% games, stationary and random gifts) with lovely black shelves and special offer tables, theme tables, useful review snippets etc. And that carpet! Also you know that you will always get fabulous customer service in Waterstones. The downfall of course is that Waterstones generally sells books for RRP and has only a small selection of books on offer compared to smiths. BUT having said that, if you want an afternoon of searching for your new favourite book, waterstones is the place to be!
  
• LOCAL BOOKSHOPS - Be supportive of your local communities! My only issue with this really is that my local bookshop only seems to cater for old people interested in war, art and local history... and then young children who read picture books like 'Spot the dog' (Is that still a children's book?)
  
• BOOK DEPOSITORY - An online site who are sometimes cheaper than amazon. Don't sign up to their newsletter though, awfully irritating!