Well I've been to the Bluewater and Guildford sites... (Waterstone's)

Member Name: imagin8or

Product:	Waterstone's
Date:	05/07/01 (309 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great range, well placed atmosphere, good for picking up a novel or two

Disadvantages: Where'd the discounts go?, you might be out of luck if your interest is obscure or uncommon

Waterstones is an established store, and they seem to be doing well. Unlike WHSmiths, they have attempted to raise the class of the bookshop, and it has worked. The Bluewater (nr Dartford, N. Kent) store is one of their most recent, and it must be their flagship store as Bluewater is an incredibly prestigious new shopping centre. Strangely, they opted to have two huge stores in the same shopping centre. The tone of the whole affair is similar to wandering around a well kept personal library, with Objets d' everywhere, and thick red carpets, ostentatious lettering. Love it. I doesn't sound the best way to sell something, but I suppose all bookworms are still bookworms in the end, and it seems to work.

I have a strange set of interests, from Physics and Sci-fi to Computing to Christianity, so I know when a bookstore only caters to the middle market. Waterstones manages to just about entertain most of the audience, but not completely. If I want a Sci-fi book I'm OK, as the section is huge in both the stores, with Banks, Pratchett and Adams till the cows turn South. If I want a physics book, there is less choice than the uni bookshop, but a passable amount. If you're into Christianity, the same all pervading "what, those people spend money?" opinion applies, and aside from a selection of bibles and the odd american testimony (sometimes *really* odd) you get fewer than you'd like or even expect. Strangely they cover more of the occult, mysticism and other strange dead-of-the-night-with-candles stuff, but hey. they Bluewater store also manages an impressive array of maps, so if you're not sure what number OS map you're after, go there.

They have managed a similar feel and range in both the stores, but if you're ever in Bulewater, go into the Waterstones on the first floor near the Japanese/World Avenue is, and they have a great selection that you can buy and read a few metres away in the quieter cafes.

>My synopsis? Go there. Honestly, if you want 1 or 2 books, go there, absorb the atmosphere and get the books. If you're after an expensive book, or more than a couple, I would suggest going there, absorbing the atmos, then going home and ordering from amazon. Waterstones don't seem to understand the 'cheaper books mean more sales' philosophy.

Enjoy, you bookworm, you.

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