It has rained nearly every day of my bookshop challenge. Today was no exception.
I started at Sloane Square in Chelsea. In Sloane Square you will find large department stores and small art galleries. Bookshops in this area run using the Chelsea Business Model: mild disdain towards the customer and minimal interaction. Who are you? You're a customer? Hold on, I'm in the middle of texting someone. What do you want? What's this you're giving me? Money? How does this work? You want to buy something?
35. My first bookshop was John Sandoe Books, 5 minutes walk from Sloane Square. The building is old, creaky and beautiful. I wanted to know more about the building but the member of staff I spoke to didn't seem interested in such things. She said it was probably seventeenth century, but she was stacking books and didn't seem interested in talking to me.
The shop wasn't very big was stacked floor to ceiling with books on humanities and literature over two storeys. Each floor was the size of a narrowboat.
Books categories were not labelled so it wasn't clear where to find interests or what section you were viewing. Fiction gave way to travel, and then who knows what came next. Staff upstairs who didn't use the Chelsea Business Model would have helped.
There were four members of staff in the shop. This made it a little too crowded for customers, but I did see one customer squeeze in and successfully buy a book. I hope he gets a blue plaque on the wall.
John Sandoe Books says it publishes a book each Christmas to give to its customers. If so it is a nice gesture.
36 World's End Bookshop is in World's End, around 30 minutes walk along the King's Road from Sloane Square. In my view it is not worth the effort. This antiquarian bookshop is small and packed with books that are probably reasonably priced for the End of the World, but pricey if you're nearer to Middle Earth. The range of books wasn't great. Talking to the owner was difficult because he didn't want to waste time talking to customers.
37 Nomad Books on the Fulham Road in Parsons Green was a pleasant contrast. It is a few minutes walk from the tube station. Parsons Green is like a small town on the edge of Chelsea. It has town shops like a butcher, a DIY shop, and a closing-down-everything-must-go shop. Staff in the shop were very friendly.
Nomad Books started 30 years ago as a travel bookshop. It's now grown into a local bookshop. The shop is small but spacious, The range of books is small but well selected so they are appealing.
Children's books have as much space as adult books, and local people used the shop. I was impressed.
38 I returned to Chelsea to visit Book Haus Shop in Cadogan place. Bookhaus specialises in travel books, similar to Daunt Books in Marylebone. Book Haus Shop is a fine example of the Chelsea Business Model: the shop doesn't exist, so interactions with customers are kept to a minimum.
39 10 minutes walk away from Sloane Square is Belgravia Books in Ebury Street. Belgravia Books started as an outlet for its publishing arm, Gallic Books. Gallic Books translates French Books into English. Now it has a bookshelf for Gallic Books and is a general purpose local bookshop.
The shop is the standard small bookshop size, one narrowboat.
Belgravia Books also sells books online. The owner said this is small part of the business compared to sales to local customers. The owner was very helpful.
Interlude, between bookshop visits
Throughout my travels I've used Google Maps on my phone. I have gradually grown disillusioned with the app. Yesterday around Liverpool Street I found it didn't know which way I was facing and was misdirecting me. Fortunately the maps in the street helped me navigate. Today I made a shocking discovery that Google wasn't showing the existence of Victoria underground or the station. I wonder if it is playing with my mind. I am thinking of buying an A-Z map. Belgravia Books was really close to Victoria Station.
40 The Houses of Parliament Bookshop in Bridge Street is a few steps from Exit 4 of Westminster Underground station. This is one stop from Victoria Station if you pick a day when it exists.
The shop used to be a bookshop with a few gifts and a lot of school children. It is now a gift shop with a few books and a lot of children. The few books are well chosen.
The number of visitors puts a strain on staff, who otherwise are very helpful. I asked an assistant who selects these good books. She didn't answer as she had to rush off to help a colleague who was being consumed by school children. I never saw her again.
41 Judd Books in Bloomsbury is named after Judd Street, where it isn't. It lived in Judd Street when it started in 1992 but moved to Marchmont Street a year later.
Judd Books is two narrowboat sized, has two floors and is bulging with with cheap secondhand academic books. Most are remaindered stock from America. Many are around £3 and good quality. I love it and would recommend it to anyone who wants good books on a small budget. It's great for bookworms, whether human or lava from a wood-boring beetle. Furthermore if you prove you're a student beetle you get 10% off.
Summary
This is the end of Week 1 of my challenge. I didn't cover as many books as I'd hoped, but I've enjoyed spending a bit longer in the shops to understand what makes a good bookshop. This is determined by the extent to which the books engage, the feel and size of the shop, the whole experience, and the helpfulness of staff.
The challenge continues on Monday 30th September.
I started at Sloane Square in Chelsea. In Sloane Square you will find large department stores and small art galleries. Bookshops in this area run using the Chelsea Business Model: mild disdain towards the customer and minimal interaction. Who are you? You're a customer? Hold on, I'm in the middle of texting someone. What do you want? What's this you're giving me? Money? How does this work? You want to buy something?
35. My first bookshop was John Sandoe Books, 5 minutes walk from Sloane Square. The building is old, creaky and beautiful. I wanted to know more about the building but the member of staff I spoke to didn't seem interested in such things. She said it was probably seventeenth century, but she was stacking books and didn't seem interested in talking to me.
The shop wasn't very big was stacked floor to ceiling with books on humanities and literature over two storeys. Each floor was the size of a narrowboat.
Books categories were not labelled so it wasn't clear where to find interests or what section you were viewing. Fiction gave way to travel, and then who knows what came next. Staff upstairs who didn't use the Chelsea Business Model would have helped.
There were four members of staff in the shop. This made it a little too crowded for customers, but I did see one customer squeeze in and successfully buy a book. I hope he gets a blue plaque on the wall.
John Sandoe Books says it publishes a book each Christmas to give to its customers. If so it is a nice gesture.
36 World's End Bookshop is in World's End, around 30 minutes walk along the King's Road from Sloane Square. In my view it is not worth the effort. This antiquarian bookshop is small and packed with books that are probably reasonably priced for the End of the World, but pricey if you're nearer to Middle Earth. The range of books wasn't great. Talking to the owner was difficult because he didn't want to waste time talking to customers.
37 Nomad Books on the Fulham Road in Parsons Green was a pleasant contrast. It is a few minutes walk from the tube station. Parsons Green is like a small town on the edge of Chelsea. It has town shops like a butcher, a DIY shop, and a closing-down-everything-must-go shop. Staff in the shop were very friendly.
Nomad Books started 30 years ago as a travel bookshop. It's now grown into a local bookshop. The shop is small but spacious, The range of books is small but well selected so they are appealing.
Children's books have as much space as adult books, and local people used the shop. I was impressed.
38 I returned to Chelsea to visit Book Haus Shop in Cadogan place. Bookhaus specialises in travel books, similar to Daunt Books in Marylebone. Book Haus Shop is a fine example of the Chelsea Business Model: the shop doesn't exist, so interactions with customers are kept to a minimum.
39 10 minutes walk away from Sloane Square is Belgravia Books in Ebury Street. Belgravia Books started as an outlet for its publishing arm, Gallic Books. Gallic Books translates French Books into English. Now it has a bookshelf for Gallic Books and is a general purpose local bookshop.
The shop is the standard small bookshop size, one narrowboat.
Belgravia Books also sells books online. The owner said this is small part of the business compared to sales to local customers. The owner was very helpful.
Interlude, between bookshop visits
Throughout my travels I've used Google Maps on my phone. I have gradually grown disillusioned with the app. Yesterday around Liverpool Street I found it didn't know which way I was facing and was misdirecting me. Fortunately the maps in the street helped me navigate. Today I made a shocking discovery that Google wasn't showing the existence of Victoria underground or the station. I wonder if it is playing with my mind. I am thinking of buying an A-Z map. Belgravia Books was really close to Victoria Station.
40 The Houses of Parliament Bookshop in Bridge Street is a few steps from Exit 4 of Westminster Underground station. This is one stop from Victoria Station if you pick a day when it exists.
The shop used to be a bookshop with a few gifts and a lot of school children. It is now a gift shop with a few books and a lot of children. The few books are well chosen.
The number of visitors puts a strain on staff, who otherwise are very helpful. I asked an assistant who selects these good books. She didn't answer as she had to rush off to help a colleague who was being consumed by school children. I never saw her again.
41 Judd Books in Bloomsbury is named after Judd Street, where it isn't. It lived in Judd Street when it started in 1992 but moved to Marchmont Street a year later.
Judd Books is two narrowboat sized, has two floors and is bulging with with cheap secondhand academic books. Most are remaindered stock from America. Many are around £3 and good quality. I love it and would recommend it to anyone who wants good books on a small budget. It's great for bookworms, whether human or lava from a wood-boring beetle. Furthermore if you prove you're a student beetle you get 10% off.
Summary
This is the end of Week 1 of my challenge. I didn't cover as many books as I'd hoped, but I've enjoyed spending a bit longer in the shops to understand what makes a good bookshop. This is determined by the extent to which the books engage, the feel and size of the shop, the whole experience, and the helpfulness of staff.
The challenge continues on Monday 30th September.
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