Waterstones

A lovely branch, I was in looking for the Unilocal bookclub book of the month and the staff helped me find this, and then recommended other books along this genre.
The branch is quite small, but manages to squeeze in a lot of stock in a beautiful ordered way! I enjoyed a happy time browsing the bestseller and new releases tables, as well as losing myself in some classic literature with beautiful front covers. Is it wrong to buy another edition of a book, just because you like the cover?!? The staff say no ;)
I will be back.

I call this bit of Byres Road the Book Lovers Triangle now. You’ve got this new Waterstones, Hillhead Library and Oxfam Bookshop all in one place, it’s book heaven! This branch is very small compared to the other Waterstones in Glasgow. It has a large children’s section, fiction, classics and new releases on the ground floor and non fiction books in the basement. They also have a small café with a handful of tables. I’m not sure if this is a good use of space but it does seem popular and they sell Marthas sandwiches and salads and Tunnocks teacakes!
It’s a great addition to the area as the only other mainstream bookshop nearby is the John Smith shop at Glasgow University. They hold author events sometimes and you can find out what’s coming up on their Facebook or Twitter. Overall, a lovely shop and handy for locals.

Firstly, it’s really nice to have a Waterstones down on Byres Road. The area generally needed something like it and I hadn’t realised how much until the signs went up saying it would be opening.
Compared to the locations in city centre, this Waterstones is small but still manages to be spread over two floors. They did really well for the space that they could find but it felt cramped when I went in.
That’s really only a minor complaint as they have a lot in that limited space. When you first walk in there’s a café and a few seats. I haven’t yet had the coffee but I’m hoping to report on it soon. To the left of that is a collection of assorted items. The rest of the first floor is generally fiction, and the bottom floor is non-​fiction.
Because it’s not really large, I can imagine I’ll most likely need to get them to order items if there’s something I really want. I’m still excited to have a possible location to browse for books and sit with a coffee while I read and people watch. It’s just a shame they’re only open until 7pm on most days (6pm on Sundays).

A branch of Waterstones is just what Byres Road needed. This one is a little on the small side but they still manage to pack in a good deal of books and they’re still setting up so they may well manage to pack in even more over the next few days and weeks. They manage sections on new books, crime, sci-​fi and fantasy, graphic novels and manga, reference and lots of children’s books and gifts.
Naturally, they also have table displays with books that fit a theme (likely to rotate) as well as books that are currently on offer and I noticed a good few books with the «Waterstones book club» stickers on them. So, whilst it is a small branch it’s very easy to find something of interest. That said, I suspect that if you were after something specific it would be wise to call ahead first to find out whether they have a copy.
They do also have a small café. It’s a Café W, rather than a Costa. I didn’t stop for refreshments but from what I can see they have the standard teas, coffees and soft drinks, cakes and snacks and sandwiches and salads by Martha’s. It was a bit busy when we arrived and I think they only have about 4 tables so it might prove difficult to get a seat during peak café hours. That said, if you felt like an early or late lunch it would be a nice spot for some people watching as the seating is just by the windows.
If you don’t already have one, pick up a Waterstones loyalty card to collect and spend points on all your purchases including café items. Then just watch out for the points promos in your email and the books on offer in store and you should be able to collect a few bargains. I have real trouble resisting book shops and one being so close to where I work is likely to be dangerous but I’m delighted that it’s here anyway.