Frommers Review: Claiming to be the world's largest bookstore, Foyle's has an impressive array of hardcovers and paperbacks, as well as travel maps, new records, CDs, videotapes, and sheet music. www.frommers.com.
kimbofo from england writes "I had to run an errand in the West End this afternoon, so thought I'd make the most of the trip by taking a little wander along Charing Cross Road, which is lined with book stores of every shape, size and description.
My first port of call was Foyles, which has been on the same corner site since 1903. I haven't been inside this store for at least three years. It's been completely re-fitted, so it looks very modern but unfortunately I wasn't that impressed with the layout: the fiction section runs around the perimeter walls, which means you end up having to wander through several different "rooms" and then, inexplicably, the "S" section jumps across a busy customer thoroughfare to the opposite wall. If you browse like I do -- going backwards and forwards between letters of the alphabet as you recall certain authors you've been meaning to check out -- this is rather annoying. Still, it didn't stop me buying two books: a Scandinavian crime thriller -- Ice Moon by Jan Costin Wagner -- and a novel about the British class system -- The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell -- which my Other (nerdy) Half read when he was 12 years old!!
I then crossed the road and visited Borders, a chain I normally try to avoid because it's like the MacDonald's and Starbucks of the book world, crushing the independent stores in its wake. I was actually rather surprised to see it on Charing Cross Road because the last time I was in the West End this branch simply did not exist!
I have to say the layout of this store is even more confusing than Foyles, not helped by the fact it's arranged across four floors in what appears to be a rather odd order. That said, there were a lot of books on sale, including a wide range of hardcover fiction at half price. I purchased three books, all of which had been on my wish list for some time:" www.kimbofo.typepad.com
My first port of call was Foyles, which has been on the same corner site since 1903. I haven't been inside this store for at least three years. It's been completely re-fitted, so it looks very modern but unfortunately I wasn't that impressed with the layout: the fiction section runs around the perimeter walls, which means you end up having to wander through several different "rooms" and then, inexplicably, the "S" section jumps across a busy customer thoroughfare to the opposite wall. If you browse like I do -- going backwards and forwards between letters of the alphabet as you recall certain authors you've been meaning to check out -- this is rather annoying. Still, it didn't stop me buying two books: a Scandinavian crime thriller -- Ice Moon by Jan Costin Wagner -- and a novel about the British class system -- The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell -- which my Other (nerdy) Half read when he was 12 years old!!
I then crossed the road and visited Borders, a chain I normally try to avoid because it's like the MacDonald's and Starbucks of the book world, crushing the independent stores in its wake. I was actually rather surprised to see it on Charing Cross Road because the last time I was in the West End this branch simply did not exist!
I have to say the layout of this store is even more confusing than Foyles, not helped by the fact it's arranged across four floors in what appears to be a rather odd order. That said, there were a lot of books on sale, including a wide range of hardcover fiction at half price. I purchased three books, all of which had been on my wish list for some time:" www.kimbofo.typepad.com
Additional info: Foyles Bookstall,
Address 113-119 Charing Cross Rd., WC2
Transportation Tube: Tottenham Court Rd. or Leicester Sq
Phone 020/7437-5660
Web site http://www.foyles.co.uk/
Other Additional location at Riverside, Level 1, Royal Festival Hall.
tel: 020 7981 9739
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