Great Bookshops

A couple of weeks ago, I placed an order for Hounded, by Kevin Hearne. I initially considered going through Amazon, just for convenience, but the delivery cost would have been about the same as the price of the book.

So just to see how long it would take, I called up Hidges Figgis, one of the oldest bookshops in Dublin (the oldest? Probably) to place an order. Less than a week later, I got a call to let me know it was in, and it was going to cost me €4 less than it would have cost from Amazon, once delivery was factored in.

I love Hodges Figgis. It's such a nicely laid out place, with really knowledgeable staff. One of their staff was happy to discuss options for buying books on narrative and artisitic symbolism for a solid ten minutes, and his first choice out of all of them was a book he fully admitted I'd probably have to go online to find.

Every now and again I rekindle my love of a good bookshop. I could spend hours just wandering around looking at the shelves and smelling the books. I've let that love lapse a lot in recent years. I think it's high time I made more of an effort to get my books from somewhere like Hodges Figgis, especially since I'm discovering so many great writers to check out these days. I'll be buying more books, so rather than being lazy and spending extra money to have something delivered to me, I think I'll put in the extra effort and support a good bookshop, particularly if they can keep beating the likes of Amazon on price like that!

Who else has a favourite bookshop? And what is it about them you love?