I’m going to take a post out of talking about books to talk about bookshops!
As a resident of the North, I rarely get chance to travel south down to London and look around – it’s usually a pass through, on to another train to a convention. But this last few days I’ve had chance to wander the (expensive) streets, and my first stop was Foyles at Charing Cross. I’d never been to Foyles and had heard numerous stories that made it sound like absolute words-on-a-page heaven. So as soon as I arrived in London I marched my family the whole thirty minute walk to find this wondrous store.
For those that don’t know, Foyles is a chain bookstore in the UK – somewhat like the more well-known Waterstones. However they only have a grand total of five stores throughout the UK making them much less accessible. Foyles stock the books you expect to find in a chain bookshop and so many more.
First of all, I was taken back by the sheer size of the place when I walked in. Five magnificent floors full of everything you could ask for in book form. I headed for the Young Adult section (as per usual) and noticed it was at least three times the size of anything I’d seen before of the genre. There were books that I’d never seen in store before including American releases that are extremely hard to get hold of in the UK. The whole experience was a little overwhelming and my best friend spent the whole time trying to calm me down, taking books out of my hands that I definitely didn’t need (was it really irrational to rebuy the whole Harry Potter series in new hardback covers?)
I only managed to cover fiction and graphic novels with my 45 minutes in the shop, but I wish I had so much longer to go and explore. I could have easily spent the whole afternoon in there. The fiction section was truly amazing. I’ve been in hundreds of bookshops in my life but I don’t think I’ve ever been surrounded by so many books before. It was definitely a fresh and exciting experience to be around novels that I’d not even heard of before after so many trips to a local Waterstones. The only fault I found was the small, less than impressive graphic novel section. It mainly was taken over by Marvel comics (something I’m not completely opposed to) and there were few stories.
I restrained myself to only two books on the trip and a bookmark, the ones that I found were…
Title: Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour 
Author: Morgan Matson
Genre: YA, Adventure
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
Publication Date: 14 Aug. 2014
Pages: 352
Summery : Amy Curry’s year sucks. And it’s not getting any better. Her mother has decided to move, so somehow Amy has to get their car from California to the East Coast. There’s just one problem: since her father’s death Amy hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car. Enter Roger, the son of a family friend, who turns out to be funny, nice …and unexpectedly cute. But Roger’s plans involve a more “scenic” route than just driving from A to B, so suddenly Amy finds herself on the road trip of a lifetime. And, as she grows closer to Roger, Amy starts to realise that sometimes you have to get lost to find your way home…
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour is something that i’ve been waiting to read for so long! I couldn’t quite believe it when i saw it sitting on a shelf for the first time. I’m also very excited to dive in to my first Morgan Matson novel after hearing such incredible things!
Title: Noggin
Author: John Corey Whaley
Genre: YA, Humour, Sci-Fi
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 24th 2015
Pages: 368
Summery : Listen – Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t. Now he’s alive again. Simple as that. The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but Travis can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still sixteen, but everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too. If the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, it looks like there’s going to be a few more scars.
I’ve seen this book around more and more recently and after reading some reviews i decided to pick it up. The idea of it seems interesting and unusual. Also John Corey Whaley has had brilliant reviews for his work on Where Things Come Back.
That was my first Foyles experience! It may possibly have turned in to one of my favourite bookshops and i cannot wait to get back there and spend more time looking around!
Sarah x
Find your nearest Foyles bookstore HERE
Foyles WEBSITE
Waterstones WEBSITE
The Little Contemporary Corner 