Hacker News Reader

The Waterstones bookshop on Tottenham Court Road, London, has a coffee shop and bar in the basement. It's very comfortable and pleasant, although I haven't been in for about five years now.

View on HN

Sadly, the stock of specialised books is much reduced. The mathematics section used to have its own room, ruled with a rod of iron by a fearsome Russian (?) lady. Now reduced to a couple of shelves. Coffee you can get anywhere ...

I'm wondering how Foyles competes now. It used to be a near-mythical warren of floor to ceiling piles of obscure technical and academic books. At some point in the mid 00s it moved to a cleaner slightly newer building and became tidier and more antiseptic.

The old building has been replaced by a bizarre wrinkly pink-ish box.

I haven't been for years. I'm curious if it's gone more mainstream.

Definitely more mainstream, corporate, antiseptic. Still one of the best (if not the best) big bookshops in London, still worth a visit (but do have a schlepp down to Goldsboro and Any Amount further down the road).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com