|
Kin posted:I was always under the impression that every Waterstones had a front of house and a back of house. People in Dundee can read?
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 20:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 03:51 |
|
|
The Glasgow Sauchiehall Street Waterstones is still a very good book shop, though the grown up books section is being increasingly encroached upon by genre fiction. The Argyle street branch on the flip side is basically like a WH Smiths with black shelves and row upon row of tedious biographies of celebrities/people with 'troubled lives'.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 20:06
|
|
|
Flatscan posted:People in Dundee can read? Well it is full of students from all over for 9 months of the year.  The other 3 months... not so much. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 20:51
|
|
|
There was a costa in my local waterstones a couple of years back. A friend of mine would buy a coffee and read an entire book and then leave.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:00
|
|
|
Kin posted:Well it is full of students from all over for 9 months of the year. If they're anything like the students here in Cambridge, that's still a no
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:02
|
|
|
Metrication posted:There was a costa in my local waterstones a couple of years back. A friend of mine would buy a coffee and read an entire book and then leave. I'm sure the intent was to encourage people to sit down with a book and perhaps read a little of it, then being thoroughly hooked, they'd proceed to buy it. Though some people read really fast and some people are just moochers who would come back every day and read another chapter i suppose. :/ I like the idea of coffee shops inside bookshops though. While i don't consider myself a twonky snob, there's something that's relaxing about that kind of thing and it's an odd sensation to have in a place that's often smack bang in the middle of a city centre or wherever. A coffee shop will typically have a loud chatty "cafe" atmosphere, bookshops alone (like WH smith) are full of people just prattling away too and it feels like a newsagent's, but the combination of the two seems to induce this slightly hushed area of comteplation where you can sit and relax in an otherwise heavilly busy place.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:09
|
|
|
keep punching joe posted:The Glasgow Sauchiehall Street Waterstones is still a very good book shop, though the grown up books section is being increasingly encroached upon by genre fiction. The Argyle street branch on the flip side is basically like a WH Smiths with black shelves and row upon row of tedious biographies of celebrities/people with 'troubled lives'. I miss the giant Borders that used to be on Buchanan Street. It had a nice atmosphere, and lots of unexpected corners and stairs that took you to strange, previously undiscovered areas containing many fascinating books (and generally also a confused-looking pensioner in tartan carpet slippers. There always was one, I don't know why, or where they came from...) Having said that, the staff in Waterstones Sauchihall are generally polite, enthusiastic and know a reasonable amount about books. And their childrens' section is bright, cheerful and welcoming to small readers and their parents.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:10
|
|
|
Irisi posted:I miss the giant Borders that used to be on Buchanan Street. It had a nice atmosphere, and lots of unexpected corners and stairs that took you to strange, previously undiscovered areas containing many fascinating books (and generally also a confused-looking pensioner in tartan carpet slippers. There always was one, I don't know why, or where they came from...) Yeah, I miss the Borders that was on Charring Cross Road, I used to love sitting about in there when I lived in London.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:19
|
|
|
Kin posted:I'm sure the intent was to encourage people to sit down with a book and perhaps read a little of it, then being thoroughly hooked, they'd proceed to buy it. Though some people read really fast and some people are just moochers who would come back every day and read another chapter i suppose. :/ Yeah I agree, it was a very nice place to go for coffee, not that many people used it though (the main benefit) which is probably why it shut. So apparently right wing blogger Guido Fawkes is going to be on 10oclock live tonight, which'll be interesting. He occasionally pops up as a talking head on various politics shows as well.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:29
|
|
|
Irisi posted:I miss the giant Borders that used to be on Buchanan Street. It had a nice atmosphere, and lots of unexpected corners and stairs that took you to strange, previously undiscovered areas containing many fascinating books (and generally also a confused-looking pensioner in tartan carpet slippers. There always was one, I don't know why, or where they came from...) This. That was an awesome Borders, and I really liked the Ottokar's on Sauchiehall Street before it got bought over. Was one of those ones with a coffe shop in in and it was amazing. The Waterstones store where I live (Falkirk) is tiny and yet filled with nothing but shite books. They've cut down on other sections to make a whole section with the heading 'Dark Romance' I poo poo you not. Thanks Twilight/True Blood for making hundreds of crappy imitations...
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:35
|
|
|
Daedo posted:The Waterstones store where I live (Falkirk) is tiny and yet filled with nothing but shite books. They've cut down on other sections to make a whole section with the heading 'Dark Romance' I poo poo you not. Thanks Twilight/True Blood for making hundreds of crappy imitations... My sixth form library has a poster in it that's basically a long list of crappy twilight rip-offs. I despair at the fact that this is the length we need to go to to get kids to read.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:41
|
|
|
Daedo posted:The Waterstones store where I live (Falkirk) is tiny and yet filled with nothing but shite books. They've cut down on other sections to make a whole section with the heading 'Dark Romance' I poo poo you not. Thanks Twilight/True Blood for making hundreds of crappy imitations... Same at mine. Funny thing is, the shelves in that section are always fully stocked and I've never even seen anyone browsing it, let alone actually buying anything. Much like the huge children's/teens section which is always empty too.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:42
|
|
|
I think my local big chain has a paranormal romance section, but I mostly shop in the second hand places now. Still largely full of crap, but it's not full price crap.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:45
|
|
|
Kin posted:Am i the only one somewhat repulsed by Michel Roux's Service? No you're not. I think it's a sad state of affairs where being a loving waiter has become an aspirational occupation.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:49
|
|
|
Monster w21 Faces posted:No you're not. I think it's a sad state of affairs where being a loving waiter has become an aspirational occupation. Yeah I'm watching it now waiting for Louis Theroux and I'm just baffled. They are getting emotional about being able to fetch wine for rich bastards.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:55
|
|
|
marktheando posted:Yeah I'm watching it now waiting for Louis Theroux and I'm just baffled. They are getting emotional about being able to fetch wine for rich bastards. We'll be back to workhouses and cholera before too long, just as god intended.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 21:57
|
|
|
Daedo posted:The Waterstones store where I live (Falkirk) is tiny and yet filled with nothing but shite books. They've cut down on other sections to make a whole section with the heading 'Dark Romance' I poo poo you not. Thanks Twilight/True Blood for making hundreds of crappy imitations... I remember wondering what was going on when Smiths had "TRAGIC LIFE STORIES" as a heading. marktheando posted:Yeah I'm watching it now waiting for Louis Theroux and I'm just baffled. They are getting emotional about being able to fetch wine for rich bastards. I could write a book about why The Secret Millionaire is the most regressive thing on TV and this sounds similar in its conception.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:03
|
|
|
I'm watching Theroux's "Ultra Zionists". Five minutes in and it's already got enough disgusting specimens to make this programme hard to swallow.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:08
|
|
|
Flatscan posted:Small loss? Not really when you see that the only high-street bookselling presence in most towns are Waterstones and Smiths and the book section in most Smiths really is just the same as that in a supermarket. If you're after new authors and expanding your literary horizons, you should be giving your local library a go. (Quickly, before they're all shut.)
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:14
|
|
|
marktheando posted:Yeah I'm watching it now waiting for Louis Theroux and I'm just baffled. They are getting emotional about being able to fetch wine for rich bastards. I'm not watching and have no idea what their education level is, but if you've been marginalised and made to feel like crap most of your life, being successful at anything -even waitressing- will make you really loving happy. I've done work with adult learners, and things that seem really small to us smartarses on the internet make a huge difference to them. I'm talking about tiny things, like being able to set up an email address, understanding how to take money & make change for a customer on a till, reading and filling in a job application all by yourself. Okay, fetching wine for rich bastards may sound a bit degrading, but it's still better than sitting on your bum watching Cash in the Attic while being too scared to open that letter from the Job Centre, because you know it'll say that they're cutting your benefits. At least with the wine there's a chance you could find it interesting, and eventually become a sommelier (I just googled and an assistant sommelier gets an average wage of £18000, which is more than I get, for gods sake).
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:17
|
|
|
Testro posted:If you're after new authors and expanding your literary horizons, you should be giving your local library a go. (Quickly, before they're all shut.) I do but it has a fairly lovely selection which means I have to order stuff in from other libraries, which also isn't that conductive to casual browsing.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:21
|
|
|
Being a regular waiter is a thankless and underpaid job, but working in a super posh 3 michelin starred restaurant? £18,000 is FAR from the takehome pay, If the meal is £500, what do you think the tip will be?
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:27
|
|
|
Fatkraken posted:If the meal is £500, what do you think the tip will be? 20 quid?
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:35
|
|
|
marktheando posted:Yeah I'm watching it now waiting for Louis Theroux and I'm just baffled. They are getting emotional about being able to fetch wine for rich bastards. They should be poisoning it in the name of glorious class war.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:37
|
|
|
Fatkraken posted:Being a regular waiter is a thankless and underpaid job, but working in a super posh 3 michelin starred restaurant? £18,000 is FAR from the takehome pay, If the meal is £500, what do you think the tip will be? If I'm remembering this correctly they believe that once Israel is fully estabilshed the Messiah will come, and those Jews who chose to convert to Christianity will be saved, and those who don't will stay on Earth for the End of Days. They basically believe that by helping out they are bringing about the end of the world, where sinners get hosed, and good christians like them get to go to heaven.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:50
|
|
|
Brown Moses posted:If I'm remembering this correctly they believe that once Israel is fully estabilshed the Messiah will come, and those Jews who chose to convert to Christianity will be saved, and those who don't will stay on Earth for the End of Days. They basically believe that by helping out they are bringing about the end of the world, where sinners get hosed, and good christians like them get to go to heaven. ... I think you quoted the wrong post, but I rather like the idea of waiters quietly preparing for the apocalypse
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:54
|
|
|
HoldYourFire posted:20 quid?
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 22:56
|
|
|
You don't get rich giving away money.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:00
|
|
|
goatface posted:You don't get rich giving away money. This is something I never understood either. How do these people afford to haemmorhage money everywhere they go? I used to work in a pub in a pretty posh area of my town, and people would drop £20 quid tips- that's almost the value of their meal. What the gently caress is up with that.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:06
|
|
|
I wonder if it was coincidence that most of the mad bastards Theroux interviewed weren't actually Israeli?
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:09
|
|
|
meme posted:This is something I never understood either. How do these people afford to haemmorhage money everywhere they go? I used to work in a pub in a pretty posh area of my town, and people would drop £20 quid tips- that's almost the value of their meal. What the gently caress is up with that. Expenses.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:10
|
|
|
Go go 10 o'clock live!
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:23
|
|
|
My favourite part was the Christians who flew across the world to pick some Israeli guy's grapes for a month for no pay.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:23
|
|
|
That Harry Cole guy is a joke. He clearly didn't think through a single one of his points.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:30
|
|
|
The sun is going to kill the world. Maybe. Perhaps. If we're lucky. Wasn't Charlie Brooker complaining about this poo poo on his other show just last week?
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:33
|
|
|
I was quite impressed by the seamlessness of that live to VT sequence. Also it seems to be imroving every week.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:54
|
|
|
Putting Laverne in a recorded bit is a good response to her nervousness on last week's to-camera bit.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:55
|
|
|
Metrication posted:I was quite impressed by the seamlessness of that live to VT sequence. Also it seems to be imroving every week. Wasn't really seamless, shakycam right onto a steadycam transition. I'm really liking this week, bar the listen to Mitchell segment.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:57
|
|
|
Lady Galaga posted:Wasn't really seamless, shakycam right onto a steadycam transition. Not to mention sunlight. This is the thin end of the wedge, the sun is trying to bring the system down from within. e: I love you Jimmy Carr. The show is definitely improving, it looks like they're throwing out what doesn't work and honing the stuff that does. Gram-O-Phone fucked around with this message at 00:01 on Feb 4, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:59
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 03:51 |
|
|
Is that a wolf shirt continually in shot behind Laverne's head? I'm watching on a 12" portable with bad reception, if it's not. Speaking of Laverne, I'm glad that it seems she's got a good role for herself on the show now. The sequence about libraries and the to-camera piece last week worked pretty well, especially when compared to WNN or whatever that shite was in the first week.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2011 23:59
|
|