Bookshops at this time of year

Waterstone's keeps sending me advertisement, about their latest offers: 3 for 2 for crime fiction, holiday reads (is it still relevant? they started advertising them in April), some other stuff for bestsellers and of course, a good deal of back to school specials. I like a good Waterstone's shop, when it is big enough to have lots of choice, I like the chain less when it becomes a stationary shop. Still, we have a bank holiday weekend coming and that might be a good excuse to go to the nearest Waterstone's and look for myself. Of course, if I go I will have a look at their crime fiction offers (hoping to find this book). The book shelves are already crammed, but there is so much I need to read and own. I am terrible, I know.

And maybe I will go there out of pure curiosity: a bookshop when school is about to start is a strange beast. Not necessarily a pleasant one: the stationary I mention, it sort of kills the spirit, the proper gravitas of the place. Crowds of children, anxious parents, more gimmickry than one can dream of,the place gets crammed, frantic, so many people and miscellaneous stuff (have I mentioned this bookmark?) that one might lose sight of the books. And, as the advertisement I receive witnesses, even when it comes to the books, the place is crowded with offers, old ones, new ones, something for everyone. Thinking about it, I might just go to a local bookshop instead. I like book hunting in a quieter environment if possible, or at least a place where people are there for literature and where I can have time and space to look at the shelves.