Excellent, large bookshop. Ony downside i have is seeing how much i've spent everytime i go in…read more I like that it has a large 'local section, and makes sure that each department has a good selection of local knowledge, authors and information. The shop is spaced over 3 floors, and all of the aisles are well spaced to alow people to getpast each other easily. Also means that you can sit down and read a chapter or 2, although his does appear to be slightly frowned upon! They are also happy to order in books whenever i have asked, and normally take a deposit, although this may have more to do with the price of the reference books i was ordering. I have also seen a few signings, and signed bokos on sale.

A really big bookshop in Hanley, which possibly suffers from ebing a bit out the way from the other…read moreshopping sectors in Hanley. It has an excellent section of genres and types of books, as well as a good section of audiobooks. The staff are very helpful, and will go out of their way to help you find the books you want. I've also been lucky enough to get several books signed when they;ve had seopcial signing mornings in the shop. The arts and crafts department is very very good, and caters perfectly for anyone from kids in primary school to students doing art degree. The quality of materials is as good as at any specialist shop, with the added bonus of it being a bit cheaper!

This is a University branch of Waterstones so you should expect an educational slant and a load of…read moretextbooks when you walk in. They do however have a range of paperbacks and the usual stuff you'd expect in any bookshop. If you really need to browse in tyhe bookshop and don't have the time or can't be botehred to park and walk to it then this shop is idea. You can park on the Students Union car park and it's seconds to the book shop.

WHSmith seem to have stores everywhere these days, and that's why on a recent trip to Stoke…read moreon-Trent I knew I'd find one! This is quite a large store, even with a Post Office at the back and a good selection of stationary. As with most places in Stoke, I feel a review for this place is really needed, as they hasn't been one for over 7 years. It is actually quite an unusual time to be reviewing this store with its' closure confirmed in April, with a likely relocation on the cards, although one hasn't been confirmed, which is a shame, as based on my visit today, this seems to be one of their better stores. This store is a good size, and isn't too big either, it has a decent range of books, a good range of stationary and parcel equipment as well as maths sets, tutor books etc. The staff here seemed okay, they didn't really stand out, but they seemed polite. The store seemed quiet on my visit, with small numbers of staff and customers in the store, They had one self-service till, which makes me think as this store didn't really seem busy, maybe they are right to be shutting up shop soon, as they are not getting the customers in. It's in a mid-floor position in the Potteries center too, so it is in a good location and I feel too large of a store ruins the vibe a little, this store is slightly nicer and more modern than some of my local stores in Middleton,Manchester and The Manchester Arndale too. It's a nice store, with good selection and average staff and in a good location, it is just a shame about the pricing of certain items, but still deserves a solid 3!

W H Smiths is a big open store with great access to for disabled people and pushchairs…read more They have recently put the post office at the back of the store. The shop sells books, dvds, music, calenders, diaries and magazines. The store is always spotless. The staff are friendly, polite and helpful.

This HMV store is located inside Intu Potteries in Hanley, Stoke On-Trent. It is quite a nice…read morestore, it is a good size and a good selection of dvd's and cd's. I mainly come in to take a look at the cd's, especially albums from Englebert and Frank Sinatra, I noticed a wide selection of CD's, in some form of alphabetical order, yet I found it to be disorganized, it was arranged into categories and then alphabetical order, hence became confusing, and I didn't realize that until I got all the way through the alphabet a good 2-3 times. The layout of CD's really needs sorting, as it did seem confusing, as they was such a big selection it always would be hard arranging them, but they didn't seem to do a job here. Prices for me seemed a little pricey, a little expensive but still some of them were on par with Amazon's price for new, but considering what used CD's can be bought for and from other sellers new on Amazon, it was a little pricy. For example, as CD's are going out of fashion, they should be much cheaper, and I still was hesitant about paying £6.99 The signal in this store is weak, so it can be hard to price-check on your phone. As this store appeals to a younger market, selling entertainment products, this is one of the stores that doe and should have some sort of wi-fi, or at the very least some 3G/4G signal, and considering even Lush has free wifi, HMV should too! The staff here seemed okay, although he seemed hesitant about signing me up to the loyalty scheme and telling me it wasn't free, as I thought it would have been, which is a little bit of a rip-off and makes it less of a rewards based system, and more of a punishment. I decided not to subscribe as I rarely visit HMV. The range of all other items was okay / good, but still the prices remained poor / satisfactory, even the offers were confusing, for example Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked can be bought for £5.99 or £2.99 for any purchase, but still it remains £3 to buy on Amazon and it sells for about that, making it not much of a savings. The 2 for £5 / £10 offer also was confusing, it was on cheaper albums that were not really worth much online, and only few of them. Overall, it is just too pricey here and they make the prices seem great by using "Special Offer" promotions which is a little misleading, considering this factor, an issue with the arrangements of the CD's, the staff being merely average, I feel I can only give this HMV store 2 stars.

HMV in the Potteries Centre has a very large selection of DVD's, CD's, video games and consoles…read more The prices tend to be quite good and they regularly have special offers such as 3 DVD's for £20 or cheap games console bundles. The store layout is very good. Everything is arranged into different categories with special sections devoted to things such as the current top 40 singles so it's easy to find the what you are looking for. The staff are friendly and even though there is sometimes a large queue, they are very fast at dealing with people so you don't usually have to wait long.

A most excellent bookstore. A kind and friendly staff. Whilst their speciality is books on birds,…read morenatural and local history, they do have variety of books to browse amongst. I chanced upon a copy of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, which they kindly posted to my home address, well and securely packed. Quite nice and reasonably priced little shop.

Always helpful and reliable, Bruce stocks field guides to birds from all parts of the world. It is…read morea rare sight to see such a global collection spread across the shelves of this gem of a bookshop.