Any book-buyer's favourite type of bookshop- simple, with a good selection of generally underpriced…read morebooks and a helpful but quietly-reading-until-you-want-him owner. Would be four or even five stars if only it were larger, so we could spend even more time browsing in the gentle silence of an undiscovered gem!

I believe that Ottakar's has now been taken over by Waterstones. This branch is very small (but…read moreperfectly formed!). There are a lot of books packed into a very small space, but everything is logically laid out, orderly, methodical and easy to find. The non-fiction section is quite impressive for a small bookshop in a small city (town really). Staff are always helpful and friendly, the book 'accessories' section is also good (bookmarks, labels etc.) and the children's section is pretty good too, quite comprehensive. Adult fiction is relatively small but then this is an area that is covered to some degree even by supermarkets so I would say it is less important. A good little shop.

W.H. Smiths: great for picking up a paper and a bottle of water. Possibly not the place for an…read morehour's browsing without any clear objective in mind. Their stock of books is limited (although their business and language sections are actually pretty good and the crafting section is okay). The magazine and newspaper sections are probably as good as you're going to get in a high street newsagents and should be fine unless you have very specialist requirements. I find their stationery to be rather overpriced even in relation to the likes of Staples, and when you factor local pound shops into the equation, I'm not sure why anyone would ever buy printer paper or pens or files here. Unless they were really in a big hurry, of course.

It's Waterstones. You know what you're getting. Books! The Wakefield branch, tucked inside the…read moreRidings, covers off on everything you'd expect - fiction; crime; fantasy/sf; music; humour; travel; a good local history section... you get the idea. The thing I really like about this branch of Waterstones, though, is that it evades the anonymous chain store feel of the bigger shops. It's not a big place and, although I only stick my head in occasionally, I recognise the staff there. I find that reassuring - it's staffed by people who care about books, and who know their job well, not temps just looking to make a few quid. The flipside of the shop's limited size and intimate feel is, of course, that the range is limited. You'll find recent releases, best-sellers and big-name titles, but limited shelf space means you won't find a massive range beyond that and might have to order in more obscure titles. It pains me that, barring WHSmiths (which I don't really count) Waterstones is Wakefield's only bookshop!