We loved stopping in this shop while passing through Greenock! We had two mochas, pastries, and…read morebreakfast sandwiches. Other members of our party ordered just a black coffee and said it was robust and strong. The pastries are self serve which gave us a great many to choose from but we opted for a Danish and a pancake with jam.

Loved this shop and could have stayed for hours!! As it was I went there two or three times and…read morebought several books. It's a well lit and beautiful shop with everything neatly arranged in clearly marked categories, so it was easy to find what you were looking for. A good range of maps, guide books and books on Scotland; novels, biographies, a great children's section too and much more besides. Best of all, the lady at the counter was extremely nice. I'll be going back there the next time I'm in the town!

Are these guys the last of the big bookstores left? With Borders gone, I think this bookstore is…read morethe last of the literary dinosaurs. This is the mall version of the bookselling giant. Which means, popular books dominate with a good representation of the major sections. Crime, Fantasy, Cookery, Travel and Fiction all have their individual sections with a Children's bit at the back. Don't expect specialist sections, you won't find a large choice here. You could order them at the counter but I don't see the point when online book ordering is pretty well available to everyone. I nick in here to have a quick scan of what is new and available in books. Occasionally I will even buy it here, simply so that I don't need to wait. This store does not excite me like other bookstores (Foyles in London or the Borders at Buchanan). This is not an amazing little bistro where you made find something amazing, more like a Tesco Express where the familiar is readily available.

I'm not a massive fan of the Barehead Centre as a whole but end up here after most visits to Ikea…read more The reason for our visit to Waterstones was to refuel as I know that their cafes stock Martha's food and I wanted something tasty and reasonably healthy for puff and I. The cafe is right at the front of the store, and due to wrangling a toddler who was seriously impressed with Waterstones using real chocolate bunnies in their easter displays I missed the fact that all the empty tables were dirty. We waited ages to be served, it seemed like staff were having to serve book shop customers and cafe customers and it was a less than slick operation. I ordered and then realised the manky table situation, having to clear a table for myself isn't the best start to lunch but needs must as the staff certainly weren't doing it. When the waiter arrived with our soup, I asked if he could bring a cloth to clean the high chair as it was absolutely filthy he was downright rude and had I not been juggling with puff and trying to prevent her wearing a bowl of roasting hot soup I would have ripped him a new one. As it was I think he managed to get the message from my gritted teeth response and death stare. Our leek and potato soup and roll combo was lovely, piping hot a generous bowl of soup and a really tasty chipotle chicken roll and my flat white was good but I'm not sure it was worth the close to 15 minute wait or having to clear a table and watch as all the tables remained covered in dirty dishes for the duration of our stay. I've generously awarded two stars as the bookshop is lovely, far deeper than it would appear from the shop front and as good as you would expect Waterstones to be. Go to the bookshop just don't stop for coffee or lunch!

A small but well stocked second hand bookshop. I visited it several times recently and bought…read moreseveral books - good, clean, paperbacks at low prices (one was 75p, another £1). There are, of course, many hard-backs for sale as well, plus magazines and videos. Everything is laid out neatly on shelves which are clearly marked so it's easy to find what you're looking for. Helpful staff too.

Why has this place not been reviewed yet? It's so resourceful!…read more It's tucked away off the main street but seriously, swerve left before you hit Tattie Mac's, take a wee right and you're there! And you won't be disappointed. Like a better organised Voltaire and Rousseau or a more reasonably priced Caledonia Books, this place has a large collection of lit crit for the uni student, a ton of sheet music past and present, and a plethora of fiction and non-fiction, all organised into appropriate sections. The guys who own it are really friendly, always eager to ask if you need assistance and will find you what you need in a second flat. Great selection, the books are pleasantly priced and in good nick. I bought A Clockwork Orange today (bit of light reading, ha) and not only was it only four quid but it looks like new! The owners are always very knowledgable of their craft and banter is free. Very useful for uni students but also accessible if you just fancy a new read. Thistle Books are a service to the local literati community!

As much as I appreciate playing a game of potentially life threatening over-sized Jenga with the…read morebooks of Voltaire and Rousseau is part of the shop's appeal, sometimes all you want is a little bit of order. On those occasions, pay a visit to this little gem, which is situated in the lane adjacent to V+R. Like its neighbouring competitor, Thistle is a second hand book mecca, stocking virtually every genre you could imagine at extremely reasonable prices. Unlike V+R, it is set out neatly and something resembling orderly, meaning you actually have a chance of finding a specific title. Don't get me wrong, Thistle is no Waterstones. It retains the tattered, rough around the edges appeal of all second hand book shops in this neck of the woods and, most importantly, offers ample opportunity to uncover hidden gems at a fantastic price. The staff are also very welcoming and content to let you spend the day browsing and reading. Hell, they'd probably even make you up a bed for the night if you wanted to stay.

Now, the Kindle is a marvelous invention, there's no denying that. How else could you carry all…read morethose books around with such ease! But, of course, nothing can take away from the warm feeling of a crisp, worn, second-hand book. In this sense, Stirling Books is the anti-Kindle. Not in a pretentious way, not in the least. More in a 'Hey, I'll still be here if you need me,' tipping its cap at you as you go by, kind of way. Second-hand books are thrilling. - Reading the heartfelt messages inscribed in the books given as gifts, imagining why they were given up or even just picturing the previous owner. It's all exciting stuff and in here, you never know what you might find! - There's literally book after book after book. My favourites are the old lived-in books and there's lots of those to be found here. There's also a large academic section in the back which is great if you're working your way through your reading list, thrifty students! It's also worth mentioning that there's a very enviable Shakespeare collection. Shakespeare fans rejoice! I love the arrangement of the shop. It's very relaxed and just a little bit hectic without being messy and unorganised. It just feels like you've wandered into someone's very large book collection with shelf after shelf to explore and the addition of helpfully divided sections. Staff are really friendly and I'm sure you can even even grab a coffee or tea whilst you browse. If you were looking for something in particular, I've no doubt that there would be someone more than happy to help! There's also some other crafty bits and bobs and ornaments to have a look at whilst you're in. So, whilst I don't urge you to drop the Kindle forever, I urge you to drop it only momentarily to make your way down this set of stairs on Maxwell Place. - A proper independent bookstore like this is, not only a rarity today, but a pleasure to browse!

Delightful, with many standard works at amazingly low prices and also rare treasures. The staff are…read moreinteresting and knowledgeable folk, friendly and helpful. I am an inveterate browser of second-hand bookshops throughout Britain and Europe and I can thoroughly recommend this one. Not only should you go there for a good, inexpensive cup of coffee (or good tea) where you can sit in comfort reading some of your prospective purchase, but you should also recommend Stirling Books to your friends. It is a light of civilisation (and a blessed relief from the shopping traipse-).

What a great experience. I consider myself to be an experienced antiquarian book collector from…read morethe US and Caledonia Books of Glasgow did not disappoint. Proprietors Martin and his sister (my apologies for not remembering her name) were just great. Once I explained what I was looking for they were extremely helpful. Nice selection of both contemporary and antique books. Definitely one of the top antiquarian shops in Scotland.

I love second hand book stores, and Caledonia Books is probably the first one you'll meet in this…read morearea since the rest are tucked away doon lanes. It's been here for years and has been the first thing that's met my eye at the bottom of Belmont Street since I was a tot. Thus, I would be distraught if anything ever happened to this store, which has looked the same all my life. I used to go here with my mum who loves reading, but started properly utilising it when I studied English Lit at university. I'll get the negatives out the way first since I don't want to bring the tone down, but it is fairly pricey and the staff study you as you walk in. Unlike Thistle books, where you can engage in a long, lively conversation with the shop owner about the book of your choice (seriously, he knows all when it comes to books) or the erratic, nutty professor approach at Voltaire and Rousseau (which has become treasured by the population of Glasgow for these outstanding qualities), there's a cold breeze that blows through Caledonia. And that cold breeze seems wafted from the general direction of the shop owners. I've felt quite uneasy in here at times, like the shop owners don't think I belonged there. It was like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, but with books and baggy jeans instead of hookers and girls who belonged in magazines. My 18 year old self left with tail between legs, head drooped, but now that attitude just makes me indignant. The guys in here aren't unbearable, but they come across as a bit cold to say the least. It's also quite expensive for books. But there is light at the end of this review, and I'll end it with the glass being three quarters full. The books are in very good condition, they are well ordered, there are loads of different categories, loads of interesting books about art that I want to dive into at every opportunity, and it's a Godsend to lit students. I also enjoy their music category - they always seem to acquire some interesting rock biographies and anthologies. So the attitude of the staff is a bit stuffy, but their book shop is great. So, who cares?

This wonderful branch of Waterstones is filled with gorgeous big bookcases full of every kind of…read morebook you could possibly want. I can easily spend hours in here, browsing the shelves, flicking through a few books and then wandering downstairs for a coffee at their little branch of Costa. Waterstones has managed to make this great big book shop into a comfortable and cosy feeling store that welcomes its customers warmly, with staff that are well read and more than able to advise on your purchases. A good old British book store that will be staying put for years to come.

This is not only Glasgow's largest Waterstones, it's Glasgow's largest bookshop. Actually, scratch…read morethat, I can do one better, it's Scotland's largest bookshop. This is a fact that Waterstones quite rightly takes a little pride in. It's split across five levels and includes a Costa Coffee in the basement. Certain indie coffee shop fans may turn their nose up at Costa, and while I sympathise, any coffee shop that's inside a bookshop automatically becomes a good coffee shop. I'm pretty sure that's a universal rule. I feel like in a good bookshop I browse differently to how I would online. If I'm looking for a book online, chances are I already know which book it is and I'm just trying to get the lowest price/nicest edition/fastest delivery time. In a real book shop you have that joy of exploring and of looking at books that you never knew you wanted (or even books that you never knew existed). It's easy to start on the top floor and lose 20 minutes, lose another 30 on the next floor down (that's non-fiction and reference covered), lose at least another hour on the next floor which contains most of the fiction, 20 minutes one floor below that , which is the level you enter on, the stock rotates a lot here and includes toys, gifts and (inhale sharply) stationary. See? You've already lost over two hours and you haven't even looked at the children's section or the young adult section. You've not even seen the books on travel! Or film! Or art! They're to be found across the next two floors alongside that coffee shop. It's a dangerous thing to enter a bookshop and the larger the shop the more dangerous it gets. Tell a friend to come looking for you if they don't hear from you after a day or two.