Ottakers (Shop)

Ottakar’s - A bookworm's best friend Back in the heady days of 2000, I fell in love. What’s this got to do with a bookstore? Well, keep with me and I’ll explain. Back in 2000 I moved in with Mel, who had lived in Chelmsford all of her life. I’d been brought up in Welling, Kent, a small town on the border of Kent and London, a twenty minute drive from the newly opened Bluewater shopping complex, and about half an hour from the slightly older Lakeside complex. Although I’d grown up reading books, I had usually taken advantage of the local library, which Bexley council had spent a lot of money in ... more

The nearest Ottaker's book store to me is in Lowestoft, but, as I visit Norwich more often than I do Lowestoft, I'm going to tell you about the Norwich branch. The store itself holds more than 500,000 books, and stands in 15,000 sq ft of ground. Quite amazing, eh?! Situated in the heart of the city, it's one of my all time favourite book shops, and very nearly every time I'm in Norwich I visit this store. The store is exceptionally clean and tidy, with the thousands of books nearly placed into rows or piles for people to browse around. They are all sectioned off into their respective ... more

I’ve recently developed quite a taste for reading books. As one of my New Year’s Resolutions, I made sure that I took more time to relax and to enjoy life, rather than just rushing through and organising everything for everyone else. My new-found love of all things written has lead me to question certain book-stores, both on and off-line. One in particular is Ottakar’s, where, in my hometown of Gloucester, the store has recently been renovated to include a new coffee shop, regular book-signings and two reading areas! Ottakar’s, as I have come to discover, are a ... more

What is it about the smell of a bookshop? Perhaps its the combination of ink and paper, I don't know, but I am always captivated by that very faint and distinct aroma. Ottakers - I have known and loved several in my time (Gloucester and Bormsgrove particulalry, but have visited others.) If you want new releases, often with a slight reduction (especially on Terry Prachett novels) Ottakers are great. They do plenty of mainstream popular books pound classics and all that sort of thing. They tend to have a good children's section. They do not stock much that is obscure, esoteric or weird (but the ... more

James Heneage deserves a medal. The man is clearly a genius. To invisage creating the bookshop we've all always dreamed of... welcoming, atmospheric, a collection of books so vast that the only problem you'll will have on entering the store is deciding where to begin. And of course once we have made that decision there are plenty of eager, helpful, polite and genuinely pleasant staff on hand to guide us to the relevant section, shelf, and very often, book. Not that help is always needed - the sections are clearly labelled, and well organised. This has to be the easiest shop to navigate! There ... more