The Booket List reviews: Foyles

#155: A quarterly feature by Camille Casey

“Welcome book lover, you are among friends” are the words that greet you upon entering Foyles. The sentiment a salve to what is initially a space of overwhelming abundance. Foyles boasts 5 floors plus subterranean levels offering perennial classics, fresh finds, and rare gems.

On a recent family trip it was a rainy Tuesday when we found ourselves wandering the famed Charing Cross Road in London. The sans-serif red lettering against the brick façade brought back serious Sears vibes circa 1998, but upon entering the interior was anything but dated. All that glitters is Foyles. Bright lights illuminating double-stuffed shelves immediately alert you to the fact that you are, indeed, among friends…thousands upon thousands of friends.

Being that I was in the U.K., I had my sights set on a recent release from an avant-garde British novelist. Helen Oyeyemi is cultivating a writing style all her own, and her work is wonderfully experimental. She encourages the reader to step (leap?!) outside of their comfort zone to tag along on her imaginative adventures. Parasol Against the Axe is billed as “a shape-shifting novel about the power of stories…”. Target acquired almost immediately and I was free to wander between floors for a bit. It’s hard to make headway into the stacks as even climbing the staircases invites a quick browse with shelving built into the eye-line as you ascend. Note to self: research staircase bookshelf options for home. To make the most of my time I opted to leave the kiddos in the children’s section (Lower Ground) and check out the Dictionaries section (Floor 4) because an entire section dedicated to dictionaries. Had to. The key to a Foyles visit is a focused approach. Identify a couple of areas of interest, park it and get lost in the microcosm you’ve chosen. Resist the urge to stray. Quality over quantity is vital.

Foyles has been a family-owned independent bookseller for over 100 years. With a tongue-in-cheek nod to a few questionable choices throughout their history (e.g., a Byzantine ‘chit’ system for book purchases!) they are clearly working to ensure the treasured business is around for the next 100 years. And I plan to make it a standing stop on my London itinerary.

On my way to the register I noticed a table full of brightly colored copies of Martyr!. Another feather in the Foyles cap (loyal Booket Listers know), and it reminded me what a special writer we have in Kaveh Akbar. I highly recommend his work. Until next quarter…see y’all in the stacks.

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The Booket List on-going Rankings

Stay tuned to the Booket List for upcoming reviews of these and other bookstores!

Ranking Criteria

• Coziness Quotient: Going for a goldilocks level of cozy here. Not so comfortable you feel compelled to toss off your shoes, but not so cold you couldn’t thumb a few pages in the aisles.

• Nooks & Crannies: All the best bookshops have ample spots to park it and steep yourself in the sacred selection process that is finding your next read. For this criterion, the more nooks & crannies, the higher the score.

• Staff Picks: When it comes to staff picks I’m looking for two things: quirkiness and alignment. Ideally, these two come together in a way that says, “Hey, we’ve got similar taste. You can trust me. Go on, get wild and take a gamble with this obscure title. I got you.”

• S.W.A.G.: Stuff We All Get. That free bookmark they throw in at the register, it’s the hallmark of a good bookshop. Design and quality are they key metrics. I will consider accepting a sticker or tote in place of a bookmark, but not much more.

• Title Selection: Speaks for itself.

• Overall Charm: Belle’s library is really the high-water mark here. Afterall, aren’t we all just chasing that dream of rolling through mile-high stacks on a ladder?

Ranking summary for Foyles

Coziness Quotient — 3

Cozy is browsing shelves at The Travel Bookshop (Notting Hill anyone?). The vastness of Foyles is impressive, but I wouldn’t categorize it as cozy on the whole.

Nooks & Crannies — 5

Opportunities for ducking into the stacks abound: dedicated reading spaces, step stools, armchairs and a reading space devoted to kiddos.

Staff Picks — 4

When the clientele trusts the Staff Picks so truly that there are no copies left – it’s gotta be good.

S.W.A.G. — 3

No bookmark…again. As an aside – are we done with bookmarks as a society? I was not a part of this vote, and I would like a recount. Foyles does get credit for their loyalty program which is (to my eternal delight) named: Foyalty. Lots of great perks for customers.

Title Selection — 5

I mean, look at the place.

Overall Charm — 4

You’re in London surrounded by books and fellow booklovers. There is undoubtedly a buzz that elevates the shopping experience.

Total Score — 24

Scores based on scale of 1-5 where 1 = lowest score, 5 = highest score

Titles mentioned

• Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi

• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

About Camille Casey

Long-time reader, first-time contributor. Working mom by day, she moonlights as the founding member of the Houston-based Ladies Who Read (LWR) Book Club. A self-proclaimed connoisseur of bookshops sharing hot takes on the best spots to browse and buy. Her review of after-words bookstore can be found here.