Train Station Book Sales

I'm sure I can't be alone in my urge to buy books in train stations. That is, after all, why even the coffee shop on Platform 6 at Sheffield station has a considerable range of books and magazines on offer.

I understand the theory: you're going on a long, boring train journey. What better than a book to keep you entertained? It makes perfect business sense, of course.

Except I think there's something deeper there. I think there's a link to the romanticism of train journeys. I've blogged on the subject before (here). Bookshops, too, are powerful places, full of possibilities, of chances to experience all that life has to offer.

Combine the two and I believe you create an irresistible draw. There is a common thread running through both - the opportunity for adventure, the chance to take a step into the unknown.

The same is wholly true of shops selling Moleskine notepads at stations. The very thought of writing in a Moleskine diary whilst travelling by train is enough to send me into raptures.

WHSmith have noted the extent of the effect, of course, positioning their shops in practically every medium or large station in the country. The strategy is tinged with genius.