shops in Exeter

arts + lit Exeter’s best bookshops

Rose Poulton explores Exeter’s bookshops and shares her thoughts on the best places to buy

ANY fresher who loves to read, look no further for the perfect guide on where to get your books.

The first bookshop you’ll come across is definitely Blackwell’s; overpriced but it’s got everything you need for your course. I applied for a job there once and was annoyingly rejected (yes, I am still a little salty about it).

THE BEST PART IS THAT YOU DECIDE HOW MUCH YOU PAY FOR EACH BOOK.

Next up, we have Waterstones; would this even be a bookshop review without it? There are even two in Exeter, although the one near John Lewis is a lot nicer. It also has a café. I remember my first trip there when my friend and I sipped hot apple juice while discussing what to buy. Waterstones definitely gets my approval, the shop is so aesthetically pleasing it could be the setting for its own book. It is still on the pricey side however, so I’m going to go ahead and offer some more student friendly alternatives.

I got a lot of my books for my course from charity shops, they often have the classics at a versity life before coming to Exeter came from two sources: older friends’ Instagram feeds, portraying a life consumed by clubbing in fancy dress and flat-Sunday-roasts and Hollywood films. As a Brit, the latter depicted a lifestyle I knew would never represent my own – one of frat parties, competitive a cappella groups and fake IDs. UNIVERSITY PROVIDES

THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE WHO YOU WANT TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH

Reading Normal People in the summer before first-year offered something different. Knowing that it reflected other aspects of normal life with a sense of reality and relatability that feels rare meant that I took Sally Rooney’s

very decent price, if you don’t mind pre-loved THE SHOP IS SO books. One of the best in town is the Oxfam book shop and it’s nice to know that your AESTHETICALLY PLEASING money is going to a good cause. portrait of university life more seriously. This was a world that felt believable and recognisable, and it didn’t glorify the university experience as my previous sources had done.

What I found to be especially true-to-life, was Rooney’s representation of Marianne and Connell’s shifting social positions at university. University provides the ability to choose who you want to surround yourself with, and for many it is the first time they experience this freedom. I noticed that whilst some people who felt disconnected from peers at school thrive with the fresh start that university offers, others – used to their close home friendships – initially struggle with having to make new friends Speaking of second-hand books, the place to buy these in Exeter is definitely Book-Cycle. The walk is a little way from campus but is well worth it and has the latest good reads, the other day I even picked up a copy of Normal People. The building is a gorgeous old-fashioned Tudor house and the best part is that you decide how much you pay for each book. I hope this article helps anyone looking for a g o o d book or a cosy place to sit and read. on their own. This is beautifully reflected in the book, in which a kind of ‘role reversal’ occurs, and previously popular Connell finds himself isolated whilst Marianne blossoms socially. Reading about Connell’s initial loneliness and issues with mental illness created additional anxiety for me as someone equally lacking-in-confidence. It solidified in my mind the idea that I wouldn’t make any friends, and when my Freshers’ week didn’t live up to expectations, it seemed like my fears were being realised. However, I eventually found my feet, and ended up developing closer friendships than I imagined, as, in fairness, Connell does in the book. Rooney’s representation of imperfect roRequired reading

WHERE TO FIND THEM:

Blackwell’s:

Great Hall Foyer University of Exeter, Stocker Rd, Exeter EX4 4PY Open: Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm

Waterstones (near John Lewis): 252 High St, Exeter EX4 3PZ

Open:

Monday - Saturday: 9am - 6pm

Sunday: 10:30am - 4:30pm

Waterstones (near Exeter Cathedral): 48-49 High St, Exeter EX4 3DJ

Open:

Monday - Friday: 9am - 5:30pm

Saturday: 9am - 6pm

Sunday: 10:30am - 4:30pm

Oxfam:

98 South St, Exeter EX1 1EN

Open:

Monday-Friday: 9am - 5:30pm

Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Sunday: 11am - 3pm

Image: Harry Mitchell 7 West St, Exeter EX1 1BB Open: Monday-Saturday: 11:30am - 6pm Sunday: 12:30am - 5:30pm

Hannah Rae discusses how fiction can shape expectations of university life

MUCH of my understanding of uni

Book Cycle:

mances through characters like Gareth was also one I saw reflected in reality in first year, as my friends began to work out what did and didn’t work through their flawed relationships.

IT SOLIDIFIED IN MY MIND THAT I WOULDN’T MAKE ANY FRIENDS

Likewise, the central position of love in the novel does resemble the great importance placed on intimate relationships this year. However, the will-they-won’t-they love of soulmates between Marianne and Connell, around which the book is based, felt unachievable even when I first read the novel. I admit that I fear the expectation of a partner as emotionally intelligent and charming as Connell may be the area in which Normal People continues to falls short in corresponding to real university life.

Image: Amelia Gregory

A skewed class system

Max Shepherd argues that the current university marking system is unfair for creative subjectes

WHAT is the harder degree, BSc or BA? relative difficulty but instead in their suitability To boot, university staff and assessors encourage their students to embrace the This age-old argument amongst for being marked on the same numerical scale have diverse opinions on the relevance muddled greyness of our world. STEM subjects undergraduates is one that I am out of 100. Despite being assessed in different of numerical marks. On results assume what they teach to be objective fact, sure many readers have taken part in at one ways and requiring completely different skills day last year Dr Mark Steven, and demand that undergraduates learn the time or another. The concern of BA courses there is inexplicably a one size fits all system a University of Exeter English rules and laws that will help them successfully with subjective topics like the arts is noted when it comes to handing out firsts, seconds professor, tweeted “numerical distinguish white from black and choose the by BSc students who claim you cannot wing and thirds. This seems assessment is ideological correct option for the given question. Clearly, BSc assessments. You either know the function grossly unfair when theatre and no indicator of your the binary nature of the knowledge taught of RNA Polymerase III in eukaryotic gene 100 per cent is ability, intellect, or imagination.” in STEM subjects is suited to standardised regulation or you do not. On the other hand, near impossible Though undoubtedly a nice numerical marking. Whereas the marking of BA students often argue that the creativity to achieve in the sentiment, this is little consolation BA assessments can often seem inconsistent, and depth of understanding required in their humanities but to students who may have confusing and based largely on the personal assessments is more difficult than a parrota more realistic missed out on postopinion of the marker. like recollection of facts. To conduct a Marxist goal for some graduate jobs due analysis of policing in the UK, for example, one ambitious STEM to insufficient grades. TO STILL BE MARKING must have a firm grasp of Marxist theory, police practices in the UK and be able to construct a students. Furthermore, I feel you would be hard pressed BSC’S AND BA’S ON THE coherent and original argument. to find a STEM subject SAME SCALE SEEMS AT THERE IS INEXPLICABLY A professor (or postgraduate employer) BEST MISGUIDED ONE SIZE FITS ALL SYSTEM who would agree with this view in To still be marking BSc’s and BA’s on the same scale seems at best misguided and at WHEN IT COMES TO relation to their worst lazy. I do not claim to have the solution. HANDING OUT FIRSTS discipline. But given the expertise and salaries of Ultimately, in university administrators – which are paid for

Pitting the difficulty of different courses my view, BSc and by our tuition fees alongside lecturer salaries against each other will always lead to a deadBA degrees are different and should - I feel they should be able to come up with end. The key difference between the two types therefore be graded differently. The arts and some better alternatives to the current system. of degree for this discussion lies not in their humanities are inherently subjective and Image: Tingey Injury Law Firm

Keeping the arts alive

Harry Edmundson equips incoming students with advice to maintain a passion for reading at university

UNIVERSITY is a head-first dive that starts One Small Step… with Fresher’s Week, featuring over 200 The mini mountains of reading you’ll be Returning to a Fresh Start societies, events every night, and then required to analyse will make any form of reading By Abbie Walker an academic onslaught of lectures and essays, seem nauseating. However, if you choose a perhaps even a job or yet more contact hours. To single piece of literature to read and then I am pulled in both directions. stay afloat in our courses, our relationship with challenge yourself to read for just 30 minutes Upwards by excitement the arts can suffer as our priorities shift towards - only 1/48th of your day - you would have to Yet down by unease, course texts and attempts at lecture attendance. truly try to fail. You’ll form a healthy routine that As I move up the Hill. induces calm and inspiration all because your READING FOR PLEASURE ego refuses to be beaten by such a small task. I rise through the flustered throngs CAN BE A CONSTANT Of unknown faces, IN AN ENVIRONMENT Embrace the Earphones. Listening to audiobooks counts as reading Pausing on the climb, Approached by opportunity. WHICH IS ANYTHING BUT – they continue the oral tradition of storytelling and make it a more accessible art form than ever. Identity swells in crowds of clustered tables,

Maintaining a healthy relationship with the Walking to and from a lecture may take anywhere Drawing the eye in a fluttering frenzy, arts is as equally important as your relationships from 20 minutes on-campus, and more if At university, students can expect to delve Back and forth amid with friends and the academic work you will further afield. Through your earphones you into a richly stimulating curriculum of high Swim, stroll, and sail. undertake. Reading for pleasure can be a monopolise minutes and keep the arts close-by. literature and complex theory but there is no constant in an environment which is anything shame in taking a break from academia to Ideas buzz through the air but. The effect of this familiarity on your own Live, Laugh, Library. read the books that simply bring you joy. The Like electricity, mental health helps reduce stress and feelings Apps such as Libby allow library card benefits of staying close to literature, and the Colliding from stand to stand of loneliness. It is a mindful antidote amidst the holders to access e-books and audiobooks arts at large, is clear. The tricks to maintain the Sparking new arrivals. chaos of long hours of studying and socialising. on mobile devices with complete ease. relationship require some habitual rewiring but,

So, to incoming Freshers and returnees The Exeter Central Library will allow you to with a few small changes, reading for pleasure New beginnings bud, who pushed reading for pleasure aside like a access literature whilst on a budget, and in at university is entirely possible. You won’t just Like flowers bloom on autumn leaves, distant family member, here is what you can do: whatever form you need. You do not need stay afloat, you will swim and your mind will Coming to rest in a well-known place, the budget of a worker to read for fun at uni. thank you for it. Image: Derek Harper / Ash at But starting afresh at a new-found pace. Exeter central library