Books for a rainy day!

Melbourne is having its wettest start to winter in years and years and years ... so, where better to stock up on winter reading than the aptly named Rainy Day Books?

Rainy Day Books is in the Basin, right at the foot of the Mountain Highway leading up to Mount Dandenong. Its owner, Meryll Williams, has had the bookshop for around four and a half years; prior to that, you might remember there was a great little collection of vintage children's books in the antique shop just past the Old Bakery Bookshop in Warrandyte. They were Meryll's stock. I still miss that little room when I go in that antiques shop!

Rainy Day Books is a general bookshop, selling everything from poetry to Mills and Boon, but its crime and children's collections are particularly strong. Meryll's a fan of old girls' books by the likes of Elsie J Oxenham and Mary Grant Bruce and it shows: there are some great vintage titles to be found on the "old and interesting" section as well as in the children's corner.

Meryll named the shop one wet day when her friend picked up a book and said, "This is what I like to do on a rainy day." She's not the only one. I spent most of yesterday absorbed in a crime novel while the rain pattered on the window and the housework remained undone!

Popular book exchange

In Australia, a lot of second-hand bookshops call themselves book exchanges. The idea is that you take in one or more of your books, the bookshop owner values it/them, and then you can exchange your book(s) for other books up to that particular value. I've only encountered bookshops like this in Australia - do other countries have book exchanges?

The Ramalama Book Exchange in Wonthaggi (conveniently located opposite Safeway) contains thousands of books, mostly popular paperbacks - Wonthaggi is near Inverloch and other popular Gippsland beaches so there's plenty of holiday reading. It's particularly good for contemporary crime and I've bought a few trade paperbacks from there by authors like Gillian White, PD Martin and Katherine Howell. The kidlit consists mainly of contemporary popular series and authors (Goosebumps, Paul Jennings, Roald Dahl and the like), though there are usually Enid Blytons on the shelves as well. Nothing stays on the shelves very long in this shop, though - the owner only buys books he knows will sell quickly (hence there are lots of Agatha Christies but no Margery Allinghams) - so don't decide to come back and buy later in the week.

It's a very busy shop - I don't think I've ever set foot in it and there hasn't been at least one person buying. The owner admits he knew nothing about books till buying the book exchange a few years ago, so if you're looking for a title by an author whose name is just on the tip of your tongue, it's no use asking him for help. He's a friendly guy, though, and lets you know if there are any book-related events in the area, such as book fairs. And given the rapid turnover of books, he's probably making more from his bookshop than the very knowledgable owners of one or two more overpriced bookshops I could mention, but won't.

Definitely worth a visit if you're spending any time in South Gippsland and like popular fiction.

Village delights

Kallista is one of the lesser-known villages in the Dandenong Ranges, overshadowed by the tourist meccas of Olinda, Sassafras and Mount Dandenong. But if you're a bibliophile, Kallista is the village to head for, boasting two unique bookshops.

I'm not exactly renowned for my culinary skills, and even my eating habits leave a lot to be desired (my favourite meal is soup with toast and I'm usually more interested in what's in my glass than what's on my plate!), but Vintage Cookbooks (bottom image, above), in Kallista's main street, is definitely a place to check out if you have even the remotest interest in food. Its shelves contain countless tomes covering all aspects of cooking: baking, vegetarian food, wild foods, vegetables, fruit, French, Eastern European, Mediterranean, Italian, English cooking pre- and post-World War II ... and, of course, Australian cuisine. You name the food, this bookshop has a book about it! The kitchenalia - scales, rolling pins, wooden spoons - adds to the atmosphere. The shop's owner, Barbara, is a historian with a passion for cooking. Her bookshop is inspirational: when you've been there, you just want to go home and bake.

Equally passionate about books is Willie, whose shop Kallista Books (top image, above) is around the corner and up the hill from Vintage Cookbooks (just follow the signs on Saturdays, when his shop is open). This shop is crammed with books as well as old maps, recipe booklets, obscure old magazines and horticultural catalogues. He also has a collection of book-related furniture in the shop, including a working printing press. If you visit and can't find what you're looking for, ask - Willie has back rooms full of books, and if he knows what you're seeking, he might well have it in stock. It's a beautiful shop, with heaps of atmosphere, and there are so many books that you know the elusive novel you're looking for to complete your collection just has to be there somewhere ...

When you've finished browsing, Kallista offers non-literary attractions, including a fabulous deli just across the road from Vintage Cookbooks and Grant's Picnic Ground just down the road heading towards Belgrave. Lots of colourful parrots and some good walking trails there ...