Monday, October 28, 2019
It's Mountains of Books time again
The annual Mountains of Books book fair takes place again this weekend. Held at Ferny Creek, it always attracts great stallholders and a good crowd of booklovers. I'll certainly be spending part of my weekend there. Say hello if you see me.
Monday, October 21, 2019
Beach bookshops
Today has that air of summer about it, reminding me that we'll soon be able to swap reading by the fire for reading in the hammock or on the beach.
If you're heading to the Mornington Peninsula this summer and want to pick up some beach reading, a great place to head is Books by the Bay in Mornington. Right opposite the beach and conveniently next door to a cafe, Books by the Bay has lots of crime fiction, including contemporary trade paperbacks for $7.50 each. It also has a bookcase full of vintage crime, including 1970s Agatha Christie Fontana and Pan paperbacks for $3.50 each.
Note that they're all $3.50 regardless of condition. I found two copies of Cat Among the Pigeons, and one was in much better condition than the other, so it pays to check these shelves carefully if there's a title you particularly want.
The bookshop is well stocked with true crime, including drug crime, corporate crime and scandals, and has great sections on history (especially World War II), fantasy and exploration. The owner is friendly and knowledgeable.
Mornington has another second-hand bookshop, Chapter House Books, in the town itself. Unfortunately it was closed when we visited. I always find this annoying, especially on a weekend, when you expect shops in tourist towns to be open. It doesn't help that many second-hand bookshops don't list opening times on their website (if they have a website at all). Anyway, a peek through the window showed that they sell contemporary romance, biographies and thrillers, as well as popular children's fiction from the 1990s. I'll have to review this bookshop another time.
Finally, Mornington has a gorgeous contemporary bookshop, Farrell's, which boasts an excellent children's section and is well worth a browse if you're in the area.
If you're heading to the Mornington Peninsula this summer and want to pick up some beach reading, a great place to head is Books by the Bay in Mornington. Right opposite the beach and conveniently next door to a cafe, Books by the Bay has lots of crime fiction, including contemporary trade paperbacks for $7.50 each. It also has a bookcase full of vintage crime, including 1970s Agatha Christie Fontana and Pan paperbacks for $3.50 each.
Note that they're all $3.50 regardless of condition. I found two copies of Cat Among the Pigeons, and one was in much better condition than the other, so it pays to check these shelves carefully if there's a title you particularly want.
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| Inside Books by the Bay |
The bookshop is well stocked with true crime, including drug crime, corporate crime and scandals, and has great sections on history (especially World War II), fantasy and exploration. The owner is friendly and knowledgeable.
Mornington has another second-hand bookshop, Chapter House Books, in the town itself. Unfortunately it was closed when we visited. I always find this annoying, especially on a weekend, when you expect shops in tourist towns to be open. It doesn't help that many second-hand bookshops don't list opening times on their website (if they have a website at all). Anyway, a peek through the window showed that they sell contemporary romance, biographies and thrillers, as well as popular children's fiction from the 1990s. I'll have to review this bookshop another time.
Finally, Mornington has a gorgeous contemporary bookshop, Farrell's, which boasts an excellent children's section and is well worth a browse if you're in the area.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Sainsbury's Books
The name Sainsbury's will probably always conjure up images of the UK supermarket chain for this Pommie migrant, but here in Melbourne, it's the name of an absolutely gorgeous antiquarian and second-hand bookshop in Camberwell.
Sainsbury's Books is very well laid out with shelves devoted to art, history, military history, motoring, general fiction and collectibles, including rugs, ceramics, silverware etc. There a lot of old British texts, as well as books about Asia and the Middle East.
I did, however, find two excellent titles in the history section, which will help me with some research I'm doing.
Sainsbury's Books has been around for more than 30 years, and it's great to see that it's still doing well. The staff are knowledgeable and the bookshop was busy on the day I visited.
Sainsbury's Books is in Riversdale Road. Just round the corner in Butler Street, you'll find a cute little street library, so come armed with a book or two in case there's something you'd like in there.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Books for the beach
It's been a long winter here in Melbourne, but every now and then the sun shines and we get a glimpse of summer. Which means - hopefully - it'll soon be time to hit the beach.
If you're planning a holiday or weekend in south Gippsland and want some good beach reads, a great bookshop to head for is the Ramalama Book Exchange in Wonthaggi. It's long moved from its original location and is now on the corner of Murray Street and McBride Avenue, just up the road from Woolworths.
The building was originally a bank, and still has some of the old counters, giving it a bit of character. The rooms at the back house different genres - to my delight, the crime and children's books are in the same room, and there are also rooms full of science fiction and fantasy, and romance and what the sign calls 'chook lit'. Most of the books are trade paperbacks, most of them are fairly recent, and they're only $8 each. The crime section is very well stocked, with titles byTess Gerritsen, Stuart MacBride and Michael Robotham and other top sellers. You'll find the occasional lesser known author, including Australian authors, in there too.
Ramalama is, obviously, also a book exchange, and it's also started to sell vintage clothes. I didn't take a look to see if they were any good, but they may be of interest to some readers of this blog.
If you're planning a holiday or weekend in south Gippsland and want some good beach reads, a great bookshop to head for is the Ramalama Book Exchange in Wonthaggi. It's long moved from its original location and is now on the corner of Murray Street and McBride Avenue, just up the road from Woolworths.
The building was originally a bank, and still has some of the old counters, giving it a bit of character. The rooms at the back house different genres - to my delight, the crime and children's books are in the same room, and there are also rooms full of science fiction and fantasy, and romance and what the sign calls 'chook lit'. Most of the books are trade paperbacks, most of them are fairly recent, and they're only $8 each. The crime section is very well stocked, with titles byTess Gerritsen, Stuart MacBride and Michael Robotham and other top sellers. You'll find the occasional lesser known author, including Australian authors, in there too.
Ramalama is, obviously, also a book exchange, and it's also started to sell vintage clothes. I didn't take a look to see if they were any good, but they may be of interest to some readers of this blog.
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