Through the Looking Glass is a new second-hand bookshop in Belgrave - in the main street not far from the roundabout, so conveniently close to Puffing Billy. The sign isn't on the bookshop yet, but you can't miss it - there are lots of books in the window!
It's a beautiful little shop, with lots of good-quality books, candles burning in the fireplace, and owners (a mother and daughter) who love books and know loads about them. There's a good fiction section, a glass case containing some collectibles, lots of non-fiction, and an excellent selection of picture books, children's novels, and young adult fiction at the back.
This is a welcome addition to Belgrave - and judging by the number of people browsing when I was in, I'm not the only one to feel this way. It's been a very long time since Belgrave's main shopping strip had a second-hand bookshop and that one was nowhere near as good as this one is. Through the Looking Glass opened only a week ago and hopefully it'll be there for a very long time.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
More Gippsland bookshops
If you're heading for Wilsons Promontory National Park from Melbourne and like browsing in secondhand bookshops, then the township of Meeniyan is a good place to take a break.
It has two bookshops in the main street: Antiquities, which specialises in collectibles, and Meeniyan Books, which is a bookshop/cafe/gallery in one.
I hadn't been to Antiquities before - it opened two years ago - and while it contains lots of old books and first editions, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of order; vintage kids' books could be found on various shelves and tables, and I didn't come out confident that I'd seen everything I might be interested in. I also found some of them a bit pricey. My husband, who's interested in Victorian history books, thought the same thing. However, it's definitely worth visiting, especially if you collect first editions (there were lots of Nevil Shute books) or books/magazines about guns and shooting. I don't think I've ever seen as many publications on this subject all together in one place! Visit quickly, as the bookshop is up for sale.
Meeniyan Books has been there for years, and is an atmospheric place, with books lining a passageway and two rooms of the building it's located in. The aroma of coffee and soup and the log fire in the cafe add to the atmosphere. Books here are a lot cheaper than the ones down the road, and you can still come across the odd gem. On this visit, I found an Elinor Lyon and a Geoffrey Trease for $2 each, both in lovely condition.
As well as being en route to the Prom, Meeniyan is close to the south Gippsland coastal towns like Inverloch and Venus Bay, and can be included in a drive taking in bookshops in nearby Loch and Fish Creek.
It has two bookshops in the main street: Antiquities, which specialises in collectibles, and Meeniyan Books, which is a bookshop/cafe/gallery in one.
I hadn't been to Antiquities before - it opened two years ago - and while it contains lots of old books and first editions, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of order; vintage kids' books could be found on various shelves and tables, and I didn't come out confident that I'd seen everything I might be interested in. I also found some of them a bit pricey. My husband, who's interested in Victorian history books, thought the same thing. However, it's definitely worth visiting, especially if you collect first editions (there were lots of Nevil Shute books) or books/magazines about guns and shooting. I don't think I've ever seen as many publications on this subject all together in one place! Visit quickly, as the bookshop is up for sale.
Meeniyan Books has been there for years, and is an atmospheric place, with books lining a passageway and two rooms of the building it's located in. The aroma of coffee and soup and the log fire in the cafe add to the atmosphere. Books here are a lot cheaper than the ones down the road, and you can still come across the odd gem. On this visit, I found an Elinor Lyon and a Geoffrey Trease for $2 each, both in lovely condition.
As well as being en route to the Prom, Meeniyan is close to the south Gippsland coastal towns like Inverloch and Venus Bay, and can be included in a drive taking in bookshops in nearby Loch and Fish Creek.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
New shop in Loch
In an age when so many people are predicting the demise of the printed book, it's heartening to come across new bookshops. Last weekend, having got up very early to watch the World Cup, we went out for a drive and found ourselves in the little Gippsland township of Loch. Here we found Bluebird Books and Records, which opened last December.
The shop contained a lot of thrillers and crime fiction and I bought a copy of Denise Danks's The Pizza House Crash, while my son bought a few Goosebumps titles from the children's shelves. Most of the books were in the main part of the shop, with a few more, plus some records, in a back room. The owner had thoughtfully set up a table of Lego in the back room so kids could keep themselves amused while their parents browsed - but I'm not sure if this is a permanent fixture or if it was set up for the public holiday weekend, which Loch was celebrating with a wine-tasting festival, thereby attracting plenty of visitors.
The books were inexpensive, and this is definitely a good place to go if you're on holiday or spending a weekend in south Gippsland and are looking for something to read - especially if you enjoy thrillers.
The shop contained a lot of thrillers and crime fiction and I bought a copy of Denise Danks's The Pizza House Crash, while my son bought a few Goosebumps titles from the children's shelves. Most of the books were in the main part of the shop, with a few more, plus some records, in a back room. The owner had thoughtfully set up a table of Lego in the back room so kids could keep themselves amused while their parents browsed - but I'm not sure if this is a permanent fixture or if it was set up for the public holiday weekend, which Loch was celebrating with a wine-tasting festival, thereby attracting plenty of visitors.
The books were inexpensive, and this is definitely a good place to go if you're on holiday or spending a weekend in south Gippsland and are looking for something to read - especially if you enjoy thrillers.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Just call me anal!
I went to the Salvation Army's book fair in The Basin yesterday morning. I knew I had no chance of coming across a rare copy of Jane at the Chalet School for $2, because a) the Salvation Army are pretty savvy when it comes to pricing old books and b) Meryll Williams of Rainy Day Books was a mere minute's drive from the venue and so was bound to find such mega-bargains first! But I hoped I might find a few cheap children's classics, as I did at the book fair on Philip Island back in January. There I found Tom's Midnight Garden and The Children of Green Knowe, among others, for two bucks per book; I like my son, who's nine, to read classic children's literature as well as contemporary kidlit.
But I came out with nowt! There were lots of books, the non-fiction in one room, the fiction in another. But in the fiction room, the books hadn't been sorted by alphabetical order or even by genre. (The non-fiction had been sorted into genre, but was not in alpha order.) My son and I looked through the children's books, didn't find anything either of us wanted, and then I started to look at the adult fiction, but it was all such a mess and I couldn't be bothered going through it all just in case I found a Margery Allingham.
I appreciate the book sale was run by volunteers, and they don't have time for sorting. But I've gone into one or two bookshops like this over the years, where all the books are higgledy-piggledy on the shelves and piled on the floor in no particular order. If you have lots of time to browse, that's great. But not everyone does. I just don't have time to spend hours in one bookshop, painstakingly going through everything just in case I find a gem. I'd rather go online and buy exactly what I want - or even better, go to a bookshop where everything is arranged by genre, then alphabetically.
Come to think of it, Meryll is a busy lady too - maybe that elusive Chalet book was there among the Barbara Taylor Bradfords ...
But I came out with nowt! There were lots of books, the non-fiction in one room, the fiction in another. But in the fiction room, the books hadn't been sorted by alphabetical order or even by genre. (The non-fiction had been sorted into genre, but was not in alpha order.) My son and I looked through the children's books, didn't find anything either of us wanted, and then I started to look at the adult fiction, but it was all such a mess and I couldn't be bothered going through it all just in case I found a Margery Allingham.
I appreciate the book sale was run by volunteers, and they don't have time for sorting. But I've gone into one or two bookshops like this over the years, where all the books are higgledy-piggledy on the shelves and piled on the floor in no particular order. If you have lots of time to browse, that's great. But not everyone does. I just don't have time to spend hours in one bookshop, painstakingly going through everything just in case I find a gem. I'd rather go online and buy exactly what I want - or even better, go to a bookshop where everything is arranged by genre, then alphabetically.
Come to think of it, Meryll is a busy lady too - maybe that elusive Chalet book was there among the Barbara Taylor Bradfords ...
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