It's time I got out of country Victoria and into Melbourne, isn't it? Today, thanks to picking up an eBay purchase from Malvern, I did just that ... via a couple of bookshops in Armadale.
Grant's Bookshop used to be in Prahran, but is now located in Armadale's High Street ... sort of. The sign resides in High Street, but the shop itself is at the back of number 909, down a little laneway. This bookshop has a very erudite feel about it ... I think it's the sheer volume of massive old tomes on various subjects on display! There are loads of books in the shop itself, and more in another room out the back. The shop is particularly good for Australian fiction - all the genres contain shelves full of Australian novels as well as the ones from Britain, the USA and other countries.
Just along High Street is Berkelouw Books, which I was keen to visit having loved the one opposite Eumundi Markets in Queensland when we were up there a couple of years ago. The Eumundi one was huge, with new books at the front of the shop and an amazing second-hand collection at the back. The Armadale shop just doesn't have the space for them to do that, however, and it's mostly new books, with just a couple of cases of antiquarian titles. It's still worth going in for a browse, however!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Wormhole Books
When you read a great book like Connie Willis's The Doomsday Book and want to read more by this American sci-fi writer, where better to head than Wormhole Books in Belgrave Heights?
As its name suggests, Wormhole Books started off specialising in sci-fi, but is now a general bookshop. The owner, Sandy, is very knowledgable. There was no "Who?" when I said I was looking for something by Connie Willis, and she straightaway found something for me: Passage, which isn't one of the time-travel ones, but is about near-death experiences and looks interesting.
The shelves are full of books on every topic: crime, plays, literary fiction, hobbies ... Sandy began life selling new books in nearby Upwey, but changed to second-hand because she liked hunting down old books and the eccentric customers.
Wormhole Books is a little off the beaten track and is close to the Birdland Reserve, a great place for a picnic and walking for those spending a day or weekend in the Dandenongs. Along with Rainy Day Books in the Basin and Vintage Cookbooks and Kallista Books in Kallista, it makes up the Dandenong Ranges Book Trail - don't forget to call in at new bookshop Through the Looking Glass as you drive through Belgrave if you decide to do the trail.
As its name suggests, Wormhole Books started off specialising in sci-fi, but is now a general bookshop. The owner, Sandy, is very knowledgable. There was no "Who?" when I said I was looking for something by Connie Willis, and she straightaway found something for me: Passage, which isn't one of the time-travel ones, but is about near-death experiences and looks interesting.
The shelves are full of books on every topic: crime, plays, literary fiction, hobbies ... Sandy began life selling new books in nearby Upwey, but changed to second-hand because she liked hunting down old books and the eccentric customers.
Wormhole Books is a little off the beaten track and is close to the Birdland Reserve, a great place for a picnic and walking for those spending a day or weekend in the Dandenongs. Along with Rainy Day Books in the Basin and Vintage Cookbooks and Kallista Books in Kallista, it makes up the Dandenong Ranges Book Trail - don't forget to call in at new bookshop Through the Looking Glass as you drive through Belgrave if you decide to do the trail.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Fishy tales!!
Fish Tales second-hand bookshop in Fish Creek is a great little stopping-off point if you're on your way to Wilsons Promontory National Park from Melbourne. It's an atmospheric little shop, with log fire, a piano in the music section, and a typewriter to the right of the door as you enter. It is also, of course, crammed with books - and has a very good children's section, including vintage kidlit as well as more recent titles. There's an excellent crime fiction section too, plus shelves of poetry and plays, and lots of literary fiction. About the weakest area, fiction-wise, is sci-fi and fantasy - just a couple of shelves. Usually that wouldn't bother me, but I've just discovered a new-to-me author whose work I love - sci-fi writer Connie Willis. I discovered this bookshop about six years ago and no trip to the Prom is ever complete without dropping off here first.
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