City Basement Books

It's been a while since I posted - and that's because it's been a while since I visited any second-hand bookshops. November was a busy month for our family - our son finished school (and had Year 12 exams) and we also spent some time showing off parts of Melbourne and Victoria to overseas visitors.

But I'm back on the bookshop trail now, starting with the brilliant City Basement Books in Melbourne's CBD. As you can tell from the name, City Basement Books is below street level - it's also much bigger than you expect, with an enormous amount of stock.

The usual suspects like crime, fantasy/sci fi and general fiction are well represented, and there's also a large history and travel section. But there's also a section for plays and books about the theatre, and even a shelf just for books about bushrangers. There's a cute little separate room for children's books, which at the moment has a bookcase dedicated to Christmas.

This is a place you could lose yourself in for several hours and the staff are helpful and knowledgable. It's conveniently located in Flinders Street, close to both trains and trams.

Mountains of Books

The great thing about the Mountains of Books book fair is that it gives local bookworms a chance to arrive early without setting the alarm for the crack of dawn. So, after a leisurely breakfast, I turned up not long after the doors opened.

There didn't seem to be as many stallholders as in previous years, and one stall was mostly devoted to trading cards (mostly footy and cricket). But there was a good crowd of people, which was great given the heavy rain will have put a few tourists off coming up the mountain today. Readers and collectors will find a diverse range of books at the fair, including a wide variety of Australian history books.

But the drawcard for me and many other visitors is Jilly Bookworm's stall. Her books are mainly 'girlsown' and 'boysown' hardbacks, all in great condition. Because she operates online, this is a rare chance to drool over her amazing stock - and hopefully find something you want to buy. I completed my Chalet School collection with a purchase from her stall a few years ago. Today I spotted heaps of Blytons, some Brent-Dyers and Savilles, as well as titles by Ivy L. Wallace, Antonia Forest and Dorita Fairlie Bruce.

 The book fair is open till 4 today, and again from 10 till 4 tomorrow, and it's an indoorsy thing to do on a wet weekend - so get along there if you can.  Details here.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 For my own interests, the crime shelves consisted mainly of trade paperbacks by popular authors. The children's section was a tad disappointing for me, containing mostly picturebooks, and only a few vintage GOish titles, mainly Arthur Ransome and Mary Grant Bruce.

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.

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.

The Castlemaine Bookshop Trail: Part 2

 Just a short drive from Castlemaine, Book Heaven is a sprawling bookshop crammed with around 100,000 books. Whatever your genre, one of the nine rooms at Book Heaven will have at least a couple of bookcases full of titles to choose from. As an example, its well-stocked sports section not only has shelves devoted to footy and cricket, but it also includes books about minority sports. I even found a couple of gymnastics titles from the 'Golden Era' period of the late 1970s, so bonus points there.

Other sections include sci-fi, travel, music, movies, Australiana, farming, dogs, horses, war, and even journalism and publishing.

Anyone who reads this blog will know by now that my go-to place in any bookshop is the children's section. If I was delighted by the sports books, I was disappointed by the children's books. There are lots of shelves devoted to them, but most of them were titles published from the 1990s onwards. Any old hardbacks were of the Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Heidi variety, that have been published over and again. No rare titles in sight.

The music section at Book Heaven

Something that struck me as odd about the children's section was that it was next to the fire. As it was a cold day the fire was going, which was fine for me as a browsing adult. But if I'd gone in with a young child, I'd have been a bit worried about it.

While 100,000 books should be every reader's idea of heaven (hence the name, I guess!), I must confess I found having so many rooms of books a bit overwhelming. This, I am sure, was because we only had a few hours in Castlemaine, and couldn't spare the amount of time needed to delve properly into the delights this bookshop has to offer. So if you visit Castlemaine, be aware that you could easily devote an entire morning or afternoon to browsing at Book Heaven.

After leaving Book Heaven, we had lunch, then headed for the final bookshop on the Castlemaine trail: Soldier & Scholar. This bookshop's reputation precedes it: two years ago there was an article in a local newspaper about a sign the owner had put up asking people to enter the shop only if they wanted to buy a book. She didn't just want browsers.

I couldn't see the sign when we visited, though there were several others around the shop and in the window. And as soon as we entered, the owner asked us if there were any particular titles we were looking for. "No," I replied. "We're just browsing."

"Are there any particular genres you're looking for?" she pressed.

One of the signs at Soldier & Scholar

 
"Well, I usually like to look at the children's section..."

The children's section turned out to be right next to the counter, so while my husband disappeared further into the shop to check out the history shelves, I continued fielding questions about which authors I was interested in while trying to spot titles among the double-stacking. From what I could see, the children's section seemed to consist of more recent titles plus some Enid Blytons. Maybe if I'd asked, she might have told me exactly where among the mostly inaccessible books there was a rare Brent-Dyer, but I really prefer to do my own hunting. After all, if I didn't enjoy the hunt, I'd simply go to Abebooks for those rare titles and have them posted to me.

Anyway, my husband found a book he wanted in the history section, so we ended up buying a book and it was smiles all round. That he was left alone to browse and found something and I was put off browsing by the questioning makes me wonder how many other booklovers are put off by their experience.

Cookery books and celebrity titles

As you'd expect from the name of the bookshop, there are plenty of military history and academic books here. But there are lots of other sections too, including cookery books, celebrity autobiographies, and a good deal of non-military history. Bookworms will find much to look at here. But you'll be welcomed more if you know exactly what you're looking for.

So that was the trail done and I'm sure we'll head back there down the track! We didn't have much time to explore many of the town's other attractions, but enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Saffs Cafe in Mostyn Street, and went for a circuit walk at the nearby Goldfields Track.

The Castlemaine Bookshop Trail: Part 1

Over the weekend, we headed out to Castlemaine, a former gold-mining town north-west of Melbourne. There are plenty of bookshops in the goldfields region, but we only had time to explore Castlemaine on this visit. Castlemaine has its own bookshop trail, with a helpful map to help you find the bookshops.

Since the map was printed, Books Plus has closed (though it may now have a stall at the nearby Castlemaine Vintage Bazaar, which we didn't visit). Stoneman's Bookroom no longer has a second-hand section, the owner explaining that with so many second-hand bookshops close by, it was better to focus on selling contemporary books. It's a beautiful, well-stocked bookshop with an extensive children's section, so it's certainly worth checking out if you're looking for new or recent releases.

Our first stop on the bookshop trail was Mount of Alex, opened seven years ago by owner Andrew Long. This elegant and atmospheric bookshop contains a wide range of books in excellent condition. There are vintage children's paperbacks on the bookshelves to the right as you enter the shop (I found a copy of A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley, which I'd been looking for forever), with hardbacks to the left (including, when I visited, a lovely copy of Louise Mack's Teens). Crime hardbacks, ranging from Golden Age to more recent, are in one of the alcoves further into the shop. The owner is extremely knowledgeable, and says his aim with the shop is to create an antiquarian feel. He's definitely succeeded in that. This is a bookshop we'll certainly return to.

From there, we walked up to Soldier & Scholar, but discovered it didn't open until 2pm. So it was back in the car and a quick drive to nearby Campbells Creek to visit Book Heaven.

To be continued...

A bookshop not just for a rainy day

Former school librarian Meryll Williams named her bookshop Rainy Day Books after a friend remarked on how much she liked reading on a rainy day.

Well, Rainy Day Books, in The Basin at the foot of Mount Dandenong, is worth a visit whatever the weather.

Meryll's speciality is children's books, particularly 'girlsown' books like the Chalet School, etc. But the bookshop also has a well-stocked crime section, including a bookcase devoted to cosy crime, along with romance, sci fi and general fiction. There's a very good history section too, including books and brochures on local history.

Rainy Day Books has been open since 2006 and is one of only two bookshops (the other one is Kallista Books) that still survive from the old Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley Book Trail that Meryll helped set up in around 2007.

Meryll also helped establish the annual Mountains of Books Book Fair that takes place in Ferny Creek over Melbourne Cup weekend.

There are a couple of local cafes and a playground across the road should you want coffee or lunch or somewhere to let the kids burn off energy. We always have coffee at the Chocolate Dragonfly, but the other local cafe always seems busy so it must be good too.

Organised chaos!

When I visit a second-hand bookshop, I'm on the hunt for specific books - usually a 'girlsown' or crime fiction title that's missing from my collection.

My husband, on the other hand, isn't looking for anything in particular, but likes to browse and see if he can turn up anything quirky.

Guess which one of us copes best with a visit to McLeods Books in Nunawading?

To be fair to the owner, if you ask her where something is, she can tell you. And there are signs around the shop informing you whereabouts you can find bestsellers like Nora Roberts and Jodi Picoult. But the piles of books cluttering the floor, the double-stacking of shelves and the lack of alphabetical order don't make me want to hang around.

My husband, though, was happy to settle in and rummage, and found an old book he was interested in buying. There was no price on it, and the owner did a quick internet search and decided she didn't want to sell it. She admitted she hadn't known it was in the shop, so lucky for her that he brought it to her attention.

Anyway, McLeods Books will be closing in a few weeks' time (most likely at the end of October) and the business is going online after 13 years as a bricks-and-mortar shop. The thousands of mostly paperback titles include a good range of crime fiction, and lots of romance and sci fi and fantasy. There are specific genre sales on at the moment, so it's well worth visiting if you're on the hunt for more reading material - as long as you can cope with the chaos!

Kallista Books

One thing that hasn't changed since when I started this blog in 2010 and when I revised it a few weeks ago is that the gorgeous Kallista Books in the Dandenong Ranges is still going strong.

There are a few reasons I can suggest for why this bookshop has survived while others have failed. The building itself is distinctive - it began life as a dairy in the 1930s. Inside, the shop has a cosy vibe that makes you want to settle in and browse. And the owner, Willie, is friendly, helpful, and hugely knowledgeable about books.

The bookshop boasts an extensive children's collection, plus shelves full of Australian history, including Dandenong Ranges history. There are gardening books, the classics, crime, and lots of quirky titles as well, including, when I visited, an old Foy and Gibson catalogue.

Willie knows his prices, so while the books aren't cheap, they also aren't excessive. And the quality of his stock is excellent.

There's book-related furniture and a particularly delightful and unusual rotating bookcase to be found within the shop as well.

Kallista Books is open on Saturdays and Sundays (follow the signs from the village roundabout). If there's a particular title you're looking for, ask, as not all of Willie's stock is on display (hard though that may be to believe, with so many books).

Other places to visit in Kallista include Grant's Picnic Ground, which has walking trails and birdlife, and the Kallista Tea Rooms, if you're looking for somewhere for coffee or lunch.

Tyabb Packing House

If you're into antiques as well as antiquarian books, then Tyabb Packing House is the place to go!

We've been making annual visits for years now and it's always a great day out. Tyabb Packing House is a massive old shed, crammed with antiques, memorabilia, and books. Shelves and shelves and shelves of books.

In the children's section, there are some books behind glass that are very expensive. Way too expensive. In fact, the same copy of Fardingdales by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer has been priced at $300 for at least three years now.

However, there are bargains still to be found, and over the years I've picked up a few girlsown titles quite cheaply, including a 'Dimsie' book and a couple of Tim Kennemores. When I visited the other day, there were a few Malcolm Saville paperbacks on the shelves, including Treasure at Amorys and Home to Witchend.

Whatever genre you collect, you're likely to find something here. There's a great crime fiction, an extensive sports section, travel books, cookbooks, politics, religion... You name it, they've got it.

My other favourite areas of the shed are the sporting memorabilia section, right at the other end from the children's books, and the old furniture section, which often has old writing desks and printers' chests.

If you're hungry, check out the Rattling Red Cafe (an old train carriage) just outside - the scones are delicious. There are more antiques and curiosities to be found in the 'village' shops next to the Packing House.

Bookshops in Belgrave

When I first started this blog, Through the Looking Glass was a brand new second-hand bookshop in Belgrave run by a mother and daughter.

Although the mother and daughter have long moved on, pleasingly the shop is still there, now run by its third owner. Apparently its first birthday under the current owners was celebrated last week.

It's a small, but well-stocked bookshop with a great vibe. The man behind the counter when I visited told me that the new owners want it to be a community hub as well as a bookshop. Evidence of this is that they gave free books to children who visited the bookshop last week, as part of Australia's Book Week celebrations.

Through the Looking Glass has a diverse range of books, and the children's section includes traditional favourites like Alan Garner and Enid Blyton as well as novels by more recent popular writers like Philip Reeve and Rick Riordan. There's a nice little nook with cushions where kids can curl up and read, and a Harry Potter uniform was on display when I visited.

Through the Looking Glass is at the roundabout end of Burwood Highway. At the other end of town, next to the Cameo Cinema, is the Book Barn, a modern bookshop that also stocks art supplies. This is well worth a visit if it's contemporary books you're after and their children's section is very strong.

Non-literary things to do locally include a ride on Puffing Billy, just down from Through the Looking Glass. There are lots of eateries along Burwood Highway, and if you want to watch a movie, the cinema is great too.

Yarra Cottage Books

Just as Warrandyte is one of my favourite places in Victoria, so too Yarra Cottage Bookshop, in its main street, is one of my favourite bookshops.

I've been visiting this bookshop for years now, mainly because it has a great children's section at the back. I've stumbled across a good many GO titles here down the years, and several years ago, my son was delighted to find a box full of old copies of the Beano.

Last year, I found a copy of a play I'd been searching for for a long time - John Misto's The Shoehorn Sonata. And it has a good crime fiction section too, as you enter the shop.

Something I noticed when checking out the children's section today was that there are a lot of more recent titles on sale - series by authors like Robert Muchamore and Garth Nix that were popular about ten years ago and can still be found in modern bookshops.

There are still some old titles there, though, as can be seen from my photograph.

If you're visiting with children, there's a great playground just down from the bookshop. And right next door is a bakery that's well worth a visit. Watch out for magpies trying to steal your pies and cakes!

'Worth a browse' revived!

Last week, I was googling trying to find out whether a particular second-hand bookshop still existed - and this old blog showed up on the first page of entries!

I'd pretty much forgotten about it. Like so many other blogs, it was one I started with enthusiasm, but abandoned when life got in the way. At the time I was busy with work and family, and didn't really have much time for going out exploring and discovering bookshops. But last week I found myself re-reading the entries, and thinking, "This was actually a great idea for a blog." So, after a few false attempts, I managed to work out the username and password and this morning got back in.

It's been nine years since I last posted. Those nine years have seen many changes. The nine-year-old son I mentioned in some posts is now 18 and in his final year of school. There have been changes in publishing and the book trade down the years too. So many second-hand bookshops in Victoria have come and gone.

Anyway, a big change for our family was that my husband retired last year. Because I'm freelance and can be flexible about when I work, we do go out exploring a fair bit, so I end up visiting a few bookshops. So I thought I'd revive 'Worth a browse', see how it goes. I hope readers will find my recommendations useful should they find themselves in the areas where the bookshops are located.