Melbourne is often described as the cultural centre of Australia and, as such, it has a huge number of bookshops, both new and old, as well as a huge network of publicly owned council libraries. My favourite bookshops are
Robert Cornwell Stamps and Coins (trading as RMC Stamps)
639 Mount Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds
http://www.robertcornwell.com.au/
My favourite second hand bookshop, found in the iconic Moonee Ponds shopping strip. The site boasts that they are Melbourne's leading seller of collectable stamps and collectable coins. The shop in Moonee Ponds also has thousands of secondhand books covering every conceivable subject, as well as stocking a huge range of secondhand CDs, DVD movies and documentaries, and video cassettes. If you go in, I challenge you to come out without at least buying one book.
The Book Grocer
414 Lonsdale St (near corner of Queen St)
Melbourne CBD
http://bookgrocer.libro.com.au/
Whenever I am in the city, I make sure I have time to go to The Book Grocer in Lonsdale St and have a browse. Their range of books is superb and they are all $10, event the bigger hard cover books. Their history and politics and biographical sections always contain some superb bargains.
STOP PRESS (3 Nov 2015) - The Book Grocer has just opened a store in Moonee Ponds - even easier than going into the city. I went there today and bought two books - but more about them once I have read them. They get added to the unread pile which is now getting pretty high!
Dymocks Melbourne
Lower Ground Floor, 234 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
http://www.dymocks.com.au
Dymocks Collins St is a huge bookshop with its own cafe. It includes stationary and an ordering department that can order just about anything. It is also possible to order online for either posting or pickup from the store. I love browsing the shelves for both new releases and older. Its sci-fi and fiction sections are very comprehensive but then so are all their other sections. It is hard for any smaller bookshops to compete with Dymocks.
Here is what the website blurb says - and I fully agree
With 65 stores in Australia and over 10 million books sold last year, Dymocks is the leading bookseller in Australia. As a family owned business and the oldest Australian-owned bookstore, Dymocks prides itself on meeting the leisure, learning and gift needs of all booklovers. As a franchised network Every Dymocks store is owned and operated by locals who are extremely well-read and passionate about books. They do more than just sell books but rather support their communities by expanding their reading knowledge.
Robert Cornwell Stamps and Coins (trading as RMC Stamps)
639 Mount Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds
http://www.robertcornwell.com.au/
My favourite second hand bookshop, found in the iconic Moonee Ponds shopping strip. The site boasts that they are Melbourne's leading seller of collectable stamps and collectable coins. The shop in Moonee Ponds also has thousands of secondhand books covering every conceivable subject, as well as stocking a huge range of secondhand CDs, DVD movies and documentaries, and video cassettes. If you go in, I challenge you to come out without at least buying one book.
The Book Grocer
414 Lonsdale St (near corner of Queen St)
Melbourne CBD
http://bookgrocer.libro.com.au/
Whenever I am in the city, I make sure I have time to go to The Book Grocer in Lonsdale St and have a browse. Their range of books is superb and they are all $10, event the bigger hard cover books. Their history and politics and biographical sections always contain some superb bargains.
STOP PRESS (3 Nov 2015) - The Book Grocer has just opened a store in Moonee Ponds - even easier than going into the city. I went there today and bought two books - but more about them once I have read them. They get added to the unread pile which is now getting pretty high!
Dymocks Melbourne
Lower Ground Floor, 234 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
http://www.dymocks.com.au
Dymocks Collins St is a huge bookshop with its own cafe. It includes stationary and an ordering department that can order just about anything. It is also possible to order online for either posting or pickup from the store. I love browsing the shelves for both new releases and older. Its sci-fi and fiction sections are very comprehensive but then so are all their other sections. It is hard for any smaller bookshops to compete with Dymocks.
Here is what the website blurb says - and I fully agree
With 65 stores in Australia and over 10 million books sold last year, Dymocks is the leading bookseller in Australia. As a family owned business and the oldest Australian-owned bookstore, Dymocks prides itself on meeting the leisure, learning and gift needs of all booklovers. As a franchised network Every Dymocks store is owned and operated by locals who are extremely well-read and passionate about books. They do more than just sell books but rather support their communities by expanding their reading knowledge.
