| Books are still deeply valued by many of us, as is the experience of searching for and discovering these treasures in a physical bookshop. With this in mind, we have chosen to view the decline of the second-hand bookshop as an opportunity to transform the old model and create a new and unique bookshop experience. Our shop is consciously designed to honour both the books themselves and the pleasure of the search. We have tried to create a peaceful, relaxing, expansive and beautiful space. A place to come and browse, sit, think, dream, talk, read and recharge amongst the giants of the world’s literary traditions. It is our hope that you will only ever be limited by what you choose to spend, rather than what you can find. | Our main emphasis is on curation, we consistently try to maintain a high level of quality, depth and diversity in our stock. We hunt all over Melbourne every week to gather the gems we all seek and bring them together in one place. Then you can simply browse our shelves to your hearts content and find the treasures that inspire and bring you joy. Often a book is simply a lovely retreat from the world, fantasy and entertainment. Sometimes it’s an opportunity to expand our consciousness, to put new and old ideas together in a different combination that opens a new door. Whatever the object of your treasure hunt, we look forward to meeting you and hope that all booklovers, new and old will feel at home in our shop. |
A place to come and browse, sit, think, dream, talk, read
and recharge amongst the giants of the world’s literary traditions
Sell/Donate
How to sell to us.If you have books you wish to sell, we’re always interested in taking a look. We can be quite picky though, depending on what stock we need at any given time. The best thing to do is contact us first and organise a time to come into the shop or text us some photographs of the books (spines only in stacks is best). In this way, we can give you an initial indication of our interest and save you carting around books unnecessarily. If you have a large quantity or a house lot/deceased estate, we will be very happy to organise a visit to assess your collection. | How much we pay.We generally pay 30% of our intended sale price for most books. Our intention is that you get 30%, we get 30% and the remaining 40% goes to the cost of running the shop, merchant fees, GST etc. | DonateWe are very happy to receive donations if you do not wish to sell your books. We must still be selective though and can only take books if there’s a reasonable quantity present that we can sell. We are more than happy to distribute anything we can’t sell to local charities. |
| What we often buy. |
These are most of the general categories covered within our shop, however there are many subcategories within each. We are also always looking to expand our knowledge and collection and have a large general interest shelf that contains an eclectic range of books that don’t fit into the above. | |||
| What we never want. |
As an adjunct to this list, we must note that we always try to fill our shelves with the books people want and/or can’t find elsewhere. As such, we will generally never buy extremely common mega bestsellers such as Dan Brown, Bryce Courtney, Helen Fielding, Stephenie Meyer, etc, etc. | |||
| Authors we usually buy. |
The above list covers fiction authors only and gives a general indication of our interest areas but is by no means exhaustive. A list of non-fiction authors would be to long to be useful, however, we are always interested in taking a look at classic works within our areas of interest (see what we often buy). |
What we love about the physical book is that it can be read and re-read and loved and re-loved
By person after person for decades if not hundreds of years
Environmental Impact
| We are firm believers in trying to reduce the carbon emissions of our business. One way that we have done this is by offsetting the emissions of our vehicles with Greenfleet for the past ten years. Greenfleet is a not-for-profit Australian company that offsets carbon emissions for a very reasonable cost by restoring native forests. This is a terrific organisation making a very important contribution and we strongly recommend them to anyone with a polluting vehicle. Our shop is a rented property and as such, we cannot install solar power as we have in our home. Instead we access 100% green energy from our power supplier and would also strongly recommend everyone else with the means and requirement to do the same. | It is estimated that producing one average sized book consumes two kilowatt hours of fossil fuels and releases approximately 7.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide, which equates to 100 times fewer greenhouse gases than released by the production of one e-reader. We have nothing against e-readers and gladly acknowledge the fact that they can hold thousands of books and are great in many situations. But what we love about the physical book is that it can be read and re-read and loved and re-loved by person after person for decades if not hundreds of years. This is a testament to the sustainability of physical books and a reassurance that they may still be benefiting the environment inside and outside our homes long after e-readers are obsolete. |
Often a book is simply a lovely retreat from the world, fantasy and entertainment
Sometimes it’s an opportunity to expand our consciousness, to put new and old ideas together in a different combination that opens a new door
Gift Certificates
If you’re stuck for a great gift idea for a booklover, look no further.
We are happy to issue gift certificates from the shop up to any value you like.
Contact UsIf you have any questions or enquiries please feel free to contact us on the details provided below or alternatively you can complete our online enquiry form and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Enquiries Email Address Opening Hours |
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LocationWe are located on the first floor at 136a Sydney Rd Brunswick on the corner of Weston Street and Sydney Road. When the shop is open, there is a table of books on the street in front of our doorway, so it is easy to find. We do not put tired or unwanted books out on the street in fear of damage or theft. We believe in the honesty and integrity of book lovers and as reward endeavour to put out what we hope is the best table of books you’ve ever seen! | ParkingParking on Sydney Rd is only half hour, so we recommend Weston St, where you can get a 2-hour park or Barkley Square, where you can stay 3-hours. Please take careful note of these restrictions when parking as inspectors are often in the area. | Public TransportThe number 19 tram goes down Sydney Rd and stops directly in front of the bookshop. Alternatively, if you’re coming along Lygon Street on the 6 or 1 tram, you can get off at Weston St and walk 1 kilometre east to Sydney Rd. The Upfield train line also travels a few hundred metres east of Sydney Rd. If you’re coming on the train, get off at Jewell station and walk west down Union or Wilson St to Sydney Rd. |