Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Hobart Book Hunt - Part 1 of 2

Last Thursday morning my wife flew to Hobart, Tasmania for her job.  That night I joined her as I had an RDO (rostered day off) the following day.

So while she spent Friday slaving away behind her desk, I spent the day visiting book stores.

I love book hunting in Hobart.  So many great stores and happy owners all very helpful and prepared for a quick chat.  Plus I always seem to find some great books.

First stop was "Rapid Eye Books" in Battery Point.  I last visited this store at least a year ago.  I remember they had a first edition of "Moonraker" for sale.  And amazingly on my visit this time it was still available, along with a couple of other Jonathan Cape - Ian Fleming hardbacks and several paperbacks.  I spoke to the owner, Mark, who remembered me from my last visit.  I told him I'd love to purchase this book but I just didn't have the spare cash.  We agreed it would be a lucky buyer who eventually does buy this book (so if you the reader are that person please mention me and this blog when you purchase it).

Next stop was "Kookaburra Antiques and Books" just around the corner.  A couple of years ago they had a Jonathan  Cape edition of "From Russia With Love" available for sale but it's since been sold.  However they did have a couple of Bond paperbacks and the "James Bond - The Authorised Biography" by John Pearson on their shelves.

Just down the road (literally) is Salamanca.  This is the site of the famous Saturday market, as well as several book stores.

In Salamanca my first point of call was "Deja vu Books".  I've purchased several paperbacks from this store in the past.  It's a really nice little store with heaps of books.  And the Bonds are always found in the plastic crates out the front.  As you can see below they had a few paperbacks but none for me today.

I always visit "Astrolabe Booksellers" in Salamanca.  However on this visit I discovered that the second storey shop has relocated elsewhere, replaced by a store named "Voyager Rare Books, Maps and Prints". I spoke to the new owner Bill, who previously owned a second hand book store in Brisbane.  He explained that "Astrolabe" has moved closer to the docks and his store sells not only books but an eclectic mix of items including scientific instruments and old microscope slides.  There was also a wall of book club edition hardbacks for sale which included a copy of Graham Greene's "The Spy's Bedside Book" featuring some excerpted paragraphs from three different Bond novels written by Ian Fleming.

Just out the back of the historic row of buildings in Salamanca is located The Hobart Book Shop.  This store sells both new and second hand books.  They had some new Fleming paperbacks as well as Young Bond novels be Steve Cole and Charlie Higson but unfortunately nothing for me today.  When visiting be sure to check out the white column inside that features autographs and comments from many different famous recent authors.

A ten minute walk from Salamanca, in the City proper, is "Cracked and Spineless".  This store always has Jonathan Cape - Ian Fleming hard backs for sale.  And this visit was no exception, although after much ummming and arrring I decided not to buy any today.  This book store has been in the news lately because a Napoleonic Wars diary from around 1812 was discovered in their store.

After a short walk through the Elizabeth Mall I made my way to "Tolhurst's Down-Under Books".  Every time I enter this book exchange the owner Gary is always behind the counter and greets me with "G'day cobber.  Let me know if I can help you".  I've purchased a couple of books from here in the past, and today he had few Bond hardbacks and paperbacks on the shelf, but none for me.  He did ring another linked book exchange in Moonah where they had at least 10 Bond paperbacks available, but that's a story for Part 2 of my Hobart book hunt.

A short drive over the Tasman Bridge just outside Hobart is Lindisfarne.  This is the location of "Pat's Secondhand Bookshop", the last book store I'll mention in today's blog entry.  Unfortunately my phone battery died at this point and while I do have a photo from a previous visit after searching for more than an hour I still can't find it.  (Very frustrating !)  Anyway, they had a book club edition of "Diamonds Are Forever" as well as some Triad-Panther paperbacks.

Finally, here's a photo of the sunset in Hobart taken while sitting in a hire car waiting for my wife to finish work for the day.

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