Bluestone & Bond Books

Last Sunday, a day after the book fair in Mornington, I visited the north of the City while on a book hunt.

Many areas north of Melbourne still feature the blue cobblestones laid more than a century ago when the area was first developed.  And as I drove from secondhand bookstore to bookstore they seemed to become more prominent. 

First stop was Howard Bolton Bookseller in Northcote.  As always Howard greeted me upon entering his charming little store.  Full of plenty of hardback first editions and hundreds of great quality paperbacks, it wasn't long before I found a paperback to purchase (see end of this post).  It was also great to see other people inside scouring the shelves too.  Just a final note, this store is open only on weekends and also only accepts cash.

Next stop was Already Read Bookshop in North Fitzroy.  I only took one photo inside the store as it's very compact, and it was busy with plenty of other people also looking for books to purchase.  The Crime & Thrillers section was still near the front cash register, but as the store is so well organised, they would have been easy to find anyway.

After a short drive I ended up at Through The Looking Glass bookshop in Fitzroy.  Yet again another busy secondhand bookstore full of people, which was great to see.  

Heaps of paperbacks and hardbacks, some stored low and others high.  There was also a glass cabinet near the entrance which included a couple of Jonathan Cape Bond hardbacks as well as some book club editions.  I haven't previously visited this store but I'll definitely return soon to see what new acquisitions they might have for sale.  The owner was very friendly and explained they also have two other stores in Sassafras and Belgrave.

Next up was Brunswick Seconhand Books in... Brunswick.   There's a table of cheap paperbacks out on the street, and up a short flight of stairs are four or five rooms full of hardbacks and paperbacks of all categories.  

This store had lots of older paperbacks available as well as plenty of modern titles.  The shelves were packed but well sorted and the rooms separated the categories.

There were also plenty of customers browsing the shelves, although I did manage to avoid them in my photos.

Second last stop was Golden Bowl Books in Coburg, or at least that's where it was last time I visited.  This time there was just an empty store.  According to their website they're now located at Market Fair Preston which I'll have to visit in the future.

Final stop, Lobos Collectables in Thornbury.   Sure they have some science fiction books in store, but I've never seen any Bond's.  However they don't have some Bond collectables and today was no exception with some Gilbert toys from the 1960's, many still on cards, and a few scale model Aston Martins.

And my sole purchase for the day, a copy of Ian Fleming's "From Russia With Love" published by Pan Books in 1976.  This book features in the Still Life Series.  It was in such good condition, and apparently unread, that I couldn't go past it.