City Book Hunt Before Comedy Show

Last weekend my wife and I visited the City for the final weekend of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.  We saw a fantastic show and can't wait for the festival to begin again next year.

While in the City we also visited a couple of book stores.  The first was Dymocks where I found copies of Anthony Horowitz's new paperback format version of "Forever And A Day".  I couldn't purchase a copy at the time as we were about to have dinner before the show so I had to leave my copy for another time.

Then we visited Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller.  There were no James Bond novels on the shelves however I did find a first edition of Kingsley Amis' "The James Bond Dossier".  I always enjoy visiting this book shop.  It's definitely a quality store.

No books this visit but it was great to have a quick City book hunt.  I would have liked to have visited Basement Books too but unfortunately it had closed earlier in the afternoon.  Next time I guess...

Quick City Book Hunt

I'm just sitting at Flinders Street Station waiting for my train after a quick trip to the City to pick up some stuff.

I first made my way to the Saturday Book Market at Fed. Square where one stall had four Ian Fleming - Jonathan Cape hardbacks for sale.

Then Kay Kraddock Antiquarian Booksellers where I found another Fleming - Cape. 

I decided not to purchase any of the hardbacks however it's not everyday you see five Fleming - Capes for sale, all published in the 1960s.

Here's some other snaps I took today:

Side of the Forum Theatre with Fed. Square

Melbourne P.O. clock tower

New safety bollard covered in Lego by an anonymous artist

Some vintage buildings on Queen St

Side view of Flinders Street Station during renovations

Melbourne (Unofficial) Secondhand Book Trail - Part 3

After posting Part 2 a fortnight ago, here's Part 3 of what I've titled the Melbourne (Unofficial) Secondhand Book Trail.  This time I'm including the two remaining secondhand book stores existing in the Melbourne CBD:

9) City Basement Books, Melbourne

As you descend the stairs into the quiet peace of this book store it's easy to forget that just moments ago you were amongst the hustle and bustle of Flinders Street and the City.  This fantastic subterranean space is a relaxing maze of tall wooden book shelves; the perfect place to get lost in prose.  You'll either find Verity, the store owner, or Kerry, happily sitting behind the counter, always ready to offer their assistance or recommendations.  Despite the huge number and variety of secondhand books available, they're all well categorised and alphabetised, affordably priced and in great condition.  The novels range from vintage to recent, and when you're ready to venture back to the real world upstairs you'll be hard pressed not returning with at least one purchase from your underground adventure.

Addresses:
- http://www.citybasementbooks.com.au

- 342 Flinders Street, Melbourne

10) Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller, Melbourne

This antiquarian bookseller has been located on classy Collins Street since 1990.  It has a large and varied stock of antiquarian and secondhand books, some hundreds of years old.  Bibliophiles visiting Melbourne must add this store to their list of essential places to visit while in town as there are always plenty of first editions on the shelves catering to all budgets.

Addresses:

- http://www.kaycraddock.com

- 156 Collins Street, Melbourne