Thursday, July 09, 2026

Adelaide Getaway - Part 4 (Thursday)

This is the fourth and final post from our recent trip to Adelaide.  As you can see from this post, as well as the previous three, Adelaide's book culture is alive and thriving.

15) Orchard Bookshop, Adelaide

Located inside the lovely Adelaide Arcade, this small secondhand book store contains a "hand picked collection of new, vintage and collectable literature".

Orchard Bookshop is a great little book store.  It's eclectic mix of titles would no doubt be an ideal pit-stop for City workers considering a more interesting lunch break or perhaps tram/bus ride home.

On the day I visited, Nick was behind the front counter, and after an introduction we discussed Ian Fleming paperbacks while I purchased the Pan Books "From Russia With Love" shown below.

On our next visit to South Australia I'll definitely be returning here.  Here's their website.






Below is the copy of "From Russia With Love" I purchased.  And for other concerned collectors out there wondering... the sticker on the front cover came off very easily and without any damage.



16) Central Market Books, Adelaide

I was a little concerned upon entering Adelaide Central Market to see an empty spot where this book stall used to stand.  However my concerns were quickly quashed when I discovered the shelves of books were now found along one of the aisles.

Barry's book stall is bigger, and crowded with great books at excellent prices.  There were no Bond books for me today, but plenty of other people were scouring the shelves and unearthing gems while I was there.









17) Booknook & Bean, Adelaide

Sadly I only found this secondhand book store after it had closed for the day.  Here's some photos through the glass front.  I didn't want to look too closely at what books were on the shelves in case there was a Bond book I'd like to purchase as my wife and I were leaving early the next day.




My wife and I did intend to visit the Lions Club Of Glenside Book Mart in Tusmore but ran out of time.  However 16 book stores in 4 days was still pretty impressive.  Now for the 8 hour drive back to Melbourne, although we decided to break up the trip with a stopover in Ballarat, but that's another post...


A couple of photos while on the road home...




Wednesday, July 08, 2026

Adelaide Getaway - Part 3 (Wednesday)

Continuing our getaway in Adelaide, we visited several more book stores this morning before continuing on our way to wine country in McClarinvale...

10) East Avenue Books, Clarence Park

This is one book store in Adelaide that everyone has to visit.  The owner, Peter, loves books.  As you enter his store you can't miss the massive collection of early green Penguins for sale.  And on the day I visited there were six James Bond paperbacks prominent in the window display.  

A glass cabinet near the front counter contains rarer titles, which on my visit included three Jonathan Cape - Ian Fleming hardbacks, one a really nice first edition of "Goldfinger" at a very reasonable price (see photo below).

The store is really well laid out with a second room of shelving full of quality books at great prices.  They had several Bond novels on the day I visited and I purchased the "Casino Royale" movie-tie-in as it was in such great condition.

Here's the store website.












11) Blackwood Books, Blackwood

A short drive from East Avenue Books is the second-hand book store.  With over 20,000 books on their shelves there's plenty of reading material available.  The books are really well priced and when I visited I couldn't go past this Coronet edition of "Role Of Honour" to add to my collection of doubles.








12) Michael Treloar Antiquarian Booksellers, Adelaide

If you're after quality out-of-print books, first editions or antiquarian books this is the place to visit.  The people behind the desks are friendly, and extremely knowledgeable.  Sadly, on the day I visited they had no Fleming hardbacks in their inventory, but they explained they still turn up pretty regularly.




 
13) Dymocks Bookshop, Adelaide

This large Dymocks store is located in the old Regent Theatre on Rundle Mall.  It's a lovely building containing thousands of new books for all types of readers.  








14) O G Book Exchange, Klemzig

While visiting this store the owner, Krell, told me he's been operating this book exchange for 37 years.  He sells everything from DVD's, BluRays, vinyl, magazines, and of course second hand books.  On our last visit in 2022 this store had many Bond titles, and this trip was no different.  I was so tempted to pick up a couple of these Coronets but decided not at the last moment, which I'll probably regret in the future!








And here's some photos from our day in McClaren Vale including the best gluten free pizza I've ever had at Down The Rabbit Hole vineyard...





Port Willunga Beach.  Walking along this beach is a lovely experience


Made it back to Adelaide for dinner...


Stay tuned for my last post from Adelaide tomorrow...