Adelaide Getaway - Part 1 of 4 (Monday)

My wife and I are currently in Adelaide after driving the long trek from Melbourne last Sunday.

1) O'Connell's Bookshop, Adelaide

On our first day in Adelaide I walked up Rundle Mall, and then a little further, to O'Connell's Bookshop.  On entry, Ben (and Oscar the dog) greeted me, and after mentioning I was hunting for James Bond books he explained by strange coincidence he was just in the process of setting up a display of Bond paperbacks in his front cabinet.

A lone Pan Books “Casino Royale” movie tie-in from 1967 was already sitting on the glass shelf awaiting more books to accompany it.  Ben also said he’d just sold a Jonathan Cape “Dr. No” first edition, with others still on display in a standing glass cabinet close by.

As always, O’Connell’s Bookshop had a pile of James Bond books available.  There was also this Len Deighton “Action Cookbook” with a cover designed by Raymond Hawkey which I’d never seen in the wild before.

O’Connell’s Bookshop celebrates 70 years of business next year with Ben, a third generation of O’Connell, currently managing the store.  They have thousands of second hand titles for sale catering for many different tastes, and is a must visit if you're ever in Adelaide.

2) QBD Books

Next stop was QBD Books on Rundle Mall which only sells new titles.  They had lots of great books including “Quantum Of Menace” by Vaseem Khan.

3) Dymocks Bookstore, Glenelg

Later that morning we drove to Glenelg, a short drive from the City centre.  First we visited the Dymocks Bookstore which was full of potential customers.  Like QBD Books, they only sell new titles, and also had copies of Vaseem Khan’s novel. 

4) Mockingbird Lounge, Glenelg

A short drive from Glenelg is the Mockingbird Lounge.  I normally don’t like mixing food with books but this cafe is definitely an exception.  Every room has shelves of second hand books on the walls.  And one room is set up specifically for book club patrons who’s taste (sadly) appeared to not extend to Ian Fleming as I couldn’t see any Bond novels among the piles of same titles on the shelves.

5) Rotary Bookmart, Woodville West

On our return to Adelaide we passed this Rotary Bookmart in Woodville West.  So many second hand books for sale at bargain prices, and all really well organised by the volunteers.  No luck for me but my wife picked up a few bargains.

On our way back to the hotel we passed New Morning Books on Frome Street, however we’ll have to return as it was closed on the day we visited. 

Here's some additional photos.  Firstly a mural down a lane way near our hotel in central Adelaide

And some photos from Glenelg.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

Latest IFP Editions Arrive

James Bond is alive and well at Ian Fleming Publications (IFP).   On October 5, 2023 IFP published and re-released three Bond novels.  They were Raymond Benson's "Zero Minus Ten" first published in 1977, Kingsley Amis' "Colonel Sun" first published in 1968, and John Pearson's "James Bond: The Authorized Biography Of 007" first published in 1973.  

I think all the books look great.  They have uniform cover designs, the quality of the books is first class and most importantly it's great to have these three titles in print again.  I'm hopeful IFP will release more titles in the same series.

As an added bonus this copy of "Zero Minus Ten" was signed by the author too with a limit of 250 copies.

On a personal note I have to thank Tim from the great Pan collectors website Tikit.net who sent me these books from the UK.  Thanks mate.  Much appreciated.

Clunes Booktown Festival Returns

For the first time in three years Clunes Booktown Festival took place this weekend.  

The two day event, inviting people to visit the small rural Victorian town, was thriving when my wife and I arrived on Saturday.  I've included a "few" photos below to try and express how the town shines during this festival and how many book sellers attended.  But there were also authors doing signings and talks, publishers explaining to future authors how to get an idea to print, people in costume exciting the crowds and others quoting paragraphs from popular books.  It's not possible to capture the full extent of this event in images.

It was impossible to look in every box or carefully view every trestle table however these are all the James Bond adventures, books about Bond or related/linked books we managed to find:

My wife ended up purchasing some nice books for herself.  Meanwhile I found an excellent copy of Robert Markham's "Colonel Sun" published by Pan Books in 1968 which I couldn't resist.

Overall my wife and I both thought the festival was very well organised and we'll definitely be back.