Book Hunt North Of The Yarra

Sometimes life gets in the way of collecting.  Currently my sister-in-law is in hospital and the last thing I'm thinking about while still in eternal covid lockdown is hunting for books online.

But I have been going through photos on my phone and found this bunch from October 7, 2017 when I crossed the Yarra River and searched for books north of the City.

Howard Bolton Bookseller in Northcote.  Howard always has a collection of good condition Bond novels, many from the 60's and 70's, and this day was no different.  I also always scour his wall of first edition hardbacks looking for an elusive Ian Fleming first.

Alice's Bookshop in Carlton.  This store no longer exists at this location but as you can see at the time they had a Hawkey Pan "Diamonds Are Forever" on the table on the footpath outside the store and a copy of "Devil May Care" inside.

Fully Booked in Thornbury in the Spy-Fi section.  This is a great book store that has a high turnover of quality books and friendly owners.  I would be highly surprised if these books are sitting on these shelves today.

Allsorts Secondhand Books in Northcote.  Sadly this store also no longer exists as the owner, Paul, happily retired.  I do miss this store though.  Sometimes stores that have an eclectic collection of books contain hidden treasures.

Brown & Bunting Booksellers in Northcote.  Located around the corner from Howard Bolton Bookseller this store contains quality books with a high turnover of good quality early Bond novels.

Already Read Books in Fitzroy.  I have rarely visited this store so it was great to drop in and see what was available.  I'm definitely looking forward to returning once these covid restrictions are over.

Abra Card Abra Roycroft Antiquarian Booksellers in Kew.  Containing a wide variety of novels covering many different categories over two storeys, this secondhand book store is easily one of the biggest in Victoria.  It's always a pleasure to visit this store with it's huge collection of Pan paperbacks downstairs (more often than not including Fleming) and hardback and more paperback Bond novels upstairs.

Hunting For More Books

A couple of weeks ago I visited South Melbourne Market and dropped by the Merchant Of Fairness book store.  I had a quick look but alas there were no Bond novels for me.

Next stop was Balwyn where the Merchant Of Fairness sister book store exists.  I found a couple of Bond continuation novels but again no luck.

Last stop was Roycroft Antiquarian Booksellers (Abracardabra) in Kew.  I hadn't visited this book store for a while so it was great to drop in.  As usual they had plenty of Bond novels on their shelves but unfortunately I had them all.  Finding new books for my collection is certainly not easy!

A Sign Of The Times

A couple of weeks ago I travelled to three second hand bookshops, on the continual hunt for more James Bond books to add to my collection.

First was Roycroft Antiquarian Booksellers in Kew.  I hadn't stepped into this store since late last year.  And it was great to see plenty of Bonds on the shelves, but unfortunately there were none for me today.

Next my wife and I travelled to Bradstreet's Books in Hawthorn.  I remember speaking to the woman behind the counter last year and she explained they would be closing due to the building being re-developed.  I didn't realise it would be so soon. Sadly it is no more.

Before...

Now.

Finally, I visited Sinbad Books in Carnegie.  I've been visiting this store for years but never really spoken to the owner, Rashad, until today.

I asked him about the usual pile of Bond paperbacks near the front counter.  All sold.  And looking around the store I could see there was something going on.  The stock in the store was dramatically reduced and several bookshelves were gone.  Rashad explained that after 20 years it was time to shut the doors for good; a sign of the times in the book trade.

So while this store exists today, with plenty of books on sale, unfortunately it won't be for much longer.  

I wished Rashad good luck in his future endeavours, and after mentioning PizGloria.com I gave him a card for my site which he said he was looking forward to visiting.  And with a sad heart I grabbed a couple more photos, including this one of Rashad, before leaving Sinbad Books for the last time.

Visit To A Couple Of Book Stores

Just a quick blog entry about some book stores my wife and I visited last weekend after having lunch with my sister-in-law who's recovering from her recent stroke.

The first store we visited was Roycroft Antiquarian Booksellers - Abra Card Abra in Kew.  After sliding the heavy glass door open and entering the store I was surprised to see Marion absent from behind the counter.  Concerned, I was told she was on holiday for a well deserved break.  I asked the gentleman filling in for Marion his name and he told me it was Lloyd and he owned the store.  After many years of visits it was great to finally meet him and introduce myself.  I explained about the PizGloria.com website and this blog (and my attempts to promote second-hand book stores including his own) and he thanked me.  When I asked about the James Bond books on the shelf upstairs he said he wasn't aware of any new acquisitions.  I checked and he was right.

The second store we visited was Sainsbury's Books in Camberwell.  There were a couple of Bond paperbacks on the shelves but unfortunately I had them both.  Always a nice store to visit though.

And finally here's a photo of the cover of last months auto-club magazine; RACV's Royalauto.  They did a special feature on James Bond vehicles with the RACV staff selecting their favourite vehicles from the films.  

They were also lamenting the fact that silver Aston Martin DB5's once registered in this state (Victoria, Australia) have been purchased by overseas buyers and shipped from our shores.  Oh well, at least we still have one of two Aston Martin DBS's which featured in the film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (although this article made no mention of this fact).  Hopefully more on this DBS later...