This has to be one of the most pleasant and spacious bookshops to be found in Sydney and considering the wide range of esoterica on offer, very well laid out. A lot of thought (and money) has gone into this place. The main focus of activities centred on the shop itself are the teachings of Madame Blavatsky and her Theosophical Society, but info on all activities, talks and other events with a New Age slant can also be found here. The shop also publishes an excellent quality newsletter, Adyar Booknews, offering book & CD reviews and a regular competition, and has a decent second-hand section plus a range of greatly discounted remainder books near the entrance. [PY, 10/2001]
The shop is staffed by friendly, informed people, who have interests in the the type of books and material stocked. Those subjects are many and varied but fit broadly under the "alternative/metaphysical" banner. i.e. psychology, mythology, world religions, mysticism, tarot, numerology, psychic teachings, health, oriental medicine, body/mind techniques etc. etc. The range is outstanding by world standards. The atmosphere is pleasant with comfortable reading areas. Good stocks of C.D's (ambient, baroque, meditative...) and videos as well. [employee]
Secondhand military history with an emphasis on Australian military history
Australia's largest natural history specialist bookshop, established in 1981, with comprehensive new and secondhand stock. All natural history subjects are catered for including earth science and the history of science.
Now primarily mail order, but has a showroom in Prahran (see instructions on the website to find this).
The bookshop of the Australian Institute of Architects.
A comprehensive range of art books from prehistoric to postmodernism, artists biographies and monographs from Michelangelo to Bacon.
Also provides school and library supplies and a selected range of our most popular prints, posters and other merchandise.
A major resource for artists and artisans of all mediums for 17 years, Artisan Books offers books, periodicals and exhibition catalogues relating to art, craft, design and culture.
Specialising in new, out of print and antiquarian books of Asian interest. Our stock extends from new books hot off the press to rare antiquarian volumes, including a wide variety of books published in many parts of the world, some of which are rarely seen outside of Asia. [site]
I've found books here that I couldn't find anywhere else in the world. [DY]
Specializing in automotive, motorcycle, karting, and engineering books and software. Retail and online.
Books, charts, navigation instruments and software, etc.
Shops in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
Specialises in classic English literature, particularly the literature of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods and those periods themselves.
The Book Nook is Australia's oldest and largest performing arts, specialist bookshop. It is an Australian owned and operated, independent bookstore. The Book Nook stocks books on acting, dance, drama theory, film and media, poetry, puppetry, speech, students’ resources, theatre, and teachers’ resources. The Book Nook also stocks masks, theatre posters and specialises in play scripts and class sets. The Book Nook is run by people whose passion and background is mostly theatre and or teaching orientated.
Normally at no extra cost, the Book Nook provides a personal, help service to source exactly the text or resource customers are searching for.
I specialise in books related to celebrancy, ceremony and ritual, but also stray into other areas that take my fancy - poetry, fertility/infertility, quilting, self-development, etc. [owner, 07/2004]
New and second-hand cookery books. Over 28,000 new, out-of print, second-hand & antiquarian cookery books & food & wine related titles in stock (five rooms, floor to ceiling jam-packed).
An online bookshop specialising in Australian military history, general military history, and Australiana, both new and secondhand.
A computer book specialist.
We stock a wide variety of quality fiction and non-fiction secondhand books. We are building speciality in Japanese language books, politics, philosophy, sci-fi and australian literature. [owner]
Ph: 9454 7383
Visitors by appointment only. Specialists in Collectable Childrens fiction usually with extensive stock in: W E Johns (Biggles), Elinor Brent Dyer (Chalet School), and Elsie Oxenham (Abbey Girls). [02/2004]
Specialises in books on women's health issues, pregnancy and birth, childbirth alternatives, fertility issues, midwifery, breastfeeding, parenting, and grief and loss, and teaching resources for midwifery and childbirth education. [owner]
Now seems to be entirely online/mail order. [DY, 02/2010]
Melbourne Australia’s one-stop shop for foreign language learning and material. Specializes in language books for learning/novels in languages other than English...and more.
Military and Transport books, videos, prints and ceremonial items.
Upstairs from Sappho and next to Gleebooks. Secondhand & antiquarian: printed music; scores; books about music. The stock is listed online.
6 rooms of second hand music - books, sheets, scores, programs, crammed into an atmospheric old 2 storey shop in Glebe. A music-lover's heaven. Friendly and knowledgeable staff (well we like to think so). Occasional catalogues. [owner]
Specialising in independently published books.
Specialises in gardening and botany, with hugely broad coverage – if you want a book on Peruvian cactuses, this is where to go.
SF/F. Also specialises in Star Trek and role playing games. Books on history and mythology for those who want to do a little world exploring, distributor of local (and national?) SF magazines, some overseas ones as well (e.g. Twin Peaks). Lots of the latest releases and a wide range which amazingly doesn't mesh with Minotaur Books in Melbourne (I visited one after the other). A block down from the Queen Vic Building towards Darling Harbour. [LR]
Now rehomed alongside their sister store Abbeys in slightly larger premises, Galaxy is Australia's oldest and largest specialist for SF/F/Horror. The Sydney equivalent of London's Forbidden Planet, this comprehensive store stocks an even spread of US & UK titles currently in print (there are plenty of gems to be found here), plus a disappointingly small 2nd-hand section (connected to their book-credit rewards scheme) and a useful SF reference section which contains some rare bibliographies, chapbooks and critiques, many vastly overpriced (the poorly-stapled 20-page A5 ones, anyway) as a result of their rarity. Large sections are devoted to Dr. Who, Star Trek and Star Wars (all books and videos) and SF-related subjects (SF art, popular science, a comprehensive horror section, ufology, folklore, etc.).
Galaxy also has a good selection of DVDs, videos and film-related merchandise and recent SF magazines published worldwide, plus frequent signings from famous SF/Fantasy authors and stars (check out the Rogues Gallery in the entrance). Customers are requested to consider the shop a 'spoiler-free zone', forbidding discussion of the latest episodes of Farscape, Buffy, Trek etc., probably with a sordid variety of terrible punishments reserved for transgressors. They also publish Nexus, a free monthly newsletter of brief SF reviews written by its staff, making the entire operation the central focus for Sydney's SF community. [PY, 08/2001 updated 03/2003]
Infinitas is an independant, small but busy bookshop in Parramatta (Sydney, Australia) selling science fiction, fantasy, horror, speculative fiction, roleplaying gaming, popular science and other books, artwork, games and figurines. Infinitas supports the community interested in this genre by hosting events and groups, as well as dispatching books daily to readers around Australia and the world. [site]
They will do mail order. The store is only small, but has a very good range. It also has the Discworld figurines on sale (the first to have them in Australia). Friendly staff of two, who both will make an effort to help you find your book. Meetings to discuss issues in SF/F.
My preferred specialty store, as I find the staff much friendler than Galaxy and Phantasia is too far away for me. I do travel to Parra instead of the city even tho I live on the North Shore and work in the city (proof of my bias). [anonymous]
A specialist religious and educational bookshop.
A small independent online bookstore specialising in romance.
The oldest travel bookshop in Australia, going back to 1870. We carry Lonely Planet guides and more, plus maps worldwide. [owner]
Covering all things military in recent and ancient history, Napoleons also has a gaming section with a large range of fantasy war-gaming handbooks available going back almost to the dawn of the Dungeons & Dragons era! The shop also does special orders, catalogues and mail orders. [PY, updated 11/2006]
Books on Indonesian language, history, art, culture, etc.
Art materials, books and DVDs.
Phoenix Rising is a small shop, but it is well lit and has a pleasant, open layout. The stock is a broad range of "alternative" and "esoteric" works - transpersonal psychology, deep ecology, self transformation, Eastern religions, natural therapies, etc. This is not my personal cup of tea (though I found a few scattered gems), but if it's what you are after then this would be a good place to look; it's conveniently close to Gleebooks, too. Their web page has a collection of short reviews. [DY]
Polyester Books specialises in hip cyberpunk like books. It has books on everything from Tank Girl to Kurt Cobain to drugs to suicide to grunge music. The shop is tiny, and the atmosphere suits the subject matter. (Brendan.Hills@.dit.csiro.au)
A specialised bookshop servicing the art, architecture and design communities. Only the latest titles are kept in stock.
A medical bookshop, specializing in medical nursing and related health areas.
Specialist books on: mental health; counselling; relationships; parenting; abuse; grief.
Science fiction, fantasy and horror mail order.
Soundbooks has the most comprehensive range of audiobooks in the whole of Australia. Both on cassette & compact disc. Abridged & unabridged recordings. For all age groups. [owner]
Specialists in Self Improvement, Business, Management, Training, Investment, NLP, Health & Professional Resources
Specialises in books on naturopathy, homoeopathy, vibrational and bio-energetic medicine, biological medicine as well as many hard-to-find books on health and well being.
An online shop specialising in secondhand nonfiction - military, transport, natural history, Australiana, art, history, etc.
A school textbook specialist.
Personal and professional development books. Cafe offering vegetarian chemical-free food and Fair Trade coffee.
A gay and lesbian book store. Sells DVDs, magazines, and erotica as well as books.
Any children's bookshop where your children feel welcome and comfortable - and therefore started on a lifetime book buying habit! - is a good thing. My children and I are always welcomed at this store (some bookshops treat kids like they have the plague), and have been since my kids were babies. It has a very wide range of both fiction and non-fiction books for children from birth through to teens, going well beyond the usual "chain" books. What really sets this bookshop apart is that the team know and love their stock, and the advice and support for children's literacy, and the time they are willing and able to give customers is outstanding - their genuine enthusiasm and interest is infectious. Owner Paul Macdonald is a former English teacher with an interest in boys' literacy, and it shows in his passion for what they sell. They not only know what they have, they know what they don't have, and are great about ordering books in. I've shopped regularly here for the last ten years (since before Paul bought it) and this shop just goes from strength to strength.
They also have a small (but perfectly formed) adult book section, which is great because it means I can sneak up the back and choose something for myself while the kids are distracted! [July 2008]
Lots of stock, with all the cooking books you could want, plus lots on food and the hospitality industry more generally. Quick off the mark looking up an obscure request in their database. [DY, 2007]
Has cute gifts for food lovers, as well as over 9,000 books in stock, separated into categories such as different countries, meats, desserts, baking, vegetarian, new titles, educational and professional, and access for thousands more online. Has a monthly newsletter with the latest cookery books arriving in the store. [owner, 2012]
Attached to the State Library of New South Wales, the Library Shop specialises in Australian books and prints. Using the latest digital technology it also offers archival quality reproductions of photographs, maps, oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and panoramas from the collections of the Library.
A mix of books, CDs and DVDs.
A mail order/Internet bookshop specialising in books for writers, editors, self-publishers and lovers of language.