In the past year I have had two notable experiences with second hand bookshops, possibly my favorite kind of retail outlet (yes, even ahead of hobby shops, but a close run thing). The first was with a bookshop I have known and loved for years, the second was the discovery of a new one.
The first experience came about halfway through last year. My vampiric friend the Count and I paid a visit to the second hand books and music shop near my parent's place. This has long been my favorite but recently changed owners. Both of us had various volumes which we wished to sell as they had become surplus to our requirements. I was rather nonplussed when the owner informed me that he didn't want any of my books as they were 'to old'.
Let's just think about this shall we. When you visit a second hand book shop, you are usually not after the latest thriller, although I have managed to get a copy of Michael Crichton's 'Prey' two weeks after it's release from this very shop for $5. When I visit a second hand book shop, I am usually after older books, I don't really care how old they are, and I don't much care about condition because I am interested in the story, I'm not a collector.
Okay, these books were all over ten years old, btu they were all in good condition. Well, now I know why that book shop has been slowly deteriorating under it's new owner. Now I know why I do most of my book shopping via eBay.
eBay does lack something, and that is, of course, the pure and unadulterated joy of browsing through shelves of musty tomes, occasionally leafing through a volume, and exclaiming with joy when you see something really wonderful. It's a good way to get hold of books, but it's not the same as visiting a shop.
Which is why I was overjoyed to discover the second hand bookshop in Fish creek, a small village near my country residence which I visited with my parents recently. We'd actually gone there for lunch at a local cafe and to check out the op shop, but we went for a stroll, and there was the book shop. Now it is legendarily impossible to get my dad to pass a book shop, so in we went. leaving Mum sitting on a bench outside with the sli9ghtly martyred expression of a woman who is saddled with a pair of bibliophiles.
The shop was a revelation. It was small, it was cramped, and there were shelves everywhere. None of the shelves matched, the floors were bare, the furniture rickety. And it was packed with books. Old books. Carefully sorted and ordered books. The fiction was arranged alphabetically, the non-fiction was organized into subject areas, there were a few Audio books, and a children's section. And the books were old. They had children's annuals from the 1950s, they had novels from the 1960s, histories from the 1970s, commentaries from the 1980s and memoirs from the 1990s. They also has some antiquarian volumes for sale, all jumbled around in three small rooms. It was just the way a second hand bookshop is meant to be, and I fell in love right away. If I had had more money and Mum wasn't waiting outside, I would gladly have spent hours and hundreds of dollars there, and there is no question that I will return.
Why aren't all second hand book shops this way? I don't really think I can answer that, obviously some of their owners are after a different market, but I wish they could all be like the one in Fish creek, the way they are supposed to be.
For those who are interested, Fish creek is in South Gippsland, about a half hour drive from Leongatha (where I live). It's not on a major highway so it's a pretty sleepy little place, but it really is a beautiful drive and there are some lovely cafes there as well.
I'd also like to mention CRAM (Camberwell Records And Music) on Riversdale Rd. which is probably the greatest second hand book and record dealer I've visited. They sell new and used music, and used books which take up a few cramped back rooms. It's not quite as charmingly crammed in as the Fish creek shop, but it really has a wonderful atmosphere and has supplied some of my favorite books. Oh, and they don't seem to care very much about the age of the volumes they sell either.
Isn't it always the way? I wrote this piece while at a conference in Melbourne before heading down to breakfast. Later in the afternoon, accompanied by two bibliophile colleagues (what do you expect, we're all English teachers) I discovered another excellent shop. The aptly named 'Second Hand Books' is in Swanston Street, Carlton just up from the Rydges hotel. It's just like Fishcreek in the city and on a grander scale. There are eight magnificently cramped rooms spread over three floors, and filled with books, books and more books! Highly recommended!
A few brief musings on second hand bookshops.