Walking down Penrith High Street last week I was delighted to find a former Commonwealth Bank branch has turned into Harry Hartog Booksellers. Now who needs a bank branch (there are plenty more in Penrith) when you can have a bookshop and cafe instead! There is a good selection of interesting books so I will be back quite often I expect even though it is a longish walk to get there.
For the moment however I think Abbey's Bookstore in York Street, Sydney (over the road from the QVB) remains my absolute favourite. They stock all the types of books my husband and I love and are far enough from home to keep our book buying habit under control. Book buying in turn becomes a book storing matter because when we moved house we came to terms with getting rid of all sorts of clutter but the books didn't make the cut.
Do you have a favourite bookshop? Do you keep the books you buy?
I have seen the Harry Hartog bookstore in Penrith, but have not been there yet. I pass it in the car most days, but there never appears to be any parking near it. However, I hope to go there soon as it looks very interesting and has been highly recommended by the leader of my U3A writing group. I used to like Dymocks book store in the city and having a meal in the lovely cafe on the mezannine floor. I hope it's still there! I'm reluctant to buy books now because we have no storage for books anymore. We had to give away most of our books when we moved into our present home two years ago.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will enjoy Harry Hartog when you get there. Yes the mezzanine cafe is still at Dymocks. I am reluctant to buy more books for the same reason but still do it every now and them. What are a few hundred more books to add the the thousands we already have and which will have to disposed of some day.
DeleteNothing nicer than a book store with a cafe. I wish I could find more time to read.
ReplyDeleteTry poems. See today's post.
DeleteI keep the books I buy, though I'm now thinking I need to buy another bookshelf.
ReplyDeleteBe careful. A half empty bookshelf is just a further temptation to fill it up. We have bought at least a dozen bookshelves (no exaggeration).
DeleteI'm glad Abbey's is still around. I browse in there sometimes. Dymocks is still around I think. These real bookshops are sticking around longer than some people predicted.
ReplyDeleteIt turns out that the independent bookshops that managed to hold on through the ebook revolution are now thriving. I am so pleased.
DeleteI love bookshops especially when I go on holidays and browse through country town bookshops. One of my favourite was in a restaurant in a winery in the Southern Highlands south of Sydney. Can't remember its name. We used to keep all our bought books until we moved into the village and had to downsize. So we gave many away and just kept some favourites. We often share and swap books with friends. We also have a great library in the village community centre organised by volunteer residents. The books have all been donated by residents who had to downsize,
ReplyDeleteThat is Berklenlouw's Book Barn a favourite destination of ours though we don't go down that way very often these days. Sharing and swapping seems like a good idea. I have dropped off some of my old novels at the train and bus stations. We have a very long way to go before I can declare our library downsized.
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