Your favourite bookshops

[Quokka]

and Minotaurs is even underground... well that's my bomb shelter sorted. If anyone wants in maybe we could divide rations, I'll bring the canned food but we still need water and a couple of hundred itty bitty book lights

Dublin's Forbidden Planet isn't bad though nothing on that scale. I don't think there's anything nearly as comprehensive as this in Perth, a few good SFF book stores, comic stores etc but nothing in one place. As for my favourite store at the moment there's a second hand chain called Elizabeth's that I wander into at any given opportunity.

 

[Rosemary]

Yay for Minotaurs! It is indeed a wonderful bookshop, where I spent quite some time with Gollum and Rane Longfox! You'll love it there Nesa and anyone else who is in Melbourne in 2010.

I also like checking out the books at Elizabeth's Quokka, although I spend a lot of time in Dymocks, as well as Angus and Roberts.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

If you come to Sydney, go to Galaxy, but also go to the massive Dymocks on George Street. My favourite bookshop I've ever been to.

 

[nixie]

I'm jealous, all I got is a Waterstones and WH Smith mind you 2 year ago we only had WH Smiths

 

[chrispenycate]

It looks too spacious.
Somehow a book shop should be cramped, with you afraid to knock over the teetering piles of as yet unshelved (due to lack of shelf space, not of dilligence on the part of the proprietor) produce. It looks as if it smells of plastic rather than printing ink and paper.
A book supermarked, where you can actually find what you want rather than being forced to browse for hours before coming out with four things you hadn't known you needed. It looks as if you could actually get the silly little stepladder thing in front of the actual shelf with the book in it you aspired to.
Sour grapes? Jealous, me, whose best local supply has 1m50 by 2m50 of shelf space covering all speculative fiction in English, and even then has to turn a lot of the books cover out to make them look less lonely? How could you suspect as much? I suppose there's just that much more space down under they don't feel obliged to pack them in.
Is there a second hand space?

 

[K. Riehl]

The best stores for the SF+F titles that I look for are in Los Angeles. The Mystery and Imagination Bookshop in Glendale has the best selection of 20's to 60's first edition books by Burroughs, Heinlein, Asimov, etc. that I have found anywhere in the USA.
A close second is A Change of Hobbit in downtown LA.

When I moved to New England I thought there would be a good selection of second hand stores for SF. There are a large number of stores but very few carry SF. I get a deal in some stores as the owners seem to look down on SF and just price them to clear the shelves. A local rare books place will buy collections and just mark the SF 3-20$. I have picked up proofs of Sword of Shannara, Eye of the World, Dispossessed, as well as first edition Burroughs and Dick. All for less than 20$.

I have only hit a few stores in New York and have been disappointed at their selection. They have a couple of stores like the one pictured above but very few stores with a large selection of used or first edition titles. Even the Strand, which came with huge recommendations, was disappointing. Maybe too picked over?

So I take road trips North to Maine and drive a loop of the mom and pop stores and find enough books to slake my thirst for books.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

There are 2 speciality Sci-Fi shops in Edinburgh.

Forbidden Planet which used to be good, but now blows. They have too much space for the toys and Figures and next to no space for books.

My favourite is a small bookshop in the Grassmarket area (Transreal Transreal Home) that just sells Sci-Fi books. It's a small pokey place, but has all my book reaing needs.

Otherwise it is Amazon or Waterstones.

Completely jealous about the shop above though.

I was in Transreal at christmas did not find anything, that's the same guy who used to have the Science Fiction Bookshop in 4 crossways before he went to work for FP when it was near the uni.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Minotaur is definitely my favorite. Many a good hour spent there

Forbidden Planet in London aint bad either...

 

[Connavar]

After seeing how huge and cool Minotaur looks im very ashamed of my favorit bookshop


You can fit in three Uppsala English Bookshop in Minotaur.....

 

[Rane Longfox]

I dunno, it's not as big as most main-stream bookshops. They just have a lot of shelves

 

[Lucien21]

I was in Transreal at christmas did not find anything, that's the same guy who used to have the Science Fiction Bookshop in 4 crossways before he went to work for FP when it was near the uni.

Yes it's the same guy.

I remember the Science Fiction Bookshop when I was at Uni and then it moved to FP (The books were downstairs).

I've probably spent a fortune in his shops over the years.

 

[Snowdog]

Forbidden Planet in London is the best one I've been into. It originally had comics on the top floor and books in the basement. That was when, iirc, it was in Denmark Street (which is an amazing street if you're into music), opposite Foyles. I think it moved to a road off Cambridge Circus but it's a long time since I've been down there so I could be mis-remembering most of that (except for the books in the basement).

Sheffield has a good SF bookstore called The Space Centre but apart from those two I don't know of any dedicated SFF bookshop. We have a Waterstones in my town now which put the local bookshop out of business, but that's all.

 

[GOLLUM]

Well, what are you all waiting for?

Come to Melbourne, the greatest city in the world MUWAHAA!!!...

Doesn't sound like there's many shops like Minotaurs in the world that has the sheer variety of SFF material they stock? Anyone know of one that is similar to ours?

 

[Overread]

Forbidden Planet in London is the only one I can think of - and its not half as big or spacious (always feels rather croweded to me in there). I can't think of any bigger in the UK

 

[GOLLUM]

Yeh we rule!!!!

 

[Overread]

hmm - though there is that Powels Bookshop in the US - Biggest in the world as I recall
but yes - we are all very very jealous!

 

[GOLLUM]

hmm - though there is that Powels Bookshop in the US - Biggest in the world as I recall
but yes - we are all very very jealous!

Tries not to have head grow so large that can't go out the front door......

When I go to the US I would like to go to Powels bookshop. Anyone got photos then??

 

[gully_foyle]

And Minotaur is not just a rent in the fabric of space time that could suddenly disappear. It has been a Melbourne institution for as long as I can remember and I have seen it in at least four incarnations.
- Flinders Lane (early days, comics and Manga)
- Elizabeth St
- Bourke St (multi storey)
- Elizabeth St (other side, big basement).

Back in the days when Minotaur focussed on comics/graphic novels (early/mid 80s) there was a dedicated SFF bookshop in Swanston St, near the Library of Victoria. Danged if I can remember its name, but it was a great bookshop.

Melbourne is Australia's literary heart, there are vast numbers of bookshops there.

To book your flight, just go to ......(is this called whisper marketing?)

 

[GOLLUM]

No please continue...

you know how much I'm enjoying this right?....

 

[Overread]

well if you really want to go on Gollum I say you make the next step - rather than telling us and showing us, now you must let us experience the wonder that is Minotaur - so pay up and mail us the plane tickets!! (oh and we will need accomodation as well, so its either the chrons crashes at yours for the week or you book up a hotel!)