Melbourne is a UNESCO City of Literature, and indie bookstores are why I believe it. Chain stores come and go (RIP to a few). The small shops stay, run by people who will happily talk you into a book you did not come in for.
These are my five. One is open till late, one is basically a library for food people, one is down the road from my house, and two are secondhand treasure boxes where I always leave more than I planned. My bank account would like a word.
In no particular order, here are the indie bookstores in Melbourne I keep going back to.
5 Indie Bookstores in Melbourne to Visit
1. The Paperback Bookshop, Melbourne CBD
The Paperback has been sitting at the quiet top end of Bourke Street since the early 1960s. It got its name because it originally sold only paperbacks, back when imported paperback editions were hard to find in Australia. These days it stocks everything, and the books spill from the shelves onto tables and sometimes the floor.
The best part? It stays open late. Most nights it trades until 10pm, and until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, which makes it the perfect after dinner browse. Small, dim and cosy. Even Dua Lipa named it one of her favourite bookshops in the world (so it is not just me being dramatic).
Find it at 60 Bourke Street, Melbourne, a short walk from Parliament Station. Pellegrini’s is right there if you need an espresso first.
2. Page Two Secondhand Books, Fitzroy
Page Two is tucked into an old warehouse just off Gertrude Street, and the building has lived a few lives before the books moved in. It has been a furniture factory, an Aboriginal art centre and a textile printing shop. It became Page Two in 2002, and today it is crammed with thousands of vintage, preloved and out-of-print titles across just about every genre.
This is the kind of Melbourne indie bookstore that makes you slow down. There is no algorithm here, just stacks and shelves to rummage through until something calls your name. Keep an eye out for the two resident Burmese cats, who are very much part of the staff.
Find it just off Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. Check their Facebook page for opening days before you go.
3. Seddon Book Alley, Seddon
Seddon Book Alley is the secondhand shop in Seddon Village, and it is exactly the kind of place you pop into for five minutes and leave an hour later. The shelves lean towards children’s books, biographies, art, and the crime and fiction titles everyone is actually reading.
A nice surprise is that they also repair and rebind books. So if you have a falling-apart favourite at home, this is where it goes for a second life.
Find it at 107 Victoria Street, Seddon. Make it a Saturday and wander Charles Street afterwards.
4. The Chestnut Tree Bookshop, West Footscray
This is my local, and I am very smug about it. The Chestnut Tree is an independent bookshop and café on Barkly Street with over 10,000 titles, good coffee and cake. It also has a kids’ corner, so parents can browse in peace.
What makes it special is the trees. For every book sold, the shop plants a native tree in a bushfire-affected part of Australia. Buying books is now an environmental act. You are welcome.
It is also a proper community hub, with book clubs, workshops and a monthly storytelling night called Between the Lines. Find it at 542 Barkly Street, West Footscray.
5. Books for Cooks, Queen Victoria Market
Books for Cooks sells books about food and drink, and only books about food and drink. New, old, vintage and antiquarian, from cookbooks to wine guides. For someone who plans holidays around meals, this shop is dangerous.
It spent about 16 years in a terrace on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy before moving to Queen Victoria Market, and it now sits in the heritage market shops on Victoria Street. That means you can buy a cookbook and the ingredients on the same trip. Efficient.
Find it at 115 to 121 Victoria Street, Queen Victoria Market. It is open every day, usually 9 am to 5 pm (10 am on Sundays).
Every one of these shops survives because people walk in and buy a book instead of clicking a button. That is the deal. So next time you are in the city, at the market or out west, skip the algorithm and ask the person behind the counter what they are reading. My to-be-read pile is already taller than me, and I regret nothing.
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