Sydney Bookshops

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Abbey's Bookshop

131 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Tel: (+61 2) 9264 3111 or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 426 657), Website: www.abbeys.com.au, Book enquiries: books@abbeys.com.au, Open: Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri 8:30am-7pm, Thu 8:30am-9pm, Sat 8.30am-6pm, Sun & Public Holidays 10am-5pm, Closed Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Good Friday.
In business for almost 40 years, Abbey's is an Australian owned, independent bookshop stocking more than 40,000 titles. As well as the very latest bestsellers, you'll find a wide-range of classic titles along with sections devoted to history, science, religion, psychology, travel, music and art. Upstairs, the first floor Language Book Centre stocks all manner of learning course material, as well as fictional foreign language titles (such as folktales in Asian, European and other community languages), while Australia's largest range of science fiction, fantasy and horror material is found nearby at the company's Galaxy Bookshop on York Street. For titles not in stock, Abbey's work with their suppliers to have them shipped within 24 hours, while books can also be ordered online using their website.

The Adyar Bookshop

230 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Tel: (+61) 02 9267 8509, Website: www.adyar.com.au, E-mail: sales@adyar.com.au, Open: Mon-Friday 8.30am-6pm, Thu 8.30am-8pm, Sat 9am-5.30pm, Sun 11am-5pm
Priding itself as being Australia's oldest metaphysical and alternative bookstore, Adyar covers everything from astrology and Buddhism to Eastern Medicine, Jungian psychology, mysticism, tarot, numerology and yoga. With more than 40,000 titles in stock, along with search facilities to source over 2 million titles from around the world, chances are that if it's still in print, then Adyar can obtain it for you.

With a pleasant, spacious interior, a visit to Adyar's is enhanced all the more by book signings, frequent talks and other special events, while a quality newsletter - Adyar Booknews - provides book/CD reviews and a regular competition. In addition, the shop carries an extensive range of gift items including cards, crystals, essential oils and incense, while CDs and videos can be found here as well.

Ashwoods Music & Books

Lower Ground Level, 129 York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 (Opposite Queen Victoria Building), Tel: (+61 2) 9267 7745, Website: www.ashwoods.com, Open: Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri 9.30am-6.30pm, Thu 9.30am-8pm, Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sunday closed
With a history dating back to 1932, Ashwoods remains one of the best places in Sydney to source specialist music books including sheet music, along with a wide-range of collectibles on vinyl, CD and video. Today, the business - which was named by Sydney City Council as one of a select group of ten 'Small Business Icons In The CBD'. - also has a strong web presence, with jazz albums, 78s, soundtracks and folk/country albums all available for purchase online.

Basement Books

Shop 1, Henry Deane Plaza, 2 Lee Street, Haymarket NSW 2000 (in the basement of Medina apartments near Central Station and Railway Square), Tel: (+61 2) 9211 7726, Website: www.basementbooks.com.au, Open:
Basement by way of location, rock-bottom in terms of pricing, this likeable downtown store offers a huge range of popular titles (and CDs) for up to 90% off the recommended retail price. With a stock of over 10,000 books, categories such as craft, design and cooking are particularly well-represented, while children's books and fictional titles are also popular sellers.

Borders (Skygarden)

77 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Tel: (+61 2) 9235 2433, Website: www.bordersstores.com, Open: Mon-Wed 9am-7pm, Thu 9am-9.30pm, Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 9am-6.30pm, Sun 10am-6pm
While Borders has a presence elsewhere in Sydney (at Bondi Junction and Parramatta to be precise), this is their most central bookstore. Situated at the Skygarden between Pitt Street Mall & Castlereagh Street, you'll find a huge selection of titles, along with magazines, CDs and DVDs. What's more, frequent booking signings, film groups and children's readings also take place here, so check the Borders website for an in-store calendar of events.

Dymocks

424 George St, Sydney NSW 2000 (between King & Market Streets), Tel: (+61 2) 9235 0155, Website: www.dymocks.com.au, Open: Mon-Wed 8.30am-6.30pm , Thu 8.30am-9pm, Fri 8.30am-6.30pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-5.30pm
Founded in 1879 by William Dymock, who first sold books from a rented room in Market Street, this well-known chain today operates 21 stores in Sydney, with further outlets nationwide. The company's main branch, which is located at George Street, carries a great choice of fictional and reference titles, along with plenty of children's books and a whole section devoted to science fiction (including toys and DVDs). With late opening on Thursday nights, it's also convenient store for dropping by after work, thanks to a prominent downtown location.

Galaxy Bookshop

143 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Tel: (+61 2) 9267 7222, Website: www.galaxybooks.com.au, Open: Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri 8:30am-7pm, Thu 8:30am-9pm, Sat 8.30am-6pm, Sun & Public Holidays 10am-5pm, Closed Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Good Friday
Cut from the same cloth as Abbey's Bookstore, Galaxy is Australia's oldest sci-fi, fantasy and horror bookshop, with suitably large sections devoted to TV favourites such as Star Wars, Star Trek and Doctor Who, along with US series such as Angel, Charmed, Farscape, Stargate SG1 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

As Sydney's equivalent to London's Forbidden Planet, you'll also find plenty of role play and fantasy material, including Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms titles, plus classic books by J R R Tolkien. With other sections devoted to sci-fi art, popular science and horror, Galaxy also carries a wide-range of Manga comics, along with film-related merchandise including special edition DVDs and videos.

Napoleon's of Sydney

139 York St, Sydney NSW 2000, Tel: +61 2 9264 7560, Website: www.napoleons.biz,
As well as Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars and Heavy Gear roleplay handbooks, Napolean's has a wide-range of military action figures, board games, collectibles, Osprey modelling books and wargame rules. In addition, you'll find the very latest console games, together with a large selection of DVDs and videos. A slick web presence also makes it easy to order online, with special/orders and international orders fulfilled.

Travel Bookshop

Shop 3, 175 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Tel: (+61 02) 9261 8200, Website: www.travelbooks.com.au, Open: Mon-Fri 9am- 6pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Closed Sunday
Along with a wide-range of travel guides, phrase books, maps and accessories, this likeable downtown shop (close to Hyde Park) also features travel writing from the likes of Bill Bryson and Michael Palin, plus a choice of second hand titles and all manner of language tapes/CDs, mountaineering/adventure, diving and surfing books. For convenience, there's also an American Express Foreign Currency Exchange on site, where you can exchange your AMEX travellers' cheques for a small fee.

Gould's Book Arcade

32 King Street, Newton NSW 2042, Tel: (+61 2) 95198947, Website: www.gouldsbooks.com.au, Open daily from 8am-midnight, Public Holidays: 9am-11pm, Christmas Day: 3pm-10pm
With nearly a million books in stock, Gould's is a well-established arcade in Sydney's Newton district. As well as specialising in out of print books and publishers remainders, it also carries a wide-range of second hand books and magazines. In particular, Australian history and politics and Australiana are the main specialty areas, while an art collection covers military history, poetry, cinema, plays, science, philosophy and fiction.

Berkelouw

19 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021, Tel: (+61 2) 9360 3200, Website: www.berkelouw.com.au, Open daily: 9.30am-midnight
With two locations in Sydney, Berkelouw has been in business since 1812, making it the country's oldest rare and antiquarian, out-of-print, secondhand and new bookseller. As a family concern for over six generations, its landmark store in Paddington (near to Victoria Barracks) opened in March 1994 and boasts three storeys of new, rare and secondhand books. In addition, the company offers both a buying and book binding/repair service, while an in-store cafe is a popular draw throughout the day, meeting with Oxford Street's round-the-clock lifestyle.

Bookware

Shop G.07, Ground floor, Konica Minolta Building, 122 Arthur Street, North Sydney NSW 2060, Website: www.bookware.com.au, Open: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 11am-4pm
Having recently moved, Bookware is actually situated fairly close to its old premises in North Sydney. Covering all major programming languages, you'll find books on VB, ASP and Java, as well as Internet related technologies, operating systems (i.e. Windows XP and Linux), E-commerce and project management. A sizeable online presence also allows customers to make secure purchased on the Internet.