Latest news with #secondhandbooks
ABC News
03-08-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Century-old water tower in Wodonga transformed into unique bookshop
With its towering, cylindrical form and circular internal shelves, booklovers who enter regional Victoria's newest bookshop have to be willing to fossick for titles in a confined space. Wodonga's 100-year-old water tower has been transformed into a second-hand book store by Melissa Boyes. For decades, the water tower housed a shoe repair business but has sat empty for the past year. "When we first took occupancy, it was very empty and echoey … we've tried to soften it with a bit of carpet, and obviously a lot of books," Ms Boyes said. When the local council asked for expressions of interest for people to occupy the space, Ms Boyes knew a bookshop was the answer. She had experience in such ventures, having opened her first bookshop in an old tobacco shed on her farm in north-east Victoria. "You can squeeze bookshelves in anywhere, and you can make do with the space that you have," she said. In Victoria's south west, Jo Canham had just finished an arts degree in literature and criminology when she decided to ditch a career in the justice system and open a bookshop instead. In 2004, she moved to Port Fairy where she transformed an old Masonic Lodge into a bookshop. "It had previously operated as a church and youth centre, so there were crosses, bibles and even a step-into baptismal font," Ms Canham said. Her store, Blarney Books & Art, was also once home to a bowling alley that ran the entire length of the hall. "We considered for a while whether we should have a combined books and bowling spot, but it was incredibly loud," she said. "We've chopped it up, used it for tables, benches, and other things, so it hasn't been wasted." A health scare and the need for a tree change inspired Ann and Paul Smith to open a little bookshop in a quaint gold rush town on the outskirts of Castlemaine in central Victoria. Mr Smith had previously managed a bookshop in Melbourne for Frank Cheshire before purchasing the 1854 Bath Arms Hotel at Campbell's Creek in 1994. "There was already a good, new bookshop in Castlemaine, so we thought we'd be the good second-hand bookshop," Ms Smith said. Now, the renovated building houses approximately 150,000 books in nine rooms. "It's probably the biggest second-hand bookshop in Australia now, I think," Ms Smith said. Water towers and watering holes are not the only heritage buildings in Victoria being repurposed as bookshops — there are old school buildings too. At Beechworth, in Victoria's north east, a former schoolroom and chapel for the Wesleyan church built in 1854 now houses the Quercus Bookshop. The volunteer-run social enterprise has operated as a second-hand bookstore alongside an opportunity shop since 2008. "It's a space where community can come together, and we offer community activities and support programs," operations manager Heather Jameson said.
New York Times
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
He Searched for His Past in Children's Books. He Found His Wife's.
In retirement, Steve Mills began collecting secondhand books that he had read as a child. It was an effort to reawaken lost memories. His search revealed more about his family's past than he'd thought possible. He was at home in Hockley, east of London, flipping through titles from a recent book haul from a charity shop. Inside the pages of an early hardcover edition of 'The Naughtiest Girl Again,' by the English author Enid Blyton, he found a girl's handwritten notes from more than 50 years earlier. It took a few moments for Mr. Mills to grasp who the writer was: his wife, Karen. At first, Mr. Mills, a 67-year-old former civil servant, simply recognized an address in the town where his wife had grown up, written in a child's handwriting. He brought the book to Ms. Mills, and said, 'Oh look, they used to live in the village you came from,' Mr. Mills recalled. The address had been her childhood home, though it was spelled wrong. Ms. Mills couldn't believe it. Surely, she thought, her husband must be playing a trick on her. 'I thought at first that it was him being a silly bugger,' she said. 'I actually said to him, 'Are you trying to misspell our first address?'' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Arab News
22-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Dust, paper, and crowds: Inside the Peshawar book bazaar that never runs out
PESHAWAR: In a narrow alley in the heart of Peshawar's walled city, the scent of dusty pages lingers in the air as visitors step into Chaka Gali, a book bazaar believed to be even older than Partition that continues to serve students and collectors with stacks of used and rare titles at prices few other markets can match. Thought to have been there in some form before 1947, the market remains one of the oldest surviving second-hand book bazaars in Pakistan. Its tight street is lined with small, dimly lit shops where wooden shelves sag under the weight of textbooks, novels, encyclopedias and exam guides. Some titles lie in neat piles. Others are scattered on the ground. Most have passed through many hands. 'Chaka Gali is more than 70 years old,' Abdul Jameel, a bookshop owner in his 50s, told Arab News. 'You can see the houses [around]. They are almost older than the partition [of Pakistan and India].' The market's offerings cater to a wide range of interests. Textbooks for schoolchildren sit alongside Urdu and English fiction, MBBS manuals, CSS prep guides, and religious literature, all at steeply discounted prices. 'You can find any sort of book here,' Jameel continued. 'If you need books for primary school for children [or] course books, they can be found here. If you need general English novels, they are also available. If you require Urdu novels, you can get them from here.' The books, he said, come from multiple sources. Some are purchased from families clearing out private collections while others are supplied by scavengers who collect discarded books from homes and streets and resell them to vendors in the lane. He identified Lahore's famed Urdu Bazaar — a historic hub of Pakistan's publishing trade — as the third source, noting that it supplies unsold or surplus books to dealers across the country. Jameel said many of these brand-new but excess titles are passed on to vendors at reduced prices. This benefits the market's primary customers who come not for the love of books but because they have no other choice. 'The buyers mainly come from the lower class,' he said. 'Those who can't buy books for children [since they can't afford them] come and take old books from us.' Jameel said such buyers arrive in the lane 'out of compulsion, not a passion for reading.' 'The craze for reading has almost ended,' he added. Ismail Khan, another second-hand bookseller in his 30s, said he had worked in the market for 15 years. He pointed out that the rise of digital learning and online reading has cut into sales, though physical books still hold emotional and practical value for many. 'The sales of old books has declined these days,' he noted. 'If you see, many people read ebooks.' However, he noted some readers prefer the tactile experience of a physical book and aren't drawn to screens. He also blamed the shrinking customer base on widespread financial hardship. 'A book that previously cost Rs100 is now available for Rs500,' he continued, adding that many people have lost the capacity to buy new books. Hasir Mir, one of the regular visitors to the lane, said he is a pharmacy student who has relied on Chaka Gali for his academic needs since school. 'I have bought all books of Grade 8, 9 and 10 … from here,' he said. 'One of the reasons is that the prices here are reasonable compared to other places.' Beyond affordability, he observed, the market offers an unmatched range of books. 'I can easily find pharmacy-related books here,' he added. 'If you are doing IT, ACCA or you are a student of any other field, you can find the books you want.' For Mir and many others, Chaka Gali is more than just a marketplace — it's a lifeline. Visitors to the second-hand market say that in a country where inflation has turned books into a luxury, the lane quietly preserves the belief that knowledge should remain within reach — even if the pages are a little worn.
