Melbourne Shopping

  1. Architext

    Even if you're not looking for a text about houses built on cliffs, this shop is dang swanky. Architext covers the gamut of design and architecture-related titles, including environmental architecture, urban design, photography, theory, journals and magazines. It also stocks the best range of Melbourne-specific books: look for titles by author Philip Goad or photographer John Gollings.

    Read more about Architext

  2. Brunswick Street Bookstore

    Upstairs at this enduring and loved bookstore is a specialised selection of well-sourced art literature, from books on skateboard stickers to Caravaggio. A large white ottoman gives this space a gallery feel and a place for people to browse the pages of the display books. Downstairs is stocked with recent releases, classic contemporary titles and a smattering of theory.

    Read more about Brunswick Street Bookstore

  3. Chronicles Bookshop

    It's elbows in and neck out while looking for books among Chronicles' walls of tightly crammed titles. Contemporary fiction is the thing here, particularly Australian literature and crime fiction. Nonfiction specialities include travel and cooking. Savvy staff at this compact store can help find your perfect read. Or grab a card and pen and scrawl a greeting home from the recessed courtyard café next door.

    Read more about Chronicles Bookshop

  4. Foreign Language Bookshop

    Read Paulo Coelho in Spanish, pick up a Scrabble board in French, or perhaps some tapes in Russian for those long car journeys. The Foreign Language Bookshop has more than texts to help you learn German grammar or Japanese kanji; it's a den of surprises, and stocks a range of travel-related titles, international magazines and educational aids for kids.

    Read more about Foreign Language Bookshop

  5. Polyester

    If Charles Manson had a personal library, Polyester Books would be it. Specialising in literature, magazines and audiovisual materials on topics from satanic cult sex to underground comics and everything in between, Polyester Books detests censorship. Its pride in its product and outspoken stance have attracted the attention of police, with Polyester facing legal battles.

    Read more about Polyester

  7. Readings

    Readings invites…well, reading, with beanbags in the kids area and bench seating in the literature section. Service goes beyond posting recent reviews and imparting well-founded opinion. Readings' side-window is a community service, displaying handwritten calls for housemates. Readings has a unique supply of Australian poetry and fiction, CDs and DVDs, and hosts regular in-store events with local and international literary speakers and musicians.

    Read more about Readings