Sydney genre bookshop founded 1968 by Ron and Eve Abbey, now at 131 York Street opposite the Queen Victoria Building, with sci-fi/fantasy sister store Galaxy Bookshop upstairs.
Best for Specialist sci-fi and crime bookshop.
Abbey's Bookshop was founded in Sydney in 1968 by Ron and Eve Abbey at 115 Pitt Street, moving a year later into the Queen Victoria Building. Following the QVB's 1980s restoration it relocated to 66 King Street, where the family also ran Penguin Bookshop (from 1977) and Oxford and Cambridge Bookshop (from 1978); all three moved to the current premises at 131 York Street, opposite the QVB, in 1986. A dedicated genre imprint, Galaxy Bookshop, specializing in science fiction, fantasy and horror, opened separately in 1975 and now operates from the same building. Ron Abbey retired in 1994; after later co-shareholders also retired, Eve Abbey became sole shareholder, with her son Alan Abbey serving as managing director.
Ariel Booksellers, established in 1985 and now at 326 Oxford Street, Paddington, is one of Sydney's oldest independent bookshops, focused heavily on art, design and architecture titles. It also stocks poetry, plays, film history and literature alongside cards, tarot decks and gift items.
Berkelouw Books operates as an online and independent bookshop network with its customer support based at the Paddington store, selling both new and rare books. The site also buys books from customers and lists additional store locations and events.
Better Read Than Dead is a Newtown bookstore described on its site as a literary landmark that nourishes the neighbourhood's intellectual dynamics. It hosts regular author and community events.
Sydney's Newtown bookshop since 1967 — 25,000+ titles spanning history, politics, rare out-of-print, and Australiana.
Best for Dense second-hand books and specialist subjects
Gould's Book Arcade was established in 1967 as a literary hub serving Sydney University and Newtown's intellectually engaged community. The shop moved to its current location at 536 King Street, Newtown in late 2018 (opposite Alice Street, near the New Theatre). It is a local, family-run bookshop and member of the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA). Gould's specializes in out-of-print books, publishers' remainders from the last 40 years, and second-hand books, with Australian history, politics, and Australiana as core specialties. The shop stocks over 25,000 books, mostly non-fiction but including literary fiction, medical journals, New Age self-help, biographies, and rare pamphlets. Established over 50 years ago, Gould's remains a Newtown institution.
Red Eye Records, at 143 York Street, Sydney, sells new and secondhand vinyl, CDs, cassettes and 7-inch singles across genres from rock and jazz to hip-hop, electronic and soundtracks. It also stocks DVDs, Blu-rays, books and magazines, with a dedicated Australian and New Zealand releases section.
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