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The town itself is also lovely, with large ornate houses built in a variety of Australian styles dating from the first half of the 20th Century, typically featuring verandahs and timber fretwork. Many of the buildings in the centre of town retain their Art Deco facades, perhaps a little faded. The town seemed largely unspoilt, both architecturally and in terms of the variety of shops on offer, as though tourism hadn't affected it too much. And it was lovely to find so many secondhand book shops and antique stores.
For anyone in search of vintage Penguins, the best of these was Mr Pickwick's Fine Old Books. We found several old Penguins amongst the discounted stock in front of the shop, and then descended the staircase to find this wonderful wall awaiting, with most of these books priced around $4.50 to $6.00:
And if the scenery and the architecture and the book shops weren't reasons enough to love being in Katoomba, we found yet another the following morning when we awoke to find the entire town blanketed in snow, rather unexpectedly, given that it was the middle of spring, and rather dauntingly, given that we were carrying nothing warmer than a few lightweight jumpers. So it was straight to the charity stores, in competition with all the other stranded tourists, in search of anything to help us cope with the freezing weather.
However before being snowed-in we did manage to visit Springwood, and found another two Blue Mountains book shops with a great stock of Penguins in JimmyD's and Brown Books.
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When I visit London I usually have the time to go only to Charing Cross, and I'm always unpleasantly surprised by the fact that the second-hand shelves are mostly filled with bland/ugly editions from the last couple of decades (I think book design plunged into the abyss around early-to-mid 90's). Even five years ago the situation was not that gloomy, and I was usually unable to afford all that I wanted to buy. Now I'm lucky if I pick a handful of books. So it's nice to know that some places still exist with a good stock of older paperbacks. I have a suspicion, though, that once their current stock is gone, it won't be easily replenished.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I never see anything like this in Western Australia,which made it rather special to descend into this bookshop and find a wall of Penguins. Perhaps Skoob Books would be a better place to head to in London? When I was there last the proprietor took me into an underground vault which was similarly lined with old Penguins, and many other books.
DeleteYes, I discovered Skoob thanks to you, and visited it on the last couple of trips, bringing back some pleasing finds. No invite to the special vault, though! And again, most of the general fiction section was depressingly recent editions. I would have welcomed selections of old Pan, Panther, Arrow, Fontana or suchlike paperbacks, similar to the Penguin shelves. For some reason, these seem to have an even lower survival rate than Penguins.
DeleteI sometimes wonder if the small format paperbacks of the type you mention, and the 1960's Penguins with less appealing covers, get discarded by bookshops and charity stores under the mistaken assumption that there is no longer any interest in such books. I find that I only tend to see them in the type of bookshop not striving for any effect with its stock but trying rather to appeal to a broad spectrum of tastes, such as book exchanges and small rural shops. I know I saw some yesterday when travelling along the Hume Highway, which is unfortunately no help to you.
DeleteAlas. I make up for it on the internet, but that is of course 3 times as expensive (with postage), and the keen pleasure of finding a wanted book unexpectedly on the shelf is absent.
DeleteLove your finds Karyn. Also love the snow. I thought about you the other day when I watched the news knowing all of you were there. At least you had lots to read though I doubt your children would be as happy reading a Penguin as you are. Keep up the happy hunting. You may need some snowshoes.
ReplyDeleteHave you been to Katoomba, Pam? I thought Tasmania was great, but I have to say that Katoomba is even better. And vintage Penguins everywhere. The snow was all gone by the next day, so we had the bizarre experience of freezing temperatures one day, and normal spring temperatures the next.
DeleteFirst, I love the snow. Can't wait till we get some here in DC. Second, these places look like heaven for you.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a city where it never snows, and a state in which it snows rarely, so it was very exciting for us, despite the fact that we were completely unprepared for the freezing weather. I cannot believe how lucky my children are: I took them to England during an autumn when they had unexpected snow, and now to the East Coast in spring when the same thing has happened.
DeleteThe Blue Mountains look absolutely stunning! It was fun seeing your photos of the snow on instagram. What a fun and beautiful vacation.
ReplyDeleteIt has been the break I needed. And I cannot believe I have been to Sydney so many times without venturing up into the mountains. They were amazing.
DeleteOh I envy you those bookstores. I never see that many Penguins.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Washington State here in the US, near the Blue Mountains - I had a moment of deja vu when I saw the title of your post :)
I've never seen that many myself, even in Hay-on-Wye. It was an amazing moment when I descended that staircase, although I did already own most of them. I found about 15 though to add to the collection.
DeleteThat scenery is just amazing. And the bookshops are wonderful - but you can keep the snow!
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that I'm envious!
ReplyDeleteIt's all gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteUnexpected snow and good secondhand bookshops, sounds like bliss. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful finds and also the bookshelves! Mouthwatering stuff! I think you are right about shops discarding the older Penguins - there are only a couple of charity shops round here who stock them, and the rest just go for modern rubbish! Like Polecat I tend to end up on eBay but it's much more fun to find the books in person!
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