I love books. I am the type of person who likes to buy a book and admire it on my bookshelf after I…read moreread it, even if I don't read it again for a few years. If I had a bigger house, I would love to have a whole room decorated much like the TLC Book store. They have lovely wooden shelves and doorway and the books are displayed with pride. The range of books is surprisingly good for such a small space with a range of non-fiction topics and fiction for adults, kids and teens. It is a nice store to pop your head into if you are in the area.

Boutique book store. This means small, friendly and, yes, intimate. I'm not always a fan of small…read moreshops where I might need to talk when I don't feel like it, but TLC Books is the kind of place where you don't have to leave your comfort zone for a second. The staff are happy to let you browse, and there are so many great books, adults, kids, fiction and non-fiction, to take in, it's easy to see they were lovingly selected. And what do you know? When the time came to talk my fellow Tim Winton enthusiast and I had a great chat.

The best and worst thing you could ever give me is a Folio books voucher…read more I will be elated for days greedily thinking about all the books I have had my eye on, but when the time comes to pick the one book that gets to come home with me I start to panic. Will it be the limited edition Graphic Novel? the book on the history of Swiss Design? the vintage tattoo encyclopedia? the hilarious cat flip-up book?? Of course Folio books has such offerings and a whole load more. It's shelves are groaning with fat glossy art books on show and a large range of fiction to boot. to make matters worse for my wallet, I have recently discovered their online store (+ $9 postage anywhere in australia!) Goodbye money! Hello GREAT RAILWAY MAPS OF THE WORLD (Mark Ovenden, 2010)

If you walk near Albert Street or you're a QUT student, you'll no doubt have fallen across Folio…read moreBooks, but have you gone inside? This guy is just a place with wall-to-wall books on everything from design to art, fashion, food, photography, poetry, design, and just about every topic that's ever been written about. They also have a pretty sweet collection of fiction and some truly fantastic journals and diaries bound to look like antique books. So good. The trouble is picking a section in which to start browsing, because you get turned around and dazed with so many book and category choices. A kind of strange thing that stands out about Folio Books for me is that everything is shiny and new. I like a little bit of history to my books but this isn't an antique store, I must remind myself, so I shouldn't be too judgmental. This place has a ridiculously extensive range of books to delight and inspire.

Sure, it's just a chain store like any other. But this has become my home base for books…read more See, I'm re-reading one of my favourite book series. Dymocks happened to have the series in a nice little hardcover set so I thought i'd go about collecting them as I read through the books. I had gone to random Dymocks to find the next in the series, but this store already seemed to have more stock than the others, and it seems to have expanded to include even more of them (there's 30something in the series) as I've shopped here. Do they have an automated system to stock a series that's selling? Did they take note of me coming in a lot to buy it? Is the manager a fan? I don't know the answer, but I do know that the staff are always super friendly and helpful, and it's a pleasure to shop here.

Here for the Tim Cahill signing. They have opened early so people can buy their books in advanceread more

Great location in downtown and easy to find. Store is well laid out but selection of books seem…read morelimited. I wandered around for a bit and wasn't approached by any sales clerks. Unlike in the US where they have someone positioned in the front and others walking around the floor. Pricing seems on par for Australia but much higher than what we'd pay in the States. Found a few books I would have loved to buy but even with the favorable exchange rate I can't justify spending hard bank prices for a paperback.

The worm has turned. For years, Dymocks cowered in the shadow cast by the golden tome Borders. Who…read morewould have foreseen Dymocks rising from the ashes of their enemy's burial ground? (NB: I'm taking literary license here. In reality, Dymocks sprung up diagonally across the road.) The re-vamped Dymocks on Albert Street is pretty popular these days. There are always people browsing the new releases or specials near the door. On the second level, books are arranged in categories such as art, computer, cook books and gardening. They have an impressive variety of specialist books, though it's hardly surprising given their shop space. Also, keep your eye out for book signings. Admittedly, the last time I went, it was Ray Martin signing his latest book 'Ray Martin's Favourites' but some of my favourite authors are bound to show up eventually.

Spotted this used bookstore while on a tour, stopped by after the tour to take a look. They've…read moremanaged to pack in a lot of books in a small space. Books are in great to excellent condition condition. Prices are marked in pencil on the first white page. Most books are $10. Want a bargain? Look for the suitcase with $5 books. Staff is friendly and helpful. They take cash or card. I only had a small backpack with me so could only purchase one book but would have bought more if I had a bigger bag. Will come back next time I'm in town.

This was another one of those great second-hand bookshops that I accidentally stumbled across while…read moreout exploring. Actually, this place is pretty cool, and really does have that musty feel of second-hand books lining the walls. They have a pretty decent selection as well, though it can be a bit difficult for me to find a book that I am interested in these days. Still, it's a second-hand bookshop, so I'll be giving it points for that.

Nerds! This way! Next to Groove Cafe on Ipswich Road, there's a corridor. Down this corridor and to…read moreyour right is the doorway to Ace Comics and Games. It doesn't matter what type of nerd or geek you are, you're probably going to find something to lose your marbles over here. They've got your standard comic collection, comic figurines (awesome figurines of Poison Ivy and Batman in the front window display), magic cards, box sets, so on and so on. Across the corridor there's a spacious room set up with what looks like school furniture. This is where you come to meet your fellow game gurus. Friday night is game night, which is why they're open until late. The game ends when it ends, maan.

I'd hope that there would be more places like this in Brisbane, but it's not always going to be…read more While comics are receiving a revival of late, I fear it may solely rest upon the digital market where new graphic novels and comics are being consumed. Still, it's enough that there's a market for people who want to hold a book, rather than finger it that makes this place work. If you're in the neighborhood and want to get your hands on some graphic novels, miniatures, table top, DnD stuff etc then you should be ok. While they don't have a range as big as Comics Etc, these guys cater to a larger audience who share a few different tastes.

Only recently have I begun to be consumed by the world of comic books and graphic novels. I have…read morealways had a interest in them but never to any deep extent. I loved the cartoon adaptations of comics when I was a kid (like X-Men, Spiderman, and Fantastic Four), I bought the figurines, but I never actually read the comics. It was not until later in life that I started on a few graphic novels and comics. Now I am hooked. Ace Comics and Games is the perfect spot to indulge my new found love of comics. They do tend to stock more graphic novels and don't have the biggest range in their Queen Street store but the staff are awesomely knowledgeable and friendly and if they don't have something in stock they happily source it for you. You might not even notice Ace Comics unless you were specifically observant or were looking for it on purpose. From the Queen Street Mall all you see is a sign near a doorway next to Wallace Bishop. Walk up a few steps and you make your way into the kind of old looking shop but who really is looking at the paint work when the walls are lined with comics anyway. Ace comics really is a good shop to browse, buy or just generally stand in awe of the awesomeness that surrounds you.

This store is very off the beaten track ;-) ..... You walk down a secret hallway adjacent to a…read morecurrency exchange and jewelers and you then get to walk up 5 flights of stairs. The store is quite big and spacious and filled with everything you want. They focus primarily on comics with a few tables out the back for gaming and competitions. There is a small selection of manga and light novels aswell as a bookcase of anime dvds. Prices are pretty standard for Brisbane, quite inflated but I guess you get what you pay for if you choose to buy in person rather than online. Perfect store to visit if you're in Queen Street and don't want to walk all the way over to Elizabeth Street to visit the other two comic book stores

I'm sick of all the endless debates over the death of the bookshop. While technology has certainly…read morechanged the way readers interact with books, the need to tell and listen to stories will never die. Though its demographic may change, there will always be a place for a physical bookshop. I like to think that QBD, which has been in Garden City for about twenty years, is an excellent example of this. It has survived the rise and fall of Bookworld, Borders and Angus and Robertson, and has consistently maintained a loyal customer following. It's true they don't have the largest range of books at your fingertips but they will at least stock the bestsellers and the top twenty fiction novels. Plus, they're extremely helpful when it comes to getting books in. They can usually do it within three days and at a reasonable price. Of course, their prices are a little higher than Amazons or The Book Depository but I think there are enough book lovers out there who appreciate the benefits of a physical bookshop to keep this shop going. Parents of young children take note. They also have an excellent range of kids' hard cover books. For under $10, I can usually pick up a pop-up book with magnets, puzzles, stickers, audio and colour in pages.