Deborah is the most professional book store owner that I know. Her staff are so informative and…read morehelpful. I have always used Book Garden as a teacher and as a librarian. Woohoo! As good as it gets!

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.

"Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul.The soul of the person who wrote it and of those…read morewho read it and lived and dreamed with it" - Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind. It's an enchanting feeling & sense of wonder, walking inside one of the biggest & oldest second hand book stores in Australia, Archives Fine Books. Located in Brisbane's CBD (40 Charlotte St), in the John Mills Himself heritage listed building. Every nook & cranny, every hallway, is lined & crowded with books; with that perfectly familiar old smell filling the air reminding you of the wonderland you have been transported to.Where stories & ideas have been captured on every topic possible; if you are looking for it, chances are, Archives Fine Books has it in store. The building itself was built in 1919 by Printer John Mills, & was used by US General MacArthur during World War 2. Archives Fine Books was established in 1985, but since 2008 has been the baby of owners Hamish Alcorn & Dawn Albinger. Speaking to Hamish, we love his passion & love for books as it is refreshingly infectious. Archives Fine Books is truly unique & special when you consider the challenges of surviving as a traditional bookstore, in an age of e-books & all things "digital". Archives Fine Books is also an antiquarian of sorts, as they acquire rare, unusual & collectible books. They've just recently taken hold of a true first edition of H.G. Wells "War of the Worlds", first published in 1898 by Heinemann & priced at $1500. It's easy to lose track of time at Archives Fine Books.You can spend hours looking at amazing collections you won't find anywhere else; a sanctuary for true book lovers, escaping the "noise" of the real world. Whilst we love Paris's historically famous & romantic Shakespeare & Co bookstore, & Porto's exquisite Livraria Lello (Portugal), in Brisbane's Archives Fine Books we have something that's truly wonderful, amazing, & close to our hearts. Go check them out, support local, to ensure the story of Archives Fine Books continues, and to keep the love of books alive!

I found first found Archive's through a friend, having sadly…read morelost the address (and also the name of the store) in the ghostly recesses of my mind I was over the moon of in finding it all over again. I love the other wordly-ness of this store, you can roam the long corridors and feel quite insignificant gazing up at the vast piles of literature. You can also geek over the abundant smell of old literature and spend whole days in perusing the large range of well worn and well loved books. Insider tip! Those with severe dust allergies are strongly recommended to bring a mask (..and perhaps a sandwich because your probably going to be there all day.)

Think, the Crazy Clarks of books. Think, the Dollars & Sense of books... what the…read more They have invented it. All Books 4 Less are basically just that, everything in the store is usually $10 or less. Most books go for $5 and you can grab a bit of a bargain too, like Nigella Lawson's cookbook, other recipe books and autobiographies and fictions... all for cheap. You usually would walk past this place thinking it's one of those fill in shops that don't last long. Well this one is an actual shop. For books, puzzles and other bookshop have or have nots, it's pretty cheap. My only complaint is that, it feels like it only sells not so great books (but it sells some pretty good ones too!). It probably wouldn't be the place you go to find a specific book because the range is pretty general. You can always find a cheap colour in book for your kids though, and that's where i'm at these days anyway.

Strolling along Park Rd a friend and I came across this charming book store. The word charming is…read moremost often synonymous with smaller shops, but this respectably sized store somehow masters the concept while managing to offer plenty of merchandise. Meg Ryan would be proud. When you step inside you are greeted by shelves full of books of all genres, shapes and sizes, an internal coffee shop with a line of customers and a smattering of other bits and pieces such as quirky felt handbags and soft toys. We amused ourselves wandering about and picking up random books. We found some of the sections to be a bit oddly named - the 'recovery' section was full of diet books and the like, which struck us as a bit bizarre. There's a chance they were undergoing a bit of a restructure, but I didn't get that impression. I suppose someone in there just has a bit of a strange concept of dieting. Other than that, this is a great bookstore that I highly recommend.

My parent's live around Milton and we frequently meet up here for a coffee and a catch up every…read moremonth or so. It's promising to see that some of the local, Australian, book chains are still going strong. Especially in time where hard copy novel sales have been in a steady decline. This Mary Ryan's, as mention above also has a little coffee shop inside that serves a great drop, provides some yummy toasted sandwiches and moorish deserts. Perhaps it's because of its locality, every time in at Mary Ryan's there's a good crowd, milling amongst the shelves that contain a popular selection of genre fiction and non-fiction literature. There's also a section dedicated to magazines and newspapers. The Milton store has a ABC feel to it because it also sells a selection of DVDs and CD, that I would say is more for the adult contemporary listener rather than the youth market. I would also suggest that more than often the clients of Mary Ryan's Milton are of the baby boomers and beyond. Non-the-less, if you're going to meet up with your family, this is a pretty good place to do it. If you can go on a weekday afternoon, it's a little quieter and is almost like a library.

Book worms will fall in love with this humble secondhand bookshop on Ipswich Road. Most of their…read morebooks come under three categories: classic literature (find poetry here), Australian literature and general fiction. As you walk to the back of the shop, you'll come across a lounge room environment. Four sets of red couches, all facing each other, with a coffee table, complete with chess board in the middle. Delight! The books are priced according to colour coding. On the first page of each book, you'll find either a red ($5), blue ($8), green ($12), yellow ($16), black ($20) or pink dot ($24). Don't ask me who came up with the prices, but the system they use seems to be fair and easy for everyone to use. It is a volunteer run bookshop, stocked by donations. Their method of book keeping is as quaint as the place itself. When I strolled up to the counter, after having lounged with my new discovered book, I watched the man russell around for a pencil and scrap of paper to write down details of the book he'd just sold. Annerley Community Bookshop is as comfortable as your own lounge room. It serves as a lovely refuge from the smoke and hassle that is Ipswich Road.

This is one of my all time favourite bookstores in Brisbane…read more Don't be fooled by the rather innocuous looking building, this little store has offered up some real treasures over my numerous visits. This store is ideal for those wanting to brush up on the classics, the shelves here are heaving with many great literary titles. I bought one of my first Isabel Allende books here and could not have been more chuffed with the price ($8!) or the friendly service I received. Keep an eye on the coffee table and art books as there is usually a gem hidden somewhere amongst the rubble. (It's where I managed to score a huge 300 page photography tome.) With cosy couches and stacks and stacks of prime reading material to review. (Someone please buy up the vintage National Geographics before I do.) Annerley community book shop is the perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon.

Clicking "Buy Now" on Amazon or Book Depository seems like the easiest way to have the latest best…read moreseller, adult colouring in book or animals giving high five thank you cards (yes, these are a thing and you can buy them at Mary Ryan's) in your hot little hands, but really, who wants to wait for them to arrive. We live in an age of instant gratification. And that, my friends, is what you get walking into Mary Ryan's in New Farm Village. Instant gratification from the well thought out books that line the shelves. Just the right mix of new, niche and even a grand selection for kids. As other Yelpers have noted, they know their target audience well with a brilliant range of travel, fashion, fiction and gift-items. Instant gratification that you can take your book home with you then and there. If you've timed your visit right you can then proceed to spend the afternoon, with a cup of tea, devouring your new book. Instant gratification that you've helped a local businesses. If we live in an era of instant gratification then this is the kind I want. Not the momentary rush of hitting "buy now" and waiting for it to arrive. Damon and his team have kept this little book shop humming when many haven't survived and I hope it stays that way.

It's pretty telling when a wee little chain like Mary Ryan's is still going strong when mega stores…read moresuch as Borders have closed. Mary Ryan's is really good at knowing their market. For instance the New Farm store is a great mix of food, travel, fiction and fantasy and I've ALWAYS found what I needed (or didn't quite know I needed but now need DESPERATELY) when I've visited. The staff are cool and very helpful, there's no judgement if you ask for the latest fantasy novel (we all have guilty secrets OK) and they now sell gourmet chocolates in store. Yes, gourmet chocolates. Way to buy my vote guys!

Walked past here during a tour and circled back after the tour ended…read more Well laid out bookstore. Books are new condition but not necessarily new books. Prices are the same as the other bookstores. Didn't interact with staff and I browsed to see what they had. Love the large selection but prices a bit higher for me.

The best Bookstore in Brisbane !! If you want any book just ask the helpful staff will find it for…read moreyou !

Have you heard the expression, "match made in heaven"?…read more On my last rendezvous in Fortitude Valley, quickly become Brisbane's Mecca for exceptional coffee. I was taken back by the smooth taste of flat white order that may have come about by accident. I asked for an almond flat white, since I wasn't too excited about the soy milk on-hand. Now, I am putting my reputation as a coffee snob and caffeine addict on the line with this next comment...but! " I believe with all my heart that Black Star (Rev - Espresso) Coffee and almond milk hand crafted by the lovely young lady barista at Foundry Records, is the bomb, hands down the best in Brisbane".

From the owner: Foundry Records and Cafe are Brisbane's local dealers in caffeine and vinyl (records not the old…read morefloors from Auntie Tracey's kitchen). We think there is nothing greater in this world then losing yourself in the immersion of your favourite record. To take this to the next level, do this while you slowly sip on some of the best coffee in the world. We love music and all things music, but there isn't enough time in the day for all of it. So, we have become avid lovers of the magic powers of the little brown bean that delivers the finer things in life.