I love second-hand bookshops, though whenever I step inside one I end up adding more to my pile of…read morebooks to read (which is probably not a bad thing, but then I do wander if I'm even going to be able to get through all of them). Another thing about these shops, especially when I am wandering through a foreign city, is that whenever I see one I simply feel compelled to step inside to a gander (though it always ends up with me buying more books). Mind you, this place is more than just books as she also have a collection of records and second-hand clothes. I also found her to be quite pleasant to chat to, unlike some second-hand bookshop owners who simply seem to sit behind their desk reading books.

From the owner: Grand Days is about the tactile; Books, Records, Collectables. The stuff of art, culture, society,…read morehistory. We offer the opportunity to tread an unexpected path, to be surprised and excited; by a timeless classic, an obscure album, a book that has travelled the world and had numerous lovers or been faithful to the one companion. Like any good bookstore our fiction range covers the classics, contemporary and Australian literature, sci fi, and thrillers, plays and poetry. We have books on art, architecture, history, the sciences, personal development, business, sport, theatre, film, music, true crime along with foreign language, reference and text books. We have a room devoted to vinyl which houses an eclectic mix of Rock, Pop, Funk Soul and Disco, Jazz, Country, Folk, Latin and Classical records. Collectable items such as clothes, bric a brac, along with unique artefacts and mementos round out the selection. Grand Days has history. Paul Bugden established his Kings Cross bookshop 17 years ago in Victoria Street. Bugdens Books moved to the larger William Street site in 2002 and added vinyl to the mix. Tamara and Tom took over in 2013 and, in homage to both Frank Moorehouse's heroine Edith Campell Berry and all things glorious, named the shop Grand Days.

I'm a big fan of second hand books, obviously it's impossible to tell when a book is third hand,…read morefourth hand or even twenty eight hand, but being not first hand there is inherent interest there for me. I wandered past a second hand book shop on my way to lunch today, as I was hungry I didn't stop but proceeded to my immanent meal time. However, I did make a mental note to venture into the dusty archives on my return journey. Cut to forty five minutes later and I'm halfway through my return journey, I venture into the book shop. "Shop keep" I say. "I'm looking for a Science book by John Gribson." He dutifully gets up from his seat behind the counter and leads me to the science section, he helps me look, nothing. "John Gribbin he asks?" I reply, "No, Seaton Kay-Smith, nice to meet you." He says, "John Gribbin's the author, not Gribson." I nod and smile, he shows me some of Gribbin's books, these are not the titles I'm after. But now I am equipped with the author's real name and my chances of success in any future author uncovering endeavours will be less painful and more gainful. He asks if there's anything else I'm after, I tell him no but I'll browse. And I browse. I wouldn't want to lie now would I. I scan the writing books and the film books, the screenplays and theatre and am amazed by what a large range this shop has, particularly in my areas of interest. Judging by it's humble shop front, one would assume it were simply a small bookshop where you would be lucky to come across something of personal value, let alone multiple books of interest, but that I did. Of course given the nature of knowledge and it's ever changing face, many of the tomes housed within this shop are outdated; the techniques one would use to produce a film back in 1985 would have changed substantially within the last 26 years with technology, communications and general industry awareness, but there are plenty of books here that will never go out of date and it's those books that will keep people coming back to places like Bugden's Books.

Bugden's Bookshop has such a pleasing and homely name I couldn't resist popping in here in the…read morehopes of stepping into a cosy little den of second-hand knowledge from a bygone era. It wasn't quite that. The rows of books were shelved on those horrid beige metal racks that he must have acquiesced from a closing down library, and I found the shopkeeper fairly uncommunicative, lost in his own world of classical music and high-brow books. The long shop proved itself to be a treasure trove of interesting books though, beyond the bestseller section there are some imaginative genres that the books are placed under. I came across both an 'esoteric' and a 'discourse' section, how about that for highbrow? Don't miss the back rooms as well which house a huge array of records and biographies. In a charmingly old fashioned style, the books are priced in pencil on the inside of the book cover. I didn't spot many books over $10 so it is ideal for a bargain too!

I really liked this small shop…read more They offer a ton of great books, many of which are hard-to-find. Whether the subject is science fiction, biographies or travel, they offer a good number of books, most of which are specific to the LGBT community. The customer service was good and helpful. The Bookshop is open late on Fridays and Saturdays so it's a perfect spot to browse later in the evening.

Did I just walk into a gay adult book store? I'm not actually sure…read more I think so. There were posters of men, gay tales novels, and Ellen Degeneris. But there was also other novels and magazines too. And there was no warning upon entry that I was entering some place unsavoury or particularly oriented. Well maybe that's it. Maybe it's a normal book store, that just happens to have an unusually high content of material of a certain nature, tailored for those of a non-heterosexual orientation. Tyler, that's an gay adult book store. Sigh, ok, maybe it was. Anyway, if you're not worried about connotations or questions being asked, or eyebrows being raised in your direction, have a browse. Though if you're a straight guy like myself, you may not find anything worth while. But if you do; report back. What type of store is it again?