Through the Looking Glass is a cosy little store that has a book for just about everyone. The…read moreshelves all tall and crammed with books divided up into sections like Teenage, Crime, and Poetry. There is a section for children's books and even a basket with second hand music books for pianos. Up the front near the window is an old large cushioned chair, which you can sit in while you have a read of some books. It is really comfy too! The shop has books that are quite new as well as some older ones. I actually saw quite a few books in there that I own which was surprising as I normally associate second hand book stores with really old, musty novels. While this store does stock some of those, it has a lot more modern books at really good prices. A relatively new book costs around $5 -$10 with anything older being cheaper. The owner is really nice and was very friendly. The store is generally closed on Sundays but occasionally she opens it up when she feels like it. It is open 10-5 Monday to Friday and 10-4 on Saturdays.

From the owner: Through the Looking Glass Belgrave is the home of second hand books and other curiosities in the…read morebeautiful Dandenong Ranges. Come and get lost in our extensive book collection for hours, but beware - we're all mad here.

The Belgrave Book Barn is the shop for new books in the hills. It is quite a large store and has a…read morelot to choose from. What I like most about this place is that it stays open really late on a Saturday night - for bookworms like me this is really convenient when we realise that we have no reading material handy on a Saturday night! The sign out the front has only recently been re-vamped but the inside of the store is still showing how old it really is. The floor creaks and when I went there was no music playing so I felt quite self-conscious walking around. There are books in categories like craft, building, cars, fiction, teenage, poetry, gardening... the list is pretty long. I really like the range of gift books in this store, as there is a colossal amount to choose from. (I am a really big gift book fan.) I've been here a few times and each time have had quite a different experience with staff. Some are really friendly and welcoming as you come through the doors while others look away and almost ignore you. Generally there only tends to be one worker at a time and if the shop isn't busy it can be quite a nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Belgrave's main street. The only thing this bookshop is missing is a chair. It is open Monday to Thursday between the hours of 10 and 5.30, Friday 10-9, Saturday from 10-9.30 and Sunday from 11-5.30.

Staff are helpful, knowledgable, and happy to chat. Despite the small size of the store, there's an…read moreimpressive range of comics and collectibles. If you need something that's at the other store, it's no hassle for them to bring it over for you.

Video Busters in Bayswater have a fantastic range of DVD's for hire, and have been servicing…read moreBayswater for many years now. When VHS was the way we watched videos, this place was huge, and you could easily spend an hour looking through the collection. After the DVD revolution, and subsequent shrinking of packaging, these guys moved across the road to smaller premises. Although they still stock tonnes of titles, now its just a little harder to search the range, what with DVD's being so skinny and most of them on the shelves with their spine facing out. Can be a bit tough on the neck. With great deals on offer where you can pick up multiple titles and save, Video Busters is great for those who haven't switched to downloading their movies online, and offers the physical experience that will soon be a thing of the past.