What a great second hand bookshop! It's an amazing array of disorganised wall to wall, floor to…read moreceiling clutter, plus piles on the floor to rummage through , or step over. The quality of books on any given subject seemed to be exemplary, with care and thought clearly given to selection of titles for the store. My particular area of interest - Art books had a stong collection on many topics with a definate local emphasis, great for anyone with strong South Australian interests! The most expensive book I encountered was $30 - a fairly large scale hard cover glossy art book and would have been worth over $100 first time around. I am told by locals that the owner of the store, who was a bespectacled, white haired linen shirt wearing barefoot sort has an encyclopedic knowledge of the contents of his little literary haven. If you're looking for something specific, he is said to be capable of locating in a flash... no cataloguing, no databases, no website, not even a phone number. So if you're a book worm like me you'd best pop in for a browse next time you're in the area.

I can vouch for the encyclopedic knowledge of the little man who own's Elliot Books…read more I was there a few years ago looking for a rare out of print book by an Australian psychoanalyst/hypnotherapist who traveled around the world studying the mystic practices of various religions(don't ask me why its a long story). I tried everywhere, online and all book shops around town, but to no avail.That was of course until I popped into Elliot Books. Within a few minutes of rummaging, the chap from Elliot Books had what I was looking for, and in quite good condition considering its age. Since then I have a look around at Elliot Books every time I am in the area. I usually manage to pick up something of interest, more often than not for between $5-$10 bucks.

This shop was like a little treasure trove to me recently when looking for Xmas presents for hard…read moreto buy for people. They have some fantastic things that aren't just books as well as the usual book store stuff. Like heaps of little packs on everything from making sushi to pilates to learning to play harmonica. They also had some great packs for kids learning to read with a book and cd of popular characters like Toy Story. I found a great Transformers boxed set for under $30 that looked amazingly special. I also found some of the coolest games here. Like one where the right answer is the wrong answer. And one with kids vs adults. And a special Top Gear item for my partner. There was seriously something here for everyone and anyone. Definitely not just your usual book shop anymore.

The name of this shop really reveals nothing about it. When I went into it I had never heard of it…read moreor seen anything like it. I think it is even going to be a struggle to explain. Walk in and you see what looks and smells like a block of chocolate. Next to it, a tin of biscuits. Around the room there are cakes, bottles of wines, soccer balls etc. However, they are all books. Yes books that are made to look like what they are discussing. Inside each of the books it discusses the history of each item, including photos and quotes. I can't decide if this is tacky or cool? Mum and I decided that they would be a lot better if they were notepads or diaries. How good would it be to have a diary that looked and smelt like chocolate? You can't really use a history book too much, but it could be a good dining table book. The lady working there told us that the books were great for presents. Hilarious giving someone a bottle of wine and it actually being a book (I for one would be extremely disappointed). However, it is a good idea for children. They would think it was fun, whilst also learning about their chosen item!

Toots Books is a truly creative concept of a book store and I can't say I've ever seen anything…read morelike it before. They sell books that come in shapes of actual objects such as a chocolate bar, a football, a shoe or a CD. At first glance I didn't even know what it was until the friendly lady behind the counter explained what it's all about. Take for example the book that looks like a bottle of wine: they sell it in a cardboard box that looks like a box with real wine. The book inside then tells the story of wine with plenty of pictures and trivia. I really like the idea of the shop and it's certainly fun to look at all their things. Would I buy it for myself? Probably not, but it can be a great gift idea!

The Book Boys have 8 stores in Adelaide and are a South Australian company that started in 2005…read more Similar to QBD, they stock large numbers of heavily discounted books, and much more non fiction than fiction. By shopping here you are supporting local business which is good, but The Book Boys aren't really supporting high quality literature which is bad. The shelves are largely sci fi, vampire porn, poor quality chick lit and cook books. Sorry dudes, but it's like you're picking your stock from the Women's Weekly Top Ten lists. Like QBD they have a small 'literature' section next to the equally disrespected poetry shelves. This area is the only place in the whole store I would actually find a good novel that I'd like to buy, but unfortunately recent releases don't seem to be stocked by this chain. This is another book store that I try to avoid: clinical, mostly badly written novels, but at low low prices.

Book boys is great for finding gifts for those people you have no idea what to buy and don't want…read moreto spend a lot. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has some of these on their list? I know that chances are I can find something for almost anyone in here (yes I know these gifts will probably end up in the back of a wardrobe, or re-gifted the following year-hopefully not back to me though! That would be awkward!). There are a lot of these discount type bookstores around, and book boys isn't that much different to the rest.

Thought they say they sell both new and used books, I can't really tell in the store which ones are…read moreold and which ones are new... because they all look like they've been sitting there for a while. They have a decent range of books, but it's nowhere near the best. They don't have a very big Stephen King section, which always leaves me disappointed. They have a pretty good biography section and Australiana section if you're into that sort of thing - but I didn't really find anything that interested me in there. They also have a fair few 'classics' (that I've never heard of) which look very old school and pretty, and there's also a lot of children's books. Prices aren't too bad but they aren't as cheap as some used book stores.

I always get curious when I see a second hand book store. Curio makes me curios! Get it? No... I…read moreguess it wasn't that funny... Curio is a nice little second hand book store located in Hahndorf which stocks some decent second hand books. I was pleased with the selection and there were some hard to find titles I couldn't get ahold of in the city. I would assume that a lot of people wouldn't think to look for hard to find books this far out. Interestingly enough the general tourism crowd that you normally see at Hahndorf don't tend to go into this place all that much, and every time I've been to visit it the store has been quiet. If you're after a hard to find book and have had no luck in the city then maybe venture out to Hahndorf and see what they have to offer.

Here is a real vintage bookshop. Not just an op-shop bookshop that sells second hand new releases,…read morethe books here are old. There are also a lot of vintage books from the region such as 'South Australian Beetles: Part 3,' if you are interested in beetles! I don't think I would personally buy anything from this shop. I didn't look at every book in the store, but I couldn't see anything that I was greatly interested in reading. However, I would suggest coming here if you collect old books of some description or have a specific hobby, for example beetles. A lot of the books are extremely old. Kept in plastic to stop them from breaking, hence would definitely be collector pieces. However, there is a section of slightly more current novels, such as crime. The avid reader would be able to find a few good books here. Even if you don't buy a book it is enjoyable and funny to walk around and look at the old books!