Doesn't everybody buy a book or DVD, or even a CD, on their holidays?
I recently played tourist enjoying several days in Queensland's Wide Bay-Burnett region. This area covers an area from between 170 and 400 kilometres north of the capital city of Brisbane, and includes a beautiful coastline, marine parks, islands, and some wonderful farming land. Think sugar cane, for the world renowned Bundaberg Rum Distillery, as well as peanuts, pineapples, mandarins and pumpkins.
Regions of Queensland
There is plenty of information about the popular tourist spots available
here.
My holiday was made complete upon the discovery of a book store specialising in preloved books on the main road through Bundaberg central business district that you are unlikely to find in any of the holiday brochures.
Elliott's Bookshop, also trading as Boomerang Book Exchange, at 154 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg, is just another shopfront on a street lined with historical buildings and two hundred year old trees. You know you are in a country town when the main road is so wide that there is car parking separating traffic lanes.
Shop Front
When I first walked into the store I found it particularly well lit which added to the spacious feel of the venue. Bookshelves lined with books and magazines filled the store, though again, it in no way felt cluttered. Indeed, in several different areas you could sit at the end of an aisle or rest your finds on tables strategically placed around the store.
An airy and inviting entrance
For all those who enjoy reading there were books of Fiction, Crime, Romance, Biography, History, Art, Australiana, Westerns, Craft, Gardening, and New Age. I particularly liked that novels by Australian authors were categorized alphabetically in their own storage area. Don't you hate going to the library after a particular book but the author's name escapes you? Happens to me all the time! This way I found when buying a book by a local author my memory received a jolt and the selection process was made easier.
Alistair Elliott, the delightful business owner, advised that there were 50,000 books lining the shelves with even more in storage. Now, that's a lot of books.
There were also Antiquarian and Collectible sections by the front counter which made me laugh as they were filled with the books of my childhood. (I need to keep telling myself that it really wasn't that long ago).
Business card and bookmark
For preloved books the quality was very reasonable, as were the prices, with novels sitting between $7 and $10. I walked away with several items and the Squeeze was thrilled with his selection of Fantasy reads.
If you are travelling with kiddies the selection of picture books and YA reads was also amazing, as were the DVDs.
Holidays are a great time to catch up on your reading so if you are in Bundaberg it is worth taking the time to visit. Locals love this business because Elliott's also buys books, and does the book exchange thing.
Open 7 days a week this little gem was right up there with all our other adventures. Enjoy!
