O’Connell’s Bookshop

This was one of my regular haunts when I lived in Adelaide, usually coming down during lunch to see if there were any books that I might want to purchase. Mind you, there always were, even though I am generally only interested in the old dusty tomes sitting in their classics collection. However, this is not your ordinary second-​hand bookshop like the ones one may find out in the suburbs that are pretty much cramped full of old paper backs, O’connells doesn’t just deal with that old airport novels that you have read and don’t want anymore, but rather with good books, and old books, and when I say old books, some of the books locked securely behind the glass are collectors items. I’ve even occasionally purchased books from those cases, usually being Biggles books for my Dad (and they have a pretty decent collection as well).

A secondhand bookstore ought to be every booklovers paradise. Sure, it’s nice to have your bookshelf filled with a nice, neat and consistent assembly of Penguin Classics, but there’s something charming about the motley assortment of books new and old, tall and short, and of different colour variation, all jigsawed in together.
However. Sometimes we booklovers must remain wary. Let not the bliss cloud your senses, my friends. One must remember that there are two types of secondhand bookstores: cheap ones and expensive ones.
I picked up a tiny volume expecting to exchange two or three dollars for it. Imagine my surprise when the man looked inside the cover (a general peruse I might’ve done myself before I strutted so confidently to the counter) and demanded I give him fourteen of my dollars. It’s not an excessive sum, but I’m trying very hard to watch my money, and books are the main culprit — in my line of business — of bankruptcy. Suffice it to say, the expression my face took on at the announced price remained affixed to that place between forehead and chin for many minutes afterward. I was so shocked I gave the man all my money (having scarcely more than that on my person), and floated, as if in a dream, out of the store.
You see, that fourteen dollars had been for my lunch that day. And as I looked mournfully down, filled with a consumer’s remorse, at the volume, I considered the irony of my situation. Camus’ ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ is a philosophical text that discusses the topic of suicide. However, in the hands of a man faced with starvation, the novel attained new heights of uselessness.

This third generation family business feels like what a true secondhand bookshop should be. It is crammed with books and their wonderful smell, and never empty of people wading through its various sections.
The strength of O’Connell’s is in its literature. The owners have a nose and knowledge for all kinds of literature so its a great place to go looking for classics or academic books. That’s not to say that they don’t have a great range of fiction of all sorts, but it’s definitely less a hobby bookstore and more a booky bookstore, if that makes sense to anyone…
They’re also reasonably priced, and really vary their pricings according to size and condition. They range from $ 4 to $ 12 for standard books, then more for rarer or older pieces.
You never know what you’ll come across in here, and I always have to drag myself out because I keep finding more hidden behind the piles.
The owners are also happy to come to your house, if you have a reasonable collection of books you’re wanting to sell. They were happy to visit us and our 70 or so books, though they only took the good stuff — as expected. And as evidenced by the amount of books in the store, they’re only interested in good quality books they can sell. So go in and help them out!

You’ll either love or hate O’Connell’s Bookshop. It’s a fairly small secondhand shop, crammed with books stacked side by side or on top of each other. This makes it quite easy to loose sight of what you were actually looking for but I guess that’s the whole fun of these types of stores.
You can spend an incredible amount of time in here and probably go home with twenty books or so. The prices definitely allow you to do so, since they sell books for as little as $ 1 or $ 2. If you’re after some older editions you will, of course, have to pay a bit more. From children’s books to sci-​fi novels, there’s almost nothing they don’t have. I just love this place. Don’t come here though if you’re in a rush and after something specific. it takes some time and patience to get through their selections!