Love Your Bookshop Day

In celebration of today being Love Your Bookshop Day I thought I’d talk about some of my favourite Canberra bookshops. I think we’re pretty lucky as far as bookshops go in Canberra – most of our shopping centres have at least one, and then a few others around the suburbs too – including some lovely indies. I tend to shop at different stores depending what I’m up to – I have a favourite near home, and a favourite near work – and I fairly regularly visit others for bookish events (bookshops in Canberra have some amazing events!). So, here are some I’d recommend checking out if you’re in town!

MUSE is a gorgeous bookshop and restaurant in Kingston. They have a beautifully curated selection of books, and host the most thoughtful in interesting events.

Harry Hartog Woden is technically part of a chain, but has a real indie feel. The staff are friendly and well read, and I always checking out the staff recommendation shelves. I also go along to the bookclub at Harry Hartog – it’s always a fun discussion and the hosts help to make sure there is room for everyone to have their say. A second Canberra Harry Hartog store opened earlier this year at the Australian National University, and I can’t believe I still haven’t had a chance to go check it out!

Paperchain is pretty much a Canberra institution. It’s a lovely little indie store nestled in between
Manuka’s cafes, and is open until late 7 nights – perfect for an after dinner book browse. Paperchain have also recently started hosting a monthly book club which is really lovely.

Dymocks Belconnen– we have a couple of Dymocks stores across Canberra, but Dymocks is for sure my favourite. One of the things I love about this store is how kid friendly it feels – my daughter loves to browse the books there, and I have never felt uncomfortable or worried that we’ll be thrown out (haha)! But seriously – it’s so nice that she can browse while we do. The store has a lovely feel and the staff are super friendly and always helpful, and they run an excellent Instagram account.

So, those are some of my faves. I feel like I have to give honourable mentions to a few others – Robinsons Bookshop in Civic, Bookface in Gunghalin, Book Lore (secondhand books) in Lyneham, and the book/gift shops at The National Library of Australia and The National Portrait Gallery.

If you’d like to know more about Love Your Bookshop Day check out their website here – they also have an Instagram account that is full of bookshop love – I’d totally recommend checking it out.

I’d love to hear about your favourite bookshop! Leave me a comment below and let me know =)

xo Bron