New bookshop in town

Last night, while we were waiting to have dinner at our favourite place in Mt Lawley, we found a new bookshop. Planet Books has now opened! (The place has been Under Construction for some months, and I for one have been tantalised by the slow and steady work to get it ready for business; last time we were in the area, there were shelves in the shop among the mess of fittings and furnishings, which gave the curious gawker no information about the intended inhabitants.)

According to the guy behind the counter, the shop opened very recently, on 7 March.

It’s definitely worth a visit if you like books and bookshops.

They have a nice wide range of stuff. Full marks for the assortment of Moleskines prominently on display as you walk into the shop. Lots of various other nice journals and notebooks. Good range of arty farty greeting cards. Was tempted, briefly, by the Collector’s Edition of The Complete Little Britain on Radio cds. ($85 temptations usually remain unfulfilled.)

Lots and lots and lots of books. Fiction, science fiction, kids’ fiction, current affairs, languages, fashion. Saw a beautiful book on Blahniks that looked like it should be sent to CherryRipe but I didn’t wrestle it down from the shelf (if I had nails that book would have broken them; postage would probably cost more than the book itself…). Loads of recipe and cookery books. Erotica section was full of picture books. I enjoyed scoffing at the Tom of Finland [careful, don’t click at work!] pictures – the Tom of Finland box set should have been in the fantasy section. Photography. Nature. Had a good giggle at Bad Cats. Religion. Philosophy.

I had to resist looking at anything too closely, or I would have had to buy it. Luckily I’d locked my wallet in the car and I didn’t feel like asking M for money.

The feel and layout of the shop was good too – spacious and airy while managing to be cosy with all the books around you. Huge faux crystal chandelier. Nice leather couches to lounge about on if you felt so inclined. Chairs out the front to sit and let the world go by while you read.

The shop itself is located at 636 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley. I don’t think they have a website yet. They’re just a couple of doors down from Perth’s best video shop, Planet Video. I’m sure they are related businesses – the Planet Books logo is the same as Planet Video’s.

Categories: bookshop, PlanetBooks, Perth, WesternAustralia