Berkelouw Books

I actually live in the United States. My nephew was reading a trilogy and the first and second books were printed in the US, but the third was only printed in Australia. I spent hours searching Australian bookstores online. But the book was printed in 2012 and was no longer available.
I was finally able to contact the author of the book, who told me that her local bookstore still had one copy on the shelf. She directed me to this store. I sent an email asking them to hold the book for me and ship it to the US.
Laurian, the manager, personally responded and went above and beyond. She researched shipping options and helped me with an international payment. She had the book mailed less than an hour after I paid and emailed me a copy of the receipt.
I cannot tell you how grateful I am. The level of customer service for someone who lives so far away and will probably never be able to set foot in the store was amazing. I would recommend this store to everyone.

I love the old books section in the 2^nd hand area upstairs.
I don’t like the lame Sci-​fi/​Fantasy section though, 5 – 6 shelves and that’s pretty much it. Or the 2 shelves of pretty poor graphic novels.
However they sometimes have interesting displays and bits and bobs in there so I do enjoy walking through. Even if I tend to go elsewhere to actually buy my books.

Love. This place reminds me why I love books. There is just something enchanting about it. You can get everything here from fiction to reference books plus great cards and diaries.
I’ll never forget when I once popped in here and I saw a homeless lady sitting inside reading a book. I asked the staff and they knew her by name (Rosie) and explained they welcome her to come inside and read poetry. I couldn’t believe the lady who walks around asking for a dollar reads poetry! Anywhere that encourages that… well you know it has to have a good heart.

Berkelouw is a beautiful book shop, worthy of extended browsing and buying. The second hand section upstairs is easy to loose yourself in and the ground level of the shop pleases with crisp fresh pages of coffee-​table books, paperbacks, kids books and an exciting range of stationary and tid-​bits.
The wine bar upstairs is also quite nice and is a fantastic place to relax with friends or alone, with a good book and a glass of red.
Sadly, the downstairs roadside café is not as great as Berkelouw’s other elements. Despite the perfect location, directly opposite the Norton Plaza and in the heart of Leichhardt, Berkelouw’s café prices are quite expensive and, what’s more, the prices are not indicative of the standard of the meals, with the food and coffee being of poor quality.
If you’re after a good location in Leichhardt then you’ve got it here. If you’re after a good book or a great gift, then you’ve got it here too. If you’re after a great breakfast with value for money then there are plenty of good options in your surrounding suburbs.

I used to work down the street from Berkelouw’s and it was a costly exercise. Every time I was bored, I would slip out for five minutes and come back with a handful of paperbacks. They would mount in a pile of shame as my bank balance decreased into a much smaller pile of shame. The store is divided into two halves, with the ground floor housing the new books and various cute notebooks, housewares, and other items. The upper floor contains the secondhand and antiquarian books and a large collection of extremely obscure secondhand CDs. There are some fairly interesting albums up here, if only for pure «how did this ever get pressed?» value. Not to mention the potential of spurring a curio purchase and finding a new favourite.
This upper floor also houses a relaxed wine bar which features live jazz vocal performances. The quality of the performers is a mixed bag, with one night bringing a piano and vocal duo and another bringing a woman singing as she played an upright drum. My tastes skew far more to the former than the latter, but perhaps the upright drum might be your thing. The bar serves wine (obviously) along with a basic selection of spirits and beer for those inclined for something a little different.

Not that I am impoverished in any way, but when it comes to books, if I don’t buy online, I almost always buy second hand, unless it’s a spur of the moment purchase and the excitement of owning a certain book that I can see right in front of me outweighs the reality of how expensive that book is, especially when I feel impoverished.
With that in mind, I can begin. Berkelouw books is the only second hand book shop in Leichhardt and is situated in the handy location of, right across the road from Norton Plaza.
The first floor of Berkelouw is dedicated to new books with the sections divided into the appropriate and expected categories but with the exception of a specials/​recommended table. A wall with the new titles and a staff picks shelf.
Take a journey upstairs and you’ll find yourself in second hand land where a large selection of both literature and reference books await you. If you’re feeling lucky you can wade through the shelves of the, ‘yet to be sorted’ books. Or simply head to the aisle of your interest and navigate through the alphabetical titles there.
The second hand section also sells CD’s.

Berkelouw is a bookstore with a difference. They pride themselves on being book traders for over 6 generations. When you enter the store you immediately feel this is not a bookshop, there is more to it. And it does have, there is a wine bar, in a bookshop.
Perhaps more unique that that is they don’t just sell books they also Buy books. The store houses one of the finest collection of second hand books and you are guaranteed to find books out of print and books that are rare and unique. And unlike other second hand shops who are trying to get rid of their old books, Berkelouw actually treasures their old books as much as the latest releases.
Berkelouw is also a great place to meet Authors and have your copy personalised. They are constantly inviting Authors for Book signing.
Isn’t it nice to know that they care about books so much, that they offer book binding and repair services. I can now hang on to my copy of Heal Your Life by Louise Hay for a few more years.
If you love books then browsing around this place is a must. They encourage you to spend as much time as you like, browsing, reading a page or a chapter and treasuring a moment when nothing else matters but black on white.

Berkolouws has been around for many years but not in this location. When they moved in here I was ecstatic because they have a great range of both reference books and fiction. They have been in this spot in Leichhardt for at least a decade and are well located, directly across from Norton St Plaza opposite the pedestrian crossing.
The staff are quite knowledgeable and can always direct you. They don’t mind looking things up on the computer and then taking you to where a book is located on the shelf. Upstairs is the second-​hand book section for which Berkolouws is famous. There are many old books at reasonable prices and there are often gems sitting on the shelves. The good thing about the section is that equal care is taken with the books, it’s not a mad scramble through piles of junk to find anything.
Berkolouws is open late most night and there’s a wine bar/​coffee shop upstairs where the service is quite poor but you can sit in comfortable wing chairs, have a cup of coffee or wine and enjoy your purchase in a setting ‘most suitable’.
If you’re book mad and fancy a day out, Berkolouw’s is also located at Berrima where they have an enormous barn filled to capacity with books. There is a small small section with new books but the majority are second hand. There’s also a little coffee shop but don’t expect great food. There’s a Berkolouw Books in nearby Bowral as well.