Brazier’s Books & Art

Apparently Braziers sells art as well as books. Most people would never know, because it seems to never be open. I once rang up to see if they had a book I needed in stock, and luckily enough they did. So I said I would come round about 1 to pick it up — ‘sure thing, the shop will be open!’ I go there at 12.45 and the shop is closed. An hour later of wandering around Balmoral, I go back — the shop is still closed. There’s a number on a little card saying to ring if the shop needs attention. So I ring it — it goes to voice mail. Back in my car I get and head home to hop on the internet and order the book online.
I recently found the secret of how to get to Brazier’s books. You have to go to Jack’s bar around the back of the warehouse, where he will be sitting out the front lecturing the bar about something. I’m all for over the top drinking, but I really wish Brazier’s would hire some minimum wage flunky to, y’know — run the store.

Have you ever seen the British sitcom Black Books starring Bill Bailey and Dylan Moran? Because it will give you a far better idea of what this place is like than anything I could write.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, imagine the stock of several normal-​sized seconhand bookshops all crammed in to one room. Organise the books less around subject or the alphabet and more around the concept of the pile, and then use those piles to prop up other piles. It’s incredible. There are treasures here, if you can find them.
The biggest downside about Brazier’s, and for me this is a fatal flaw, is that the owner and his friends smoke inside the shop. Firstly, books are very flammable. Secondly, they absorb smells and retain them forever, so a smoked-​over book is a smoked-​over book forever. Thirdly, it’s a very small and poorly-​ventilated shop and it reeks of cigarettes and I can feel lumps growing through my lungs just going past the door. I like books but I’m not willing to die a slow, timorous death to find them. Sorry.

It seems not quite right to encourage you to visit a place that is unlikely to be open any time you try and go there. That’s my favourite thing about it: it’s a shop that defiantly defies any attempt to operate as a commercial business: it’s more often closed than open, it has no internet presence, and if you do happen to be there when it’s open, it’s actually very difficult to find anything because everything is piled on top of each other, book categorisation is very loose, and you also might need a dust mask if you want to spend more than a few minutes there.
It’s totally great and maybe you should just hang around there and hope they open up.

I totally love this bookstore on principle: second-​hand books all piled up in a disorderly fashion for you turn your head sideways to look at or have a look at some hilariously dated publications. Despite being right across from my street, I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever actually seen it open once or twice, which makes it hard to plan a visit if you don’t live nearby or pass through often. The other downside, in my experience, is that when I went there the owner (I’m guessing it was the owner) and a couple of other people (friends? Regulars? I don’t know) were sitting in the middle of the shop having a chat. This is fine but they kind of blocked access to the back of the shop and I felt a bit intimidated by them being there so I never made it further into the depths of Brazier’s. All I needed was a hello or a quick recognition to feel more at ease and welcome in the store. The owner did, however, give me a pleasant thank you when I left, which did redeem the situation for me somewhat. Now if only I knew when it was open so I could go back…

In my opinion, the single greatest bookshop in Auckland and I’m loath to tell anyone about it. Brazzers jokes will not be tolerated.
I’m secretly happy this place isn’t open often and it used to be the highlight of my morning run, where I could disappear for an hour in unkempt literature luxury. Leather bound books with gilded edges and embossed titles everywhere. That musty, bookish smell. This shop is the epitome of the TV series Black Books.
If you have seen the show you, will know the chaotic, wonderful displays and service to expect. If you haven’t seen it, you don’t deserve to know and will never fully appreciate this place.
(This store is opened sporadically on the whims of the owner.)