Ariel Books

this is a great little bookstore on Symonds St, the couple that own the place seem a little eccentric but they’re pretty friendly once you start talking to them (usually they are just sitting in their quietly involved with a book or busying themselves rearranging the books). For such an intimately small second hand book store they have quite a good selection of books and genres (I picked up come Shakespeare and a really nice copy of Pride and Prejudice the last time I was there), they’re prices are decent too. Within the CBD this might actually be the closest second hand book store (that I’m aware of at least) so if you are craving thrift store literature this place ain’t really too much of a hike out of the way.

Situated right behind a bus stop, Ariel Books never fails to draw my attention to the books they have in the window. Ranging from biographies on Timothy Leary to weighty tomes on anatomy, there is always something interesting to look at. They also have a cheap pulp paperback rack, where you can pick up a book for 4 dollars or something. Once you make it inside, the organised chaos all seems. reassuring. The staff are happy enough to leave you alone — as cliché as it seems, they remind me of Bernard from Black Books, annoyed by having to deal with customers. Not to say that the service is bad at all, far from it — they just stay out of your way so long as you stay out of theirs.
They also sell a range of posters at ten dollars a piece — from 70’s bands through to trashy horror movies. A nice easy present for someone for whom you don’t know what to get.

The clearly defined sections of book in Ariel Books is great, which meant the staff could keep their head down and go about their own thing. A courteous greeting would have gone a long way in making me feel like I was in a book shop rather than a glorified Salvation Army.
The bookshop makes you feel like you should be in and out: go to the section you need, ask the staff if you can’t find the book, then leave. I tend to glance over the Biography sections and the Film & TV areas when I’m here, instead of perusing the shelves and getting lost in a variety of old books.
Ariel Books on a whole is very distracting and looks like it was outfitted in a yard sale; Paper maché heads sit on the shelves beside sunflowers, old movie posters clashing with the contrast of old rugs. There is bound to be some literature gold here (the Theatre & Plays section is by far my favourite) but don’t expect a warm library feeling to relax amongst.

This place is what second-​hand bookshops should be. It maintains the appearance of clutter and chaos, but everything is actually very clearly and logically organised, so you can find what you want without having to read every single book spine. Also the people who run the place know their shop well, and are happy to help you look for whatever you’re after.
The best thing about Ariel Books is their collection of posters for sale — a wide range of prints of old concert posters, B-​movies and schlock thriller paperback covers. They’re all lurid and garish and they’re all great. The shop’s worth checking out for them alone, and the books are just an added bonus.