There is no friend as loyal as a book
I’m a sucker for a good book. Or even a mediocre one, truth be known. In my home, the TV feels decidedly unloved; at the end of the day, it’s a book that’s likely to command my attention. That neatly bound wad of paper in my hands – and the knowledge, inspiration or entertainment absorbed from its pages – enables me to unwind and makes me feel content.
And I’m not the only one. A.H. Spencer named his bookstore “Hill of Content” when he set up shop in Melbourne in the early 1920s. It’s now the city’s oldest bookstore and was in the headlines early this month when it was forced to relocate after the building it called home for more than 100 years was sold. Fortunately for local book lovers, the owners found a suitable new site just up the road, and thanks to a human chain comprising a couple of hundred loyal bibliophiles, thousands of books were passed one-by-one, person-to-person, up the street to their new home.
Bookstores and libraries are a common thread throughout Melbourne’s history. When the Melbourne Public Library opened for business in 1856, it was one of the world’s first free public libraries. Whereas other libraries welcomed only those who could afford membership or had a letter of introduction, anyone at least 14 years of age and with clean hands could stroll through the doors of what its founders envisioned would become a ‘great emporium of learning’. Now known as State Library Victoria, it houses millions of items, occupies a full city block and is the third most visited library in the world.
Melbourne Public Library, as seen in 1864
In the decade following the Public Library’s opening, Edward Cole commenced trade as a Melbourne bookseller and would go down in history as one of the world’s greatest. Operating for more than 50 years, his ‘Coles Book Arcade’ was the stuff of legend. The numerous attractions it housed, live monkeys included, made it seem more like a theme park than a bookshop. Not only was the reading of books in store condoned, it was even encouraged. His self-published children’s books sold in the hundreds of thousands.
Coles Book Arcade
Of course, a city that loves literature doesn’t just consume it, it creates it too. Many writers have lived here, and many books are set here. Some of the hundreds of Melbourne locations appearing in novels can be found on this map.
All this reading and writing hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2008, UNESCO designated Melbourne as their second City of Literature in recognition of the city’s quality, quantity and diversity of publishing as well as its regular literary events, educational programs and number of libraries, bookstores and cultural centres, among other reasons. You can pick up a map called “Walking the City of Literature” from the Melbourne Visitor Hub showcasing many of the bookstores and libraries in and around the city.
And if you thought that you needed to be ‘bookish’ to fit in with all this talk of literature, don’t tell that to the blokes from Tough Guy Book Club. Originating in Melbourne, they now have close to 150 chapters across 8 countries that meet once a month in a local pub for ‘rowdy conversations’ about books. Talk about not judging a book by its cover.
Somewhere at home, no doubt tucked in a book carelessly placed back on a shelf, I have a bookmark from Hill of Content. On it is a list of signatures of famous people who have signed their visitors’ book. It’s a reminder of history. And probably a fair indication that those who have left their mark on history have been readers. Looks like I might just be in good company.
