Now listen up and listen good. You’re students now. You should read. Twitter doesn’t count. Fuck the planet, you need to read stuff on dead trees. Salient’s a good start, but unless you wanna be one of those sad sack’o’shit students who graduate after seven years a squillion Zim Dollars in debt and bitching about the poor state of the liberal arts in academia, then you need to move on to the next step: books.
Books aren’t just something you get assigned and ignore. They are fun and cuddly and don’t judge you when you spend your nights alone.
Wellington has many fine establishments that will, in exchange for money or drugs, supply you with books. Here I review several of them in a format suitable for your social-networking-addled minds.
Second-Hand Books
Arty Bees: Big and badass. Go to Manners Street for SciFi/Fantasy, Courtenay Place for sheet music and lowbrow.
Ferret: By the bucket fountain, an island of calm in a sea of brilliant insanity. Smallish. There’s always good stuff in the window. Cuba Street.
Pegasus: Cram-packed with goodness. Wouldn’t want to be there in an earthquake. Left Bank.
Quilters:The stealth bookshop of Lambton Quay. It even has a stealth upstairs level. Great NZ history stuff.
New Books
Borders: Chain megastore. Everything that’s wrong with Western Civilization. I love you. Lambton Quay.
Dymocks: A good store, in spite of a slightly embarrassing Tolkien fixation. Lambton Quay.
Parsons: Books and classical music. Classy. Lambton Quay.
Unity: Wellington’s finest selection of non-fiction. Willis Street.
Vic Books: Not just for textbooks! Definitely worth checking out about once a month. Kelburn & Pipitea Campuses.