I have been visiting The Book Buddha Mr. Gould for long time. Buying and trading books and also discovering writers and books that have charmed my reading imagination. I wouldn’t say that Mr. Gould was the most enthusiastic or personable individual, he sat at his store at the top of King Street (before its current residence at the bottom of King Street). Also Gould say high above you like a king of his domain of literature. His vantage point has an element of intimidation and he did not suffer foolish readers. I had no personal friendship and to me he seemed more of a bookseller than a book lover. However, I do not say that disrespectfully because if not for Gould I would not have discovered many of the writers I have been fortunate enough to read over the years. Nevertheless, Gould’s Books is now where it is and I haven’t got a clue when the store moved to its current location. Mr. Gould has passed on to the big book barn in the sky. Also unsure if the current monomaniacs are related to the original Book Buddha or not. Reading an ‘original’ science fiction paperback that is 50 years old is a treat. How many hands and eyes have turned those dusty, dry & yellowed pages. Occasionally you’ll find a note or a photograph that could lead to the original owners identity. I’m reading a lot of science fiction from the 1960s-1970s purely for the nostalgic feel of original stories free of contemporary political mores. The books I have recently bought from this new version of Gould’s Books, which is much smaller than the massive book barn that the original Book Buddha officiated. So paying $9.00 for a 50 year old paperback is a pleasure. The quality of their books is mostly if not always in great condition. The current store continues the original Gould’s as the book buying ambience is kind of gloomy and very limited interaction or discussion with the staff takes place. Though I am well known for my grumpy and outwardly appearance of intensity. So it could be me more than them. I bought two science fiction novels and then headed if for my booked hour with my lovely friend.

I love bookstores. Especially secondhand bookstores. Maybe 15-20 years ago this was a great bookstore. It's a sad shadow of that now, though. Way too much junk stock. Literally thousands of books need to be thrown away immediately, and they maybe what's left could be a decent bookstore of about 1/10th the current size. The magazines, CDs, records, and "recent" books (remaindered stock from circa 2005) should be completely removed. I agree that the pricing is ridiculous, at least on the items I saw. I liked the Diego Rivera facsimile mural though. Worth popping your head in to see that at least, if you're in the area. It's in a lovely old building too.

It isn’t what it used to be. The new store is 1/10th the size of the old and most of their stock is now available online. It’s not the same without Bob Gould himself sitting up there looking like ... well, I shouldn’t say. It was fascinating in the old shop. All that said I found an extraordinary piece of history (1938 Soviet “Moscow Trials” court transcript) among all the banality, so worth a visit. But check out their online stuff or on ABEbooks and they will get it out of storage for you and have it ready when you visit. The book I wanted was in storage.

They’ve moved down the road and they’re OPEN! Their new place is tidy and organised, and while not as large as before they do still have a lot of books, a great selection with a lot of the paraphernalia of the old place trimmed. Run by the Gould family for decades, this book paradise may well have that book no-one else can find anymore - and you can find it easily now. Was spoilt for choice books I couldn’t find in other bookshops. We just need photos of the new place to show what a gem the place looks now.

Fair prices and a good range of books. I lucked out and picked up some hidden gems here while on a short visit from interstate. If you look a while I'm sure you'll leave with something good...and maybe more than you originally went in for... Even had something good for my friend who isn't much of a reader themselves. Also had a short chat with the shop owner, who was happy to even give me some recommendations when I asked. Great stuff. Overall the experience was bussin factually

I went to purchase a book which was advertised on the website (still on website two weeks later.) I was willing to pay the inflated cost, as it was a book I needed. I asked the owner if I could purchase the book and was told it is upstairs and she would get it in a few minutes. I waited 10 minutes, she remained seated the whole time, then she yelled out the book was sold. What a waste of time, no customer service, too lazy to make a sale. Don't waste your time.

I loved Gould's and have visited several times, but sadly it has changed a lot since moving. It is now a much smaller store, with a fraction of available books, and now with a very different atmosphere. It didn't have the same feeling of losing track time while sifting through endless books to find a hidden gem. While they still have some unique books, most of the books here can be bought brand new for similar if not cheaper elsewhere.

For me it's more like a museum than a book store. It's impressive to see how many second hand books have been crammed into this space. Great to browse the shelves when you've got time to kill around Newtown, but I never really expect to find anything, most of the books have been sitting there for ages for a reason. There might be a few hidden pearls, but most of it is just accumulated old useless books. Go for the experience though!

This store has a huge stock of books divided into many separate categories. Many many categories. Almost all stock looks at least second hand and prices are not necessarily cheap. The decor of the shop is depressingly grotty and air conditioning non existent. On a winters day this shop can be bitterly cold inside. Given the cheap, nasty atmosphere in this store you would expect prices to be lower.

This new location is smaller but just as addictive. The selection of old books, magazines, graphic novels and comics is really eclectic. The addictive part is that you're not sure what is just around the next shelf, so it's easy to spend hours there just browsing. The service is old school and wonderful. This is really shopping locally, not the boutique new bookstores.

First impression when you're inside you're going to think, where is the organization??! If you're coming in to find a specific book, ask the shop keeper, they know where everything is. Otherwise, I like coming in for the good book smell or to dig through the old vinyl records they have there. They have wonderful selections. I always get the ballroom songs!

I love books and this bookstore looked like it had some surprises inside. I walked in and…. I was speechless: the place is stacked with thousands of volumes used & new. You can find all sort of stuff in here and I spent a good 45 mins just going through the graphic design section. This place is literally a treasure cove if you have some time on your hands!

Phoned to ask if they had a book in stock. I received very poor service. Employee was rude and had no clue what she had in stock. Employee then proceeded to tell me to just come in and look for myself and hung up on me. I called another bookstore in Newtown who knew exact stock on hand, had want I wanted and put it aside for me to pick up that same day.

An Anarchist bookstore in the unfashionable end of Main St in Newtown. It's been around for ages. The bookstore seems to have fallen into decay. There are books attached higgaldy piggaldy everywhere. Don't go here if you are looking for a specific book (unless it's Das Kapital). But a great place to go to pick up second hand books by random chance.

I really love this place. Loved it more when that beautiful cat was around (yes I was drawn to the bookshop because of the cat)! It’s. neighbourhood gem and a must for those book lovers. The previous location had more books but this has a good collection too. Good to sit and peruse through the collection and find a great book or 2 or 3...

I really wish i could have seen the old store. Unfortunately they have moved into a small shop which has a small collection of books. From what i understand you can still access their enrire collection online. I went there looking for art books and there wasn't much to my taste. 4 stars for the very pleasant staff who was very helpful.

A lot of books. Great selection of teen fiction and other fiction books. Prices are quite expensive especially when the book is falling apart. The textbooks were really outdated and no specific books on certain topics. The customer service was horrible. Very patronising for no reason when asking general or specific questions.

A subtraction from Gould's former extensive and eclectic collection of books, but still gems to be found, many of them hardback editions (often first edition) in good condition. Added are return-to-popularity 33 1/3 LPs and a careful selection of CDs; I was especially happy to find an early Dylan in top condition …

Really interesting place with some unique books. Huge variety of reading material and great atmosphere. The organisation of the books does make it a little difficult to find what you're looking for, and the price is a bit too high considering that most of the books are quite old. There is also a resident cat.

Perhaps the best bookshop I have ever been in. I love History, and their section here is insane. Rare books, and very specific topics as well. Great selection of comics as well, with some rare finds in there as well. It's worth a stop if you're in the area just to see how many books they've crammed in here.

What a lovely bookstore. What impressed me the most is that I had a problem and the owner herself called me to sort it. She was gracious and totally professional. It could have easily been a nasty conversation but she turned the situation around completely. I look forward to making my next purchase there.

Can always find something in here, maybe not what you're looking for but always something. It's a second hand book shop and it's huge so expect the unexpected. Not exactly a short walk from Newtown station but any bus that runs through Newtown will go past it. Great if you just want to find a random book.

I love the content and history of this store. It's a Newtown treasure. But I rang up just this morning with a simple inquiry and was tutted and scoffed at and given passive-aggressive one word responses. Unfortunately, not the first time I've heard staff be condescending or discriminatory.

One of my favourite book stores in Sydney. They have all the things you could possibly imagine. I have found a variety of hard to find books here which no other regular book stores would have. Great place to visit if you have a spare hour or so to just look through all they have to offer.

Great place the last great storehouse of real books not pulp textbooks and rubbish, great books on philosophy, politics, music, sports, novels, and economics, science, mathematics, medicine, the stuff is not the latest it is of historical and research interest and you can find some gems.

Confusingly huge, even to the people who work there. I like Goulds, and they probably have some book you can't find anywhere else, but good luck finding it. Personally I think that they should put a café in there on the ground floor because it is a very picturesque version of chaos.

Very expensive for second hand books, especially when it turns out they sold me a photocopy version of a book. Very bad quality of the photocopied pages I can barely read some words. It’s a shame I didn’t realise it was a photocopy before I bought it from here. Won’t be returning.

Excellent value. Mountains of books. Come get lost and leave with enough reading material to last out the impending nuclear winter! A free leftist rant with every purchase. (Optional. Seriously though, the staff are lovely and up for a chat about the state of the country.)

1 million plus books all over the place, it’s an adventure reefing through 2nd hand 3rd hand 4th hand old books, the labyrinth of socialist ideologies and $1 national geographics to find something dusty unread for a generation and possibly valuable I am in heaven!!!

I occasionally go here to show someone the crazy setup of books and magazines this place has. The place itself is quite old (you can smell the dusty second hand books) but that's what makes it so unique and charming. Lookout for the wandering cat that lives there!

Went tonight after an art gallery opening of one of our friends, so didn't spend a huge amount of time there. But loved it, a huge amount of books and vinyl records. Will be back. Only bought a BeeGees record for my daughter. Need much more time to browse!

Quaint old bookshop. It's a little bit out of the way but definitely great for anyone looking for almost any book under the sun. Plenty of rare books and curious titles for the avid reader or collector to check and see if they would be interested.

I've picked up so many gems from this place. Pop up to the second floor to see the uncommonly huge selection of Marxist literature or just stay downstairs and rifle through their new, unsorted stock to see if you can find anything interesting.

Exactly what I wanted and expected. Messy. Musty. Crusty. A deeply socialist convo at the counter and a bloke who when reminded about SD rules said "I want to stay as far away from all people as possible. All the time". Those are the days.

Staff friendly very helpful. One young lady in particular helped me immensely to choose a book from literally thousands. Prices of books vary. A little surprised at the price of some, but then again have not purchased a book for years.

Received my book promptly. Book in excellent condition, better than expected. Packaging for postal trip wonderful - large bubble wrap, cardboard and brown paper. Extremely pleased, would recommend and hope to use again. Thanks :)

old school cluttered shambles of a place but is still organised and functional which makes it so unique. A fantastic place that I've enjoyed going to since 1980 when they were in Petersham. R.I.P Bob, I always enjoyed our banter.

It was a great place to find any book you were looking for or something you didn't know you wanted. A truly magical place that has since moved on to make way for more overseas residential buildings. The new place is dull.

This book store was more than happy to take my a collection of old books in excellent condition. I left happy knowing that they were not going to landfill and that some one else might enjoy them!

The best most interesting books to choose from. Huuuuge selection of books and categories, spanning 2 levels, excellent prices, great reads and a friendly black cat onsite to pat whilst browsing.

You'll be able to find a large range of old books here with a decent price tag. I found some good computer science books here! (not that you could find these that often in a bookstore)

Really great store, I managed to grab some classic vinyls from Lionel Richie and Boney M. Had a great selection of books! Biggest range of second hand books I've seen in Sydney area.

Stumbled upon Gould's more than 6 years ago and it was so memorable, that it was the first place I returned to when I moved to Sydney a few years later. It is pure bookshop heaven.

I liked it for the experience of being surrounded by books in what felt like a massive shed. Some books are overpriced. Thought it was surprisingly organised than what I expected.

Just delighted to search my wish list of obscure books on Goulds website and find gems. Prompt response and follow up made it easy to go and collect my pile. Great atmosphere.

Quirky unique bookshop, strong on Australian labour movement and left politics. Huge diverse collection of second hand books. Moving to new location 536 King St, Newtown.

It's a remarkable experience to shop here. If you like books, this place has hundreds of thousands. Best collection of Australian history I've ever seen. Well done!

Very helpful owner, and I loved the place. Very old school book store with no frills. No Spotify jazz music in the background, just stacks of books.

Enormous place with a vast selection of used books and magazines on all topics. One of the last great old time 2nd hand book stores left in sydney.

Amazing old bookstore, two levels filled with everything. Great for book lovers and spending hours in the book stacks finding old gems to read

A wonderful atmosphere. Books everywhere, so much that is hard to walk around. Wonderful titles everywhere. I could spend the whole day there

Perhaps the best place in Australia to find unique and interesting books you never thought you needed. Friendly Staff. Great Tradition.

It is a must visit shop. If your are into books you will love this place. It might be a bit complicated to find something specific.

This must be one of the biggest book stores that I have been in. Awesome collection of books. I got what I needed. Helpful staff.

Dingey, claustrophobic and disorganised. I'm sure some enjoy that but not me. Very wide selection and close to public transport.

Awful service. The bookshop smells of mildew. Rotten book pages and magazines in piles. The store is definitely one to avoid.

Sad to see it go. An institution, although finding a book of any consequence published after 1998 is a little difficult.

Bought book online excellent experience. Apt description arrived quicklyby Aust Post All good...highly recommend. THANKS

Great bookshop with a really good range in many genres. I especially like the religious and spiritual section.

Nice place for buying secondhand book.So many books for all fields.You can find the book you are interested.

Pretty large selection of used books. Some interesting ones too. Hard to find parking tho as all on street.

An overwhelming number of books... old book smell... you can get lost... and spend a lot of time browsing!

A large collection but not exceptional or well curated as far as I could tell. Not the best prices either.

An amazing place to browse shelves of books. It's so nice to just stumble across a new book by accident

A treasure house with a wonderful range of used books. Pleasant and knowledgeable owners. Also has DVDS

Lovely second hand book store with a beautiful lady behind the counter who was very kind to me …

It has been years (in the 90s) since I been there, it still the same. It has a grest choice of books.

Tons of stuff in here... Went in looking for records... Left with a book. (Everything is second hand)

Don't go there for a specific book, just browse and wonder at what you find. A Sydney institution.

A perfect place on a cold afternoon to look for books, not designed for those looking for a book

Unorganised, staff aren't interested in helping, and some of the stuff is exorbitantly priced.

The old Gould’s was like to books what Lawson’s on Pitt Street was to vinyl. I miss the 90s.

Great books. Excellent to not cause unnecessary waste by getting them new. Wonderful place.

Not many of these left (2nd hand bookshops that is). This place is a well deserved legend.

Massive space filled with books totally awesome. Only bad thing is the messy organisation.

Lovely place for second hand books. Not very well organised but the place has character.

Great place to spend a couple of hours. Thousands of books to look through. Good prices.

Great spot for treasure hunting. Books, comics, movies and music. Very friendly staff!!

I love the smell and Ambiance of this place, vinyls, magazines, books from all decades

Gould's has a large range of used books. Get in there and just explore, so many books.

Relaxed & cheapish book shop. Found a few books of Asimov & Clarke I wasn't aware of.

The new location is a lot smaller and will soon move out of Newtown all together. Sad

Great shop with helpful shopkeepers. Packed with great finds at affordable prices.

One of my favourite places in Sydney, open late, obscure books floor to ceiling.

So. Many. Books. Impossible to navigate, but I think that's part of the charm.

Still the same amazing collection, just different location to a few years ago

Absolutely gigantic selection of books and open relatively late. A bit messy.

best closed store ever would walk past there many times for hong pho noodles

Great place for 2nd hand books but will be moving to 536 King st Newtown

Great to walk around in here and you'll always find a book to take home.

A wonderful selection of secondhand books. Very reasonably priced too.

Lots of old books. I love browsing for the diamonds you sometimes find

Charming, musty old books of every possible description. Delightful.

Amazing little shop, Some great vinyl selection for a fair price.

Large variety of topics. The sci-fi section is a treasure trove!

Huge amount and variety of books for a good price …

Rumour says about to close... if you havent been you must go

I liked the store, the lady who served me is very friendly.

Wonderful place...a Sydney icon...about to move...be quick!

Nice second hand bookshop with a large collection of books