By David Dixon
Revival of books and reading as leisure activities was one of the surprising trends of the COVID lockdowns, with outlets like QBD Books in the Orana Mall helping keep us all sane.
Now with one of the best collections of new and classic works, QBD is your go-to store for any publication that takes your fancy.
The local outlet has also been chosen for a round-Australia book tour by a celebrated Aussie author who recently added Dubbo to his “visit every bookshop in Australia” odyssey for later this month.
“We have Graeme Simsion, who is on a tour around as many bookstores as he can get to, here sometime around Saturday, June 29,” Store Manager, Claudia Croker, revealed.
“We have a few writers come here, Australian books are some of our best sellers,” she added.
The store, however, also features a wide range of fiction and non-fiction works, as well as brain teasers, and one of the world’s great science magazines.
“We do all kinds of books, puzzles, classics, popular fiction, cookbooks and gardening, and the Australian Geographic.
“We also sell a lot of jigsaw puzzles, we have new puzzles coming in all the time, we’re one of Australia’s biggest retailers.”
QBD also run a surprising line in a cult Asian publishing phenomena, that has become increasingly popular in the west, as well as more traditional works.
“Our biggest sellers are crime fiction, but also ‘manga’ publications, these are always popular,” she said of the unique Japanese comic books and novels.
“These are usually aimed at our younger buyers, you’re talking about readers aged from about eight to 40, but they can be all ages,” Claudia said.
Simsion, meanwhile – author of the world best-selling quirky love story, The Rosie Project and its sequels, is looking forward to his bush sojourn with all money raised going to mental health not-for-profits, according to his website.
“We’ve been focusing on regional Australia… Anne and I are aiming to visit ‘every bookshop in Australia’ to thank them for their support, and to be creative in putting together signings, talks, and writing seminars” he said of his tour with Anne Buist, herself author of five psychological thrillers, including the Natalie King series.