Booktique Albury

20/09/2026

Sunday Ponderings....
Show me autumn and I'll raise you spring!
Sure, autumn is showy and golden and vivid - all those oranges and clarets - but it doesn't offer the promise that spring does. The garden is full of buds, about-to-be-buds, and full-on blossom; and there are 100,000 baby dragonflies flitting amongst them all. I'm not even exaggerating right now.
The bookshop is like that this week too, the shelves are filling up with spring titles ready for the plucking, and every box delivers treasures yet to be discovered.
Disappointingly, no dragonflies in the bookshop.

15/09/2026

Jacquie read Everything was Beautiful & Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves. Her life may be irrevocably changed.

13/09/2026

Sunday Ponderings....
During the week I complimented a customer on her scarf, and asked whether she had woven it. No, she replied - but I am a weaver. And as any weaver knows, when you meet a fellow weaver, there's a conversation between soul mates right there.
She weaves with natural fibres and grasses, experimenting with as many natural textures as she can get hold of, including tree branches and straw.
I want to grow my own flax, she said, but I'm probably too old. Good grief, I said, I'm too old to grow my own flax, and I'm younger than you are! Turns out she has a good 30 years on my 65, and I have to say I was inspired.
Let's be honest, I'm probably not going to grow my own flax; but I am going to take a good hard look at turning my creative brain back on.
The best conversations are had in bookshops.

12/09/2026

11/09/2026

Francesca De Tores popped in between WAM events to sign her books (and chat about how good Sophie, Standing There is).

If you see an author in the wild around Albury and Wodonga this week, they're probably in need of a coffee (or something stronger 😅)

Francesca Haig Write Around the Murray (WAM) Literary Festival

10/09/2026

Need to reclassify the free ranging authors at large in Albury right now. This is a certified crew of writers. So lovely to have them all at Booktique Albury tonight. Gabrielle Zevin, Julianne Negri and Johanna Bell. Mwah. Love love love.

10/09/2026

Random authors roaming the streets of Albury. Gabe was captured in the wild.

10/09/2026

The ridiculously delightful Will Kostakis popped in visit us today. What an inspiring author and communicator.

09/09/2026

The marvellously talented Jo Dabrowski visited Booktique Albury yesterday, and signed all of her books. Jo is in town for Write Around the Murray, ready to entertain and delight the children of Albury.
(Dear Broccoli is one of my favourite picture books... )

06/09/2026

Sunday Ponderings....
I'm proud to report that the staff at Booktique Albury are real life people and not AI-generated.
Our industry stands against generative AI for content, and in particular the abuse of an author's body of work already out there in story-world, being used for AI training.
But is the cat already out of the bag? I hope not.
An author's work is no different to a Van Gogh or a Renoir. It is their personal masterpiece, their chosen art form, their private collection of words; offered to the world in book form.
I know not all AI is bad; I would be lost (literally) without Google Maps and my car's GPS, and for a quick-find answer to a tricky question, it can be a time-saver. Today I heard about 'closed-loop AI', a cost-for-use system set up for a specific outcome, using only the data fed in by the administrator.
I admit it's promising! As long as we don't lose sight of the art.
Meanwhile at Booktique, all the recommendations that come from our staff are based on a mix of their own reading, their detailed knowledge of the books in our shop, and information shared by the customer. Instead of an algorithm, we base our suggestions on a vibe.
Sounds good to me.