Betty Loves Books

Betty Loves Books Independent bookstore. New and used. Local artists and giftwar We are on the corner of Scott and watt streets Newcastle.
(1)

We’re a part of The Station precinct which can be accessed by bus or tram. Parking on site available on wharf road or any of the side streets with street parking

Philippa Laakso was many things to many people. Caring and selfish. Kind to some, cruel to others. And now, she was dead...
09/08/2026

Philippa Laakso was many things to many people. Caring and selfish. Kind to some, cruel to others. And now, she was dead.

When seventeen-year-old Philippa’s body is found in the yard outside her home, the police launch an investigation. Everyone close to Philippa is questioned: the elderly neighbour who discovered her body, who kept confusing Philippa with his late wife. The best friend, who hoards a secret stash of objects she’d stolen from Philippa over the years. The ex-boyfriend, still reeling from their sudden break-up months before. The woman who features, enraged, in some of the strange videos Philippa filmed on her beloved Olympus PEN camera. The older men she’d been meeting via a dating app.

Each tells a different story: she was a confidant, a fantasy, a temptation, a problem, a mystery, a mirror. But did any of them truly know her?

Enchantment is a spellbinding literary mystery that explores the uneasy terrain of girlhood, where one is always being watched, shaped, and judged by others. In it, Riikka Pulkkinen weaves a complex story of power, identity, and the fragile boundary between truth and fiction.

I’m seeking expressions of interest from anyone who may be interested in taking over my beautiful bookstore—the business...
08/08/2026

I’m seeking expressions of interest from anyone who may be interested in taking over my beautiful bookstore—the business I’ve poured my heart into for the past four years.

Betty’s started as a scrappy little dream and has grown into a fully functioning, stable independent bookstore—only the second independent bookstore selling new books in Newcastle.

So, what’s changed? The past 12 months have brought a lot of personal change and grief, including the loss of my beloved mum. I’ve realised I’m ready to slow down for a while, work for someone else, and give myself the time and space to heal and reset.

So, what would you be taking on?
A fully operational bookstore that’s ready for someone to walk in and continue trading. Along with the shop itself, you’d inherit:
- A loyal and engaged customer community.
- A strong social media presence and large Facebook and Instagram following
- Relationships with publishers, sales representatives, local businesses and independent authors.
- Four established book clubs that generate their own revenue.
- A large customer database and mailing list.
- A fully functioning website.
- A trusted and well-loved brand.

There is however one challenge. Our current lease expires in January 2027, so anyone taking over would need to be prepared to relocate or evolve the business after that.

If this has sparked something in you, I’d love to chat. If you’re looking for a change, have the energy to grow an established business, or have always dreamed of owning an independent bookstore that’s already set up and ready to go, this could be your opportunity.

Please feel free to reach out for a chat.

In the meantime, Bettys remains open for business and slinging high quality books 4 days a week and online.

‘Everything great in Western culture has come from the quarrel with nature … The most effective weapon against the flux ...
06/08/2026

‘Everything great in Western culture has come from the quarrel with nature … The most effective weapon against the flux of nature is art.’

In this blazing work of brilliant originality, a phenomenon ever since it was first published in 1990, Camille Paglia outlines a new unified theory of Western art and literature and the primacy of s*x and violence within it. Identifying the competing symbolic forces of Apollo and Dionysus ― reason and instinct, order and chaos, logic and passion, male and female, civilisation and nature ― Sexual Personae outlines key archetypes that embody different levels of Apollonian and Dionysian forces: the Great Mother, the beautiful boy, the femme fatale, the amazon, amongst many others, and traces how these archetypes have animated the pagan battle that underlies all Western art and culture. Audacious, vastly erudite, and wildly entertaining, Sexual Personae is art history that invites us to see the entire world anew.

In store and online now!

*xualpersonae 📚❤️📚

An epic, transformative novel following a young woman as she navigates a series of romantic relationships, reckons with ...
06/08/2026

An epic, transformative novel following a young woman as she navigates a series of romantic relationships, reckons with the false promise of family intimacy, and seeks connection with the sublime and natural worlds.

Lucy is a senior in college struggling to quell the effects of a s*xual assault when she gets a glimpse into a different plane of existence — one that is more wild, physical, animal. Unable to shake the experience, she moves away from home, breaks up with her long-term boyfriend, stops speaking to her mother, and starts dating a dynamic man with a terrifying violent streak.

As she changes cities, friends, and partners, an otherworldly existential force thrums in the back of her mind. It urges her to reject the ordinary, but also reminds her that she is alone in the world. She feels it in the ocean while deep-sea diving, in the cold silences from her mother, in the unknowing gaze of the man she thought would be her soulmate.

We follow Lucy over the course of a decade, witnessing moments of both horrific pain and quotidian happiness. The years pass by seamlessly, bringing her to the edge of her twenties and back to an altered, barren version of her childhood home, where she must finally come to terms with the fear that being human might mean feeling alone, and wild, and unknowable.

In store now!

It is the year 2000 when Dinah, a Jewish teenager from London, arrives in Israel with her family. Still reeling from the...
03/08/2026

It is the year 2000 when Dinah, a Jewish teenager from London, arrives in Israel with her family. Still reeling from the death of her beloved dad, the idea of having to start all over again daunts her. Dinah isn’t quite sure what to make of this seemingly pristine place: her new life seems soulless and suffocating.

Another teenager, Safa, watches Dinah settle in. A fourteen-year-old Palestinian who was shot and killed decades ago in the Six Day War, Safa is caught in a limbo which she calls the ‘In-Between’. She is unable to fully pass on without knowing what happened to her younger sister, Nur, who is still alive somewhere. After thirty-three years, the possibility of finding her sister is suddenly within reach – but Safa needs Dinah’s help.

Alternating between past and present, and between Safa and Dinah, Ever Land is a gripping and powerful story that sheds light on the ongoing occupation of Palestine. It is a tale of belonging and identity, of devastation and displacement and – ultimately – of the enduring universality of humanity and love.

In store and online now!

A darkly funny, action-packed gothic thriller following a modern-day, old-money crime family with murderous intent. It’s...
02/08/2026

A darkly funny, action-packed gothic thriller following a modern-day, old-money crime family with murderous intent. It’s The Secret History meets The Sopranos, with a dash of Saltburn!

Meet the Mortons: In this family, murder is currency - and business is booming.

The Mortons are a modern-day, old-money dynasty with impeccable taste, from their exquisitely crafted cocktails to their expertly tailored vintage garments. They are also stone-cold killers.

They, along with the other crime families, send their progeny to Helshire College, where legacy students learn to exercise control over their wealthy peers. Jessica Morton has always excelled at Helshire, secure in her knowledge that she is the prodigy of her generation. Now, having committed her first kill, it should be Jessica’s moment, her honor.

But that kill will cut more ways than one - and it will set in motion a series of consequences from which there is no turning back.

Sharp and hypnotic, The Mortons is an epic novel of alliances and power, loyalty and kinship, and the consequences of ruthless ambition.

In store and online now!

Spanning ninety years as one family of gifted Korean women’s lives are upended under Japanese imperialism, Honey in the ...
01/08/2026

Spanning ninety years as one family of gifted Korean women’s lives are upended under Japanese imperialism, Honey in the Wound is a powerful and sweeping debut novel for fans of Pachinko and Homegoing.

A lyrical and suspenseful debut novel about a mysteriously gifted Korean family confronting the brutality of the Japanese empire.

A sister disappears and returns as a tiger. A mother’s voice compels the truth from any tongue. A granddaughter divines secrets in others’ dreams.

Spanning ninety years as one family is displaced across Asia, this novel follows Young-Ja, who finds herself struggling to survive after her family is killed by Japanese soldiers. The magical gift that once brought her joy - the ability to infuse her cooking with her feelings: love, peace, delight - transforms into something more powerful as her sorrow and anger seeps into her confections.

When her talent is noticed by a Korean resistance fighter, she’s taken to Manchuria where she becomes enmeshed in a network of spies at a teahouse favoured by Japanese officials. Haunted at every turn by the spectre of Japanese soldiers, she endures horrors and brutality at the hands of the Imperial Army.

With spellbinding inter-generational sweep and atmospheric magical realism, Honey in the Wound explores the ways colonialism forces one family to transform, and ultimately survive.

A sharp insight into violence and punishment based on true events from critically acclaimed lawyer-turned-author Constan...
30/07/2026

A sharp insight into violence and punishment based on true events from critically acclaimed lawyer-turned-author Constance Debre

‘Debre’s voice is Camusian, comic, stark, relentless and totally hypnotic’ Rachel Kushner Is a criminal born or made? What turns them towards violence? A young man stabs an elderly woman ten times for the sake of a 450 euro debt. But why would he commit such a brutal murder over a petty sum, when he has a girlfriend and a child at home? How much could he lose when there is already so little to start with? Centring on a perpetrator and a victim who remain nameless - who are nobodies but could be anybody - Offenses unfolds as a contemporary parable exploring the biases and barriers built into the legal system. Blending expertise in criminal law with her signature knife-edge prose, Constance Debre probes the intricacies of crime, punishment and accountability in this propulsive tale.

In store now!

Address

Shop 1a/110 Scott Street
Newcastle, NSW
2300

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 3pm
Tuesday 9am - 3pm
Thursday 9am - 3pm
Friday 9am - 3pm
Saturday 9am - 3pm
Sunday 9am - 3pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Betty Loves Books posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Betty Loves Books:

Shortcuts

Share

Category