Book Depository is coming to Australia – but there's nothing like a local bookshop

While the Amazon-owned online retailer’s first major step into Australia means more competition, it’s not all doom and gloom for independent booksellers

Head down Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and walk towards the neon lights until you see the words “Totally Weird Shit” on an awning. Walk through the doors and you enter one of the most subversive and strangely delightful bookshops in Australia.

Since 1985, Polyester has sold books with a punk sensibility, including a wide range of bizarro Manga comics. But as Brunswick Street goes alternative-lite, making room for artificially distressed cafes and expensive ‘vintage’ clothing stores, Polyester announced this week that it is turning off its neon lights for good.

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