So then there was a bookshop…
Opened in August 2021, Quixotic Books is Toby’s extremely idealistic, unrealistic and impractical quest to own and operate a bookshop different to any other in Australia.
“New” bookstores chase after the latest title and stay up to date with the contemporary interests. Consequently, one finds it difficult to discover books beyond the same bestseller names.
Second-hand bookstores have precious gems among the shelves but face the constant fear of becoming a warehouse of unwanted books from the aforementioned customers.
What does Quixotic Books offer?
I’ve set out to capture the best part about second-hand bookshops (the gems through serendipitous discovery) while keeping current of contemporary tastes.
This is a quixotic project; foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals.
The word quixotic comes from the hero of the 17th-century Spanish novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (by Miguel de Cervantes). After having read too many chivalric romances Alonso Quixano decides that he is a knight errant, Don Quixote. Unfortunately, this new career is a few centuries out-of-touch from his contemporaries. Yet, despite the farcical misadventures from this premise, many readers come to prefer the world of Don Quixote than a world without him.
Why talk about Don Quixote in the About Section?
Don Quixote’s story is the independent bookshop of the 21st century; in the face of intangible e-books at impossibly low costs, massive online retailers, and an apparent decline in reading, the possibility of a bookshop is a bleak idea. But the bookshop is a romantic notion people keep coming back to, and it perseveres.
Toby Wools-Cobb - Owner Operator
Toby decided to open a bookshop in 2021 after 7 years working in public and higher education libraries. The best part of his job was putting on his detective hat and finding a half-forgotten, seemingly rare book for a client and learning the bizarre intricacies of the book world.
From studying Ancient Egypt & the Near East and Creative Writing as an undergraduate, he has a deep personal interest in history, writing and reading.
Gaining a Master of Information Management in librarianship, records management and archives, he has accumulated specific skills for the world of book hunting, where digital literacy is more important than ever.
He is a reader of books about books, histories of libraries, and literature in the Hispanic or Latino tradition.