Readings has operated in Carlton since 1969 — one of the longest-running independent bookshops in Australia. The Carlton store, on Lygon Street in the Italian precinct that has been the neighbourhood's character since the 1950s, is the flagship of a small Melbourne group that has expanded carefully without losing the qualities that distinguish an independent: knowledgeable staff, a selection shaped by reading rather than sales data, and the conviction that a bookshop is a local institution rather than a retail format. The Australian literature section is extensive and historically organised; the international fiction, poetry, and small-press sections reflect the same curatorial intelligence. The staff picks shelf is reliable.
Carlton, Melbourne, Australia