Better Read Than Dead has anchored the King Street strip for over two decades and is the bookshop locals name when asked for their favourite in Sydney. The two floors carry a thoughtfully curated range strong on literary fiction, politics, art and ideas, with staff picks scattered through the shelves and a busy programme of author talks and book clubs that keeps it tied into the neighbourhood's bookish reputation.
It is exactly the kind of independent that Newtown does well — opinionated, browsable and open late. A natural stop on any wander down King Street.