The Book Collective

06/04/2026

Do you want to bring more feet to your store/coffee shop?
If you didn't know, our FREE library used to be in a coffe shop and the community loved it!
However, the coffee shop closed down and booking out books moved online again.

☕️The community has been asking me for a physical place for the books. So if you have a coffee shop or a cafe and you have always wanted a wall of books, please contact me!

📚We have just over 300 books.

🤝Please also note, no profit is made from this library. It works on a system of trust.
Borrow a book and return it to take the next one.

💬Please give us a follow and if you have suggestions, I'd love to hear it in the comments.

20/02/2026

Yes ... we're still.here.
And yes, the books are still FREE to borrow.

Here is part 2 of our latest haul.
I've added even more titles to the shelf and you are welcome to borrow any of them.
Just send me a DM and we can arrange collection.

25/08/2025

25/08/2025

Here are a few new titles that were recently added to the library!
Come grab a coffee and take a browse through our ever growing collection.
We add books weekly. 🪷

📋Membership to the library is free.
📖️A deposit of R20 is required when taking out a book.
✅️The deposit will be returned to you when you bring your book back on time and in good condition.
📚Only 1 book may be taken out at a time per person unkess you are a regular.

The Dusty Book Bar is located in Vendors Off Cape at 38 3rd Avenue, Newton Park.

17/06/2025

📚✨ New book alert at Dusty Book Bar!

Auriel Rising by Elizabeth Redfern

If you're into dark secrets, secret societies, and old-world mystery, this one is for you. Set in 1600s London, Auriel Rising follows Tom, a young apprentice who finds himself caught up in murder, astrology, and political plots after his master is mysteriously killed.
I really love how this book feels like a slow-burning detective story mixed with real historical details. There’s this constant feeling that something is hiding just beneath the surface, and the deeper you read, the more twisted things get.

🗣️ What readers are saying:
“Like The Da Vinci Code but set in old London — layered, atmospheric, and full of secrets.”
“A beautifully written historical thriller with a touch of the arcane.”

⭐ Rating:
3.7 stars on Goodreads 🌟
Fans love the vivid setting and detailed historical world-building. A slower pace, but worth it if you enjoy rich, thoughtful mysteries.

👀 Did You Know?
Elizabeth Redfern is a professional violinist as well as an author! Her love for rhythm and timing shows in the structure of her storytelling.

📖 Now available at Dusty Book Bar!
Come take it out and let me know what you think, especially if you love a bit of dark mystery with your historical fiction!

We can be found in Vendors on Cape at 38 3rd Avenue, Newton Park.

16/06/2025

📖✨ New Arrival at Dusty Book Bar!

Geisha by Liza Dalby

👘 Quick Summary:
This fascinating memoir/anthropological journey follows Liza Dalby, the only Western woman to have trained and worked as a geisha in Japan. With graceful storytelling and cultural insight, she pulls back the curtain on the mysterious and often misunderstood world of the geisha, from tea houses to kimonos, music, and tradition.

💬 What Readers Are Saying:
“A beautifully written, respectful, and eye-opening account of a secretive culture.”
"Dalby balances personal experience with deep cultural research. A rare and respectful insight."

⭐ Rating: 4.1/5 on Goodreads
Loved for its cultural depth, criticised only by a few for being slightly academic but if you enjoy learning while you read, this one’s for you!

🎎 Interesting Fact:
Liza Dalby didn’t just study geisha — she became one. Under the name “Ichigiku,” she participated fully in geisha life in Kyoto and Tokyo during the 1970s. Her experience even inspired Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha.

📚 Available now at Dusty Book Bar!
It’s on the shelf and ready to be read.
Find the library in Vendors on Cape at 38 3rd Avenue, Newton Park.

27/05/2025

Something really special is happening on Friday, 6 June, at our cozy little book nook inside B’s Coffee Shop (38 3rd Avenue, Newton Park) and you are warmly invited. 💛

From 9 to 10am, we’ll slow down for just a moment and gather around a story.
We’ll be reading from “The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends," a collection of stories, lore and magical tales from the beautiful England.

Afterwards, we’ll take a moment to reflect, sip something warm, and chat about what spoke to us. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to .... just being there is enough.

☕🍪 Coffee, tea, and snacks are available to buy in the shop.
📖 Our aim is to create a space where you can simply be, surrounded by kind souls and good stories.

Whether you’re a book lover, a quiet soul, a tired mom needing a breather, or just curious, you are so welcome here. Come as you are. No pressure, no cost. Just connection.

26/05/2025

Dusty Book Bar finally has a real, physical home, and it’s inside the cozy coffee shop, B's Coffee Shop at 38 3rd Avenue, Newton Park!

What began as a small online lending library, run from home with heaps of love and secondhand books, has grown into a beautiful little nook where you can finally visit in person and breathe in the aroma of paper, coffee and bask in sunlight.

No more online accounts or difficult checkouts. Just real books, real people .... And did I mention coffee? LOL

📖 Here’s how it works now:
✨ Come to B's Coffee Shop (open from 8am - 4pm)
✨ Register for free in-store to become a library member
✨ Pay a R20 deposit per book borrowed (returned when the book comes back safely)
✨ After every 4 books read and returned, you get a free coffee of your choice on us, with love.

So whether you want to borrow a book, find a comfy corner to read, or just breathe in that delicious book-and-coffee smell, we are ready to welcome you.

Check out our new setup (those shelves are actual suitcases, by the way 👀💼) and come visit us!

This is your space, your story, your little escape in the heart of Newton Park.

28/03/2025

This week we have Scavenger Hunt in our Newsletter. And of course there will be a book prize for the winner.
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News & updates about our books, authors, and anything interesting