The Thousands

Until recently, I didn’t realise that Mary Martin was an actual person; I just assumed it was a nice business name devised by booksellers with a love of alliteration. In fact, Mary Martin was a woman, writer and artist who pioneered independent bookselling in Adelaide and the shop bearing her name now has an additional location on Norwood Parade.

MM’s Norwood digs make the Rundle store seem relatively paltry – not least because the new shop is set within the House of God. That’s right, MM’s now got a church for her books.

Such impressive architecture has been filled with MM’s carefully selected tomes covering fiction, art, design, philosophy and more. Thankfully, the church has also been deconsecrated, so you won’t feel sacrilegious when dropping crumbs, spilling coffee from the adjoining café, or uttering the occasional blaspheme.