Red Books — Greymouth
A secondhand bookshop in Greymouth. Part of the Greymouth, Westport & West Coast secondhand bookshops directory — see also our NZ used-book price guide.
No rights-cleared photo yet — our own photos coming soon. Open the map pin for the street location.
About
Red Books opened on 18 June 2019 in Greymouth’s Mackay Street, on the same site as Walden Books — the legendary shop founded by West Coast writer Peter Hooper. Owner Wendy Barrow wrote for Newsroom about stocking it by touring the op shops and book sales of both islands and building the shelves from donated kahikatea.
It is the only dedicated secondhand bookshop on the West Coast. RNZ’s Summer Weekends series featured it, and a visiting writer described it in November 2025 as having “that comfortable bookish feel”, with sofas, nooks and a co-owner reading by the door.
The railway station — start and end of the TranzAlpine — is a few minutes’ walk away, so it fits neatly into a Greymouth train day.
Price tip: Keen secondhand prices; collectable West Coast titles priced individually.
What you’ll find
Literature (Orwell, Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Kapuściński), short-story and Granta collections, deep New Zealand and West Coast non-fiction and history, and vinyl records.
Practical info
- Address
- 138 Mackay Street, Greymouth, Greymouth 7805
- Hours
- Tue–Sat 10am–4pm; closed Sun–Mon
- Website
- facebook.com/2944237695648211
Owner-operated, so hours can vary — check Facebook before a special trip. Visitors report payment is cash or bank transfer only; bring cash.