As I mentioned in the About Page of this site, Red Owl Books is a small, boutique, online bookstore, based in Johannesburg, South Africa; specialising in literary fiction, and high-content literary and narrative non-fiction.
I started this business in 2014, when I was ‘between jobs’ and not having much to do. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to continue with it as a full-time business! My entire life I have had a deep love for books and reading, and I am delighted to be in this industry.
When deciding on how to sell my books, I decided to work with Bobshop (which was Bidorbuy at the time) rather than start my own online store. It was just simpler and quicker. I found that it is also a very safe and secure online platform, which would give my customers peace of mind when shopping. Bobshop today also offers a very competitive shipping price of only R30, which means an enormous saving to you, my customer. Without Bobshop I would not have been able to offer such a discounted shipping rate. Bobshop also offers a wide range of payment methods for your convenience – EFT, Credit Card, bobBucks, Zapper, Mobicred, Masterpass and even Discovery Miles amongst others.
Why literary fiction?
Literary fiction is, in my opinion, the high art of writing. It is a challenging and thought-provoking read. I have mostly read literary fiction my entire life and is the category of writing that I know best. And thus, I am able to find and select the best literary fiction for you.
In South Africa, we do not have specialist bookstores (my apologies if there are, I’ve just not heard of them!), only general bookstores (online as well). So, one has to scroll endlessly to find literary gems amongst thousands upon thousands of books in all other genres. Unless you know exactly what you want, literary fiction is hard to find. And so, I started Red Owl Books, a store where you will find literary books exclusively.
About our stock
We stock books in English, Afrikaans and some French (when available; French books are hard to come by in South Africa) and in the following categories:
- Modern and contemporary literary fiction (from 1950 to the present)
- Classics (books published earlier than 1950)
- Poetry (from all eras)
- Plays/Drama (from all eras)
- Philosophy and Religion
- South African
- Africana (African fiction, excluding South African writers as there is a special category for these)
- Literary and narrative non-fiction in a wide range of subjects
Our books range in price from affordable paperbacks to first editions and valuable antique and collectables.
How we work
Books are acquired from various sources. Currently, it is mostly second-hand, but I have recently started stocking new books as well. My aim is to bring you as great a variety of books as I possibly can. I especially look for books that are no longer in print or have been neglected and forgotten. Rare and hard to find books I take in any condition – any copy is better than no copy! These are usually sold at a much-discounted price.
Once I receive them, books are cleaned and prepared for listing online. Sometimes hardcover books have dustjackets which are damaged; these I cover in a thick, library-quality plastic, which keeps everything neat and tidy and prevents further damage. Books that have loose, or missing pages are discarded.
Books are then graded, photographed, and listed online.
A note on photographs: If a book is in good condition with no serious damage, a picture is taken of the front cover and the synopsis, which is either the back cover of a paperback or the front inside flap of the dustjacket if it is a hardcover. Any defects are also photographed for your reference. In the case of first editions, and valuable books, extensive photography of the book is done.
Book grading system:
All used books are graded according to their condition. The following below is how our books are graded. Any defects are noted in the listing and every book is assigned a grading according to the grading system below. This grading key is also provided at the end of each book description, for your ease of reference.
GRADING KEY
AS NEW:
Although technically second-hand, its condition is as new. It may have been kept in storage or warehoused, never been sold, or never read or opened before
FINE:
This book is almost as new, with no damage nor defects, except that it is not as crisp as a new book. It may have been opened and read.
VERY GOOD:
Has very small/minor signs of wear, any unusual defects are noted above
GOOD:
A typical, average used book. Will have small/minor signs of wear, though no tears on either cover or pages. Binding is sound. Any defects are noted above.
FAIR:
Has wear and tear, but all text, illustrations and other included items (eg, pull-out maps, CDs etc) are present. It may be missing end-pages, half-title or title pages. Any defects are noted above.
POOR:
Book has a lot of wear and tear, and may be soiled, scuffed, stained and may have loose joints, pages etc. These will be pictured, and defects noted.
EX-LIBRARY / SCHOOL / BOOK-CLUB:
This copy was owned by a library, a school or book club; and may have their stamps and markings, library issue plates etc.
BINDING COPY:
Individual pages are in perfect condition, but the binding is loose or off; or it may not have been bound in the first place. None of the text, title pages, or other items, are missing, and these may be suitable for having your own personal binding done.
READING COPY:
This copy is so badly damaged that it is suitable for reading only, and nothing more. All of the text is present. Books that have text missing we normally discard, unless they have antique, historical or collectable value. Detailed notes are provided above in these cases.
Once an order and payment has been received, your books are picked, professionally packed, and shipped to the address provided. You must please make sure that your delivery address is correct on your Bobshop profile. Full communication is sent to you throughout the process.
Questions are always most welcome. If you have a question on a specific book on the site, please use the “ask a question” function on the individual listing. For all other enquiries, please fill out the contact form on this site.
Many, many thanks for visiting our website and store.
With best wishes and happy reading,
Dion Govender
