About Us

Welcome to
Books & Books

Books & Books are all about books – and people, both big and small! We are a vibrant, independently owned, community minded book business. We have access to key publishing houses so we’re always up to date with the latest releases and book trade events.

Books & Books opened a shop in April 2006 and we’ve never looked back! In 2013 we were voted SA’s Best Independent Trade Bookseller at the annual book trade Sefika Awards. While we no longer have a retail space, we are still passionate about books and promoting a love of reading!

Books & Books is the brain-child of Janine O’Connor and is the realisation of a dream to open a children’s bookshop. Since she also loves historical fiction, thrillers, and is a sports fanatic, she decided to stock adult books too!

We operate from Durban, supplying customers throughout Kwazulu-Natal.

Functions
and Events

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Functions and Events

Functions and events are an important part of our business, whether it be hosting book launches with authors, or taking authors and illustrators to schools to mesmerise the children, or hosting Book Club evenings (South African Book Clubs are unlike elsewhere in the world!), or supporting speakers at business events.

Community Projects

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Community Projects

We have been very fortunate to be involved in a number of community library projects which have enabled us to source the very best books, for previously disadvantaged schools, which have made a huge difference to the kids in the community.

Meet the Team

Janine O’Connor

Owner

My love of books started with my Mum and older brothers reading stories to me before I could read, but it was my wonderful primary school librarian, Mrs de St Pern who turned me into a voracious reader! I would read anything – Dr Seuss, Enid Blyton, Willard Price, Ian Serralier, but particularly enjoyed adventure and historical novels.

I also enjoyed non – fiction books. I begged my Mum for my first atlas when I was about eight and have collected them ever since!! I had the dream to open a bookshop since 1990, when I decided to join the book trade. I worked in Johannesburg in sales & marketing for HarperCollins, Jonathan Ball Publishers, and finally Penguin South Africa. I opened Books & Books in Durban North in April 2006.

Lee Niemandt

Online Shop Manager

Meet Lee, the wizard behind the curtain here at Books & Books. While she might not be conjuring up dragons or solving gritty crimes (though she wouldn’t mind trying!), she’s the one making sure your online book-buying experience is as smooth as possible.

When she’s not wrangling website code or dreaming up new features, you can find her curled up with a good book. She’s a lifelong bibliophile with a particular fondness for the intricate worlds of George R. R. Martin and the hard-hitting realism of Michael Connelly. She believes there’s nothing quite like getting lost in a great story, and she’s dedicated to helping you find your next literary escape.

Books & Books’ customer care is exceptional. They bring a thoughtfully chosen selection of books to the library every week, many of which they have read, which makes choosing from the overwhelming selection of books on the market that much easier. According to our finance department, Books & Books are efficient and very pleasant to work with. Janine and her team have provided our school with a most valuable service over the years, and we wish them all the best for the future.
Sally HowesLibrarian at St Anne’s Diocesan College
We, at St John’s D.S.G., have used the services of Books & Books for several years now. We feel that Books & Books is just that: a service. It is more than just a book store- we feel that Janine really gets to know us and our pupils’ interests. The books that we receive each time are hand-picked just for us- Janine knows which series we usually enjoy, what topics we like to explore, and so on. The convenience factor is huge for us, too. It saves librarian time to have boxes of books arrive and be collected. The arrival of a box each week means that our students are able to participate in the book-buying process, and enjoy it. The box is always delivered and collected timeously and communication and support from Book & Books is fantastic. We strongly recommend using this service!
Sam EvansJunior School Ed Tech Teacher - St John's DSG PMB
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Books & Books are all about books and people, both big and small! We are a vibrant, independently owned, community minded book business.

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