a few people have mentioned elizabeth's at newtown..
maybe i'm just a poverty-stricken hsc student (aren't we all)
or maybe i'm just asian..
but i find the books there a tad expensive? i've even found cheaper versions of the same book in BORDERS! (my gosh! i know?!)
and a lot of the time i can't even find what i'm looking for there.
i have a couple of local second-hand bookstores/book-exchanges i visit regularly ('dog-eared books' and 'the readers realm') with most good reads at $6 or under...$8 at the most (but the 8 buck ones are nice and fancy and in pretty good condition)
parklea markets has a pretty good second-hand bookstore (the name of it has escaped my mind) but they have absolute bargains and a wide collection too.
if you're cheap like me, i've found many of my books at vinnies or salvos, usually 2 bucks each (but it's a pain in the butt looking through their jumbled stacks of books). or even at the library when they're having a clearout, i bought catch-22 for 50c.
but, i do love that second-hand bookstore in newtown...the one with stacks and stacks and stacks of books everywhere...it's like a maze, and has two levels as well
i forget what it's called...but you could be reading a book in there and no one will ever find you.