FOR Wendy Flint, life isn't complete without books.
She's always loved books - loved being able to hold them, to turn their pages, to be able to be transported to another world while reading them and to be able to put them in a bag and take them anywhere.
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Such is her fondness for books, she came out of retirement to buy in to The Fiction Room at Northam, a book store dedicated to rescuing books from landfill.
The store is housed within Northam Secondhand on Fitzgerald Street, in the middle of town and just across the road from the Post Office.
Ms Flint's room within the shop, comprising neatly filled shelves of books arranged in alphabetical order reminiscent of a library, is dedicated to modern fiction, along with a few DVDs and VHS tapes.
The remainder of the store is owned by Paul, Kaz and Jack Morgan who sell non-fiction and classics, as well as second-hand furniture, antiques and vintage wares, and have been an enormous source of support for Ms Flint.
"I've always loved books, and this is the sort of thing you dream of," Ms Flint said.
"I've been a customer for years and then the opportunity came up to buy in, so I took it."
The Fiction Room is open every day, except Tuesday, from 10am to 4pm.
Almost all of the books are second-hand, save for a few new children's books.
The collection is made up of rescued books from schools and libraries that would otherwise go to landfill as well as people's personal donations and includes an extensive fiction and fantasy range.
Ms Flint (pictured) said it was an integral part of the local community, well-supported by locally-based regular customers, of which she used to be one, as well as being visited by people from other towns and further afield.
Some people volunteered their books to the shop, although Ms Flint said they also did a book exchange for those who liked to swap their titles, or people could simply come in and buy what they liked.
She believes there will always be a place for books - in a case of what is old is new again, she said many people want to look at something that isn't a screen.
COVID-19 lockdowns had also seen a reading resurgence among people who were stuck at home and looking for something to pass the time - and transport them to another place through the written word.
"Books are wonderful - there aren't any ads in the middle of pages, and they can be a lot easier for people to read who find their eyes strain trying to read off screens," she said.
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"And lots of kids like books, they like to be able to hold them and turn their pages, rather than hold a piece of plastic and swipe their finger across the screen.
"I believe kids need books."
As a lover of books, Ms Flint said she had a substantial collection of books at home, with her favourite genres being science fiction and fantasy novels and crime thrillers.
The fantasy books tie in with her other love of art, with Ms Flint having worked as an artist over many years painting and drawing fantasy and animal images.
"My favourite Australian fantasy author is Ian Irvine, who I was lucky enough to meet at the Perth Supanova Comic Con one year," she said.
"I also love to read fantasy written by international authors JRR Tolkien, Robin Hobb and George Martin.
"But there are so many wonderful Australian authors across different genres that I like, and whose books we have in the shop, such as Tim Winton, Matthew Reilly, Tara Moss, Di Morrisey and Judy Nunn, to name a few."
Ms Flint said they had good stock of Geronimo Stilton and Enid Blyton for children, and graphic novels, John Marsden and Harry Potter books.
"I didn't think I'd like Harry Potter, but I read the whole series in a week, and then read it from start to finish again - I absolutely loved it," she said.
They also had a lot of books written by Steven King, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Lee Child, Dan Brown, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Monica McInerney and Virginia Andrews.
But the beauty of the store is that it is a treasure trove full of plenty of hidden gems, ones Ms Flint hopes people will come and browse over the summer months.
