Big shout out to these awesome dudes for wiping all my late fees. Back in the day I was a regular…read morecustomer, and you know how it goes when returning DVDs, sometimes it just slips your mind, again and again. So when I came up to counter one day, I was regretfully informed that I could not issue another DVD until I paid my debt. But even before I had a chance to respond, the dude was like, "Let me have a word to my manager". He came back and told me that they were able to wipe my slate clean.

Videon is a legendary DVD and game hire store located on Dominion Road in Mt Eden…read more Videon is the place to go if you're looking for slightly off-beat films, or movies that were never blockbuster hits. Videon also has a great selection of foreign and anime films, as well as old TV shows. As a child Videon was my local rental store and I can't begin to imagine how many hours I spent in there pouring of the titles and pleading with my parents to let me get more than one movie. I still head to Videon regularly despite no longer living in the area, as it really is the best place to find classic or quirky movies. The only unfortunate thing about Videon today is that is used to be located down the Balmoral end of Dominion round in a much bigger store. This of course meant they had a far bigger selection to choose from, however that's not to take away from what they have now. It's incredible - check it out! Bonus: The staff have worked their forever and basically know what they stock off the top of their head. They're fantastic!

I miss Videon now it's moved from its iconic Art Deco building in Balmoral. But it's worth going a…read morebit further for - hell, even driving across Auckland for. This is possibly the only place in Auckland that has classic movies on DVD and if you are really old-school (and fruit loopin crazytown) you might even still be in the market to hire VHS tapes. Most of the new chain video rental places barely have the 80s classics so Videon is such a treasure. The people that work here, while sometimes a bit superior, really do know their stuff and because of that, their recommendations are usually right on the money. I know over the years there have been hard times and it would be devastating if Auckland ever lost Videon - they are our city's largest independent film library. Whatever twisted genre you're after they are bound to have it; Avant-Garde, Military, Directors' Cuts, obscure Festival flicks and so much more.

I am all about independent bookstores these days and this one is an absolute gem! Doris, who owns…read morethe store is kind, knowledgable and most importantly passionate about books. When I last went in they didn't have the book I was after (City of Thieves by David Benioff - if you haven't already, you should read it - it's fantastic!) but were happy to order it in. They are also happy to host other people's book clubs after-hours complete with wine and sweet treats for FREE, which I think is pretty cool! Doris goes through some of the new and interesting books they have in-store and then you share with you B.C comrades what you have been reading of late. Book swaps are also allowed! I think it's important that we support small independant stores like this and am happy to make the extra trip over the bridge to do so!

I'm into a lot of historical books, so this book store isn't one of my favourites. However, I do…read moreadmire all independent bookshops like this one that still operate, especially when it's so easy to get stuff online. This bookshop in particular has a great selection of cookbooks and children's books, which means it's perfect for gifts. They seem to keep pretty up to date with all the latest new releases, and they can also order something in for you if they don't have it in stock. One of the bonuses of coming to a bookstore like this one is that you get good service and advice from the person who knows a lot about the products that she sells. Definitely ask if you are stuck for gift ideas.