We asked our booksellers to answer an impossible question. If they could only save only one book from a burning building, which one would it be?

‘It would be a very tough decision if it were my decision to make, but in my situation there is no choice – I would have to rescue my great-grandparents’ collected works of Shakespeare. My grandma entrusted the care of this book to me on a significant birthday and when we experienced a minor flood some years ago one of the first questions she asked me was about the book’s health and whereabouts. It is a beautiful edition but far more important are the notes it contains, mostly annotations in which my great-grandparents have marked favourite passages for each other’s attention and enjoyment. So, if I wish to remain a member of my family, this is the book I must save.’

– Elke Power, editor of the Readings Monthly

‘I would grab my battered old hardcover copy of Maurice Sendak’s Outside Over There. It was given to me for my fourth birthday by a family member, and is inscribed with both a lovely note from them and a teddy bear bookplate that I added myself at about the age of six (judging by the handwriting declaring it as belonging to 'L iAИ’). I loved this story – I was given it right around the time my younger brother was born, and I don’t think I ever wanted him to be stolen by goblins, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I crawled backwards out of my bedroom window more than once in an attempt to get to Outside Over There. I still remember getting dressed up as Ida for a book parade at school. Mum made me a wonder horn out a bit of tubing and a plastic funnel, and no-one knew who I was. Where the Wild Things Are might be the better known Sendak, but I loved ever minute of this story.‘

– Lian Hingee, digital marketing manager

'I would save my hardback copy of The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy by Tim Burton, which was given to me as a birthday gift around nine years ago. I love this book as much today as I did the day I received it as a slightly gothic teenager. The poems and tales in this little book are all typically Burton-esque – quirky, somewhat disturbing and humorous – but my absolute favourite part of this book are his lovely little watercolour illustrations. I’ve always had a soft-spot for Tim Burton’s art; his stylised stop-animation films remain some of my all-time favourites.

The other reason this book is so special to me because it was one of the first well-thought-out gifts I ever received – the person who gave it to me totally hit the nail on the head. Every time I re-read this book I revisit the dark and melancholy teenage part of myself, which is really quite fun (when done infrequently).’

– Ellen Cregan, marketing and events coordinator

‘My grandparents came to Australia as Ten Pound Poms. They travelled here via a ship and were only allowed a limited luggage allowance. Their belongings included a Bible, some pots and pans, clothes that would prove inappropriate for the warm weather that greeted them in northern NSW, and a much-loved collection of novels from Charles Dickens. These books had been given to my grandmother from her mother, and were all early editions – beautifully bound with whispery thin pages and quite small type.

When my grandmother died, the books was passed onto me, and throughout the years I have kept them near me, up high on a shelf and away from little hands. My grandmother has written her name in the front covers of A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist – 'Winifred Gordon’ in that lovely curly hand of a bygone era. These days, they smell a little of old age and quiet dreams. While I’ve not actually read these editions, I am very taken with Dickens’ writing. A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favourite novels of all time. In a fire, I would take those books, along with my photos, and leap from the house carrying with me my past.‘

– Chris Gordon, events manager

'While I am extremely attached to the stories they hold, I rarely feel sentimental over books as physical objects. I do have some special editions – including signed copies, ones that were gifted to me by important people, some beloved out-of-print titles, limited proofs, etc – but I can’t think of one that stands out from the rest. However, I do have a dedicated space on my bookshelf where I keep books people have lent me including a copy of a very strange book about Australian frogs. My grandfather lent it to me after a debate over whether the gastric-brooding frog was extinct or not. (He later conceded defeat which is a very rare and surprising occurrence.) Knowing my grandfather’s fondness for his books, I would probably grab this one!’

– Bronte Coates, digital content coordinator