As most shopping comes to a halt under shutdown rules meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus, an Australian bookshop is getting its goods out by bicycle to readers in quarantine or reluctant to leave their homes.

Gleebooks, which has run a bricks-and-mortar shop in central Sydney for 40 years, said it decided to make its online service free when the government limited public gatherings to curb the spread of the illness that has infected nearly 2,000 Australians and killed eight of them.

From Monday, the restrictions went a step further when the government ordered all retailers to shut except for grocery stores, pharmacists and others deemed essential.

Whether that included Gleebooks was unclear but customers will get their books regardless, its managers decided, with the introduction of free drop-offs in surrounding suburbs.

The shop is among thousands around the world that have been forced to reinvent themselves virtually overnight to survive the biggest disruption to a sector already ravaged by the arrival of large internet rivals like Amazon more than two decades ago.

23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Show all 23 1 /23 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Arctic (2018) Tracking a plane crash survivor (Mads Mikkelsen) as he waits for rescue, this Icelandic survival film holds your attention as he’s shown using his wits to navigate his way through dangerous, snowy terrain. Arctic will make you happy you’re sat on your sofa. Blanket optional. XYZ Films 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Beau Travail (1999) A modern masterpiece from French auteur Claire Denis, Beau Travail is an electric re-working of the classic Hermann Melville story Billy Budd. Following the homo-erotic tensions of a French Foreign Legion unit stationed in Djibouti, the film brings to life its sweltering African setting with verve and tactility.​ Pyramide Distribution 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The Birds (1963) If you look past the crazed avian attacks, there are a lot of very pretty wide-open spaces throughout Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Tippi Hedren is the Los Angeles socialite venturing to Bodega Bay to run a bird-related errand and take in some sight-seeing, only to be set upon by winged monsters pecking like they’ve never pecked before. Come for the bloodshed, stay for the lovely views! Universal Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Calibre (2018) This underrated Netflix original is the kind of film that makes you wish the characters had just stayed indoors. It follows two pals on a weekend hunting trip in the Scottish Highlands who, for reasons we won’t spoil here, get themselves into a murky situation with the disapproving locals. Netflix 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Cliffhanger (1993) Far better than its slower, red-headed cousin Vertical Limit, Cliffhanger is peak early-Nineties action – high-concept and boasting scenery-chewing villains, all anchored by a muscly leading man more adept at hitting things than emoting. Sylvester Stallone is the climber working in the Colorado rockies who finds himself caught up in an elaborate mountain heist. A lot more exciting than it has any right to be, Cliffhanger is basically Die Hard with shoes on, or Speed without the bus but with lots and lots of snow.​ TriStar Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Easy Rider (1969) Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper helped revolutionise American cinema with Easy Rider, perhaps the quintessential road movie. Drugs, music and violence all feature prominently in the tale of two hippies drifting across the US, but it’s the beautiful, enormous landscapes that make Easy Rider awe-inspiring to this day.​ Columbia Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Free Solo (2018) Free Solo is a documentary about ace climber Alex Honnold, who scales one of the world’s most formidable rock faces without a harness. You get a sense of the sheer exhilaration of the outdoor life, but also a mesmerising look into the mindset of a man who seems completely oblivious to deathly peril.​ National Geographic Documentary Films 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) This big-hearted buddy comedy follows troubled orphan Ricky (Julian Dennison), grumpy widower Hec (Sam Neill) and their dog Tupac as they trek across the outback in an attempt to escape their demons. Those feeling claustrophobic will enjoy the numerous sweeping helicopter shots of luscious green New Zealand forests. Piki Films 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Into the Wild (2007) Because no list of films set outdoors is complete without it. Sean Penn’s Into the Wild, which tells the story of a man who hiked across North America in the Alaskan wilderness, is both moving and empowering – not to mention beautifully soundtracked by Eddie Vedder, whose haunting “Society” springs hairs on end. Paramount Vantage 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Jaws (1975) Steven Spielberg’s ultimate popcorn movie, Jaws reinvented the cinematic wheel with some help from a trio of everyman actors (Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw) and a mechanical shark. The blueprint for all summer blockbusters that followed, Jaws remains richly terrifying more than 40 years after its release. The beach parties and hang-outs, at least before the jaws of the title begin chomping, look mighty fun from the safety of your living room sofa, too.​ Universal Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Lawrence of Arabia (1962) The vast locations used by David Lean in his almost four hour-long epic (Jordan, Morocco and Spanish province Almería) will provide a lengthy dose of sunshine to your day. When Peter O’Toole’s real-life ​archaeologist and army officer TE Lawrence request two large glasses of lemonade” after crossing the desert, you’ll be glad you can quench your thirst in the kitchen. Columbia Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Leave No Trace (2018) Leave No Trace begins in the lush forests of an Oregon park, as PTSD-struck war vet Will (Ben Foster) lives in the wild with his teenage daughter Tom (Thomasin MacKenzie). With stunning performances from its two leads, the film is a vibrant, moving exploration of a life lived off the grid. Bleecker Street 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The Lord of the Rings (2001-03) OK, so Peter Jackson’s trilogy might have many breathless sequences set indoors, but the expansive Middle Earth locations – famously filmed in New Zealand – will no doubt help with any claustrophobia. New Line Cinema 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Moana (2016) There’s no doubt about it: Moana is visually one of Disney’s most accomplished films. If you arrive for the story (a young girl’s chosen by the ocean to reunite a mystical relic with a goddess) you’ll stay for the dazzling visuals as the characters set sail on their odyssey. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The Princess Bride (1987) Rob Reiner’s fantasy film quite literally steps insdie the pages of a book, and in doing so, provides viewers with unrivalled escapism. The story in question follows a farmhand (Cary Elwes) attempting to rescue his one true love (Robin Wright) from an odious prince (Chris Sarandon). Interaccess Film Distribution 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Princess Mononoke (1997) Most of Hayao Miyazaki’s wonderful animated films would fit right in on this list; none more so than Princess Mononoke, the 1997 fantasy about a war between forest gods and humans. The beauty and power of nature has rarely been so effectively portrayed as in this lyrical, thrilling anime.​ Studio Ghibli 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Rat Race (2001) This madcap comedy from the makers of Airplane! is an inventive, often hilarious watch following a group of people who raceform Las Vegas to El Paso in a bid to win millions of dollars. As John Cleese’s casino owner puts it so brilliantly at the beginning of the film: “There is only one rule – there are no rules.” Paramount Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The Revenant (2015) Watching Leonardo DiCaprio crawl on his hands and knees through the icy peaks of a harsh winter will make you grateful you can’t leave your front door. This western sees bear-attacked frontiersman Hugo (DiCaprio) embarking on a mystical journey of survival and brutal revenge.​ 20th Century Fox 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The River Wild (1994) The River Wild was made during Meryl Streep’s mid-Nineties fallow period, where the hits stopped coming and even Oscar wasn’t too interested anymore. There’s an argument to be made, if likely only by fans of The River Wild, that this was in fact Streep’s greatest era, however. She’s a stressed mother on holiday with her family on a whitewater rafting trip – who is set upon by sadistic criminals Kevin Bacon and John C Reilly! The River Wild is therefore two for the price of one: amazing nature photography and crazy Kevin Bacon – what more could you ask for? Universal Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Silence (2016) Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s acclaimed novel didn’t win everyone over; it’s nearly three hours long, slow-moving, and densely religious. But no-one could deny that the epic, set in feudal Japan and filmed in Taiwan, features brilliantly atmospheric environments.​ StudioCanal UK 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Stand by Me (1986) Four best friends – Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern – set out on a journey to find the corpse of Ray Brower, a local teenager who was hit by a train while plucking blueberries in the wild. From grief-stricken parents to local bullies, along the way, these formally innocent kids learn that the world can be unkind. Columbia Pictures 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Walkabout (1971) Nicolas Roeg's survival ​film, adapted from James Vance Marshall's novel, may not put the Australian outback high up on the list of must-visit destinations, but it certainly provides a good location for its tense plot involving a schoolgirl and her brother who find themselves stranded after a tragic incident. One of the first films in the Australian New Wave cinema movement, but no less accessible for the more casual film watcher. 20th Century Fox 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Wild (2014) Reese Witherspoon earned an Oscar nomination for this career-resuscitating drama about the emotional power of the wilderness. Playing a recovering addict with a distant mother (a wonderfully soulful Laura Dern), Witherspoon’s journey from disarray to salvation via a hike across the Pacific Crest Trail will make you desperately excited to leave your house once this is all over. Or you could merely imagine it as the first chapter in the “wealthy, fraying white women” entertainment universe Witherspoon and Dern would embark upon soon after its release – via Big Little Lies, Marriage Story and Little Fires Everywhere. Either one.​ Fox Searchlight Pictures

“Because we're a bookshop and we're a retail venue, we realised we needed to make it as easy as possible for people to get their books without exposing themselves to any sort of risk,” the shop's event manager, James Ross, told Reuters.

For customers outside the store's bike-determined radius, Gleebooks cut postage fees for orders over A$50 (£25).

Customers have embraced the service, with an immediate spike in online sales, said Mr Ross. The demand for craft and children's activity books had risen, not surprisingly given that many schools have closed.

Nerida Ross, the store's cyclist, said books offered an escape for those cooped up at home.

“Books are a nice way of travelling without having to go anywhere,” she said.

“A lot of people I know who have been working from home have been using the time that they aren't commuting to read more or talk to friends or be creative in some way. We're learning a new way of being and I think reading is a really big part of that.”