Xref: nuchat rec.arts.books:72504 rec.arts.sf.written:33568 news.answers:11759 Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.answers,news.answers Path: nuchat!menudo.uh.edu!swrinde!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uwm.edu!linac!att!att-out!cbnewsl!cbnewsk!cbnewsj!ecl From: ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (evelyn.c.leeper) Subject: Bookstores in Northern North American Cities (rec.arts.books) Expires: Thu, 25 Nov 1993 16:31:12 GMT Organization: AT&T Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1993 15:31:12 GMT Approved: ecl@cbnewsj.att.com Message-ID: Followup-To: rec.arts.books Keywords: monthly Supersedes: Lines: 418 Archive-name: books/stores/north-american/northern Last change: Tue Jul 6 09:15:09 EDT 1993 Copies of this article may be obtained by anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu under /pub/usenet/news/answers/books/stores/north-american/northern.Z. Or, send email to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news/answers/books/stores/north-american/northern" in the body of the message. This FAQ is in digest format. ============================================================================ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cities (listed geographically east-to-west) include: Montreal QC Ottawa ON Toronto ON Guelph ON Winnipeg MAN Edmonton AB Vancouver BC Victoria BC Fairbanks AK Anchorage AK [Note 1: This list includes cities in Canada and Alaska, and would include Greenland if anyone sent me any bookstores there. Iceland would go into the European list if anyone sent me any from there. Lists for other geographic areas are posted in separate messages at the same time as this list.] [Note 2: I collected these comments from a variety of people. I personally have no knowledge of many of these places and take no responsibility if you buy a book you don't enjoy. :-) Phone numbers and precise addresses can be gotten by calling directory assistance for the appropriate city. Call ahead for precise hours, as even when I list them they are subject to change.] [Note 3: If you can add information for any of these, in particular addresses when they are missing, please send it to me.] [Note 4: I am cross-posting this to rec.arts.sf.written, but the bookstores listed include *all* types of bookstores, so please don't tell me that a particular store has a limited SF section unless I have specifically claimed otherwise.] ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Montreal QC Since in Montreal both English and French are pretty well served in the book department, this is divided up by language, though there are probably some French books in some of the stores listed under "English" and vice versa. Bookstores/Montreal, Quebec (area code 514) English/New: Canadian Centre for Architecture Bookshop (1920 Baile, 514-939-7028). Recommended for art and design books. Obviously pricey. See also the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Bookshop. Le Dernier Mot (3968 St-Laurent, 514-847-0524). Not bad for books. First-rate for periodicals and magazines and newspapers. Nicest bookmarks in town. Double Hook (1235A Greene, Westmount 514-932-5093). All and only Canadian books. Owner and employees are steeped in info about Canadian literature, publishing, etc. McGill University Bookstore (McTavish above Sherbrooke, 514-398-7444). Deadly: they've *all* the Penguin Classics on one wall! Also almost the entire catalog of Dover books, plus standard textbooks galore. Phone number's probably listed under McGill in the book. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Bookshop (1379 Sherbrooke W). Recommended for art and design books. Obviously pricey. See also the Canadian Centre for Architecture Bookshop. Nebula (1452 St-Mathieu, 514-932-3930). SF, fantasy and crime. Also underground comics. Owner Claude Lalumiere is encyclopedic on these genres. Nicholas Hoare (1368 Greene, Westmount, 514-933-4201; also inside Ogilvy, Ste-Catherine st Crescent, 514-499-2005). Probably the best selection of new English books in town. Good sections on travel, mystery, biography. Lots of British imports. Helpful staff. Paragraph (2065 Mansfield, 514-845-5811). Decent all-purpose bookstore near McGill University. Has a cafe. English/Used: Bibliomanie (4872 av du Parc, 514-278-6401). Has its moments--worth checking out if you're on the Plateau, but not worth a special trip to the neighborhood. Cheap Thrills (1433 Bishop, 514-844-7604; 2044 Metcalfe, 514-844-8988). Books, also records and CDs. Rated best second-hand bookshop in recent local survey, but I think Welch's and the Word are better. Not bad, though. Russell Books (275 St-Antoine West, 514-866-0564). Big sprawling disorganized bookshop, remainders, shelves of abandoned books. Not for the five-minute sprint--takes an hour or so to be browsed through--and not for those with allergies to dust. S. Welch Bookseller (3878 St-Laurent, 514-848-9358). Located between a good cafe and an excellent ice-cream store. Has a nice black-and-white cat called Rosie. Books interesting, cheap, plentiful. Westmount Phoenix (320 Victoria, 514-484-4428). A nice tiny bookshop up a winding staircase, but has limited opening hours so best to phone. The Word (469 Milton, 514-845-5640). In the McGill Ghetto. Adrian's been running this tiny store for more than ten years. I never visit without finding something I want. A landmark. English/French: L'Androgyne (3636 St-Laurent, 514-842-4765). Gay and lesbian books. Boule de Neige (4433 St-Denis, 514-849-0959). New Age, esoterica, magic, Eastern religion. Le Camelot Info (1191 Phillips Square, 514-861-5019). Computer books, English and French. Pretty exhaustive. French/New: Champigny (4380 St-Denis, 514-844-2587). Huge sprawling beautiful bookshop, divided in that curious French method into separate sections by publisher. Also has magazines and CDs on ground floor--literature's upstairs. Big section of bandes dessinees. Beware the bank machine! Librairie Gallimard (3700 St-Laurent, 514-499-2012). Quiet, classy, well-stocked. Offers a computer terminal so you can access their database and see what's in stock by title or author. Librairie du Square (3453 St-Denis, 514-845-7617). Nice little place in the Quartier Latin. This is where you buy a copy of LES FLEURS DU MAL before drinking aperitifs on a terrasse. French/Used: Caron Libraire (1246 St-Denis, 514-845-7307). A standard place to find French classics. Librairie Henri-Julien (4800 Henri-Julien, 514-844-7576). Tiny but well-organized, run by one guy who knows where everything is. Not easy to find. "I haven't listed the big dull chain stores,which folks can find for themselves on main drags and in malls. There are also many little corner shops of no special interest - not worth sending people there to look." (Most of this section contributed by Kate McDonnell, c_mcdon@pavo.concordia.ca.) ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Ottawa ON The Book Market (Dalhousie and two or three more outlets in the Ottawa area). Used books. The one on Dalhousie is two stories with a good SF selection and does searches. Staff is friendly. The House of Speculative Fiction (the Glebe). Science fiction, horror, and fantasy. It takes special orders and offers friendly service out of an old (100 yrs?) house. "They're looking to expand and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable and do refer you to other places if they haven't got what you want." ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Toronto ON Bakka Books (Queen W near Spadina). The SF bookstore in Toronto. Book City (501 Bloor W and 348 Danforth Ave). Good selection of small press as well as everything else. Good newstand. No place to sit. Open till midnight. Helpful staff. Cat free, but famous people wander through: Barbara Gowdy, Sheilagh Rogers, Ralph Ben-Murgy, and more. (Canuck alert: above named are Canadians, you might not have heard of them.) Mentioned by posters as one of Canada's best bookstores. Britnell's Bookstore (Yonge Street north of Bloor). One of the best and most popular bookstore in Toronto and is a must for any book buyer! Cole's (see World's Biggest Bookstore). College Bookshop (College and Major). A really fine small bookstore, heavy on non-fiction, light on fiction. "Has the distinction of ordering more copies of CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS ANSWERS ALL CHARGES than any other bookstore in the world." David Mirvish's Bookstore. DEC. Radical bookstore. Edward's Books on Art. Small chain. Lichtman's. Small chain. Monroe's. The highest ceilings in a bookstore in Canada. Pages (Queen St E near John St). This Ain't the Rosedale Library (Church St near Wellesley). Unknown Worlds (Danforth just east of Pape; Pape subway stop). Small, sometimes smoky. Good selection of SF, horror, magazines (back issues especially) and comics. World's Biggest Bookstore (WBB) (Edward Street between Yonge and Bay). Part of the Cole's bookstore chain. Claims to be the largest bookstore in the world (or did at one time). One poster qualifies this with, "But it isn't a great bookstore. For one thing, it's really just a Cole's on growth hormones. (What do I mean by that? I guess I mean that the selection is wide, but not deep. For example, there are a lot of books about the Napoleanic wars, but they seem to have been chosen at random and with little thought. There might be several biographies of Henry VIII and Cromwell but none of More.) I've spent many a spare moment on the TTC pondering the question of exactly how they select their books. I can't decide if they make a list of every book which is currently on the shelves or in a box in *any* Cole's in Canada and get a copy of it, or if the way Cole's deals with its remainders is to have all the stores ship them to this one (in which case, they augment the selection with a lot of copies of "current" stuff)." several used book stores along Queen St E between John and Bathurst, along Bloor Street west of Spadina, and Harbord Street east of Spadina. "My usual route is: From Queen's Park TTC (subway) station W along College St to UT bookstore at College & St George (1/4 mile). W along College, N on Spadina to Harbord St (1/2 mile); watch for Atticus Books and About Books. S on Spadina to Queen St -- W on Queen to Abelard Books (about 1 mile from Harbord). E on Queen to pick up the rest (about 3/4 mile to the Osgoode TTC station). (Keep your eyes open along Queen; there are a number of used bookstores on the second floor.)" ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Guelph, ON The Book Shelf (41 Quebec Street). A diverse selection of magazines and books for all interests. "Some of my friends in Toronto said The Book Shelf rivals some of the better bookstores in Toronto. They deal in new books and their magazine selection is better than some good newsstands in Canada. Anything you cannot find on their shelves can be ordered through them. This is their 20th year and according to a local newspaper, they are currently computerizing their shop. However, the uniqueness of the Book Shelf is not only in their books, but they also have (1) a cafe, (2) a cinema (for foreign films) and (3) a patio (summer only, this is Canada after all!) all under the same roof." This place is highly recommended. ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Winnipeg, MAN McNally Robinson (Osborne Village). ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Edmonton AB Aspen Books (10624 Whyte Ave). Another independent bookstore. "A bit smaller than the other two (Audrey's and Greenwoods')." A good one to hit on a Whyte Avenue sweep (see below). Audrey's Books (10702 Jasper Ave). One of the best independent bookstores in Edmonton. Two floors, friendly staff, and lots of selection. Their SF section is a bit small, and in the basement. Bjarne's Books (10533 82 Ave). Was the other second-floor store, though it says "New expanded location" in the phone book, so this may be out of date. In any case, it's probably the best for Antiquarian books (is a member of Antiquarian Booksellers of Canada). Apparently now also buys antiques. Coles (Bonnie Doon Mall). Surplus store. Edmonton Computer Books (10265-107 St, 429-1077, fax 429-1964). A couple of blocks down the street from Audrey's. "I *love* this" store, and want everyone to support it so I don't have to go to Calgary to get these kind of books like I used to." Flights of Fantasy Books (7508 103 St; Best Route--take Calgary Trail North or South, turn left on 76th or 75th Ave. Don't turn too early. 403-433-0693). Right next to the Greyhound station. Edmonton's SF bookstore, with a good selection of Canadian SF as well as all other kinds. Prominent authors get their own shelves. Also features horror, mysteries, and thrillers. Martin, the manager, is incredibly knowledgeable and has a great memory. Greenwoods' Bookshoppe (10355 Whyte Ave). Another great independent bookstore. Has a large SF section than Audrey's, and stocks more Canadian SF. Also has a friendly staff. Two subsidiaries, Greenwood's Small World (children's books and novelties) and Greenwoods' Calendars Etc. (as the title says...) are just around the corner on 104 St. Old Penny Bookshop (9112 112 St; really in HUB Mall at the University of Alberta). A small second-hand store, but treasures can be found there. Prices are a bit higher than many second-hand stores. Varscona Books (2 Floor, 10824a 82 Ave). One of two small upstairs secondhand bookstores on Whyte Avenue. Has a good selection--more of the literary and nonfiction hardcover than Wee Book Inn, and is particularly good for language dictionaries. Volume II Bookshop (12433 102 Ave). A small place, and its SF is together with its mainstream. Its best selection is in children's books. Wee Book Inn (10310 Whyte Ave, 10428 Jasper Ave, 8216 118 Ave, and 15103A Stony Plain Rd). The premiere used bookstore chain in Edmonton. The Whyte Avenue location is the largest, and as of this writing recently renovated, but there's good selection here. Normal price is 1/2 cover price, trade-ins accepted. Peeve: the books are only vaguely alphabetized. Also, most stores feature semi-resident cats, are in the seedier parts of town, and are open till midnight. 82 (Whyte) Avenue is by far the best place for a bookhunter to go wandering. The biggest cluster is around 103 and 104 St. (Calgary Trail North and South), where you have Greenwoods' and the main Wee Book Inn. In addition, on 81 Avenue there's also Warp 1 Comics & Games, which has a few SF books in addition to the comics and games. South on the Calgary Trails you get to Flights of Fantasy and The Curious Mind, a children's bookstore a block or so north. Heading west, you hit Bjarne's at 105th on the south side of the street, and Aspen a block later on the north side. (Athabasca Books, a good place to look for used romances and some other second-hand stuff, is half a block north on 105th Street.) Then Varscona books upstairs by 109th Street, on the north side of the street--if you're not watching, you may miss it. Across the street from that is Tumbleweed Books, which is really more of a comic store these days. You can also continue up 109th Street to the Edmonton Book Store on 85 Ave., a second-hand store that, due to its proximity to the University, has a thriving business in textbooks. On 88 Ave., there's Second Fiddle books, another upstairs second-hand store I know little about. If you're still feeling energetic, you could go over to HUB Mall and check out the Old Penny, but I'd be more inclined to stop and have nachos at one of the restaurants in that area.... (Aaron Humphrey, aaron@atlantis.uucp) ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Vancouver, BC A B C Book & Comic Emporium (1247 Granville Street, 604-682-3019). It's a used book store, with all kinds of books, but has a section at least twenty metres long with floor to ceiling SF, including some rarities like the first paperback edition of Piper's LORD KALVAN OF OTHERWHEN. Albion Books (523 Richards). Used books. Mostly literature and history, some music books. Ashley Books (3754 W 10th). Used books. Philosophy, history, art history. Blackberry Books (Granville Island: 1663 Duranleau; Kitslano: 2206 W 4th). New books. Nice selection. Knowledgeable staff. Book Warehouse (635 W Broadway, 1150 Robson, 2388 W 4th, also in the Metrotown mall in Burnaby). Remainders, special deals, off-prints. Not a reliable selection, but there are usually good bargains here. The Comic Shop (4th Ave). A reasonable selection of new and used SF. Duthie's (downtown: 919 Robson; university: 4444 W 10th; Arbutus Village). Good all-purpose bookstore; new books. University branch has more esoteric selection, but the downtown branch is bigger. Mentioned by posters as one of Canada's best bookstores. Granville Book Company (850 Granville St, 687-2213). A cooperative ownership. Good stock of mystery and science fiction. Usually excellent on new younger writers. Top notch computer book section. Always willing to take orders. Lawrence Books (3591 W 41st at Dunbar). Used books. Excellent selection of history and literature. Knows the value of what he has, so there are very few great bargains. MacLeod's Books (455 W Pender). Used books. Excellent history and art selections. Some of the staff are extremely knowledgeable, but some of the younger staff are not, and can mislead the customer. Michael Thompson Bookseller 9311 W Cordova). Used bookstore, with extensive horror and okay SF collections. (Recently had a complete Weird Tales set, most of which has since been sold.) Mystery Merchant Bookstore (1952 W 4th). Mystery and suspense books, spy thrillers. Lots of Canadian authors. Neville Books (7793 Royal Oak, Burnaby). Used books. Specializes in military history, but has a good selection of other stuff. Carries new books by local authors. Extremely knowledgeable bookseller. Siliconnections (3727 W 10th). Technical bookstore for computer professionals. Smallish (and if they don't have it, you can get it faster by calling the 800-number for Powell's technical books in Portland, OR), but worth checking if you need something. Spartacus Books (311 West Hastings, upstairs, 604-688-6138). A wide selection of new books on anarchism, lesbian/gay/bisexual issues, socialism, labour, environment, postmodernism, Asian studies, Canadian studies, etc., as well as an excellent selection of current periodicals. Cooperative-owned, volunteer-run, bargains on a small selection of used books, open evenings, and there's a couch for browsing. White Dwarf Books (4374 West 10th Avenue, 604-228-8223). Fantasy and SF. "I completed my H. Beam Piper collection there, and they had all but two of them in stock, and ordered those." "A description of White Dwarf is incomplete without a mention of the dog. Next to the cash register sleeps a basset of various hues of brown. A sound from outside arouses his interest and he's off, out the door. The storekeeper runs after, calling, "Manny! Manny!" He reluctantly returns to lie down again at his post, growling slightly at a customer who comes too close. He's tired now, and 10 years is getting on for a dog, and he wants his sleep." (Pam Gurd ) ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Victoria, BC Bolen Books (Hillside Mall) Don't let the location put you off, it's not your typical mall bookstore. Decent computer section, good SF and mystery sections. Munro's Books (Government St. between Fort and View) Carries a bit of everything. Largest bookstore in Victoria. Mentioned by posters as one of Canada's best bookstores. Wimsey Books (Market Square) Specializes in mystery/crime. Carries both new and used books. Knowledgeable staff. ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Fairbanks AK Baker and Baker Booksellers ([old address and phone number] North Gate Square, 330 Old Steese Hwy, 907-456-2278). "Everything!! SF/fantasy, mystery, classics, mainstream, nonfiction, childrens (very good). Hardbacks on discount; mass market and trade paperbacks. Autograph parties sometimes. Very helpful staff! They know everything about books, and they obviously care very much about what they're doing." Gulliver's Used Books (corner of College Road and University Ave). Paperbacks mostly, some hardbacks, lots of SF/fantasy. fiction and non-fiction. "Near university. Great hangout for intellectuals, liberals, students, backpackers. ============================================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Anchorage AK There are Book Cache stores in Anchorage; also some B. Daltons and other major west coast chains. ============================================================================ Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | ecl@mtgpfs1.att.com / Evelyn.Leeper@att.com