The Best Used Bookstores in Toronto
Despite the rise of web-based giants like Chapters/Indigo and Amazon, the used bookseller remains alive, if not altogether well. Like a character from a William Faulkner novel, they endure despite the forces of change that surround them. No doubt technology like the Kindle - the so-called ipod of books - will make the going even tougher in the years to come. But, for those Torontonians who still value the experience of cradling and collecting books, and who don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the pleasure, there remain a number of well-stocked used bookstores scattered across the city.
These places are, for the most part, operated by lovers of literature and music who believe in the community importance of bookstores, who love to discuss books with their customers, and who generally provide far more reliable purchasing suggestions than an algorithm based on one's past purchases. Here's a list of Toronto's best as voted by our readers.
See also: The Best Bookstores in Toronto
BMV Books
This multimedia retailer reigns as the biggest of the city’s used and remaindered booksellers. Their warehouse-style flagship Annex location sees heavy traffic from U of T students looking to save on textbooks for Humanities courses and bibliophiles who enjoy large-sized art and culinary books. Other well-stocked items include travel guides and reference books, as well as CDs and DVDs of various genres. More...
Monkey's Paw
Named after the famous (or perhaps notorious) horror story by W. W. Jacobs, Monkey’s Paw is adored by both the residents of Dundas West and those who treasure intriguing and oddball books. Specializing in what could be called the anti-classic, browsing the shelves is an adventure in the world of rare, obscure, and even absurd texts. Passersby’s enjoy the window display, which is regularly updated with notably peculiar additions to the store’s stock. More...
Recycled Bookshop
Just north of the AGO, Recycled Bookshop stocks an impressive array of new and used titles. Under new ownership, the store’s specialties remain the same - art and design books, as well as their “great wall of literature,” which features both canonical classics and contemporary fiction. Photography lovers will not want to miss one of the city’s better collections of visual and critical texts. More...
Balfour Books
Awash in floor-to-ceiling pine shelves, Balfour Books exudes the type of charm one might idealistically expect of bookstores. Combine this with a selection of titles 20000 strong and a closing time of 11pm, and it’s easy to understand why this Little Italy fixture is consistently considered one of the city’s best. Their annual half-price sale in March is the stuff of book buyers’ dreams. More...
Eliot's Bookshop
Located just north of Wellesley on Yonge, Eliot’s sold me a significant chunk of my fiction collection when I used to work around the corner. With three creaky floors of packed shelves, it’s best described as a general-interest bookstore. One finds few remaindered books here, but the selection of secondhand titles is impressive. The prices aren’t too bad, either. More...
She Said Boom
Originally under the same ownership, the College Street and Roncesvalles Avenue locations are now separate entities. Both, however, have long-served the used books and music buyers of the city. While the literary tends to dominate – with a focus on the Humanities – careful selections of CDs and vinyl also attract those who resist the pull of iTunes and the complete digitization of their music collections. More...
Seekers
Although its location under Kilgour’s Bar can make Seekers tough to spot, it remains one of the best places to find books that focus on New Age philosophy, mysticism and Eastern religion. The general interest fiction is also well stocked, with particularly thorough holdings in the Canadian classics. Those interested in Native Studies and Canadian History will also find one of the better collections in the city. More...
Atticus Books
Just west of U of T, Atticus Books specializes in academic and antiquarian texts. I’ve had great luck finding relatively rare books on literary theory and linguistics here, and staff members are always helpful with my various searches. Of the used stores in Toronto, Atticus’s website is one of the best, featuring a catalogue of generically organized titles currently in stock. More...
The Book Exchange
Located beside Dencan Books in the Junction, The Book Exchange stocks a very well organized general-interest list of fiction and non-fiction. As is the case with many stores throughout the city, the fiction section is well stocked with classics and contemporary offerings. Astute digging reveals some rare gems. More...
Dencan Books
With an owner that’s been in the business for over forty years, Dencan Books has a loyal following with local residents. Along with The Book Exchange and Pandemonium, it is part of a trio of stores that reward book-buying visits to the Junction. Always campaigning to purchase more stock, the store offers home pick up to aid, amongst others, those who have converted to Amazon’s Kindle. More...
Pandemonium
Selling both books and music, Pandemonium is ideal for those who love fine literature and scratched vinyl. While one may come across a dearth of 60’s and 70’s rock records, the CD’s have a decidedly indie character. Look for Danielle Steele elsewhere - the fiction section eschews the pulp for novels by the canonical heavyweights. More...
Circus Books and Music
About a year into its move from Cabbagetown to the Danforth, the store’s owner, Ron Duffy, reports that the new digs are treating him and his business well. Although not quite in the heavily trafficked area of the Danforth, being at Jones Avenue allows the folks from Leslieville to pop up the street for visits as well. Well-stocked fiction and art sections are supplemented by CDs and vinyl. Lovers of the Blue Note label should take time to peruse the collection. More...
Frantic City
Another bookseller who also offers CDs and vinyl, Frantic City specializes in avant-garde literature and three-chord rock and roll records. Young writers in their Kerouac stage will find both a home and inspiration browsing the shelves of this store, located at the bottom of Ossington. Those who’ve supposedly matured beyond such a stage will also find plenty to keep them entertained on their days off from “real” work. More...
A Good Read
Looking for first editions and signed copies? This Parkdale bookseller stocks a wide selection of hard-to-get editions at the back of the store, many of which are lovingly kept in glass display cases purchased from the ROM. For those not interested in rarities, the store also stocks a general-interest list made up of both remaindered and good-condition used offerings. If I wasn’t poor, I would have left with the signed first edition of Mordecai Richler’s St. Urbain’s Horseman the last time I stopped by. More...
Zoinks!
The lone books and music seller in Bloorcourt, Zoinks has but one rule when stocking items - they’ve got to be interesting. It sounds basic, but if all retailers held true to such a strategy, the world – and certainly our personal libraries – would be better for it. Not only is the store well organized, but owner, Philippa Pires, is unusually helpful and enthusiastic in her various suggestions. More...
Comments (30)
this is more like a list of the last remaining used bookstores in toronto ;)
they're all great places, but living close to zoinks makes it one of my favourites. even though their stock is smaller than the other stores on the list, i always seem to find the books i'm looking for.
The Bloor St. BMV bookstore is fairly noisy,particularly
if one compares it to the Edward St. location.
The background music is high, people talk on their cell
phones and couples talk across distances rather than approach
one another to converse more quietly.
It's all quite distracting, really.
Seekers has a wide range of gems (and great prices) that nobody else seems to carry in Toronto. I got an early Nelson Mandela biography, an old Ralph Ellison essay collection, The Joy of Sex and books on Jewish popular culture. This store has such character and warmth, I can't imagine buying books anywhere else.
Are you serious? This is a great bookstore. People yapping on the bus are much more annoying. In fact, it is very quiet and spacious and not stuffy like most old book stores. BMV and Seekers are the best used book stores -- both are very different but very good.
If e-books published for devices like the Kindle remain DRM-encumbered, users will find themselves shut out of the secondary market in two ways. First, of course, they'll have no real book to sell. Second, even if they can find someone with a theoretically compatible device who would be willing to pay for a "used" e-book, they'll probably discover that the DRM prevents the transaction.
It's a bit unfair to put the BMV behemot against some other stores in this list; after all, BMV deals mostly with remainder books - brand new books sold by publishers at discounts. I frequent the store and absolutely love the bargains, but it is not a "used" book store by a long shot.
There is nothing like the smell of a book, and the feel of a book. While I do read some ebooks, I hope that these stores stay open and thriving. Sometimes progress is not a good thing! Hopefully enough book lovers continue to shop at these places to keep them open for good :) Great list!
love love frantic city!
(and doubt i'll ever grow out of loving kerouac, even just a little bit)
She Said Boom was literally the first store I ever visited in Toronto, ten minutes after I moved into my first T.O. apartment, which was right across the street. I've loved it ever since.
An awesome list! I'm glad to see that Seekers made it - I can't remember the last time I went in there without buying something.
Now, if only they would get rid of that horrible incense...
I gotta say... as an English student it's impossible to afford 12 books x 5 classes every year. I survive on second hand bookstores, and it's a shame that people would rather spend their money on the same books at corporate stores.
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What about Ten Editions on Spadina, just south of Bloor? It has a larger selection than some of the other stores on the list and is fairly cheap. I do like BMV, but it must be remembered that it is really a remainder store.
This list is awesome. I was in Seeker's last night and left with four books instead of the one I'd intended - I promptly forgot them at my friend's house afterwards... Le sigh.
Recycled is my favourite, but I can spend hours and hours in Atticus too. I love its disregard for effective classification of its stock.
can't beleive you don't mention Acadia Art & Rare Books (416) 364-7638. 232 Queen St E...the BEST art bookstore in toronto....
Does Bakka not count? Or maybe they don't sell any used books anymore... also, RIP Jamie Fraser Books.
Small in comparison to BMV, but just up the road from ELLIOT's is ABC BOOKS. Its worth a look. They have a good selection of used literature and its not as picked over as some of the larger stores. You can still find Phillip K. Dick, Kerouac etc. and other perennial favourites if you look around. They even have a blog at:
www.abcbookstoronto.blogspot.com . Also a nice selection of back issues of comic books and graphic novels AND Dvd's.
W.
It's great that so many are writing in with suggestions of stores that didn't make the list. I would have personally also added NDJ books on Yonge, which has always had something in stock for me. The fifteen in the original post are, however, a reflection of the voting of our readers. But, if anyone can think of still others not in the original post, it can only help the booksellers and buyers of the city.
I'm with rapi on this, Acadia (http://www.arcadiabooks.com) is superb, with a gorgeous black cat called 'Mishu'. All the best book shops have cats (see Balfour Books).
I love BMV! It's not technically a used book store but they do have a huge selection. It always sucks me in.
She Said Boom sucks. Barely anything in there. Definitely nothing good. And I know why. I went in there once with a bunch of best sellers. They refused to buy though because my books weren't the right "size." They were paperbacks, and the store only wanted trade paperbacks. The person told me to bring in any trade paperback book, by anyone, and they'd buy it. Yeah, your customers really care what the size of a book is.
"I went in there once with a bunch of best sellers"
There is a difference between the best-sellers you brought, and the trade paperbacks that they are after. A best-seller like Dan Brown, Michael Creighton etc. is a different animal than a trade paperback. Trade paperbacks are works of literary fiction - Kerouac, Bukowski, Camus, etc. are examples of trade paperbacks.
The best-sellers you brought in can be found for sale in any airport or supermarket. Trade paperbacks can only be found in dedicated booksellers.
Hey,
Is there in Toronto any automotive/motorsport-oriented bookstore?
Thanks in advance for any clue!
P
don't forget the Great Escape on Kingston Road for new, used, rare and kids. Their trading system here might mean you never have to buy again. NO school texts though, just pure enjoyment....losing yourself in the written word.
You don't have my favorite one, called Tenth edition book store on spadina north of harbour street. It's the best selection of art books, children books, unusual books, she has a sharp eye for great find you'll find there stuff you won't find anywhere else!
Why isn't the Paperback Exchange listed? I find it to be one of the best stores in Toronto (Located McCowan/Lawerance. I'd say if you want a great read go there!
Another great place is Willow Books, on Bathurst just south of Bloor (right behind Honest Ed's). They have more books than they have room for, which tends to equal some great deals. Best of all, it's owned by an elderly gentleman who knows and loves every one of his books. Some amazing conversations, and backstories to the things you're buying!
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