Category Archives: Canada

There be monsters

Posted on October 22, 2018 by

Just in time for Halloween, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto has opened De Monstris, an exhibition exploring the long cultural tradition of frightening monsters that inflamed imaginations and triggered irrational fears throughout history. De Monstris examines scary illustrations and writings from … Continue reading →

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Itinerant Bookstore Tourism

Posted on July 21, 2018 by

As an erstwhile itinerant bookseller, I continue to be ensorcelled by mobile bookstore projects. Iron Dog Books in Vancouver, Canada is another great example of bibliophiles who dreamed of owning a bookshop, but were temporarily stymied by exorbitant leasing rates. Instead of … Continue reading →

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It’s all about the books

Posted on July 1, 2018 by

I loved this sweet, silly video about passionate bibliophiles from the suburban Vancouver BC secondhand bookstore chain The Bookman.  

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Some Abridged Classics

Posted on June 4, 2018 by

Ontario-based Canadian cartoonist and humorist John Atkinson can save you some serious reading time with his new book Abridged Classics. The hilarious book, out this month from HarperCollins, pokes fun at some of our most beloved novels. You can also check out … Continue reading →

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There is a crack in everything

Posted on November 11, 2017 by

It’s hard to believe that Leonard Cohen has been gone for a year, but this week his hometown of Montreal marked his passing with a wonderful mural portrait in the heart of downtown. Created by LA-based artist El Mac, the … Continue reading →

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My Favorite Color Is Autumn

Posted on September 2, 2017 by

It may not technically be Autumn for three more weeks, however it’s never too soon to start thinking about where and when to view colorful Fall foliage. If you follow this link, it will guide you to an excellent interactive … Continue reading →

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Montreal : 18 Nuances De Gai

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

Artist Claude Cormier created an amazing polychromatic canopy covering one kilometer of  Montreal’s central pedestrian street Boulevard Sainte-Catherine for the ongoing Aires Libres Festival. The rainbow installation celebrates the city’s LGBT community, the 10th anniversary of the festival, and the … Continue reading →

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Mother Tongues

Posted on August 9, 2017 by

The National Geographic’s senior graphics editor Alberto Lucas López created this wonderful pie chart to illustrate the proportional representation of the world’s twenty three most spoken languages. López based the graphic on native speakers, with each language marked by black … Continue reading →

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Livres dans le metro

Posted on July 29, 2017 by

Inspired by actress Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf project which anonymously distributes free books on subways in London, Paris, and New York City, Montreal bibliophile and YouTuber Audrée Archambault created Livres dan le Métro. For the last eight months she has been leaving French … Continue reading →

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Random Vintage Book Vending

Posted on July 15, 2017 by

You may remember a post a few years back about the Toronto secondhand bookshop’s Biblio-Mat book vending machine. Well, The Monkey’s Paw is back in the news with an update to the book-o-mat. Bookstore owner Stephen Fowler is now loading the machine with random … Continue reading →

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