The Annex and Harbord Village have the highest concentration of independent bookshops in Canada. Monkey's Paw, Another Story, Seekers Books, and BMV Books all within walking distance. A full afternoon of browsing awaits.
Neighbourhood: The Annex · Address: Bloor St W and Harbord Village, Toronto, ON · Hours: Mon–Wed 12:00 – 7:00 PM | Thu–Sat 10:00 AM – 11:00 PM | Sun 12:00 – 7:00 PM · Price Range: Free · Phone: (416) 967-5757 · Editorial status: Not yet verified
Wander through a cluster of indie bookshops spanning everything from rare first editions to dirt-cheap paperbacks. It’s the only Toronto neighbourhood where you can hit four stellar bookstores in a single stroll.
Nowhere else in Toronto—or Canada—packs so many independent bookshops into a few blocks. The Monkey’s Paw’s bizarre and antique finds, Another Story’s focus on social justice, Seekers’ labyrinthine shelves, and BMV’s budget treasures each offer a totally different experience.
The Annex and its surrounding streets — Bloor West, Harbord Village, the blocks between Spadina and Bathurst — have the highest density of independent bookshops in Canada. This is not an accident: the neighbourhood is the historical home of the University of Toronto, several publishing houses, and decades of writers, academics, and literary people who have lived here specifically because of the proximity to each other. The bookshop crawl is the neighbourhood's most satisfying free afternoon.
Monkey's Paw Books on Spadina is the anchor. It specializes in oddities: unusual non-fiction, visual culture, art books, and out-of-print ephemera. It also has the Biblio-Mat, the world's only automated rare book dispenser: put $2 into the machine (which looks like an antique vending machine), pull the handle, and receive a random book. The selection is eclectic in the best sense. The machine is the reason people who own six copies of it know about Monkey's Paw.
Another Story Bookshop on Roncesvalles focuses on diverse voices, social justice titles, children's books, and Canadian literature. BMV Books (three Toronto locations, but the Bloor West one is the reference) is the city's best used bookshop — an enormous inventory at significant discounts, organized meticulously by category.
A full bookshop afternoon with lunch at a neighbourhood spot is one of the Toronto experiences that costs very little and returns a lot.
The Annex is a residential neighbourhood west of the University of Toronto, bounded roughly by Bloor Street (south), Dupont Street (north), Spadina Avenue (east), and Bathurst Street (west). It's historically a writers', academics', and artists' neighbourhood, with a high density of independent bookshops, cafés, and restaurants. The nearest subway is Spadina or Bathurst Station (Line 2).
The Biblio-Mat is a custom vending machine at Monkey's Paw Books (602 Markham Street) that dispenses random books for $2. It was built by artist Craig Small and contains a rotating selection of unusual, rare, and out-of-print books. You insert $2, pull a handle, and receive a mystery book. The machine has become one of Toronto's most distinctive small cultural attractions.
The Annex and surrounding area has the highest concentration: Monkey's Paw Books (oddities, Biblio-Mat, 602 Markham Street), BMV Books (used books, enormous inventory, 471 Bloor West), Another Story Bookshop (diverse voices, Canadian lit, Roncesvalles), and Seekers Books (spiritual and metaphysical, Bloor West). The Church Street/Cabbagetown area also has Eliot's Bookshop. Most are open daily.
Yes — the Annex is one of Toronto's best walking neighbourhoods. The bookshop crawl can take a full afternoon between three or four shops. The café density is high (good coffee at Ezra's Pound, Dark Horse). The architecture along Bernard Avenue and the residential streets off Bloor is some of the most beautiful Victorian domestic architecture in the city. Bang Bang Ice Cream on Ossington is a strong dessert stop.
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