Atticus Books

An incredible selection at usually high prices (the maximum discount on the regular price rarely exceeded 40% but that seems to be changing these days.) It's in a league of its own, however, as far as Toronto bookstores (and most others around the world) are concerned: rare, important and valuable works can be found here on a scale that no bookstore with a less focused outlook could match. The emphasis is on scholarly titles, and they almost always deliver. The only place that I have seen a huge scholarly tome on Radnoti's poetry, or a rare edition on St. Petersburg between the revolutions, or the complete set of R. H. Blyth's Zen and Zen Classics - that time at an excellent price, but sadly beyond my means then - and so on. It's also a place that many students visit (it's located across the street from a student residence and other University of Toronto buildings) to save on textbooks. The two owners (that I recognize) are very pleasant and can be seen in the store on occasion. The most frequent staffer is a genial young bearded chap with glasses who speaks softly and is generally witty; the most idiotic (and even belligerent towards customers of any stripe, for little or no reason) is a large wheezy middle-aged man that mostly shows up on Sundays. The latter takes offense if you ask him a question, and then answers with the affectation of restraint and wounded dignity; the former hops out from behind his desk to confirm his answer if he's not busy. There are other staff too but I haven't seen them much. And the store itself - if you're impressed by the main floor, wait till you've seen the basement. The whole place is as dense and valuable as a reference library - if you're going in to browse and discover new books, you won't be done within a few hours, and you'll need to be jotting down names and titles as fast as you can to keep up. It's easy to miss a title, but browse with care and you might find something of value in every corner.