The Monkey's Paw (bookstore)

The Monkey's Paw is an independent used bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, specializing in books in eclectic, odd, or miscellaneous categories.[1] The store was located in the Dundas West Portugal Village but moved in the Spring of 2016 to 1267 Bloor St. West Toronto. It is well known for its eclectic store front display of arcane and absurd books.[2][3][4]

The Monkey's Paw was created in 2006 by the owner Stephen Fowler after moving from San Francisco in 2002 where he previously worked in numerous bookstores.[1][5] The impetus for opening the bookstore was due to the need to support his family with another income source.[1] The inspiration and book selection methods of the store is based on his work in a previous San Francisco bookstore that placed books that were too unique, specific, or unusual for a single-subject category under a miscellaneous section "Floop".[1] Many, including the owner, consider the store itself a showcase and homage to the printed book, which they believe to be dying medium.[4][5] Due to the notoriety and uniqueness of the bookstore, Fowler was invited to join the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.[4]

Biblio-mat

In November 2012, the store introduced a Biblio-mat machine which dispenses a random book for a $2 coin.[6] The New York Times's Style Magazine quoted the owner, "It's the store where you'll find the book you didn't know you were looking for."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Marlow, Iain (February 24, 2009), "A treasure trove of weirdness", Toronto Star
  2. ↑ Sardone, Andrew (2006), "Monkey's Paw", Now Toronto, 26 (7)
  3. ↑ Liu, Karon (July 29, 2010), "The Dundas West Guide: our 21 favourite places between Ossington and Lansdowne", Toronto Life
  4. 1 2 3 Maclear, Kyo (March 12, 2012), "The Future of the Book:The Beautiful Afterlife of Dead Books", The Millions
  5. 1 2 Randle, Chris (June 8, 2012), "Text/Book: Obscure Obsessions", Toronto Standard
  6. ↑ Jinje, Safa (November 12, 2012). "Q&A: The Monkey's Paw introduces the Biblio-mat book-vending machine". Quill & Quire.

External links

Coordinates: 43°38′57″N 79°25′24″W / 43.649291°N 79.4234226°W / 43.649291; -79.4234226

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