For a while now, the world’s bookshops have been diminishing, morphing, and even disappearing before our very eyes.
Here on the North Shore, we’re lucky to have plenty of choice. We must be a literary lot to keep our stores in business.
Admittedly, many of those that remain have to sell things other than books to keep the customer flow. What in the name of Atwood is all this stuff? Why, it’s the perfect selection of gifts for the booklover in your life. You don’t have to buy a book for that person. Instead, you can buy them something that’s book adjacent.
How about a mug with a literary quote on it? “She is too fond of books and it has turned her brain.” That’s a good one. It’s the kind of thing you might find at Indigo, at Park Royal. Excellent range of manga and graphic novels too, by the way. It’s not all best sellers and cozy reading socks with pom poms. It sounds like I’m being facetious, but I genuinely like book-merch.
Perhaps you might seek a greeting card with a whimsical floor-to-ceiling bookcase on the front. 32 Books in Edgemont Village has a vast selection of cards as well the latest prize-winning novels for the discerning reader. If you buy a book there, you might talk knowledgeably about Han Kang’s new work and whether it’s as deliciously weird as The Vegetarian.
If you’re in the mood for a quiet indie store, Helicon Books on West First Street in North Vancouver ticks that box. And don’t forget Phoenix Books when you’re at Lonsdale Quay. It’s upstairs in the market and you can pre-order your heart out.
Kidsbooks in Edgemont Village is great for kids and youth, with an excellent selection of educational games and toys that are acceptable to high-achieving parents. Pop down to the magical Forest Fairy Books and Toys at Lynn Valley Mall for even more to choose from.
Book Lovers on East Third is a haven crammed full of second-hand finds, with piles of unshelved books to look through as well as obsessively categorized ones. It’s a happy-place for me. Also Back Lane Books on East 19th is for your vintage, rare, collectibles.
Our libraries are just as important, and where the reader-readers and the writers hang out. I heard somewhere about an attempt to launch a kind of Spotify for books where you pay a subscription and get everything for free. Hello, we have this. It’s what a library does, but with a free membership and free books and events. Hurrah.
We’ve got six excellent libraries. North Vancouver City Library is the cool, glass building in Central Lonsdale. I do like the silent study area (no talking or snacking means proper quiet). The District of North Vancouver Library has a Capilano branch in Edgemont Village, a branch at Lynn Valley Village, and one at Parkgate Community Centre. There’s also an express library at Lions Gate Community Centre. West Vancouver Memorial Library is the classic one on Marine Drive which smells of old books and therefore a personal favourite.
We also have more than 80 little free libraries on our streets. They sit, lovely and handmade, on people’s front lawns, on the road, outside churches and parks. It’s a satisfying community thing, where you take one, you leave one, and everyone wins. I was once in the midst of writing a story set in 1970s Kenya where I grew up. I walked by my local free library and found a book written by Jomo Kenyatta during the period. It was like the writer-fairy of Narnia had put it there. It made my day.
What an incredible selection for such a small area. Let’s keep the world of books alive however we can. Whether that means buying, borrowing or diverting from books into book-related items. I mean, who doesn’t love a pair of cufflinks that say ‘the’ on the left and ‘end’ on the right? I for one I would sport those if I wore elegant dress shirts. Happy reading, whatever that means to you.
North Vancouver’s Jackie Bateman is an award-winning author, screenwriter, copywriter, and extremely nosy if you get too close. [email protected]
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