Journey to the West: Vancouver
Coach House Books, along with other Toronto publishers, traveled out West to get to know our fellow Canadians a little better.
When we landed in Vancouver it was raining. At first we were bummed out, but eventually we realized that this was the authentic Vancouver experience. We felt welcomed by the city, embraced by its brisk, wet arms. There was so much to see in the city but one thing I knew for sure was that I had to visit Book Warehouse.
Similar to the other indie stores I visited on this trip, Book Warehouse on Main Street had a unique vibe to it: small, authentic, highly curated, and staffed by extremely knowledgeable people. What I particularly loved about the store were the shelf talkers.
Shelf talkers – for those of you not familiar with them – are shelves that talk. Enchantments are placed on the shelf to give them slight sentience. The shelves are only taught about books and live a horrible life of spewing out small reviews about books… Well, that’s how it’d work if magic existed. So instead of magic, we use paper! Book Warehouse has a significant amount of shelf talkers created by the staff. It’s refreshing to see a staff so excited to share what they are reading with their customers.
In my awe of the store, I forgot to get a picture. I know, I’m disappointed in myself, too. Luckily, through the power of the internet and the omnipresent brain of Google, we’re able to take a virtual trip to the store to see how it looks:
Book Warehouse on Main Street is a beautiful store situated in an awesome area. The entire block is comprised of indie shops, which gives the street a special energy. It’s great to see an area where indie stores are able to thrive through the support of the local community. If you find yourself in Vancouver, Book Warehouse is where you need to be. You’ll definitely find a Coach House book there!
Music Note: To counteract the gloomy environment, Book Warehouse was playing some hot Latin tracks. Jorge Ben Jor’s iconic track “Mas, Que Nada” was playing over the speakers, which put a spring in my step. If you listen to this track and think “where do I know this song from?” the answer is Austin Powers.
