The Monkey's Paw (bookstore)

The Monkey's Paw is an independent used bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, specializing in books in eclectic, odd, or miscellaneous categories.[1] The store is located in the Dundas West Portugal Village and well known for their 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' 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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