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Canterbury Tales Secondhand Books
Category: Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Bookstores [Edit]
1990 4th Ave WVancouver, BC V6J 1M5
Neighbourhood: Kitsilano
(604) 733-1130
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for Canterbury Tales Secondhand Books
13 reviews in English
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Review from Emilie C.
Vancouver, BC
2/3/2012
Some true gems can be found after some searching through their stacks. I cannot recall her name, but there was one woman in particular who worked here who was incredibly helpful and super friendly. Her enthusiasm made me happy to support the shop. There is a great selection of inexpensive books whose many subjects included, but were not limited to, travel, history, cookbooks, chick lit, fantasy, sci fi, etc etc.
Unfortunately for me, they have since packed up the whole shop and moved out to Commercial Drive, and whenever I walk by the now-empty building, I get all nostalgic for the time I spent looking for new books to add to my collection. -
Review from Crystal H.
Vancouver, BC
7/7/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I was a little reluctant to visit. Actually, it was the last place on my list to hawk my less-loved books. Why? It was my first impression. A long time ago, I stopped in and asked if I could share a community event poster... I was met with a pretty negative -- okay, it was downright rude -- response and it soured me. I hadn't been back since then in fact.
But this past week, I made my usual pit stops to Pulp Fiction and Carson and still had books to be sold, so I popped in at Canterbury. And what do you know, it was like night and day. The sales clerk (Jason?) was so nice. He looked through my books, told me I had some good ones -- which is always encouraging -- and gave me the breakdown of how it works here. In fact, he totally made my day - even shaking my hand and introducing himself when I was on my way out.
So what's the selling process? Easy - they look through your stuff, take stock, write up a little receipt and let you know that the owner will be examining and deciding in the next couple of days. Once decided, they'll call and you can come to retrieve any no-go's.
Well, they bought the most of any of the other shops - I only wish I came here first now! And their deal is really great. Either $20 cash or $40 store credit... so double for store credit!
With so many kinds of genres, I could spend hours here, but I just cleared off my bookshelves, and so a re-load will have to wait!
PS. Supposedly they're into cookbooks, so if you have ones you're never going to use again - make another cooks day! -
Review from Sarah A.
8/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
There are so few bookstores like this left in the city. Lovely little place to browse and kill some time and find a book that you forgot you wanted to read. The prices are good and the staff is very friendly. A gem on 4th.
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Review from Mark H.
5/20/2011
Canterbury Tales is a lovely little bookstore, strongest in fiction, but well-stocked in most areas, and moderately priced. I will happily return next time I'm in town.
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Review from Chloë E.
Vancouver, BC
11/27/2008 2 photos
This is a solid used bookstore that hasn't caved to the uniform urban vibe of Kits. Pick up a rainy-day book for just 50 cents--a must-have in our rainy city.
I find the service a bit spotty here, but a grumpy salesperson is sometimes a portion of the bookstore charm. It's nice to be able to peruse the shelves in relative solitude. The shelves aren't crammed to the point of being impossible to discern what the titles are: you'll likely find something to read from a well-known author.
The selection of classics and modern classics is strong. Three-dollars for a Tom Wolfe paperback (The Right Stuff) was perfectly priced for me, and we also got a beaten but antique copy of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám for just $2.50. Good deals from a good bookstore. -
Review from Lesley D.
Vancouver, BC
11/21/2010
Great store. Lots of good books. Very well priced.
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Review from Sheila W.
BC
1/6/2009
Students taking any type of literature course should absolutely check out this shop before buying the copies new at a uni bookstore. Last time I was in, this shop had some really great Canadian lit titles in stock. Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje just to drop a few names. And since they're used, you can expect to save.
The books are in good enough shape that many are even suitable for gift-giving. So don't hesitate to stop in before heading straight to Chapters for the bookworm on your gift list! -
Review from Luisa S.
Vancouver, BC
11/19/2008 1 photo
Located right at the edge of Kits and wedged between Zulu Records and Moule is Canterbury Tales, a nice little secondhand bookshop. As the name suggest, they carry a lot of classics in worn paperback form as well as dusty sleeved hardback. This place is kind of a void. Once I enter, I always find myself sucked into the old words and classic tales of days gone past. The reality of Fourth Ave fades away and harder to see from the yellowed pages.
On a side note, they all carry more recent best-sellers and contemporary would-be classics by highly esteemed writers like Joan Didion and Salman Rushdie. -
Review from Cameron M.
Toronto, ON
12/31/2008
Cantenbury tales actually manages a rare feat in Vancouver. It stacks up to some of the bigger competitors in the used books realm. Vancouver features some pretty huge and daunting purveyors but Cantenbury has two things that make them stand out.
For one, quality. It's not that there are tons of low quality used book stores in Van but it's really easy to not keep high standards and have lots of paperbacks and broken spines but Cantenbury really has mostly high quality options.
Mostly though, it's their first editions and rare books. Vancouver seems pretty obsessed with used new books. Which is to say used versions of newly released books. While I do love that and head to Pulp Fiction to find that, one of the great things about used book shopping is finding the great rare finds. While there are huge bastions of rare/strange books like Macleod's in the city , they'll be the first to tell you, the more places that have strange and interesting books the better. More options means I'm more likely to find some fun and interesting things at places like Cantenbury as well. -
Review from Victoria R.
BC
12/29/2008
I can't get enough of book stores...and don't ask me why I love nothing more than the rummaging through a cluttered, unorganized book store where finding a book is almost impossible...but I do.
It adds an element of romanticism I think, or mystery or maybe adventure. All genres of books I prefer to read, how uncanny? There is a bookstore with the same name in West Vancouver and I'm not sure if it's the same owner, anyhow for books that are used and cheaper than normal books or for even out-of-print editions, vintage copies and $1 bargains, Cantenbury Tales has it all. -
Review from Sasha F.
1/16/2010
I wish I could live in this book store. Maybe I could hide behind a rack and sleep without anyone noticing.
When you walk in, Canterbury smells like old books. The way that a book should smell: elegance and The Depression. If you look for old editions of books, a rare gem, or anything about Canada (literature or reference) this is the place to find it. The have newer books at cheap prices as well, but who needs those when you can pick up a gem from the '20s for $5? -
Review from Gwen C.
7/26/2010
Canterbury is full of surprises. Sometimes the selection does not reveal its secrets, and they don't really catalog what they have well, and you have a blah experience. Sometimes, the store lays out cheap gems by the dozens and you have to go buy a bag at Shopper's to hold all your stuff. Either way, it's a good way to spend an hour and a half, especially on a drizzly grey Vancouver winter Saturday.
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Review from Nadine N.
Vancouver, BC
9/23/2008
Canterbury Tales has a decent selection of popular, recently published paperbacks. They also have quite a few cookbooks by the register that are worth checking out. There are several chairs towards the back of the store, in case you want to test drive any of the books before you buy.
