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Chapters
Category: Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Bookstores [Edit]
142 John StToronto, ON M5V 2E3
Neighbourhoods: Entertainment District, Downtown Core
(416) 595-7349
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
17 reviews for Chapters
Review Highlights
17 reviews in English
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Review from Kevin S.
Oakville, ON
5/8/2012
love this book store. everything is there but i have no idea how they make money with everyone reading and not buying.
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Review from Natalie T.
East York, ON
3/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
Say what you will about our Canadian big box bookstore and the fall of the indie outlets, this is a fantastic place to wait for a friend if he or she is running late.
VIBE
Book-ish. Starbucks on the second floor, which you'll never get a seat at. Not as homey as it used to be.
THE GOODS
I like this location for its selection of design tomes (no problem getting Design Sponge here as opposed to Book City). I really really like this location for its selection of greeting cards and specifically thank you cards (it can be hard to find them). Plus, they have a great selection of notebooks on the back wall near the magazines.
The travel section is pretty good but small. I like their magazine layout. I am always picking up a travel book or mag here and both are close by.
The children's section is cute.
Not so great: the business section. It's ok. Or maybe they just don't like Sally Hogshead because it took me forever and a day to get this book from Chapters/Indigo.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
It's weird that this location is so big yet somewhat homey. I do manage to spend quite a bit of time in here. Or maybe my friends are just always late? (Kidding!) -
Review from Angela N.
3/18/2012
Great place to visit if you're in the area either for pleasure, leisure stroll, Starbucks and/or the much needed bathroom break, Chapters is your place.
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Review from Kelly O.
12/23/2010 5 Check-ins Here
I love this store. They have EVERYTHING.
I will not debate the ethics of the chain owner in this forum, but the store itself is one of my favourites to visit. It has an incredible selection of mags, cards, gifts and of course, books. Their selection of Travel, Business and Gardening/Leisure books is particularly impressive.
I will be back. Of course. -
Review from Maggie T.
Toronto, ON
3/9/2011
Its one of my most fav places to go when I have my "ME" time and wants to be alone. I just go grab whatever magazine from Fashion, Cosmo to Women's Health. There tons nice comfy chairs upstairs cross from Ball Room Bar. I was sitting there 2 weeks ago realize I was able to see Leafs Hockey game on TV screen at BallRoom from where I was sitting. I guess my 20/20 vision works best at that angle in Chapters LOL.
Amazing fact that there is INTERNET! I pulled my laptop and just connect to wfi from Starbucks downstairs. So I can read magazine n use internet and watch hockey game with my feet resting on the heaters by window. Fun! And I like to stare at the night sky light n CN tower from that window, its very peaceful.
Also I like how its private that u dont have to like be stared by random ppl in a bar or restaurant when u want to be alone, I had only been *harassed* once at Chapters when I a guy stalked me n tried to sit beside my chair to start conversation. But I am quite sure that could happen anywhere any time in the city. If u go there sit down and some decent looking guy in his 30s trying pick u up. Just tell him off. I am saying it because he said he goes there often to "look around". His name is Sean LOL hahha.
Employees there are always supper friendly. They are sooo nice! I had bad experience at Indigo Yonge/Eglinton, the guy working there located me thru camera chased me n my ex down 3 times to tell us we couldnt not sit at those spots to read. He must be mad at the world. lol I had never once not been helped by nice people working at that place. They talk to u with respect even know u AREN'T paying it. Its very NICE feeling. I ended up buying some books recently. -
Review from Carmen D.
9/4/2010
Chapters, Borders, Barnes and Noble, whatever.
It's a mega-bookstore with a Starbucks on the 2nd floor. Free wifi.
The reason why I'm even posting is because this place has become essential to my circuit with a 3 yo tot, especially on rainy days.
There's a Thomas the Train table on the 3rd floor in the kids section, where my kid can play while I check email or play Angry Birds on the iPod Touch.
Bring your germkiller gels just in case. Kids are germy.Listed in: TDot Adventures
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Review from susan c.
8/20/2009
I'm shameless. I come to Chapters to soak up their A/C and treat their magazine rack like my free personal library. I plop myself on the couch in their Starbuck's and flip through a shopping-basketful of my favorite titles.
On a recent excursion I browsed:
Food & Wine
Saveur
Gourmet
Cook's Illustrated
Real Simple
Toronto Life
New York
New Yorker
I didn't buy any of them. I know, I'm a terrible person. You should probably de-friend me. -
Review from Jennifer N.
Toronto, ON
8/19/2008
Books are my crack and Chapters is my dealer. This location is my favourite due to the walking proximity to my office and to cheap and cheerful food places.
I can usually find what I'm looking for and also find things I'm not looking for and all of a sudden "need". The different sections are well represented and have an extensive selection. The first floor is the Top 10 and new books, magazines and the gift section. I love meandering in the gift section as they usually have unique offerings of packaged foods, beauty/bath items and beautiful cards. The second floor has a Starbucks with ample seating and also the music section. The third floor is fiction, children's, business and non-fiction.
Staff at this location are quirky and actually know what they're talking about. They're not fake and go out of their way to help you.
The weird thing about this location? The escalators are always broken. -
Review from Eric B.
4/4/2009
I love going into bookstores when I'm at home or away. This particular Chapters/Indigo is a larger 3-story one, which features a unique exterior and a 2nd floor Starbucks. I like their selection, the layout of their stores, and enjoy looking a their large selection of tcotchkes (accessories). I also agree with Melissa J. about their big computers up front that allow easy search and ordering options.
I ended up buying a commemorative book on the 100 year anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens. And considering the "Original Six" rivalry with the Maple Leafs, I was looking over my shoulder the whole time. -
Review from Melissa F.
Toronto, ON
7/5/2009
Factoid #1: I love bookstores
Factoid #2: I love bookstores where you can sit and read without feeling bad I'm not purchasing it.
Factoid #3: I love bookstores with no-fuss return policies.
Print is dying. It saddens me. I love going into a bookstore and browsing, touching and reading the books. But at the same time, I'm only willing to purchase a book if it's a classic or somethin that I will want to read over and over again through the duration of my ownership.
Therefore I love this chapters location because it is in a great location and has an excellent setup to read for hours on end a huge selection of books, and if I'm REALLY into the book I can buy it. And If I change my mind I can return it!
This massive Chapters is a regular visit for me and right in the middle of the entertainment district so you can waste a little time before or after a date with your friends.
Also a big fan of the Starbucks on the mid-level- much better than ones on the base level. It's good to hang here and be on nerd watch.
I heart nerds = ) -
Review from Melissa J.
Toronto, ON
11/4/2008
I was always a fan of Chapters/Indigo/etc, simply because of their fabulous book selection and the neat and tidy setup. Not to mention the cute little home items, gift wrap, accessories, and toys they've recently started carrying.
But when I went to this location last week, my love took on a new meaning. I may come off sounding like an octogenarian due to my fascination with this technology, but here goes...
They have these ENORMOUS iMac computers in the front of the store, with a fancy touch screen and a font big enough to accomodate the elderly and people with terrible vision like me. Basically they're to be used for searching in the same way their old computes were-- find for a book using a keyword, find similar books, look for it at other locations, etc.
The big exciting change that I want to share with the world is that now you can order books to be shipped to your house on this magical computer. And if you want to remember the book for later, you can print off a little receipt fact sheet about the book! So when I saw a book that I am totally buying for my friend for Christmas, but was in no mood to spend $50 on it since it's probably cheaper on Amazon...Print the little slip, and I can go search for it later.
Perhaps no one else will understand how awesome and convenient this is (my boyfriend laughed at me as I scurried around the store printing a slip at every computer), but it changed my life. I freaking love Chapters.
And their online shopping has great deals, too, much better prices than the real-life store. Amazon is a little bit cheaper, but they both have the free shipping deal if you spend $39. Which is EASY if you love books.
And you should love books. And Chapters. -
Review from Catherine L.
Toronto, ON
12/6/2009
I've always loved libraries, and Chapters is like a super nice fancy library, except you can't take out any books for free.
But you can sit there for long periods of time, sipping fancy Starbucks coffee, listening to music in their music section, browsing books and magazines, use their clean washrooms, without ever being made to feel guilty about not buying anything.
I spent a whole afternoon here chilling by the window, writing on my laptop, while using their power plug. I got a lot of work done, in a literary environment, without getting distracted by TV and internet like I do at home. I think i've found my new writing spot! -
Review from Aaron B.
4/12/2010
This is a rather average "big-box" bookstore of the likes of Borders or Barnes and Noble...specifically like Barnes and Noble because the cafe is Starbucks. The top floor is nice and spacious, a very open feel. It's rather sparse with shelves actually so each section has not so many books, but I did find one I was looking for. I think it's more about ambiance than merchandise which has its pros for sure, but though there was the one thing I found there were three things that I couldn't find. Looks like I'll be hitting Amazon after all.
Meanwhile in the cafe on the second floor where I worked on my laptop for two hours it is rather dark and the roof feels very low...I was sitting on the edge of the covered part and the difference in mood between looking left to the 'up' escalators versus right towards the 'down' escalators was the difference between a bright morning and a cloudy dusk. Most of the seats are in the dark part. And no free wi-fi so it's only good for certain work...and of course the coffee isn't very good either.
The magazine section is reasonable, about what I expected. I spend a lot of time in lots of book stores across the globe and this is rather par for the course. I can think of a few things that it lacks but nothing special that it has. It's almost identical to the B&N in Utica, NY and in Ann Arbor, MI. I guessed that Toronto could do more and better and I'd love it there, but I was wrong. -
Review from Janna S.
4/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
I prefer the Chapters location in my own neighborhood because the bathrooms here are always filthy and I don't think this location has enough seating space. Three stars for LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. A definite option for pre-movie browsing when the weather outside is frightful.
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Review from Simon R.
Milton, ON
4/15/2010 1 Check-in Here
Do they have books? Yes
Do they have mags? Yes
One of the great additions to the downtown core. since it was opened about 8 years ago. It's actually a great escape from the loud noises outside of cars driving past and honking their horns through rush-hour traffic. Also, you can sit upstairs and enjoy a lovely cup of starbucks coffee. yum. -
Review from Nicole B.
5/7/2010
Previously this Chapters would've received 5 stars from me...and that's without a purchase. I would usually go in here to kill time before a movie and walk through the aisles browsing or chatting away in the cafe.
Yesterday, I went in there with the actual intent to purchase an item. Too bad the item didn't have a price tag. I checked other quantities of the same item and none of them had a price tag. So I went to the cash to find out the price. The cashier let me know and since the price was right, I proceeded to pay.
My friend was admiring the Kobo reader and I told her it didn't have a backlight. She didn't believe me so I asked the cashier. She said that it didn't. My friend expressed her disappointment. The cashier went on a rant about how the light hurts people's eyes and that we would be surprised how many people wouldn't want that feature. She lost me when she started to talk about the history of ebooks in general. I said that our number one reason to buy it would be to read at night in bed. She rudely said then we should buy lamps. My friend and I both looked at each other, offended by her tone. I told her that even though she seems to be a hardcore Kobo fan, she should change her tone for customers who initially asked a simple question. I won't base my whole experience on the one incident, but since I know of other locations I've been to with zero issues, I'll go back to just killing time there and not actually purchasing anything. -
Review from Pink G.
4/21/2009
This place is amazing. With the fireplace and the most comfortable couches my rear posterior have ever rested on. It just a private-public place you spend time reading. Just love it! and brings back so many memories...
