- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Frantic City
Category: Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Bookstores [Edit]
123 Ossington AveToronto, ON M6J
Neighbourhoods: Ossington Strip, Trinity Bellwoods, Beaconsfield Village
(416) 533-9138
- Price Range:
-
$
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
5 reviews for Frantic City
5 reviews in English
-
Review from Noel D.
11/10/2010
I think this is a great store. I tend to walk up Ossington on my way home from Queen Street so I tend to pass by Frantic City a lot and would pop in to browse their records. Unfortunately the last time I was there they were selling off all their vinyl because they were opening up a record shop on Queen Street... So as I write this Frantic City might be just a book store.
I have browsed their books before but I am more of a record man. I have gotten some pretty good gems there for dead cheap because I tend to grab their hip-hop and jazz records and I don't think they really know how to price them... Which is good for a crate digger like me.
The people who work there are super nice. Each time I've been whoever is working the counter is mad pleasant and helpful. Even though they don't have records anymore I will try and swing through to browse some books. Highly recommend supporting this business! -
Review from Natalie T.
East York, ON
4/7/2012
VIBE
Really easy to peruse. I always end up stopping by here to browse on my way down the Ossington strip.
THE GOODS
I've found great design books here. Lots of current titles too. The front table is a great area for good finds. I like the whole organization of the store.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
Not frantic at all. One of the better used bookstores in the city and needed store for the Oss. strip. -
Review from Eliah H.
Toronto, ON
12/15/2010
Long before the Ossington strip became the food and bar "hotspot" it is now Frantic City was there as your friendly neighborhood used bookstore. From what I remember in the early days they use to be equally a bookstore and used CD shop, but as there is not really a market for used CDs anymore they now are primarily a book seller with only a small used vinyl section.
What I like most about Frantic City is that the book buyer has an eye for titles. You should be able to find a book of interest at the shop without wading through a lot of crap. You'll find your standard categories from literature to poetry to non fiction and so on. They even have a decent graphic novel section. The prices are reasonable too.
If you ever thought it be cool to open your own lil bookshop in your neighborhood Frantic City is kinda what you'd imagine it being. They have it tough though for not being in a major retail area with good day traffic. If you are looking for your next good read and are in the area I suggest dropping in and checking out what titles they currently have available. -
Review from Mike S.
Toronto, ON
11/7/2008
Frantic city is a type of bookstore that I didn't know existed until
just recently. I don't know if there is a technical term for what the
store is but my best guess would be "used media". The store has a modest
book collection that is broken down into several different categories including
local poetry and sociological studies as well as a fairly large record
collection. Despite my best efforts to do otherwise I do like stores
like this and Frantic City is as good an example as I've seen. The only
drawback is the location which as best I can tell is somewhere just past
the middle of nowhere. Well actually it's on Ossington, but if you
weren't looking for it you would never find it and that's a shame. I
would definitely recommend this bookstore because it's the kind of place
that needs to survive if we are ever going to have any sort of cutler
when we rise from the ashes of the conglomerates.
Like the review? Check out the link to my blog on my profile. -
Review from Karen M.
Ottawa, ON
7/3/2009
This is my local record store and I love it. Luckily the guy who owns it has similar tastes in music as I do so I can always find something I need. The majority of the stock is used but that does include newer used independent garage, punk and country along with hard to find more classic rock. The cool thing is they also have tons of books. This is a nice place to spend time, talking about music and flipping through records and books.
Listed in: Ossington Favs
