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Pages Books and Magazines - CLOSED
Categories: Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Newspapers & Magazines Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Newspapers & Magazines, Bookstores [Edit]
256 Queen Street WToronto, ON M5V 1Z8
Neighbourhoods: Entertainment District, Queen Street West, Downtown Core
(416) 598-1447
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Pages Books and Magazines
Review Highlights
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"This store actually has a "small press" section." In 3 reviews -
"...authors of fiction and non-fiction, and huge art and design..." In 3 reviews -
"...quite tired of Indigo-Chapters-Coles' selection of tired..." In 5 reviews
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18 reviews in English
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Review from Suzie G.
East York, ON
8/5/2009
Realizing I should get in my review of Pages before it closes in three and a half weeks -- and I hope to get in another visit (or two!) before then as well.
There are several great independent book stores in Toronto (yes, I know many have also closed, but there are still many great ones left, dammit!), and Pages is one of the very best. The magazine section is wonderfully extensive and I could browse the book aisles for hours.
Although you'll still find Stephenie Meyer and Jodi Picoult books here, for the most part the selection is fairly high-brow and very awesome. Proof of the nerdy, high-browness? This store actually has a "small press" section. Yes, that's right. A separate section for books from small independent publishers across Canada, the States, and elsewhere. For a huge indie-lit nerd like me, these shelves are pure heaven. Coach House, Tightrope, Insomniac, NeWest, and the like...all in one place? Take my credit card away from me, please! -
Review from Polls E.
Toronto, ON
12/9/2008
Don't go in there unless you have a lot of time on your hands because it will be very hard to leave.
For such a small shop they have a great selection and so well laid out.
The staff were knowledgeable when I asked about my favorite and (unknown to the masses) writer.
They have a great selection of art books. Probebly the best in the city.
Check it out. -
Review from Kim B.
ON
1/11/2009 13 photos
You know when you're looking for a specific book (one that isn't an Oprah book or the latest Steven King novel) and you go to Chapters or Indigo and you punch the name into their fancy touch screen and lo and behold it pops up and you think AWESOME, but then you look to the side and it says, "Order Today - Free Shipping!"?
That means they don't have it in the store.
Which is all you wanted answered.
"Do you have the book?"
"Yes."
"Can I have it today?"
"No. But we can order it for you."
It makes me what to scream, "WHAT KIND OF GAME ARE YOU PLAYING!?"
At Pages, this is not a problem. If they don't have the book (which, usually, they do) then they say, "We don't have that book" and then you look around and find five other books within the span of two minutes that you'd rather read instead.
Because Pages is a complete bookstore filled with good books, interesting books, and not full of TOO many books like a Chapters. They go for quality over quantity.
I especially like their small press section - go there and support some smaller writers/presses! They put out great stuff.Listed in: My FIVE Star Toronto, Book Nooks
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Review from Greg F.
Toronto, ON
2/10/2009
Pages seems to be the distributor or rare and hard to find books in the city. The store itself is well laid out, has many of the rare books that you can't find in the box stores. This is because a lot of their hard to find books are from local authors and poets putting their books on consignment.
The Magazine selection is also great. There are plenty of main stream Magazines, plus the low production magazines that tend to be from local publishers.
Overall a great little book store in the heart of Queen St West. -
Review from Anna V.
Toronto, ON
11/21/2008
Pages is the real deal. An old school bookstore. No homeware here or yoga accessories or anything else but books and magazines and other products with words in them.
They have a lot of books and magazines you can't find anywhere else and they also have listings and posters for word poetry and for book signings and stuff. So if you like books, this place is way better than those other chain spots. -
Review from Roma M.
7/11/2009
Wow, I have no idea what to start with, their hours -amazing, title selection- way above average, their organization-perfect, relevant and current topics- everything is new!
I'm getting quite tired of Indigo-Chapters-Coles' selection of tired, safe 'Oprah'fied, censored bestsellers. The books that I truly want are all at Pages, and they have an amazing staff.
TIP: I'm not sure if they still have this policy, but they offer a student discount on non-fiction. All you need is your student card. -
Review from Erin H.
Toronto, ON
8/26/2008 1 photo
If you can handle the angry feminists that have spent too much time in women's studies classes and not enough time in shopping malls to know the slightest thing about customer service, then Pages Bookstore is far and away the best bookstore in Toronto.
Being blond and (ahem) fashion forward, I gravitate toward the magazine section where everything from British Vogue to Heeb magazine is displayed. Pages also has a great architecture and design book section and (insert eye-roll here) a thorough cultural studies section - hand picked I'm sure by the friendly ladies (pardon me), womYn behind the counter.
The Best thing about Pages for me anyway is it has the ying/yang factor inherent in its location - it is in the heart of Toronto's famous shopping street, Queen West. I always say one good book deserves a fantastic pair of shoes! Oh but don't try matching...remember you can't judge a book by its cover. -
Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
12/9/2008 1 photo
Because of the danged Internet, my attention span has decreased significant--
Wait, what am I writing about here?
I do love the whole art, physical feel, and smell of books. There's a level of meditation in the whole act of reading, and in this rush-rush-rush lifestyle, sometimes I just need to force myself to do it. Unfortunately, when I give myself that opportunity, it's usually when I'm already in bed, exhausted, and then I fall asleep drooling after one paragraph. It's like going to a party. I know it'll be fun, but it's just the energy it takes to get there that's painful.
Then there's a trip to Pages, by far the most interesting book store in Toronto, with the hippest magazine selection full of fare for political, indie types. As a non-fiction fan, I think their selection is the best in the city, with great books on art, politics, design, travel, and photography. Mmm.
Once I enter this store, I fall in love all over again. They stock books for content lovers; whoever is choosing the stock is doing a damn good job. More than once, after a trip to Pages, I've convinced myself to take the Internet and emphatically smoosh it under my heel. (Until I get back home and start craving my 250-word RSS updates, that is. Come on, you do it, too.) -
Review from Todd V.
Toronto, ON
9/14/2008
I love the feel of independent book stores above the likes of a Chapters (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) or an Indigo (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...). Yes, for sure, you're able to get a lot of what you need at these particular stores, but what you don't get is a sense of theme and direction in the stacks of books. In a big franchise-y book store, books are thrown together by genre, sorted by author, and that's pretty much it. Large numbers of copies available for a decent price. What is missing is a bit of soul.
Pages gives you the sense that you're going to find something in there that is decently cutting-edge and most certainly not available in larger book stores. The direction of the store is definitively modern, newer titles being showcased, but definitely with an alternative flavour. To give you a sense of the type of book you can uncover, my last purchase was a book called "Meet Mr. Product", an anthology of corporate cartoon icons from the Michelin Man to the Jolly Green Giant. What started out as a neat novelty book quickly became a page turner of historical significance.
The style of books on site align to that sense of "You'll probably not find this elsewhere, and if you do, enjoy the one copy that will be available." Not so here. -
Review from Mike S.
Toronto, ON
11/7/2008 1 photo
I like going into bookstores, I love the hushed
potential and my internal exuberance. Pages Books and Magazines is a
store that is blessed by location; it sits right across the street from
the CityTv Building and if you look closely in many of their outdoor
shots you can see the store. The bookstore is like many of the
bookstores you've ever been in, the books are arranged well and they have
a wide selection. The one thing the store is missing is the discount
bin. Now I am a cheap bastard and cheap books are something that I
relish. I think that books are overpriced and while I feel for the
author when I see a price slashed I like taking advantage of it. The
lack of such a bin at Pages was a disappointment for me and so I don't
know how to take it. I would recommend this store to people living in
the area because it's a decent bookstore but I definitely wouldn't go
out of my way for it.
Like the review? Check out the link to my blog on my profile. -
Review from Alejandro A.
Toronto, ON
11/21/2008
An independent and small press book store, Pages has carved itself a niche clientele and a place of importance in the Toronto literary landscape. With a diverse selection of books that you'll be hard pressed to find elsewhere (excluding the internet, of course), the store is known for showing you 'the other side' of literature.
That's not to say that they don't have regular books that you've heard of, but... actually, for the most part I guess they really don't have regular books that you've heard of. With interesting sections like Cultural Theory and Independent comic books, Pages does a good job of keeping your book store options fresh.
It's also important to note that they host the 'This is not a Reading Series' event which brings in writers and artists with forthcoming books. The writers and artists will talk about everything, from their books to whatever cultural or non-sequitur happens to come up at that nights event. -
Review from Catherine M.
ON
12/9/2008
Pages is my favorite indie bookstore in the city. Unlike some others which resort to cavernous spaces stocked with huge amounts of product, Pages emphasizes quality over quantity.
The magazine section alone is unparalleled in this town, I hate to start with the featherweight reading but if you've ever known the frustration that is Big Box Books with their hundreds of hundreds of auto magazines and not an indie rag in sight, you'll know why I rave. Not only are they stocked with some of the coolest and harder to find titles, but also a good selection of local zines, something which you see fewer and fewer of these days.
As for books Pages has you covered - from art and film to travel, novels (graphic or text) and nonfiction, whatever you're looking for can likely be found in the store. Unless you're looking for the latest Grisham title, in which case you're better off wandering to the Chapters at Richmond and John. Sometimes I wonder if Pages is doing ok with that huge book behemoth so nearby, but then I realized that they are like apples and oranges. -
Review from Jennifer L.
Toronto, ON
7/29/2009
Why is this place closing? Is it going somewhere else?
I haven't kept up with the news but after reading the little sign outside of David Mirvish Books stating that it had closed its doors (devastating), it doubled the pain to hear of Pages doing the same. I don't get it.
One of my favourite places to shop, browse, linger, flip through, read and inhale all the wondrous that is of Pages Books and Magazines. Amazing selection of art books, magazines, zines, small and independent press, and specialty books in relation to design, architecture, cultural theory, etc. Here, you can also find some nice stationary and greeting cards.
Why is this place closing again? -
Review from Rita C.
Saanich, BC
7/7/2009
So full disclosure: I work for a large bookstore chain (there's basically the one in Canada, so you-know-who.) Despite this, I still love love love Pages. I find the hard-to-find books and magazines I love so easily here-- they've a better selection than my corporate overlords. Just don't tell my boss.
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Review from Kat F.
2/9/2009
I love going to Pages for my book and magazine fix - they always have great recommendations and their store displays are well thought out, giving you many ideas for your next purchase. They also have a lot of obscure magazines that you can't get anywhere else. And if they don't have a book in stock, they will order it and set it aside for you with no obligation to buy.
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Review from Jimi S.
ON
12/3/2008
sometimes its hard to get past the cash in this store. you walk in and on your left are tomes filled with photographs and paintings, artists you know, artists youve never heard of, but they are all there welcome you in. on your right like a cat thats just been in a room where a million other cats have just been hanging out, try as you might, you cannot move quicker help but stop every two seconds, every two inches to get a grip on the newest smell from the newest high quality page in the newest coolest magazine. the mags are foreign, local, thick and filled with really great articles.
this spot is top notch for an indie bookstore that has at least two great sections as listed above, and a whole book store filled with both new and obscure titles. -
Review from Jes L.
Toronto, ON
2/5/2009
I love wandering around Pages. It is one of my favourite book stores because it always has interesting reads on display - and not just the best sellers or hyped titles. It's truly a store for readers. The comic book section is worth mentioning - its small, but it has a solid selection.
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Review from Kat T.
8/29/2009
Last chance! Pages is going to be closing it's doors for good, with no new location in the plans. I always supported this local bookstore that supports local writers. Chapters is just a block away, but they just don't have the charisma or the selection of Pages. Pages had magazines to suit all sorts- but a very limited selection of the trashy stuff, because who needs that? They had a nice travel section, all the Canadian authors of fiction and non-fiction, and huge art and design section. You will be missed!
