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Shelf Life Books
Category: Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Bookstores [Edit]
100 - 1302 4th St SWCalgary, AB T2R 0X8
(403) 265-1033
- Hours:
Mon-Wed, Fri-Sat 11 am - 6 pm
Thu 11 am - 8 pm
Sun 12 pm - 4 pm
- Price Range:
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$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
8 reviews for Shelf Life Books
8 reviews in English
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Review from Angelo T.
4/2/2012 1 Check-in Here
With the passing apocalypse of video stores like Blockbuster, book stores could be the next thing to succumb to the digital age.
Independent bookstores like Shelf Life will always thrive because like Pages, they are heavily engaged with their community. They offer a unique and eclectic variety of books. From the quirky "Cooking with Coolio cookbook" to your best seller guilty pleasure to your local independently published writer/poet. In my last trip I couldn't help but purchase Gabo's Pablo Escobar non-fic "News of a Kidnapping" (swoon lady book nerds at my macho book choice!)
What really impressed me about Shelf Life was how engaging and pleasant they were when it comes to collaborating on events. Will and Joanne were great to communicate with .Shelf Life is all about community and literature, and will be more than willing to provide all the help they can while providing their space for events. Their reading area is absolutely charming and they even have a cool sound system to enhance the readers.
These days I'm a bit more selective with my purchases and prefer to go to the library to get my lit-fix, but tied with Pages in Kensington, Shelf is one of the first stores I will go to whenever I get a little bonus in my budget :)
1/30 - Underdog Challenge -
Review from Wendy P.
Score another win for Shelf Life Books! I was pondering a couple of books to buy in the business/networking realm. I've done some friends and family research, a little internet browsing, found some common book titles that I thought might be worth a shot and was just about to head out the door to the big C word. Then I stopped myself. The big C word would certainly have the titles I had already thought of. But I remembered Reg T's review about finding books that were equally (if not more) uber-awesome than some of the best sellers at this little place called Shelf Life Books.
The store isn't huge, and for surely doesn't stock everything under the sun. But one round of the store brought an employee to my side asking me what it was I was in search of. She asked me questions, pondered different sections that might relate to my topic. In the end, she recommended I check out the business, international development and environment and sustainability sections. Bonus, each is only a bookcase or two big and not filled with multiple copies of the same book, rather one or two copies of many different books, so I didn't need to go far and still had a variety of titles to ponder. She also invited me to settle into any of the chairs around the store to read through some of the books... just to make sure it was what I wanted before I brought it home.
In the end, I settled on two books, but while I was looking, that didn't stop said employee from bringing by another one that had caught her eye on her way by. Oh, and the two books I came home with? Soooooo not anything that came up in my "research" phase of my book quest, and yet they've turned out to be even better suited for what I was looking for.
Stellar work Shelf Life. You've taken the lead as my first stop.Listed in: Places to go in the Beltline, Yelp's 30 Day Challenge 2011, It's just that small town…, Calgary Bookstores
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/15/2011
Reginald T, why did you have to tell me about all of the amazing books you almost walked out the… Read more »
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Review from Daryl D.
Calgary, AB
2/14/2012
Rob dragged me out here this last weekend because we had seen ad advertisement for it, but had never been. Wow...is all I could say upon walking in. This is one heckuva bookstore. The books here are not second-hand. I repeat, they are not second-hand, but rather they are books that are privately published and not as 'mass-produced' as some others. This is an excellent place to pick up an alternative read.
Easily accessible via the #3 transit bus if you don't drive. -
Review from Reginald T.
Calgary, AB
11/2/2011 2 Check-ins Here
You would think that with the advent of mega-bookstores with their large selections and deep discounts, that small independent bookstores would lose their place in today's world.
If you love to read though, one visit to Shelf Life Books will change your mind, if you ever thought that way to begin with.
I don't know what it is, but every time I walk in here, I either walk out with something or have to work hard to hold myself back from purchasing something.
It could be the way the store is laid out. It doesn't boast the selection of a Chapters or an Indigo, although you can special order anything from the front desk. But perhaps the reduced clutter makes it easier to filter through stuff and find things.
Or it could be a conscious choice with respect to which books get displayed. I was speaking to the owner after a visit where I walked away with three books I had never intended to buy, nor was even looking for, and she said that they try their best to display "smart" books, and actively try not to display anything with vampires with them. A smarter person would have taken down a list and tried to bargain hunt online later, but I ended up paying full price for my wares for the simple fact that I a) wanted them right away and b) wasn't confident that I'd find them in stock elsewhere.
Or maybe the person responsible for the displays has similar tastes as mine. For example, now on my bucket list is a Star Wars lenticular book that has moving pictures on each page depending on how you tilt it, How to Eat Organic for $5 a Day, and the entire "Ninja Cowboy Bear Presents..." children's book series. I would never have found these sorts of books at the competition even if they carried them to begin with, and it was thanks to Shelf Life Books that I was made aware that these kinds of books even existed in the first place.
I can honestly say that Shelf Life Books is a place I'll visit more often, especially when I have some spare time to kill in between meetings or other appointments. However, I know I'll need to do a better job at guarding my wallet when I do.
2/30 -
Review from Colin S.
Calgary, AB
10/31/2010 ROTD 11/6/2010
We stopped into Shelf Life Books today and were absolutely delighted by the clean, quite, distraction free independent bookstore.
The selection is limited but this should not be seen as a disadvantage. The crap that bloats most stores is no where to be seen. A lot of thought is being put into what goes on the shelves and I appreciate this. Each section was chockfull of interesting books.
Highlights include a wall dedicated to local authors, a thoughtful selection of alt/independent graphic novels, comfortable chairs scattered around for browsing and very friendly staff. -
Review from Peter A.
Ottawa, ON
12/24/2010 1 Check-in Here
Heck, the selection might not be enormous, but this indepedent bookstore has a very fine fiction and poetry section. Plus, I talked about Flannery O'Connor's short stories with two of the staff members for about 20 minutes. You can't find that kind of enthusiams at Chapters.
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Review from Eric S.
Calgary, AB
12/19/2010
Nice discovery. Awesome selection of books that simply aren't available in any of the big box bookstores.
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Review from C I.
Calgary, AB
11/22/2010
Shelf Life is wonderful. The book selection is curated well, all of the covers are gorgeous. It's quiet and neat and very easy to lose track of time while inside.
