“Toronto loves its bookstores,” said Flying Books founder Martha Sharpe. “We’re a city of booklovers, much more so than anybody thinks.”
Case in point: This year, Flying Books turns 10, a milestone worth celebrating for this indie book purveyor with two locations in the city (784 College St. and 371 Queen. St. W.) plus a publishing arm and a writing school. Sharpe credits its longevity to this city’s passionate readers.
Sharpe has been embedded in Toronto’s literary community for years, including as an editor at House of Anansi Press, which has been focusing on publishing Canadian writers since 1967.
That means all corners of the city are illuminated with book-related memories for her. “I was on the bus from York Mills subway station, and one day I was reading the manuscript for ‘This All Happened’ by Michael Winter. I’d never read anything by him before and I was immediately mood-transformed,” she said. “There was this alive, funny, but deep manuscript that I had the pleasure of reading on my bus ride. I remember being completely lost in it, and I ended up having the luck of being able to publish it.”
The titles that are currently selling well at Flying Books aren’t necessarily big blockbusters with massive marketing budgets behind them, Sharpe said. They’re books with a strong local interest, including “Encampment” by Maggie Helwig, “Denison Avenue” by Christina Wong and the anthology “Indigenous Toronto.”
“There’s a big interest in Toronto as a city,” said Sharpe of the readers who come into her stores. “We’re so hard on ourselves; there isn’t that unquestionable love for the city that you find in New York, but there’s a lot to love. It’s filled with talented, educated, smart, fun people.”
It’s also filled with excellent ways and places to indulge in the love of reading — here are Sharpe’s favourite bookish spots in the city.
The best place to get specialist titles
“Bakka-Phoenix Books [Canada’s oldest science fiction bookstore; 84 Harbord St.] is right around the corner from where I live. They came to my rescue during the pandemic when my son was into a certain sci-fi series. They’re fantastic, and I love finding out that all these amazing sci-fi and fantasy authors have worked there over the years, like Fonda Lee, who’s now a bestselling author.”
The best used bookstore
“The cool thing about Julie [Malian] who owns Bellwoods Books (784 College St.) is her collection is very niche. It’s mostly books by women, and mostly pre-1990. She has some rare and first editions, but you can tell she’s just really into, you know, some weird book about etiquette or sewing. You can get a gorgeous matching collection of Doris Lessing’s novels. I love the eclectic plus the serious literary.”
The best place to buy the latest titles
“Am I allowed to say Flying Books? [Laughs.] But also Type (883 Queen W. and two other locations) and Ben McNally (108 Queen St. E.). You can find the same titles across the stores, but you’ll find a different emphasis. Another Story (315 Roncesvalles Ave.) is amazing for kids’ books and also social justice books. I look to them to see what they’re doing in response to whatever socio-political atrocity is happening.”
The best café to read in or talk about books
“Flying Books at Neverland (Sharpe’s bookstore and café at 371 Queen St. W.)! I meet with authors there all the time. There’s a cocktail called The Granados and it is delicious! I also love getting a latte and a pain au chocolat.”
The best place to see author talks
“Whenever I’m in Bram and Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge St.), I feel great being in that place. The library is one of the few places in the city where you feel like a citizen instead of a consumer.”
The best place for a visiting book lover to go
“If it’s somebody from out of town, like an editor or publisher or writer, I urge them to find a way to have a tour of Coach House Books (80 bpNichol Ln.) because they have those printing presses. The smells and the sounds are just amazing. They’re making it from scratch there in the same building where they’ve been doing it for 60 years. That’s a unique gem in the world of literature.”
The best park to read alfresco
“For a nice shady spot, Fred Hamilton, between Shaw and Roxton, just south of College. For a nice sunny spot, I love the view from the hill at Christie Pits Park along the north side.”
The Toronto spot with literary associations
“When I first started in publishing, one of the earliest things I had to do was publish a new edition of Dennis Lee’s book of poems, ‘Civil Elegies.’ There was a line in it about living on Walmer Road and working at Anansi — and I was living on Walmer Road and I was working at Anansi.”
