Dusty Tomes

MacLeod’s Books in downtown Vancouver has floor to cathedral-ceiling shelves teetering with books, books stacked on the floor, on chairs, on the steps. There is a nary a computer in sight, yet with the help of an exceedingly knowledgable staff, the dreamy bookstore operates under a failsafe system of ordered chaos. Somehow, the salespeople know everything they have in stock and where to find it. Canada’s finest antiquarian bookstore has wafting, musty attic aromas and woody book smells, soft yellow light, faded Oriental carpets and wooden chairs with jewel toned cushions. It has that “mysterious bookshop” feel, good for old-fashioned negotiating of narrow passageways and dark corners heaped with books, searching nooks and crannies for a rare treasure.