Balfour Books

I was here just about 12:30 today while shopping in the area to pick up a book and grab a nice quiet lunch somewhere (I dont like eating alone unless I have a book handy) And to my disappointment they were closed still ! I knocked on the window and no one was around. So the selection looked good from the window but unfortunately thats all I can offer for now !

Great book store. I love the racks with pocket sized paperbacks. You can always find something interesting in them.
The philosophy section seems to be dwindling though.
Sorry to hear about the dog. It was always nice seeing it in there.

update: dog is dead :(

How can you not love a book shop that marks its sections using scrabble tiles?
[A][W][E][S][O][M][E] = 12 points for Balfour! And the crowd goes wild!
Great books, attentive service, and a great smell: the store that symbolizes the cool grandpa.

Along with the back walls and racks of dusty Penguin classics and contemporary reads, Balfour books has a great selection of used art books with prices that are nice. I’ve found many artist books here that I’ve been searching high and low for, as well as discovering and unearthing other curious and intriguing names. The staff knows what they are getting.
I still regret not picking up a book of nude photographs of Madonna from the late 70s.

balfour seems to be a bit of an institution in toronto. it has been around for a long time and it carries with it a certain venerable elegance. in large, slightly bulbous gold letters atop a dark green backdrop sits its name. beneath it, behind the storefront windows, lolling about without ego are a brethren and sisterhood of books on art, novels, cooking, politics and so forth.
when i arrived one of the middle aged owners seemed to be pressuring his female counterpoint to get a coffee, or perhaps it was a bagel. i was looking generally and looking for classics. surprisingly, there was a no show on the great gatsby. but there were recent finds like margaret atwoods new book on debt for a good price.
i didnt find it hard to stroll through this place at all and like all other used book shops they are overflowing with books, but the owners are veritable encyclopedias of their stock. in fact i think it might have bothered her a little more than me that she couldnt find the fitzgerald, because she knew she had it… somewhere…around…it was just here…
i think this is a great bookstore that keeps intense collections of classics, new books and it takes much care in its display and knowledge of its stock.

I agree with those finding the place a little crowded, and sometimes tough to navigate. I’ll admit that my constantly working at «new» bookstores for the past 8 years leaves me with little reason to frequent used ones (since i usually get my books for the same price or cheaper). I already have more books than the time to read them, but browsing a store like this is always fun.
Anyway, Balfour is a great choice to feed this particular habit. It looks the way you (or I) want a used bookstore to look– yes, I too *love* the scrabble-​letter signs, and the inside is bright and cozy. It’s also in a smart location, being in a pretty bookstore-​less neighbourhood.
My last visit found me rushing in (in a snowstorm, no less) to find a copy of Brideshead Revisited for a secret Santa gift. As I said, rushing does not really work at a place like this, and I was taught my lesson by leaving empty-​handed. The lady who worked there (deeply engrossed in her own reading, which I happen to like in a bookseller) knew right away that they were (probably) lacking a copy, which they were, and which I gotta give her props for (knowing, and all).

A long time fixture of College St, Balfour Books is a used book shop that, in usual fashion, is bursting at the seams. Using Scrabble letters to identify the different shelves (brilliant,) there’s a good chance you’ll find what you’re looking for, assuming you can actually find it. The store itself feels a bit disorganized, but only in certain parts.
For example, the ‘literature’ section is properly set up with an alpha by author organization, but my beef with this is that I’m never quite sure what constitutes ‘literature.’ You’ll find certain classics on small shelves throughout, but you actually have to look through each individual shelf to find anything that’s not on the top, making it a difficult and often discouraging process.
One thing I’ve always liked about this store is its art and art history section. They’ve got a plethora of books on these subjects and you can easily get lost in the books (in a good way) by simply browsing.