BMV books at 471 Bloor Street West between Bathurst and Bloor has a great selection of used books and some shrink-wrapped PBOs. In the past, I have purchased Richard (Ed McBain) Masten's Runaway Black and some Wade Millers at their store off of Yonge street. I was at the Bloor store last week and somehow they have acquired a whack of remaindered Creative Arts/Black Lizards including Thompson's Getaway and Whittington's Forgive Me, Killer. I haven't seen so many in one place since I was at NYC's Partners & Crime a few years ago. And they're cheap. $4.99 CAD. They also have a large bunch of Hardcase Crime for only $3.99 CAD. I finally got copies of Slide and Money Shot.
Jamie Fraser's was the best for vintage stuff but he is now appointment only and outside the city in Burlington or Oakville. How I miss that store.
Other worthwhile Tdot used bookstores are Balfour Books on College Street, which has a good selection of PBOs, and Elliot's on Yonge Street, which also has some PBOs. Sleuths of Baker Street is great but a bit off the beaten path. They have a great out-of-print area and tons of first edition HCs including some Fredric Browns that I drool over every time I'm there.
In regards to Toronto writing, I highly recommend John Swan's Sap. I just started working near the area in the east end where the book is set and the mood and flavour are really captured. I have flipped through the Toronto Noir collection from Akashic a few times in bookstores, but it's never grabbed me because of the writing and me not knowing any of the writers.
Michael
--- On Thu, 4/23/09, Mark D. Nevins <nevins_mark@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Mark D. Nevins <nevins_mark@yahoo.com>
Subject: RARA-AVIS: Toronto Crime?
To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 3:25 PM
(Did I already post this question? Did I miss a Digest in which it was responded to? Apologies, I'm just getting over a bad flu.)
A few weeks from now I will find myself in Toronto for business. Questions:
1. Any recommendations on good used bookshops, especially for older/vintage crime and hard-boiled?
2. Any recommendations on good reads set in Toronto and/or by Toronto writers? (I am coming up with one book, Michael Ondaatje's IN THE SKIN OF A LION, which wonderful as it is doesn't really fit R-A parameters even with a stretch.)
I hope this post is not a redundant time-waster; I'm now going to go check the Archives.
Best,
Mark Nevins
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