Best Second-Hand Bookstore

If contest results were equivalent to novels, John W. Doull would be COA-B023-1103-B in hard cover; the competition, one of those skinny, orange-bound Penguin paperbacks. Repeating last year’s victory, John W. Doull outstrips his closest competitor by roughly three votes to one. Put it down to the store’s funkiness (“Not a word I use often,” says owner John W. Doull, “but still fitting, I think.”)—we’re talking hole-in-the-wall, cut-right-through-books funky—and its incredible variety of used books. And then there’s the fact that it’s a perfect place to while away one of Halifax’s many rainy weekend afternoons. 1684 Barrington, 429-1652

1st runner-up Back Pages, 1526 Queen, 423-4750

2nd runner-up Trident Booksellers and Cafe, 1256 Hollis, 423-7100