Best Independent Bookstore

GOLD WINNER

Woozles
6013 Shirley Street
website

SILVER WINNER

Venus Envy
1727 Barrington Street
website

BRONZE WINNER

Bookmark
5686 Spring Garden Road
website

Spend any length of time with Suzy MacLean and one thing becomes obvious: She adores books. The manager of Woozles, a family-run children’s bookstore tucked two blocks in from Quinpool and the gateway to the Common, has spent most of her life around them—her parents, Liz and Brian Crocker, co-founded the book business in 1978. “Even though it may not have been completely recommended, they did put me to work from time to time when I was kid counting marbles and stickers,” MacLean jokes. Her role has changed over the years—from teenaged part-timer to eventual manager—but the focus remains the same: Sharing a love of reading with all who walk in the door. “Halifax is this really unique spot that does go out of its way to support independents like us,” she tells The Coast. “We now have like multiple generations of people that have been coming back [to buy books], which is really incredible.”