A guide to Halifax’s second-hand bookstores

Back Pages

1526 Queen Street, 423-4750

A wee bookstore on busy Queen Street, its little storefront hides a
large selection of non-fiction and fiction titles. The owner was away
on vacation for a good chunk of August, but the nice lady at the
counter said the shop carries, in addition to its history and
literature, textbooks for some math, astrology and chemistry courses.
You can call to find out if your textbook’s in, or walk to the central
downtown location and see for yourself—you’ll likely find more than
what you were looking for.

Buy the Book and More Ltd.

1 Flamingo Drive, 445-5003

This gem of a second-hand bookstore is minutes away from Mount Saint
Vincent University (on the 80 bus route for those coming from
downtown). If you’re searching for used textbooks, it’s one of the few
second-hand stores that sells them. Mike Lewis, who shares ownership of
the store with his daughter, says he sees students saving up to 75
percent when buying used textbooks. “Just last week, a girl saved
$300,” he says. Lewis explains that each year universities pick new
editions of books for courses, when often the only difference between
editions is a revamped index. “Go to a place like mine, buy that
book”—the older one—“find another one”—the newer one—“and
re-index the one you bought,” he suggests as an alternative. If it
means buying that $130 Introductory Biology II text for $30,
spending time bussing to Birdland—the neighbourhood near the
school—and re-indexing a book sounds like time well spent, and money
well saved.

The Last Word Bookstore

2160 Windsor Street, 423-2932

In a recent National Post article, Joel Plaskett named The
Last Word his favourite bookstore for hardboiled crime fiction. The
small but well-established store on Windsor has been selling books for
14 years. Owner Wayne Greene says he mostly sees Foundation Year
Programme students from the University of King’s College at this time
of year, since he carries literature and philosophy—the major genres
that span FYP’s 50ish-book-long reading list. He adds that his everyday
top-sellers are usually Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Robbins, while his
student bestsellers tend toward German philosophers such as Hegel, Kant
and Nietzsche. Greene’s student rush comes first in May, and then in
late August and early September, so if you’re planning on raiding his
store, you’d better get there quickly.

John W. Doull Bookseller

1684 Barrington Street, 429-1652

When asked what books he specializes in, John Doull questions back:
“Have you been to our store?” It’s a fair enough response, as Doull’s
22-year-old, second-hand bookstore houses thousands of books, stacked
on floor-to-ceiling bookshelves (or simply stacked floor to ceiling).
With two floors and a labelled map of each book’s hiding place, it’s
nearly impossible to sum up this book lover’s dream in a few words. You
won’t find textbooks here, but there’s a good bet you’ll find every
other author on your list. Doull explains he normally gets two types of
customers: those who come in the summer and September to fulfill their
course list, and the bibliophiles who return during the year to expand
their personal reading. While he caters more to the latter, you should
give this shop more than a quick once-over while fulfilling school—or
personal—reading lists.

Schooner Books Ltd.

5378 Inglis Street, 423-4750

Neatly laid out on the first floor of a house on Inglis in the south
end, this second-hand bookshop is just a few blocks down the hill from
Saint Mary’s University. That being said, owner John Townsend says he’s
been seeing fewer students lately, despite carrying the same type of
content each year. Schooner Books specializes in literature (Canadian
and otherwise) and history, meaning FYP and history students add up to
Townsend’s most frequent customers. His most popular items? “American
classics, and some Canadiana, though Canadiana’s never been as strong,”
says Townsend.

The Jade W

5233 Prince Street, 423-5233

John Doull describes this two-year-old new- and-used bookshop as a
spin-off from John W. Doull Bookseller. Owned by Sydney Hansen, the
“brick and mortar” shop opened in June of 2007, and Hansen says she
normally sees students popping by in May or June when they’re looking
for a break from course reading. When students are filling their
reading lists, though, The Jade W serves specific areas. “Probably the
strongest are the literature sections, women’s studies and probably
some of the environmental texts as well,” says Hansen. She does carry
textbooks, but they’re new and not used—they can be ordered within a
week of visiting if they’re not on the shelves already. The Jade W also
carries a special FYP section amongst the new books, though used FYP
course books can be found in the second-hand nook as well.

Trident Booksellers and Cafe

1256 Hollis Street, 423-7100

Step off the beaten path of Barrington Street in the south end for
about a block, and you’ll find this cozy second-hand bookstore and
cafe. Trident owner Janet Shotwell says she mostly sees students who
need to take a break from their mandatory reading lists, as she doesn’t
carry many course list books (although she does carry some
environmental books, and a few used for FYP). “The reason we don’t buy
books for courses is because professors state specific editions, and
there’s no way to do that business,” explains Shotwell. With
home-roasted and certified fair trade coffee, 56 different types of tea
and free wifi for laptop users, it isn’t hard to believe this is where
students go to get away. Note that if you’re looking for romance, true
crime, hardcover mystery or fiction novels, you’ll have to look
elsewhere: none are carried at Trident.

Dartmouth Book Exchange

1187 Cole Harbour Road, 435-1207

This 10-year-old shop in Dartmouth doesn’t carry textbooks, but it
does help first-year law students with their Canadian true crime story
requirement. Co-owner Amy McIsaac says she normally sees law students
come October, and the literature and history students in late August.
The Exchange specializes in fiction, and McIsaac finds herself helping
students sourcing Canadian authors frequently. While she can’t
guarantee that students’ reading list requirements will exist on her
shelves, she certainly tries to help as much as she can.

Dust Jacket Books and Treasures

1505 Barrington Street, 492-0666

This not-too-dusty bookstore is where you go for local history,
military and bestselling novels. Almost hidden in the basement of the
Maritime Centre, it takes a few twists and turns to find, but it’s
worth a browse once you get there. Owner Chris Cooper says he normally
has a hectic August filled with students looking to check off their
reading lists, with Kurt Vonnegut, JD Salinger, George Orwell, Jack
Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson being the most popular men on the
shelves.

The Book Rack

644 Portland Street, Dartmouth, 434-7333

The Book Rack’s owner David Roberts says his store is where students
go when they’re looking for a book to complete a specific project. In
terms of popularity, it’s everything that’s been made a movie, and any
books that that person wrote,” says Roberts. My Sister’s Keeper author Jodi Picoult is the hot topic these days, as is Lawrence Hill’s
The Book of Negroes. “All the paranormal stuff is difficult to
keep in,” he adds. If you’re looking for popular fiction or vampire
lore, The Book Rack has you stocked.

The handy (but more expensive) university stores

After listing all these second-hand bookstores, it’s important to
note that some university bookstores do carry used texts—it’s just
normally cheaper if you can find them in a second-hand shop
instead.

The Dalhousie University Bookstore (Student Union Building,
6136 University Avenue, 494-2460), the Mount Saint Vincent
Bookstore (Rosaria Centre, Room 304, 457-6157) and the Saint
Mary’s University Bookstore (O’Donnell Hennessy Student Centre,
5916 Inglis Street, 420-5562) all sell used books, marked with a yellow
“used” sticker and placed within the assortment of new books on the
shelves.

The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design Art Supply Store (1874 Hollis Street, 494-8176) does not sell used books, and neither
does the King’s Co-op Bookstore (6350 Coburg, 422-1271
x261).

If you’re looking to get rid of some textbooks, Dal normally has a
buyback program set up every Friday at the bookstore (call ahead to
make sure it’s on for the week), and the SMU bookstore is holding its
buyback program from August 31 to September 4. The Mount’s buyback
program normally only occurs during exam period. Just remember that
you’ll probably only get 10 percent of what you originally paid for the
text—Kijiji or your university’s online classifieds section is
usually a better option.

This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2009.