Balfour Books

In a world of downloads and e-readers, Balfour Books has successfully bucked the modernity trend for almost 20 years. Originally located at College and Clinton, the store moved down the street to College just west of Bathurst and customers have been flipping through pages there ever since. “We’re not going anywhere,” says owner Joyce Blair. “We are staying here as long as we live.”

Joyce has every right to be defiant; it hasn’t been easy being in the secondhand book business with many of Toronto’s used books stores closing over the last few years. But that doesn’t mean Balfour is celebrating the demise of their competition. “It was better when there were lots of used books stores in the same block,” says Joyce. “If you didn’t find what you were looking, for you went next door. Once there was more of a book culture.”

In response to all the closings, Joyce has increased and widened the scope of Balfour’s stock. “You want cookbooks, they are here. Stage plays, same thing,” says Joyce, adding that the store has tons of general fiction, mysteries and historical works, as well as books on design, art, photography and architecture.

Almost everything on the packed shelves is in English, “though we do get the occasional children’s book in French and sometimes philosophy in the original German.”