Wednesday, 8 December 2010

Bookstores, Pt III

In previous Blogs I talked about my favourite bookstores in the Comox Valley and also in Victoria. Last night I was searching around the web and I found he website of a used bookstore that I used to frequent when I lived in North Bay, Ontario.

Allison The Bookman, North Bay, Ontario. (Established in 1973)


Fond memories
 Forty years ago, while I was finishing High School at Widdifield Secondary School in North Bay, one of my favourite stores was Allison the Bookman. It was at the far end of town from where we lived, but I used to hop on my bike and pedal my arse down there regularly. I'm sure there were other bookstores in North Bay, but I can't remember any. This was an unassuming little store, but it was a great place to look around. And from the looks of things, it still is.


Front of store



I don't recall exactly what the inside was like, but he picture below sure seems familiar. At the very least, it might be a bit neater now.. ;0)


But there were always good finds and I enjoyed spending an hour or so wandering around and looking through the shelves.







Middle of the room


It's your typical small town bookstore and I'm so glad to find that it has lasted all these years.

Treasure them because they still have the old classics, great paperbacks, anything you might want.

I remember seeing the store last time I went home to visit my parents but I neglected to stop in. Next time, I'll make sure to do so.





Hang in there, Allison.... you, bookman you.. ! :0)

5 comments:

  1. http://www.highwaybooks.ca/
    check out this website...I am sure you remember it

    ReplyDelete
  2. I couldn't remember the name of the place. I knew we'd stopped there a couple of times on the way up to or back from Kirkland Lake. Thanks for the link. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ohhh Bill, I would love to show you some of the ollllld hole in the wall book stores out in Nova Scotia, esp. Cape Breton. If someone could turn the smell of old book stores into a car air freshener, they'd have me as a consumer! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Vikki - There is nothing quite as fun as wandering around an old bookstore. And you are quite right, they do have their own unique smell.. Think of the money you could make if you came up with your own car air freshener.. ;0)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Bill for this, I came across this by accident but what a wonderful find. My name is Annette and I am the 3rd generation to take over our store Allison the Bookman, after 38 years. I came across this article shortly after losing my Dad, Derrick Allison in the end of June so it helped lift my spirits to know someone appreciates the old bookstore. Thank you so much for this blog...

    Sincerely, Annette Allison-Vander Waal

    ReplyDelete

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