The Monkey's Paw is an independent used

bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

known for its eclectic, arcane, and absurd books, and for the Biblio-Mat, a random book vending machine. The Biblio-Mat (cropped)

Owner Stephen Fowler founded The Monkey's Paw in 2006, four years after he moved to Toronto from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, where he worked in numerous bookstores. Fowler opened The Monkey's Paw in order to support his family with another income source. The inspiration and book selection methods of the store is based on his work in a previous San Francisco bookstore that placed books that were too unique, specific, or unusual for a single-subject category under a miscellaneous section "Floop". Many, including the owner, consider the store itself a showcase and homage to the printed

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...

, which they believe to be dying

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

. Due to the notoriety and uniqueness of the bookstore, Fowler was invited to join the

International League of Antiquarian Booksellers The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is a non-profit umbrella organization of bookseller associations, with its legal location in Geneva, Switzerland. It federates 22 National Associations of Antiquarian Booksellers, representing ...

The New York Times Style Magazine ''T: The New York Times Style Magazine'' is a perfect-bound magazine publication of ''The New York Times'' newspaper dedicated to fashion, living, beauty, holiday, travel, and design coverage. It was launched in August 2004. It was published 1 ...

quoted the owner, "It's the store where you'll find the book you didn't know you were looking for."

References

External links

The Monkey's Paw websiteThe Monkey's Paw : Remote Window Display
Showing current items of interest at the store
CBC 1Day : The Monkey's Paw Bookstore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monkey's Paw Independent bookstores of Canada Shops in Toronto Antiquarian booksellers