Russell Books

Despite my conviction that the golden age of books is past I am happy that Victoria has some good book stores. The three biggest and most impressive are Munro's, Chapters, and Russell Books, pictured above. All three are located downtown. Munro's sells only new books but has an immense selection and is probably the most beautiful book store in Canada. Chapters, one of a Canada-wide franchise, is also huge and sells gifts and toys as well as books. Russell Books is featured here today because it is only a few steps from the intersection of Douglas and Fort Streets, the subject of posts a few days ago and bills itself as Canada's largest used book store. If you're the sort of person that likes to get lost browsing in the back aisles where the books start at the floor and go up to the ceiling you will love Russell Books. As well as a vast collection of used books they have a helpful and knowledgeable staff. Victoria also has a wealth of smaller bookstores and some day here I hope to do a series on Victoria's book stores.