Staff picks, no algorithm involved. These are the titles we've been pressing into customers' hands, and why.
There's a thing a good bookstore does that no website has ever replicated: someone who's read a hundred books hands you the exact right one and says “trust me.” That's hand-selling, and it's basically the whole job. Here are five we couldn't stop reaching for this month — no algorithm, no paid placement, just staff who wouldn't shut up about them.
1. Tom of Finland: Complete “Kake Comics” — Taschen · $51.99 CAD
Why: All 26 Kake episodes in one hefty Taschen volume — the drawings that all but invented the 1970s gay “clone” look. It pairs perfectly with our Tom of Finland shelf, and it's a showstopper of a coffee-table book.
2. Vancouver For Beginners — Alex Leslie · $18.00 CAD
Why: Award-winning poems that map a surreal, fast-disappearing Vancouver — part ghost story, part love song for the city. Our go-to for anyone who wants something local, literary and a little haunting.
3. Shibari You Can Use: Japanese Rope Bondage and Erotic Macramé — Lee Harrington · $33.99 CAD
Why: The rare kink book that's an actual how-to: clear, photographed, step-by-step, and warm about consent and first-timer nerves. People leave with real skills, not just ideas.
4. The “Gay Porn” (ADULT) Coloring Book — WoodRocket · $29.99 CAD
Why: Hardcore, unapologetic and genuinely funny, from the artist behind The Dirtiest Coloring Book Ever. A cheeky bachelor-party favourite — and a small piece of the “pleasure without shame” thing we've always stood for.
5. The “Golden Gilfs” Porn Parody Adult Coloring Book — WoodRocket · $29.99 CAD
Why: A filthy, affectionate send-up of The Golden Girls — 24 pages to colour in. It's the gift that gets the loudest laugh at the party, and it never sits on the shelf for long.
Come in and we'll find yours — tell us the last book you loved, or the last one you gave up on halfway, and we'll take it from there. That's a better starting point than any star rating, and it's the part of this job we like best.
