Bolen Books

This is a wonderful store with great selection, friendly staff, and a great layout in a historic…read moreformer bank building.

Big fan of bookstores and architecture so this was such a treat! Didn't spend a lot of time in it…read morebut from what I can tell, it's a huge bookstore with a huge selection of books. At the least, it has all of the most popular books right now. It has quite a bit of bookish items like stickers, postcards, and bags, and I always find those items to be fun to browse. I love the history behind the place that it was designed for the Royal Bank of Canada. The stained glass and brightness of the place made it look so beautiful. I didn't end up getting anything so I can't comment on the service but the books were averagely priced. Really cool for a pop in and out!

Stained glass windows above the sales floor

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Russell Books

4.5(60 reviews)

3.2 km

Best for: discounts on new cookbooks…read more Huge space, lots of books and yet... their selection seems small. I can't usually find what I'm looking for, new or used. Shelves are a bit too close together for browsing. More signs indicating genre and letter of alphabet would be nice. As for browsing.. I wish they had displays and handwritten reviews, tables highlighting new releases by genres, etc. Their new releases shelves are shockingly small and oddly placed upstairs. What a great space! It just needs help with the browsing experience.

Forget Munro's Book on Government St., this is where it's at. Honestly the outside is not…read moreremarkable at all, as the mini strip mall and immediate surroundings are deceiving. The inside is way different being bright, spacious and airy...and best of all 2 floors with an elevator and escalator. While there is a lot to look at as a casual browser, the kids/toddler book section was pretty impressive. There was a large variety and some quality items were even on clearance markdowns which I could never recall seeing at any bookstore in my lifetime. The currency conversion works out in with U.S. dollars too. Overall I think it's worth a tourist stop if visiting in town.

View of our upstairs fiction room

This was a relatively "clean" section... The fiction section was a glorious mess with stacks and stacks of books in front of the shelves!

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Ron, store owner, in the upstairs fiction room

Serendipity the Used Book Place

4.7(35 reviews)

25.6 km

This bookstore is what dreams are made of…read more Serendipity books on San Juan Island is hands down my favorite bookstore. Not only does it have small town flare, but it also has the largest assortment of used books that I've personally seen. The store sits inside a small house on the main strip of San Juan Island. It looks tiny from the outside, but, oh wow, does it hold entire worlds inside. There's a multitude of rooms all themed after each genre. You'll find everything from cookbooks, history, fantasy, young adult, sci-fi, history, fiction, self help, and autobiographies. Like other reviewers have mentioned you might have to do a bit of digging, as most of the books are stacked since they do not have the space on the shelves. Something else to note is that they do not allow food and drink inside, but they do have the cutest fireplace for you to place your hot coffee or tea on to keep it warm. Highly recommend checking out this spot when you're on San Juan Island, and be sure to stop by next-door to pick up a homie style lunch.

Wow! I'm glad I stumbled upon this cute book shop - serendipity, indeed! I did find a lot of…read moredifferent genres, so it's worth exploring. Personally, I was looking for the science fiction / fantasy section, and yep, I found one of interest! It was perfect. Others were stopping by and were couples. Unfortunately due to scheduled travel times, I could not spend unmarked amounts of time getting lost and wandering amongst the tomes. I will have to stumble my way back sometime in the future!

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Sorensen Books

5.0(1 review)

2.8 km

Great store! I was visiting Victoria and the sign attracted my attention! The cozy cat and…read moreChronicles of Crime! What can sound better for the crime lover who is traveling! Books are reasonably priced and huge selection sorted by by country, gender of detective and even includes section with cat/dogs assisting sleuth. I got few books. The sales person man is really helpful.

From the owner: New used and rare books, photos, postcards and booklets. Historical Letters and documents related…read moreto BC. Always looking to buy vintage photos from Vancouver Island relating to old homesteads and business history as well as railway and logging. Signed Emily Carr books or unique items. Nautical and Exploration. We also Appraise libraries and private collections. Buying and selling rare books since 1991.

Inside

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Port Book & News

4.6(42 reviews)

37.1 km

One of the prettiest book stores I've ever seen! Stocked with every book you can imagine and all…read morespacious and comfortable to walk in. The books are tied together well with the other memorabilia they sell and not too overbearing (Barnes & Nobles, Village Books, etc.) The service is extremely kind, and they gave us free tote bags that are extremely cute and reusable. Books were reasonably priced and everything there was a perfect town bookstore. Wish they had one as nice in my hometown!

Absolutely love this local bookstore! It's a perfect place to find local historical content and…read moremerchandise. The new owner has captured the excitement and feel of Port Angeles. You do not want to miss this engaging local bookstore for all your book and merchandise,needs. Highly recommended.

The store

1/2 the magazines rack

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Fiction Area

Odyssey Bookshop

4.1(34 reviews)

37.0 km

This is a well layed out book store. Biggest kid section i have ever seen. A whole room…read more Thru one wall is the used section , all divided by type. Another big room. i found two for me for 7.00. Can't go wrong in the used section. Two free book marks as a thank you. And they take books in trade for credit. That Could be useful.

Cute bookstore and gift shop. I always find a great selection of holiday cards here. New and used…read morebooks, cards, gifts, novelties, kids stuff. Tight aisles but means more to choose from.

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The Haunted Bookshop

4.8(10 reviews)

23.0 km

Love this place, I was visiting from out of town and felt very at home here. They have a great…read moreselection of books (I prefer fantasy and history) and the man at the desk and his daughter are very friendly and know where the book your looking for is. The place has that old musty book smell that I love and makes me want to go back again and again, I looked around there for an hour and it felt that no time had passed.

What a great book shop! The piles of books stacked…read moreeverywhere makes it even more magical. It is like you stepped into an adventure! So many great old books and the proprietor and his lovely assistant knows where each and every book can be found. I was lucky enough to get three hardcover mystery books from the 1950's!

Browsing books on The Haunted Bookshop.

This bookstore is very well organised.

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Anime Kat

3.8(23 reviews)

37.0 km

Came for Warhammer / Citadel paints, found exactly what I was looking for…read more They have a good selection, and a lot of paints that were out of stock on warhammer's website. They've got a handful of box sets too. Great for a quick gift or if you just spilled your pot of Nuln oil!

Thanks to the guy behind the counter. I needed help with Pokemon packs. He was able to tell me what…read morethey had and what the differences where. The prices seemed good, though I don't usually buy Pokemon packs.

Anime air fresheners. The secret sauce to the whole store smelling good?

Paint supplies

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Board games.

Village Books

4.4(140 reviews)

68.5 km

We love to see a bookstore thriving!! This is so much more than just a bookstore (and adjoining…read morepaper/confectionery/novelty shop). Its a community hub! I recently moved to Bellingham and Village Books (and paper dreams) actually really swayed me to move here. Its a book palace, 3 stories of well organized selection. The front facing books are well chosen, and the used books are interspersed with the new books. There are quite a few staff picks sections, all of which are super interesting and worth looking over. Three days before Christmas 2025 I was there trying to pick out a horror book for a friend of mine. Horror is not my genre (more of a fantasy and literature gal myself), so I for sure needed guidance. The shop lady spent so much time reviewing the whole horror section with me . When we couldn't find the main book we decided on me buying, she spent the time looking everywhere for it. She enlisted the help of two additional staff members. When she was needed for another task, she made sure one of the other shop ladies had me covered. I ended up ordering the book, which came in a few days and they texted me when it arrived. Easy peasy! I will never forget that experince, especially as the store was jam packed with x-mas shoppers. Village books in fairhaven is the spot! My only note is that their bookclubs could be better. The bookclubs are during the day and don't have different genre selections (they are mostly nonfiction). There is a silent reading bookclub that I might try. They could be cultivating different types of communities (ie book clubs geared towards romantasy, sci-fi, literature, etc.), but maybe that will come with time.

I really wanted to love the store. I'm long time book lover and one who worked in the book…read moreindustry for over 20 years. This store seemingly has it all; great selection of books, both knew and used, lots of old wood, and a staff that seems knowledgeable if a little bit unhappy. The last part can explain why the vibe is just off. It just doesn't feel comfortable nor welcoming, and if I had to put my finger on the cause, I would say it is likely due to management. I witnessed firsthand how the store manager ignored customers in line waiting to pay because he was on the phone. You never ignore the customers who are right in front of you. I wish the store all the best, but I'm gonna take my book shopping business elsewhere.