Ben McNally Books

Ben McNally is still at 108 Queen Street East, on the Jarvis corner in St. Lawrence — the shop did move here from earlier downtown rooms, and the official site is blunt about this being the current home, not a rumour of closure. The room is the point: mahogany-hued shelves, end-paper wallpaper, first-run hardcovers, history, biography, imports, and a table of art and photography books that feels closer to a private library than a merch wall. Official shop.benmcnallybooks.com lists Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m., with Sunday sometimes 12–4 p.m. and sometimes closed (they post specific Sunday closures on the homepage), phone (416) 361-0032, info@benmcnallybooks.com. This is a bookseller's bookstore: special orders, staff who have actually read the pile, and author events that still draw the city's literary crowd. First-timers: do not rush it, and do not assume Sunday. If you want a hardcover you will not find in a mall, this is the downtown room. Prices are new-book prices; you are paying for curation and the chance they already have the obscure title.