The Biblio-Mat vending machine.
The Monkey's Paw Biblio-Mat

The Monkey's Paw is an independent used bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, Canada known for its eclectic, arcane, and absurd books, and for the Biblio-Mat, a random book vending machine.[1]

Owner Stephen Fowler founded The Monkey's Paw in 2006, four years after he moved to Toronto from San Francisco, where he worked in numerous bookstores.[2][3] Fowler opened The Monkey's Paw in order to support his family with another income source.[2] 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".[2] Many, including the owner, consider the store itself a showcase and homage to the printed book, which they believe to be dying medium.[4][3] Due to the notoriety and uniqueness of the bookstore, Fowler was invited to join the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.[4]

The New York Times Style Magazine quoted the owner, "It's the store where you'll find the book you didn't know you were looking for."[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Bloor West's Monkey's Paw bookshop specializes in bizarre subjects". The Toronto Star. 2022-03-06. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  2. 1 2 3 Marlow, Iain (February 24, 2009), "A treasure trove of weirdness", Toronto Star
  3. 1 2 Randle, Chris (June 8, 2012), "Text/Book: Obscure Obsessions", Toronto Standard
  4. 1 2 Maclear, Kyo (March 12, 2012), "The Future of the Book:The Beautiful Afterlife of Dead Books", The Millions
  5. ↑ Rosen, Jody (2013-03-07). "An Oddly Modern Antiquarian Bookshop". T Magazine. Retrieved 2022-04-05.

43°39′37″N 79°25′58″W / 43.66034217948838°N 79.43271951790952°W / 43.66034217948838; -79.43271951790952

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