Chapters

Ever since it’s become cheaper and more convenient, I pretty much only buy books online from Indigo and Chapters rather than locating them in-​store – everything you order online at their site gets shipped for free to any branch and I pick it up here. Now despite the fact that I do this constantly, that isn’t to say this location isn’t a nice branch to peruse – I like to pick up my online order, wander around their journal/​writing area for any nice leather notebooks, write down the names of interesting books on the Fiction shelves to consider later, and then I finally end my journey with a little treat at the adjoining Starbucks.
I do love how this place closes at 10pm every day – it always made a nice drop-​by visit after a long shift at work, and the Starbucks actually closes a half hour after Chapters itself, at 10:30pm! That last half hour is pretty great if you’re just kicking it back before heading home – sit with your brew, get started on the new book you’ve just bought, and close the night on a quiet note.

Whats not to love… books and coffee? My two favorite things. I can spend hours in here and usually do :)
Excellent service, excellent selection and excellent NW location. Will be back again and again!

Recently I was in Toronto at the Biggest Bookstore in the World (self-​described I think), which is also a Chapters chain store now. Of the three books I planned to buy that day they only had one, and that’s generally my experience at Chapters.
They have a great business section, tons of young adult fiction, lots of bargain books in various genres, some games, a kids corral, a wide selection of magazines, etc. The computer book section was really thin on my most recent visit. (I miss the Computer Book Source in Edmonton.) I did end up buying something close enough to what I wanted though.
What I like about going into the bookstore is flipping through the pages looking for chapters that suit my specific need, which is hard to do with ebooks. Plus, I like physical books. Their online search engine will direct you to the right store if you know what you’re looking for, but if your target is kind of vague I find it’s more pleasurable and rewarding to get into the store and search the aisles.

Good chain bookstore, with just ok staff. Not much else to pick from in Canada, unless you go online and order or download an ebook.

With ebooks and online ordering the norm it is hard to get excited by a mainstream book store that will rarely have anything you want in stock.
This particular Chapter’s most interesting feature is the Starbucks.

I love this Chapters! There are always lots of friendly staff circulating around the floor, checking to see if you need a hand with anything. At the same time, they back off right away if you say you don’t need help. There’s never any pressure. There is also a good, frequently-​changing selection of sale items– look for the cheap reference books over by the in-​store Starbucks, or the cheap cookbooks midway down the centre aisle.
I’ve bought a few things here lately, including gift cards, magazines and books from the shelves. In addition, I recently used the self-​serve kiosk to pre-​order and pre-​pay for a book I wanted that was about to be released. When Chapters actually got copies on the shelf before my special order of the same book arrived, they quickly refunded my pre-​payment and sold me one off the shelf. I would have given them five stars if they’d had a system to intercept a book before it hit the shelf and use it to fill a pre-​order. THAT would be above-​and-​beyond customer service!
This location also has a fun selection of gift items and other random goods, from food to stationary to travel accessories. Electrical adapters for appliances abroad are actually cheaper here than at the nearby travel store! I actually kind of love that a bookstore is becoming a one-​stop shopping destination, as the atmosphere at a Chapters is much nicer than at, say, Walmart.
If you’re looking to browse for books and gifts, Chapters is a great choice. If you’re looking for a specific book, check
to see if it’s in-​stock, then pop into the store for a smooth shopping experience!

A girlfriend and I had some time to kill before our movie, so we decided to head over to Chapters.
This one is HUGE, but what I especially love about it is its location. Located right in Crowfoot, it’s accessible via city transit (Crowfoot stop) and there are a SLEW of things to do in the area once you’ve had your fun here.
Whether you want to go for dinner, for movies, for drinks, for dessert, or whether you want to hang out at a pub or a sports bar, this Chapter is conveniently located next to ALL these places, and then some!
The location rocks my socks, and you don’t have to ask me twice: Five stars hands down!

A — List. It’s mostly about books. They have it or they can get it. How long they will be around is up for debate. With online stores, e-​book purchases increasing and with the introduction fo the iPad, Chapters and other ‘book stores’ may be a thing of the past. Do people still want to hold paper? The new generation is saying ‘no.’ What will the book store of the future look like. Chapters, bring back the comfortable seating within the store so people can rest and read. The floor and those wooden chairs aren’t that comfortable. Do I see a sinister plan unfolding?