The Last Word Bookstore

look, I love this bookstore, I really do.
But something disturbing happened last I was there. I was digging through a pile of books, on the floor in one of the far corners of the shop. I hefted a huge hardbound book out of my way… and a nest of cockroaches fairly jumped out at me. there were something like 30 of them crawling amongst the books… i may never go back there, unless the cockroaches get out of there. It was unnerving.

As a bookworm, I can’t believe there is a second-​hand bookstore in Halifax that I haven’t visited ever. Welp, that little problem has been solved.
While it’s not exactly floor-​to-​ceiling books like Doull, it is … floor to top of bookshelf. :-D They do have good variety of a wide range of topics, including lots of Canadian novels and history books. I didn’t have a lot of time to browse that day, but it’s not a large store so I don’t feel I missed much. A bit musty and not much order to the books (other than by topic), but that’s fine by me.
The owner didn’t acknowledge us when we walked in, but became chatty when I brought a cookbook to the counter. He seemed very nice and knowledgeable.
Books don’t seem to be overpriced and I did see some titles I may have to return for.

This is a great little run-​down used book store. The gentleman who owns it is very helpful and knowledgeable, and seems to have read every published work under the sun. There are heaps of books, from Canadian fiction to cook books, war memories to general history, as well as classics and science fiction. When I was a student, this was the first store I went to when I was looking for novels for my literature classes. During the holidays, I bought a number of books to give as gifts, as many of the items look hardly used. The Last Word has great prices and the owner usually rounds down in your favor! If it’s cold out, I recommend sporting a jacket, as this little shop lacks the luxury of quality heating. Also, bring cash, this store only accepts the real deal.

Based on the good reviews i’d seen, I recently headed into ‘The Last Word Bookstore’ in hopes of sussing out a couple gems for the next couple of months (when it will invariably, at points, be too cold to leave your house!)
I must have been in on an off day since the proprietor was certainly not friendly and actually avoided eye contact with me when I first walked in.
Lots of good finds in this shop, including a reasonably priced copy of one of my favs: ‘A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.‘
I would probably head back to this store again (assuming I did catch the owner on a bad day) in search of a few classics, of which there seem to be many. You know those books that you always hear about but that you can’t actually fathom spending $$$ on eg: All Quiet on the Western Front, Northanger Abbey, A Farewell To Arms, etc etc. This is definitely a good place to check for these and other classics!
Sections are a tad scattered (spilling onto the floor even) so check with the proprietor if you’re looking for something specific.

I’m not sure if there’s some kind of rule that says used bookstore owners are required to be gruff and cranky, but the owner of this shop clearly did not get that memo.
Last Word is run by a very nice guy who knows his books and knows his customers’ tastes. He will buy books from you from time to time but is pretty specific about what he thinks will sell in his shop, and that’s totally fair.
The shop is small, but that means it’s also relatively uncluttered unlike a lot of used book stores. Nice place to browse and chat.

Very friendly! Not a bad selection.
The Last Word Bookstore gets three stars for their good selection and one more for the very nice owner of the store who is there most of the time. This is a smaller but mighty bookstore. First off, they display some really great books on their window. The variety of topical books he shows always changes and always makes me want to walk in and take a look around. The prices are fair for a used bookstore. But I might go so far as to say they are possibly even cheaper than other used bookstores. Its hard to price check used bookstores but I always seem to walk out with a book and more money in my wallet. I don’t know how its done, but it is.
But the store owner and anyone who works there have always helped make this place shine! They are very friendly, talkative if you want to chat it up and helpful! What more can you ask for?
If you want a larger selection, The Last Word Bookstore might not be for you. But I promise that if you go there, you will find books that you might not find anywhere else and that make you at least want to pick them up and consider buying. I am always around that area and I can’t help but stop on by every time. So you should to :)