TYPE Books

I was so happy to find this little shop up the street from me. Their selection isnt as extensive as the big book shops but their customer service is great amd the location cannot be beat.

This little gem is everything a small bookstore should be. The selection is carefully curated, the staff is knowledgable and welcoming.
Bear in mind, you will not find an exhaustive catalogue or infinite selection (go online for that). Instead you will find a collection of reads that appear to have been carefully chosen as the best or most relevant for children, design, cooking, and contemporary topics. In most cases, the staff could speak to a certain extent about any title they sold.
Definitely worth a try if you favor a genuinely pleasant book buying experience over the more impersonal Indigo offering.

I was thrilled to move to this city and find a small book store right in the ‘hood. After a year of living here, I have taken out membership at Indigo Books, and almost never go into Type, even though I am on their street almost every day. I am really sad about that.
What is it? Here we are in a gorgeously curated space filled with any number of books you’d be happy to read. Sorry to say, it is the staff that have driven me away. While I am really disappointed by the indifference/​lethargy/​coolness of almost everyone I have come across at Type except the vibrant owners, I have seen that this behaviour disappears quickly when the ‘right demographic’ walk in. By that I mean the cute young mamas that park their Range Rovers out the front and come in after a spin class round the corner. Or a well dressed white male.
I am an avid reader and writer, and have always sought out independent bookstores anywhere I am in the world. i always find people running them engaged and pleasant. i have not had that experience at Type, and I did keep trying for a year.
When i bought the huge coffee table book on the architect Fumihiko Maki which i delightedly found there, i said at the counter as I was paying: isn’t it exciting he is building a museum near the Science museum right here in Toronto? i swear the gentleman serving me stifled a yawn. Ugh. You can have your stuffy version of a neighbourhood bookshop. It is not what I’m used to. Perhaps one could remind the people working there that even a smile goes a long way.