As students get back into their busy school routines and the chilly fall weather returns, reading is a great way to temporarily escape the outside world and de-stress.
Luckily, St. Catharines is home to a variety of locally operated, independent bookstores stacked with stories from all different genres, periods and locations of origin.
Regardless of the type of books you’re looking to find, here is an overview of some bookstores in St. Catharines to consider visiting this fall or the next time you are in the market for a new story to take you away.
The Write Bookshop
On 285 St. Paul Street, The Write Bookshop is a used bookstore that is home to a plethora of books.
In this two-storey bookshop, the copies are stacked from floor-to-ceiling in every section, guaranteeing that there will be at least one book of interest for everyone.
The store carries books in almost every genre you could imagine, ranging from classical literature, science fiction and mystery to other genres of writing like poetry, philosophy, non-fiction science texts, film and literature analyses, biographies and countless more.
The Write Bookshop exclusively buys and sells used books at a fair price. Many of the copies at the store are in good condition; some even have insightful notes in the margins from their past owners.
The shop is open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.
More information about The Write Bookshop can be found on their Facebook page.
Thistle Bookshop and Café
Located at 50 Lakeport Road in Port Dalhousie, Thistle Bookshop and Café houses a variety of new, never used books.
Having opened recently in 2020, the bookstore has already established itself as a must-visit local destination for book lovers.
Thistle Bookshop also sells books from several genres, ranging from their large fiction section that includes recently released novels and classical literature to their non-fiction sections carrying books from specific genres like music biographies and art history texts, for example.
Since the store has a café inside of it, Thistle Bookshop is a great place to grab a beverage and read a new book in a quiet and calming atmosphere.
The shop is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. They also have an online store at www.thistlebookshop.ca.
Someday Books
On 21 King Street in downtown St. Catharines, Someday Books is another independent local bookstore committed to bringing a wide selection to their customers.
The store has a clean, aesthetically pleasing design that is complimented by their stretching wall of books, creating the perfect atmosphere for quietly searching through various titles.
Someday Books sells many popular books and is always up to date with housing new releases as soon as they can.
Notably, the store also has a significant number of texts written by Canadian authors.
Someday Books is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. They too have an online store which can be accessed at www.somedaybooks.ca.
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Book shopping is a fun fall activity, and reading a new book can be a relaxing way to de-stress any time of year. If you need some leisure time between classes, reading is always a great way to pass the time and take a step away from the stressors of university life.