Photo Credit: sashafatcat

I generally despise used bookstores. Don’t get me wrong, I love bookstores and idling away for hours in them, but used bookstores frustrate me when there doesn’t seem to be any particular angle, focus or direction. And as romantic as those dusty, over-crowded-piles-and-piles-of-books-in-a-dank-old-room places are, you can never find anything decent in them after lots of searching and often leave in frustration, having given up on digging and digging.

But pulpfiction on Main Street in Vancouver has been different since day one. It’s bright, very amply stocked, organised (!), and the selection is well chosen and curated. There’s also a great front area that sells new edtions of books in various categories that are offered at a discount off of the cover’s list price. That, and they pay more for your used books than most others.

Christopher Brayshaw, the owner, has made pulpfiction into a Mount Pleasant gem, and there’s a damn good second location over by the Hollywood Theatre on Broadway in Kitsilano as well.

When it comes to wine books, he constantly delivers. While many used bookstores might have a couple worn copies of James Halliday’s 1982 Australian Wine Companion that would be of no use to most, pulpfiction has current titles and great resources at swell prices.

A quick 2-minute perusal recently offered many a good find, and I’m puttin’ out 4 recommendations for you to jump on:

Have A Glass: A Modern Guide To Wine by Kenji Hodgson & James Nevison

Burgundy And Its Wines by Nicholas Faith, Andy Katz & Robert M. Parker Jr.

The Encyclopedia Of Home Winemaking by by Pierre Drapeau, André Vanasse, and Darcy Dunton

The Bordeaux Atlas and Encyclopaedia of Chateaux by Hubrecht Duijker and Michael Broadbent

Chris is always buying fresh stock, and even when I go in on a daily basis, I always find something new.

When you’re around one of his stores, make sure to pop in and see what he’s got kickin’ around!