World Paperback Day

Chapter Two bookstore with window in background and bookcase underneath beside two larger bookcases

To celebrate this book holiday, my husband took me to a new and used bookstore in the mountain town of Canmore, Alberta.

Even though Banff National Park (the first national park in Canada!) is nearby and much more well-known, there seems to be no existing bookstores left within the town of Banff—at least none that I could find in my research as the Indigospirit (mini version of a Chapters Indigo store) in Cascade Shops closed down a few years prior and the gift shops only supply a few local area interest books.

In terms of charm and everything that you can picture for bibliophiles, Café Books in Canmore hits the mark. The staff kindly let me take pictures of my excursion today, including the one above of their children's and fiction used books. Café Books is divided into two storefronts that are connected by a hallway with the front store entrance containing new books and book-related merchandise, and the back section an area for used books in a store that is unsurprisingly called Chapter Two. Once upon a time, Chapter Two hosted afternoon tea and served drinks and food, but it appears that this stopped around the time of the pandemic. The café seems to be a relic of those days, but the books certainly live on.

My hope was to find a paperback book to add to my shelves; however, there weren't many Christian books—they're the ones housed in the white cage-like bookshelf below with some non-Christian titles mixed in. While I was unsuccessful in finding a title, I'm grateful that we can celebrate paperbacks as they are a much more accessible and affordable way to read books. To learn that the history of this day originated with Penguin paperbacks made the picture of the classics books more special (the sign on the door behind the staircase is a directional sign toward Narnia 😉).

Café Books storefront with flowers and plants on the left side and a paperback book carousel on the right side and open doors in the middle

wooden staircase housing books in from of sealed door with bookcases to the right of staircase and door

arched bookcase unit with glass door holding books on top of dresser beside bookcase of business books

bookshelf on the left side of picture with middle table housing book-related puzzles and more book displays on the right side

Since this is the only bookstore near the Banff area, it's well worth exploring and admiring all of the interesting book displays. I imagine this is a popular stop as visitors are greeted with a large display of Out of Print merchandise when they enter, showcasing a love of literature. It was fairly busy, so I didn't capture any pictures of the front, but the back area leading to the children's section has an entire table filled with puzzles that are book-themed!

Caveat: In checking for any other bookstores in the Banff townsite area that I might have overlooked, it looks like there are two located in Lake Louise, Alberta. If I'm missing any others, I'm happy to hear about them so I can pay a visit!

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