Phoenix Books in downtown Owen Sound has been in business for almost 50 years having first been located next to the Downtown’er hotel, and then moving to its present home on 2nd Avenue.
The heart and soul of the store is Dan who is fully responsible for the flavour and incredible selection of used books that line the shelves, spinner-racks and displays throughout the store.
Phoenix is a treasure trove for readers of all ages and genres. During my visit to Dan on a busy Saturday morning, there is no shortage of book lovers asking for titles. And like so many booksellers I have met over the years, Dan knows without consulting a computer if he has the book in stock and exactly what shelf it is located on within the store. It’s an indispensable talent as a bookseller, but as Dan acknowledges, not always transferrable to much else in life.
When asked what has changed for Phoenix over the years, Dan has some very interesting and insightful observations. Most recently is that authors who were stalwarts for many, many years like Danielle Steel and John Grisham are hardly ever asked for anymore. Their time has clearly come and gone.
What I did find surprising is that authors from the 1940’s – 1970’s are back in demand. Hemingway, Salinger, Camus, Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac. Another observation Dan laments on is how few younger men shop in the store. The demographic of people under 25 years of age is 25:1 female.
My assumption is that younger men are not reading as much long form narrative as they used to. He also reminds me that just like a book cover, you can never judge a customer’s tastes by their appearances, and he never stops being pleasantly surprised by what people are looking for.
One of the last comments Dan makes which really resonates with me is that
books are one of the last bastions of affordable luxury, especially used books.
Phoenix books not only represent the tastes of the present moment, but serves up an eclectic collection and range of classic backlist and illustrated books. From iconic Canadiana fiction and non-fiction, to kids books to a dedicated spinner-rack of Louis L’amour western novels, the store is organized with sections for a readers every interest and taste.
I ask Dan if he had any all-time favourite books or authors, (an impossible question for a bookseller to answer), but he does offer up one of the more erudite and humorous writers from the 1990’s and 2000’s, Bill Bryson. His travelogues through Australia, Europe and America are classics, as is his incredible (and accessible) history of the world, A Short History of Nearly Everything.
The beauty and the challenge of a used bookstore is supply. Finding quality books isn’t as easy as you might think. The other challenge applies to most retail stores, and that is foot traffic, so make an extra effort to visit downtown Owen Sound and spend some time browsing the shelves of Phoenix Books. It is a cornucopia of books and affordable luxuries, in a beautiful location with an incredibly warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Written by Carey Low
Photos by Oscar Sheppard
