MacLeod's Books

I'm actively very sad to be leaving a bad review for an independent bookstore but I don't think it's ever appropriate for someone (staff in a store or otherwise) to run up to a stranger, get in their face and raise their voice.

I came in and was next to a bookshelf near the door and taking a picture of the whole store. I was yelled at and told I could only take a picture of the store from the door. I was no more than 10 feet from the door, taking a picture similar to others on Yelp, and of the store in general. I understand not taking pictures of individual books in a bookstore, that's bad etiquette, but the whole store? There was no visible signage. I just saw another review that said there's one on the door but it was not visible when we entered.

Still surprised and extremely disappointed, I've never been yelled at and physically intimidated for taking a photo of someone's store before, first time for everything I guess. We went down the street to Paper Hound and had a lovely experience with knowledgeable and kind staff.

I'd love to give this place 5 stars because personally I loved it but it is definitely a little chaotic in here LOL.

I had no expectations on what book I wanted but a lot of people that came in did have a book in mind, and even though it looked like nothing was labeled the clerk would know exactly where to direct them and I thought that was insanely cool.

I did end up finding a book in the fantasy section that I'm looking forward to reading but wow, to be able to just walk through the aisles and read the summary of all the books would be so fun.

Sounds like they take new books every day at the same time so if you're looking for certain books, there's definitely a chance it will cycle through.

10/10 love the style and everyone here's so nice!!!! i asked for book recommendations and they've offered me very cool books!!!

Great selection and and we loved the "cluttered" look inside--makes you feel like you're exploring a wizard's tower!

What a mess ! This place is match away from a disaster.

I love books, I mean I LOVE to read. I normally read 4-5 books a week.

Usually a book store or book section makes pulse quicken and my heart race. My palms get sweaty in anticipation of my next fix.

Well this place did none of that for me. It's cluttered and dimly lit. Books are in shelves that go so high up, that there is no way to see what's up there- let alone access them.

Then there is the floor below. It has piles after piles of books stacked in front and as far as you can see.

It's very disorganized- or appears to be. Sections are randomly placed. Some have old masking tape with faded ink that you can sometimes read. Other times it's illegible or ripped right off.

Not sure what prices were - I never saw any?
But that was ok- because I never found a single item that appealed to me. This is the first and only time I have experienced this.

Staff ?
I located one guy chatting away behind a big messy area. I apologized, and inquired about a certain genre. He showed me where they were. Good thing - otherwise no way i would of found it.

The first time I have ever left a bookstore without buying a single thing.
Not for me.

Love this book store! It's like an antique mall but it's all just books. Loved hunting and digging for books especially in the fairytale section. There's books for everyone and I totally recommend coming here!

They gave me a hard time and made me feel small when I tried to unload some trash in their trash heap. I found what I was hunting for.

Remember playing treasure hunt when you were small? This is a place where you can have the same joy finding a treasure that's hidden in this mountain of old books.

This family owned bookstore has a really good source of precious books and I love walking around, looking at several sections and reading those books. Many of them used to belong to private collection or a library, so super rare with beautiful hard cover and illustration inside.

One thing I feel it could be better is the way they arrange books in here. There are so many good books but they don't have enough space or people to preserve them in the best condition so some of them wear off quicker. However it also means the price is super reasonable. Love it!

One review was giving this place 1 or 2 stars because of a smell from this place. I actually did smell something the first time I was here, but it was not a bad smell, just old stores kind of. To be honest, you cant expect an all old book store to smell lavender fresh as in Barnes & Noble (I think I exaggerate a bit, B&B doesnt smell like lavender, but you get my point).

Great bookstore and super helpful staff that found the book I was looking for. You are sure to find a treasure here

I had just taken a long walk around the perimeter of downtown Vancouver when I stumbled across this place. Needing some reading material, I ventured in without any specific plan as to what I was actually interested in.

Which is a good thing, as this place reminded me of my neighbor's house in that everything was strewn about - I'm not sure if there's a Hoarders Canada!, but it there is, MacLeod's would be one of the first places they'd try to counsel and put into remediation.

The flip side of this setup is that you can walk in almost any direction and stumble into books you wouldn't find anywhere else (see photo). Actually, if you just wanted to treat this place as some sort of dysfunctional library, I'm sure you'd get away with it, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if long-missing families exist somewhere beneath all the clutter.

Regrettably, I didn't find the prices here to be that competitive.. perhaps it has something to do with the combination of location, rarity, and charm, but I don't know if I got the proper bang for the buck.