Massy Books - Vancouver, British Columbia

A.J. C.

Great Indigenous-owned bookstore in Vancouver. It has one of the best selections of Indigenous works, and I always recommend people to shop here for Indigenous works in order to support Indigenous creators and businesses.

They have been here for over 10 years, and their location has two floors. It also has information about local Indigenous events, making it an important gathering space.

The staff were very helpful, respectful, and understanding of culture and community.

Laraszahra K. E.

Amazing collection of books, especially nonfiction. Rows upon rows of indigenous books, gender and sexuality books, anarchism, anti-fascist, and many other radical books. I really could spend hours in there with how well curated the collection is and how friendly the staffs are!

Kristine H.

This bookstore is a treasure. Their selection of Indigenous books is impeccable and curated in a way that makes it easy to peruse and find what you're looking for. Their shelves are labeled to help you locate exactly the right book. I'm a big fan, and if I lived in this city, this would be a regular visit for me.

Caroline L.

I’m so glad to see places like this in Vancouver! It gives me hope for the future. They helped me find some good kids books for a present and I will definitely bring my kid to explore the secret room hidden behind the bookshelf . It’s so magical!

Alyssa B.

After having Massy Books on my wishlist for ages I finally made it there - and wow - was it worth it!! The collection of books and authors that they have are beautiful and the store is so welcoming. The staff were kind and helpful. It was great so see such an amazing curation and books. It really helped me find new things to read and connect me with authors that otherwise may not have made it on my radar. Such an amazing bookstore!

jaime M.

I love these guys so much, truly a gem in Vancouver. Indigenous and woman owned book store with an incredible selection of titles. This is the place you go if you want the books they refuse to carry in the mass stores with terrible values. I love their masking policy and customer service as well. This is my go to place for anytime I want to buy a gift for a friend or if I need a book that's not yet available in the library. I love how they're always supporting good people and causes too. Highly recommend!!!

Joseph G.

I think if one is buying books of the non-mass market paperback variety in Vancouver, you are used to a certain political slant, so to see so many negative reviews complaining about the pro-Palestine slant, implicitly or otherwise, is rather funny. Especially when it's a rather unapologetic 'indigenous-owner, feminist' bookstore, including all of the associated stereotypes and otherwise. Y'kno, the over explainy, overly legible type of politics that the general public abhors. And this, of course, is reflected in the selection, which is a twofold phenomenon: 1. the state of publishing is dire, 2. the kind of person who is likely to own a bookstore that sells new books is more likely to be the person I described above rather than not. This leads to a varied collection that includes the crude and animalistic anti-trump comics, to NPC-meme-named 'Genocide Bad' to triumphant lolcow midwits like Jason Stanley all sullying an otherwise impressive assortment. My point here is that if you deal in new books, you take the good with the bad, and sometimes the bad is REALLY, REALLY bad.

I interacted with who I assume is Patrica Massy (based on appearance and expertise), who, upon entering, informed me it was 'mask day' (unclear if this was a weekly sacrament or a daily occurrence) and I would have to wear a mask to wear one to browse the store. Which was a rather unfortunate callback to our far too prolonged state of exception. That it was a Sunday made the religious undertones all the more obvious. I wept as Agamben would have.

Yet she was extraordinarily helpful. From memory alone, she was able to locate a small paperback I was after, saving me the trouble of digging through the tables of books upstairs.

Given all of this, it did not surprise me to see the owner of Massy Books in the reviews section arguing wildly with nearly every negative review of their bookstore. I do appreciate a passionate, very dedicated, albeit unhinged small business owners, and it is characters like these that create a richer local environment, even if I don't agree with them.

All of this to say, my experience at Massy Books can best be summed by the text on the cover of the book I purchased :

"Place of cringing...ineffiecent place of tents."

Typically Canadian experience in all of our breathtaking provincialism and a quintessential Vancouver store that has left me deeply conflicted like so much else in this city and country.

Wandering M.

Absolutely magical. This bookstore is beautiful, with incredible staff, and a freaking hidden room behind a bookshelf!!! My kids lost their minds with joy 🤣 Honestly, so did I. Such a special touch. I try to buy most of my books here now. They have special ordered books for me, and are so accommodating and lovely.