Lose an Hour in MacLeod's Books, Downtown, Vancouver BC

Rainy Day

Lose an Hour in MacLeod's Books

50-year-old floor-to-ceiling used-book chaos on Pender, where you split up, get a little lost, and reunite clutching something weird under ten dollars.

Downtown

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The date

MacLeod's isn't trying to look like a bookstore. It is one, which is rarer. On Pender for over 50 years, it's floor-to-ceiling used books crammed into every inch with the organisational logic of a literary avalanche. The move: split up, browse for twenty minutes, then reconvene with armloads of weird finds you have to explain. Bonus round, buy each other something sight-unseen for under ten dollars.

How to do it

Split up at the door and lose each other in the teetering towers for twenty minutes, the whole charm is reuniting clutching something gloriously weird. Set a dare: buy each other a find under $10, sight unseen. Give it about an hour and fifteen; the narrow aisles reward patience and a tolerance for chaos. When the squall passes, surface with your loot and move on to something warm and caffeinated nearby.

What to wear: smart casual

bookishcosybrowsequirkylow-key
Duration
About an hour
Best time
Afternoon to evening
Per person
Free
setting
Indoor
neighbourhood
Downtown
best season
Year-round

Pair it with

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