Literary Travel – Canada (Windsor) Edition

Hi Everybody,

It’s been awhile since I did a Literary Travel blog post, for I’ve been busy with working on several book and movie reviews. However, I had time to go to Canada, specifically Windsor, several times over an one-year period. I had previously talked about one bookstore in that city – Juniper Books. Today, I’ll show you two more and a book festival. All of the photos used were the ones I took and can be seen at the bottom of the page.

Let’s travel back to December 2024. My husband and I traveled to Windsor for lunch and to explore the Biblioasis Bookshop – an award-winning independent bookstore and publisher located in the Walkerville District of that city.

Even though it was in one small space, it was well utilized. To illustrate that, I took a normal picture and a panoramic one of the store.

Since we came there after Christmas, they still had a lot of decorations up. I didn’t mind because they were cool. In addition, I adored how some of the displays looked like Christmas trees. There was also a room in the back for used books with a warning on the left.

The bookshop had small labels that denoted which genre were shelved there. It also contained notes explaining what book a staff member recommended and why.

At the front of the store, a chalkboard shows what an employee was reading and programs were going on like author events and book clubs. Biblioasis hosts several book clubs like Books and Brews, Camp Coffee Book Club, the LGBT+ Club with the Windsor Public Library, Pen of Resistance, a Free Palestine Book Club, and the Poetry Book Club.

While we were there, I purchased Best Canadian Stories 2025 selected by editor Steven W. Beattie – a series Biblioasis publishes every year – and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I had a great time there, especially with its welcoming and Christmas spirit. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Twitter. It wouldn’t the last time that I saw them.

About a year later, my husband and I discovered that there was a book festival at the Walkerville Brewery called the Nostalgic Book Fair. It’s the kind of book fair schools had but for adults.

While the fair was small, the brewery was able to fit several vendors. They included Auntie Aldoo’s Kitchen, which had some delicious treats like pies and s’more bars; Bookmarkit; Biblioasis; Higher Vibes & CO.; Whiskeyjack Boutique; Whimsy Brooke; and the Windsor Public Library.

Some sold novels. Other offered bookmarks, clothing, and other book-related items. All of these vendors were utterly delightful. Even one of them told me how much she loved libraries and librarians.

As I mentioned earlier, Biblioasis Bookshop was there selling books – both ones they published and didn’t. They were kind as always, and I bought a copy of Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen and a pack of library socks.

Before we left, we checked out the Windsor Public Library bookmobile. It’s one of the finest and most spacious ones I’ve ever seen. It contained lots of sturdy shelves and cushioned seats for those who want to sit down and read. We hope to stop at the library at some point this year, so stay tuned for a Literary Travel post about that.

The book fair was such a success that Walkerville Brewery held another a second this past January. I hope they have a third one soon because it was so much fun!

Right after the Nostalgic Book Fair, we visited the Storytellers Bookstore. This was a journey in of itself. I tried to check it out twice, but it was closed both times. It was this third time that I was successful, and it was worth it.

It’s in a small room, but it’s warm and inviting with comfy chairs; artwork; paint-by-numbers; puzzles; games; and of course, books. They were well organized. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Twitter. 

My favorite part was checking out the classic novels with the redesigned covers filled with gold lining. I even bought one of them – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I also had a good time talking to owner Linda Ward about various things, mainly books.

While these bookstores and book fairs were on the tinier side, the atmospheres were still inviting, and we still had a blast at each.

And that concludes the eighth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. I’m not done with Canada yet. Next week, I have an entire article about another book festival that I went to.

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