Canadian novelist Ashley Audrain on her favourite indie bookstores in the world

Simply put: novelist Ashley Audrain knows books. The Newmarket native once served as the publicity director at Penguin Canada publishing house and just released her first book — The Push, a psychological drama about a woman whose experience of motherhood isn’t what she expected — to near deafening praise.

Here, she highlights the indie bookstores she’s fallen in love with over the years, so you can be sure to connect with your next favourite read.

Books Are Magic (225 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY)

“Books Are Magic is co-owned by author Emma Straub and she has created a wonderful environment there. You feel the best energy just by walking into the store. They have a really good selection and it feels perfectly bookish. There’s such charm to it. And because Emma is so well connected, they had wonderful author events going on before the pandemic, and hopefully they will again after. Whenever I’m in New York, I always make a special trip here because it’s so fun.”

Type Books (883 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON)

“Type Books is the place I go the most often. I know that when I pop in, I’m going to be transported. The curation is wonderful — they always have what I need, but I can also find something different — and their kids’ section is great to poke around in too.”

Diesel, A Bookstore (225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA)

“I lived in Los Angeles for a while, and there was a great little bookstore tucked away in Brentwood Country Mart. It was perfect for a nice, leisurely afternoon, but you’re also in the middle of Brentwood so there’s incredible people watching at the same time. It’s L.A. at its finest.”

Parry Sound Books (41 Church Street, Parry Sound, ON)

“My family has a cottage in Parry Sound, which I’ve been going to my whole life. We would always take a bunch of books with us to the cottage, but halfway through our vacation, we would inevitably have read them all. So, we’d make a trip downtown to Parry Sound Books to pick up some to get us through the rest of the trip. It was always something I looked forward to. There was actually a fire in their building last year, and the owner has been operating from their home throughout the pandemic. Hopefully they’ll be back in their store soon.”

Flying Books (1214 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON)

“Flying Books is totally unique: It’s a bookstore, but it’s also a publisher and a writing school. They have outposts around the city and sell a [small] selection of books that rotate. There was one at the Gladstone, where I used to write, and it was such great inspiration to walk by the selection. You can also subscribe to ‘custom flights,’ where they curate fantastic reads for you.”