Monkeying Around: A Tale of the Bilio-Mat

Most people in my social circle know that I will travel great lengths for the want of books, and the love of book shops. And when I'm unable to? Well, may the Force be with the person I select for a spot of vicarious living. When I found out two of my sisters were travelling to Toronto, I all but screamed the word Biblo-Mat at them. Every time they mentioned their holiday. For two months.

There are three absolute scenarios for my discovery of the Biblio-Mat and the place it is housed, The Monkey's Paw:

1. Timey-Wimey Potter-Pal Emma
2. Tumblr
3. An entirely eloquent google search of "cool book things."
3a. This article from The New York Times, T Magazine.

The Monkey's Paw is an antiquarian bookstore specialising in old and unusual books, and is the home of The Biblio-Mat; a coin operated vending machine that dispenses a book at random after entering a $2 coin. (It even rings when your book drops down) Heavenly, right? The sort of heavenly that's akin to a duvet day, with a cuppa and my latest read. You can't put a price on this sort of excitement, other than $2 of course. 

My sister got me two books from the Biblio-Mat, and I'm fairly certain that it has either divine powers or it secretly scanned her brain for information about me. The books that came home with her are absolutely perfect. The first was, 'Wunnerful, Wunnerful! The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk.' I have no idea who he is, but owner Stephen Fowler was surprised it had come out and told my sister that it's the same book from the video. (Expletives were used, but you know me.)
The second book is titled, 'Homes and Haunts of British Poets.' My absolute adoration of dead poets is no secret; anything that contains information about Lord Byron is a guaranteed hit in my eyes. I absolutely cannot wait to get started on it.

The only downside is not being able to go myself, I couldn't possibly comment about how amazing the store is, but for idealest reasons I can guarantee amazingness. I also bet it smells really great, the kind of smell you can only get from old books. Yum.



So if you're ever in Toronto, you know exactly where you need to go!
Happy reading!
- Kaveeta