The Monkey's Paw is an independent used bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, Canada known for its eclectic, arcane, and absurd books, and for the Biblio-Mat, a random book vending machine. [1]
Owner Stephen Fowler founded The Monkey's Paw in 2006, four years after he moved to Toronto from San Francisco, where he worked in numerous bookstores. [2] [3] Fowler opened The Monkey's Paw in order to support his family with another income source. [2] The inspiration and book selection methods of the store is based on his work in a previous San Francisco bookstore that placed books that were too unique, specific, or unusual for a single-subject category under a miscellaneous section "Floop". [2] Many, including the owner, consider the store itself a showcase and homage to the printed book, which they believe to be dying medium. [4] [3] Due to the notoriety and uniqueness of the bookstore, Fowler was invited to join the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. [4]
The New York Times Style Magazine quoted the owner, "It's the store where you'll find the book you didn't know you were looking for." [5]
