Guillermo del Toro's favourite bookstores in Toronto


Guillermo del Toro shouts out some of his favourite Toronto bookstores while he’s in town filming
Oscar-winning film director Guillermo del Toro is continuing his tour of Toronto’s many bookstores — and he’s got some recommendations to share.

Updated March 24, 2024 at 2:20 p.m.
March 24, 2024
2 min read
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del toro acadia.jpg
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, shown here in Toronto at Acadia book store over the weekend. 

Guillermo del Toro/X
Fatima-Raza
By Fatima Raza

Oscar-winning film director Guillermo del Toro is continuing his tour of Toronto’s many bookstores — and he’s got some recommendations to share.

The renowned Mexican filmmaker behind “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” “The Shape of Water,” and several other fantasy and horror films has been in town for the production of his upcoming Netflix film “Frankenstein,” starring Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, and horror darling Mia Goth. On March 17, he shared of a photo of himself on X, formerly Twitter, at film store Vinegar Syndrome in Roncesvalles, prompting a flood of recommendations from Toronto locals of what he should check out next.


On Sunday, he shared a photo of him browsing Acadia Bookstore on Queen Street this weekend, saying he browsed for more than an hour.

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“Found some of the good stuff,” he wrote.

A few hours later, the filmmaker took to X again to share his love for other great Toronto bookstores, shouting out some of his favourite spots across the city, noting there’s always “more to discover.” 

Here are some of his recommendations: 


Re: Reading Used Books (548 Danforth Ave.). According to Del Toro, this store has an “amazing” sci-fi room.

D&E Lakes Ltd. (239 King St. E)

The Monkey’s Paw (1067 Bloor St. W)

Hollywood Canteen (1841 Danforth Ave.) Del Toro said this is a “great cinema bookstore.”

Bakka-Phoenix Books (84 Harbord St.)

The Scribe Bookstore (375 Danforth Ave.)

Karol Krysik Books (491 Davenport Rd. Second Floor)

Circus Books & Music (866 Danforth Ave.)

The Beguiling (319 College St.)

Silver Snail (809 Queen St. W)

Labyrinth Bookstore (online store)

BMV Books (471 Bloor Street West)

Seekers Books (509 Bloor St West)

Great Escape Book Store (957 Kingston Road)

Del Toro is fond of using Toronto and the surrounding areas for filming, saying in a 2022 interview that it’s the perfect city, “in the sense that it’s very livable, except for the construction and winter.”


Back in January, the filmmaker shared a photo of himself in front of a parking lot in snowy weather captioned, “Toronto, the studio, today. Looks like somebody parked on my spot.”

The filmmaker’s stop at Vinegar Syndrome
Last Sunday, the filmmaker made a stop at the Roncesvalles shop Vinegar Syndrome. He shared a selfie in the store on social media on Sunday, shouting out the address at 399 Roncesvalles Avenue.

“Great shop!! Did some damage!” he tweeted.

The store has only been in the city for about five months. But with locations in Connecticut and Colorado already, the brand has become well-known among film enthusiasts for preserving film genres primarily from the 1960s and 1980s — such as cult, grindhouse, horror and more — often with bonus features.

Andy Williams, the co-owner and operator of the Roncesvalles shop, said this was the second time del Toro came by — the first was about a month and a half ago. Unfortunately for him, Williams missed the director both times. But the owner and his full-time employee, Chris Colohan, are sure that del Toro will be back.

“It’s kind of a treat that somebody comes in that we’re a fan of and just loves the store … because we put a lot of work into the shop,” Williams said.

With files from Manuela Vega

Fatima Raza
Fatima Raza is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: fraza@thestar.ca

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