Sudbury is an industrial city in Northern Ontario that doesn't usually get a lot of love. I do recall a line in the movie Passchendaele, about how you never have to have been to Sudbury to hate it. Home of the Big Nickel, Sudbury is actually where Margaret Atwood choses to spend her Birthday every year, since she sees it as a symbol of how a place that was once so environmentally harmful can turn itself around (x). I lived there for three years when I was in University, and a few people on tumblr are also from Greater Sudbury. While there were a lot of things I didn't like about living in the Bury (the weather) there were some things I loved (The Laughing Buddha.) One of these things is Bay Used Books at 124 Elm Street.
From the outside, this shop might not look like much. Inside, it is utter chaos, and I mean that in the best way possible. There are a lot of bookstores I love for their clean charm, but no used book store is as fun to spend the day in as Bay's. There are books everywhere, and the store seems almost endless. The first time I missed the back room, and the second time I discovered another room behind that. With a basement as well, there are books everywhere in this store. The prices are usually great, especially with the classics. This is the type of bookstore where you never know what you might find. In a way, this shop is kind of like the city it resides in. Is it the most beautiful shop? Definitely not, but it's the kind of bookshop that takes you by surprise and has become one of my favourites. I always stop here whenever I drive through (or near) Sudbury.