Oscar-winning film director Guillermo del Toro is continuing his tour of Toronto’s many bookstores 鈥 and he’s got some recommendations to share.
The renowned Mexican filmmaker behind 鈥淕uillermo del Toro鈥檚 Pinocchio,鈥 鈥淭he Shape of Water,鈥 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 海角社区官网locals of what he should check out next.
Shopping in Acadia Bookstore- Queen st in Toronto. Found some of the good stuff. Browsed for an hour +
鈥 Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT)
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 海角社区官网bookstores, shouting out some of his favourite spots across the city,聽noting there’s always “more to discover.”聽
Here are some of his recommendations:聽
I believe LABYRINTH Books still open in Burlington (Is it??), the BMV on Blood, SEEKERS BOOKS (occult, Spirituality), THE GREAT ESCAPE on Kingston (Fun, and guided by love of books).
鈥 Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT)
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 海角社区官网and the surrounding areas for filming, saying in a 2022 interview that it’s the perfect city, 鈥渋n the sense that it鈥檚 very livable, except for the construction and winter.鈥
Toronto, the studio, today. Looks like somebody parked on my spot.
鈥 Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT)
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.
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“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 鈥 such as cult, grindhouse, horror and more 鈥 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 鈥 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.
鈥淚t’s kind of a treat that somebody comes in that we’re a fan of and just loves the store 鈥 because we put a lot of work into the shop,鈥 Williams said.
With files from Manuela Vega
Fatima Raza
is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star鈥檚 radio room
in Toronto. Reach her via email: fraza@thestar.ca
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