Perfect Books

My favourite bookstore in the area. Lots of helpful suggestions on the shelves of you’re not sure what you’re looking for, and if you are sure what you’re looking for it will be easy to find on the well organized shelves. I have come across some deeper cuts I haven’t seen elsewhere in stock here, surprising for a store of its size. Definitely worth a look for any book lover if you’re in the area.

Perfect Books is a great little space. Despite it’s compact size, books here are well organized and easy to find. It’s quiet and inviting in here, allowing me to stay and browse the shelves for a significant time, and they even let my little pup in to browse with me. Staff here are helpful and sweet, and they are great for helping make recommendations.
Tips for shopping here? They have a frequent buyer program, that earns you credit towards a purchase. Also, check out their ‘Book of the Month’ which is offered at a discount.
Overall, I would definitely recommend visiting here and will certainly be back again. It’s so important to support local shops!

The non-​chain bookstore experience in Ottawa can be challenging if you don’t know where to start. I have to say if you are like me and you despise Chapters, start every book search at Perfect Books. I say that for three reasons:
1. The staff are amazing. I once walked in and described the cover of a book that I was looking for and they were able to find it for me.
2. They have a great selection. The store isn’t huge, but what they do have is very well selected and they obviously know their customers because I’ve never gone in and been disappointed.
3. They are local. Need I say more?

So this little book store could be a dangerous place for a bibliophile like me. It’s nearly around the corner from my apartment and I walk by it frequently – there is always a small rack of books outside calling out to me with an encouraging «SALE» sign. Frankly, I’m impressed my willpower has held out and I haven’t spent a small fortune here.
The place is pretty small, but also pretty well packed with wall to wall books. There are great recommendations on the various shelves if you’re not quite sure what to read next. The recommendations are from the staff there and are useful. Other retailers will have staff picks, but don’t really give you much of a reason why – Perfect Books is different though. They are great and all over the place and I found myself making notes for my next read.
The lady who was working when I stopped in was pretty awesome. We had a great conversation about cupcakes. She had mentioned some kind of loyalty card – I didn’t get the details, but it may be worth looking into more.

I’ve never purchased anything at Perfect Books but I’m certainly not ruling it out. In fact, being a local and independent bookstore which carries a lot of local and also well known authors, I’m more inclined to shop here.
The staff are extremely pleasant and very knowledgeable.
Perfect Books changes up their front window display frequently and that’s what has always pulled me in – I see something interesting in the window and next think I have that book or another one open and I’m tempted to buy.
I suspect some Christmas gifts I give this year will come from here.
The store isn’t large but does have a lot of titles on the walls.
It’s located on Elgin Street and you can’t really miss it because they usually have a plethora of titles in the window.

In the shrinking world of independent booksellers, Perfect Books is exactly what its name suggests. I don’t subscribe to the idea that a bookstore is good just because it’s an indy and yes, I go to the big boxes or online when I need something fast or specialized. However, when I’m craving fiction, and don’t know quite what I’m looking for, Perfect Books is my first and only stop.
It is centrally located on Elgin Street in a part of downtown that is neither trendy nor charming. It is not large but the stock is very well selected. However, the key to Perfect’s success is the staff. The owner is often present and is a always a wealth of information. Her appreciation for writers and writing is extended through her friendly and knowledgable staff. If you’re not someone who likes to chat while browsing for books, read the many staff review cards posted on the shelves. These are not your usual «Becky likes it!» recommendations. Rather, they are considerate analyses of why you might like a particular book, similar authors, genres, etc. A few years ago I discovered a new favourite author as a result of one of these staff reviews.
When I was a kid I used to think that the coolest thing in the world would be to own your own bookstore so you could read any book you wanted, whenever you wanted to. Perfect Books is the bookstore that kid would want to own.