Criterion Books

Have been coming to Criterion for past 5 years now, and found Lance to be very welcoming and
the store the most aesthetically pleasing… probably not, is Lance the best host you ever had… maybe not. But none of that matters… what matters more is that Lance has a good stock of out of print books, and you can talk to him .This store is a nice alternative to the big chains.
Jim

I really like the atmosphere of the bookstore, but the dank, dusty smell of the store always annoys me. The owner (later learned his name was Lance McCaughran) was nicer to me when I walk in to the store for the first time. I had a better first impression of this store than Macleods. It is true that he stays behind his counter all the time and is suspicious of everyone that walks in with a pea coat on, but that just how many of the bookstores are consider that they do not earn a lot from selling books. The clerk tired to make a conversation with me a few times, unfortunately it didn’t work out (maybe its because I don’t know much about English literature). Once I even saw him arguing with a writer about philosophy and ideals, which I find amusing because I saw that writer talking to someone else in Macleods. My only suggestion to this store is to lower the price of the books. There are many good books in the store if you spend a bit of time in there, but they are very very pricey…

I have a love hate relationship with this place ’cause the customer service is never consistent for me. One time the owner will be super nice and then another not. Prices on some books are overpriced for used books. I come here once in a while ’cause I am trying to complete my «Company’s Coming» collection. Some things are organized while most is not.

I was thrown out of this store yesterday by the owner for «pulling apart» his books.
To put this random and bizarre accusation in some sort of context:
1) I have shopped for 16 years with Criterion which can have interesting, if almost always overpriced, stock. Over the years, I have spent hundreds of dollars at this store and have even had several relatively pleasant conversations with the owner, who habitually leans against his display case watching over his books like some sort of book sentinel.
2) Spending money at Criterion requires sacrificing one’s hygienic aspirations. For every gem found, the potential buyer must overcome the unpleasant filth of the store. The owner’s books are stacked and scattered about the store with an institutional disdain that is very consistent with a hoarding mentality. (In this environment, it would, quite frankly, make the act of «pulling apart» a book impossible to distinguish from the normal abuse they suffer.) Moreover, the store is dusty and the carpet less frequently vacuumed than the Mojave desert (my wife, who has allergies, has never set foot back in the shop after her first visit). If you like books, you often encounter dirty bookshops, but in almost 20 years of collecting, I have rarely run into a shop with more dust, cobwebs and surface mold on the books. Bring hand wash.
3) I have a large book collection and, truth be told, have been accused of being almost anal retentive in my care for that collection. I count numerous booksellers as friends, and was, in fact, visiting Vancouver yesterday for the annual Antiquarian bookfair. When you collect something as fragile as books, you develop a paternal desire to protect them from the further desecration that can be modern bookselling. It is simply unimaginable that I would commit an act that would be in any way destructive to a book. When the owner asked me to stop «pulling apart» his books, I was absolutely floored. When I asked him to explain why he made the accusation, he was unable to elaborate and just asked me to leave.
No ambiance, overpriced books, and filth. And a delusional paranoid owner watching you as you move about his shabby store.

It’s been a few years since I checked in on Criterion Books. Sadly, between big chains like Chapters and the internet and Amazon there seems to be little consumer appetite for book stores — which is a shame, because stores like Criterion are becoming few and far between.
Of course, serious bibliophiles will no doubt be familiar with the players and selections of the used book trade, Criterion included. But for the casual shopper or curious explorer this second story shop is worth a visit.
Criterion is your classic odd little used bookstore — shelves overflowing with books stacked and piled on the floor in seemingly chaotic abandon. That said, were you to ask friendly and knowledgeable proprietor Lance — I’m pretty sure he knows exactly what is where. Criterion doesn’t have quite the oppressive scale of volume of books as its across the street neighbour McLeod’s — which in ways is a good thing as the store is a little less overwhelming.
There is something inherently satisfying about killing time in an eccentric used book store like Critereon. Hidden treasures, long out-​of-​print. Physical manifestations of forgotten things. Literally stumbling across new ideas and concepts. The voyeuristic thrill of sometimes finding some snippet of someone’s life tucked away between yellowing sheets, or as margin notes, or as a dust-​jacket inscription.
Criterion’s on a the dingy end of 400 block west Pender where crumbling early 20^th century brick buildings next to a parking lot are begging for some kind of large scale condo redevelopment sometime soon. Another part of vanishing Vancouver that the curious best enjoy now before its too late.