In an age when most independent bookstores have given in to Amazon and e‑commerce, one small shop in Halifax is doing the opposite. And it is working.
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The “Odd Volume” bookstore sits on a quiet side street in the city’s historic north end. It has creaky wooden floors, mismatched chairs, a cat named Dickens who sleeps on the counter, and absolutely no website for online shopping.
“People look at me like I have two heads when I say we don’t ship books,” says Susan MacLeod, the 58-year-old owner. “But that’s not what we’re about. We’re about the feeling of finding a book you weren’t looking for.”
Susan opened Odd Volume twelve years ago after losing her job as a librarian during budget cuts. She had no business experience, just a love of books and a small inheritance from her mother. She found a cheap rental space, painted the walls deep green, and filled the shelves with used and remaindered books.
For the first few years, she barely broke even. Then something unexpected happened. People started coming not just to buy books, but to stay.
