Bookstores in Cambridge
If you judge a town by its bookshops, Cambridge, Ontario gives you 43 to judge by. That's 43 bookshops mapped around Cambridge, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide. Staff picks shelves are the fastest way to read a shop's personality.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Cambridge (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Indigo and Lookin' For Heroes, plus Carry-On Comics. If a bookshop's missing from Cambridge's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Cambridge bookstore lineup
43 mapped within about 40 km:
Indigo
BookstoreRun by Indigo
Run by Indigo, Indigo is Bookstore.
Lookin' For Heroes
Bookstore
Lookin' For Heroes is Bookstore on 83 Ontario Street South, Kitchener. Lookin' For Heroes also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo,Tu 10:00-18:00; We-Fr 10:00-19:00; Sa 10:00-17:30; Su 12:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
83 Ontario Street South, Kitchener, N2G 1X5
Hours: Mo,Tu 10:00-18:00; We-Fr 10:00-19:00; Sa 10:00-17:30; Su 12:00-17:00
Phone: +1-519-570-0873
Carry-On Comics
Bookstore
Carry-On Comics — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Carry-On Comics: the map lists its hours as Mo, Fr, Sa 11:00-17:00; Tu 12:00-17:00; We, Th 11:00-18:00; Su 12:00-16:00.
Hours: Mo, Fr, Sa 11:00-17:00; Tu 12:00-17:00; We, Th 11:00-18:00; Su 12:00-16:00
Cambridge Book Nook
Bookstore
Cambridge Book Nook is Bookstore on 649 King Street East.
649 King Street East
Indigo
Bookstore
Indigo — Bookstore, found on 1250 Brant Street in Burlington.
1250 Brant Street, Burlington
A Second Look
Used bookstore
A Second Look — Used bookstore, found on 109 King Street West in Kitchener. Also worth knowing about A Second Look: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
109 King Street West, Kitchener, N2G 1A7
Phone: +1-519-744-2274
Old Goat Books
Bookstore
Old Goat Books — Bookstore, found on 8 William Street East in Waterloo. Also worth knowing about Old Goat Books: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-18:00; Fr 10:00-21:00; Su 12:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
8 William Street East, Waterloo, N2J 1K9
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-18:00; Fr 10:00-21:00; Su 12:00-17:00
Phone: +1 519-880-9595
Campus Store
Bookstore
Campus Store — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Campus Store: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th 09:00-17:00; Fr 09:00-16:00; Sa-Su off; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Mo-Th 09:00-17:00; Fr 09:00-16:00; Sa-Su off
King W. Books
Bookstore
King W. Books is Bookstore on 1060 King Street West, Hamilton.
1060 King Street West, Hamilton, L8S 1L7
Epic Books
Bookstore
Epic Books — Bookstore on 226 Locke Street South. Also worth knowing about Epic Books: the map lists its hours as Tu-Fr 10:00-18:00; Su 12:00-16:00; Sa 10:00-17:00; Mo off; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
226 Locke Street South, L8P 4B7
Hours: Tu-Fr 10:00-18:00; Su 12:00-16:00; Sa 10:00-17:00; Mo off
Phone: +1-905-525-6538
Bookery
Bookstore
Bookery is Bookstore. Bookery also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
Pickwick Books
Used bookstore
Pickwick Books — Used bookstore on 325 Dundas Street East. Also worth knowing about Pickwick Books: it has a website with more detail.
325 Dundas Street East, L0R 2H5
KW Bookstore
Bookstore
KW Bookstore is Bookstore on 308 King Street West, Kitchener. KW Bookstore also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th 10:00-18:00; Fr,Sa 10:00-19:00; Su 12:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
308 King Street West, Kitchener, N2G 1B7
Hours: Mo-Th 10:00-18:00; Fr,Sa 10:00-19:00; Su 12:00-17:00
Phone: +1 519-742-1261
Christian Science Reading Room
Bookstore
Christian Science Reading Room is Bookstore.
Gospel Lighthouse Christian Bookstore
Bookstore
Gospel Lighthouse Christian Bookstore — Bookstore, found on 176 Speedvale Ave W in Guelph. Also worth knowing about Gospel Lighthouse Christian Bookstore: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
176 Speedvale Ave W, Guelph
Phone: +1-519-265-8877
Comic Book Warehouse
Bookstore
Comic Book Warehouse — Bookstore.
Indigo
Bookstore
Indigo — Bookstore.
Indigo
Bookstore
Indigo — Bookstore.
Coles
Bookstore
Coles is Bookstore.
Indigo
Bookstore
Indigo — Bookstore.
Coles
Bookstore
Coles is Bookstore.
Janus Books
Bookstore
Janus Books is Bookstore on 10 Paisley Street, Guelph. Janus Books also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Tu-Sa 10:00-19:00; Su 12:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
10 Paisley Street, Guelph, N1H 2N6
Hours: Tu-Sa 10:00-19:00; Su 12:00-18:00
Phone: +1 226-486-1255
Words Worth Books
Bookstore
Words Worth Books is Bookstore on 96 King Street South, Waterloo. Words Worth Books also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 09:00-21:00; Sa 09:00-18:00; Su 12:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
96 King Street South, Waterloo, N2J 1P5
Hours: Mo-Fr 09:00-21:00; Sa 09:00-18:00; Su 12:00-17:00
Phone: +1-519-884-2665
Barely Bent Books
Bookstore
Barely Bent Books is Bookstore on 46 King Street East, Dundas. Barely Bent Books also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Tu-Th 10:00-18:00, Fr 14:30-18:00, Sa 10:00-17:00.
46 King Street East, Dundas, L9H 1B8
Hours: Tu-Th 10:00-18:00, Fr 14:30-18:00, Sa 10:00-17:00
Sunrise Books
Bookstore
Sunrise Books is Bookstore.
Twice Loved Books
Bookstore
Twice Loved Books — Bookstore, found on 62 Metcalfe Street in Elora. Also worth knowing about Twice Loved Books: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 11:00-17:00; Tu-We closed.
62 Metcalfe Street, Elora, N0B 1S0
Hours: Mo-Su 11:00-17:00; Tu-We closed
Big B Comics
Bookstore
Big B Comics — Bookstore on 1045 Upper James Street. Also worth knowing about Big B Comics: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 11:00-19:00; Sa 11:00-18:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
1045 Upper James Street, L9C 3A6
Hours: Mo-Fr 11:00-19:00; Sa 11:00-18:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +1-905-318-9636
Aardvark Comics
Bookstore
Aardvark Comics — Bookstore.
Booked Experiences
Bookstore
Booked Experiences is Bookstore.
The Gospel Lighthouse
Bookstore
The Gospel Lighthouse — Bookstore.
Indigo
Bookstore
Indigo — Bookstore.
St.Jacobs book store
Bookstore
St.Jacobs book store — Bookstore.
Westside Stories
Bookstore
Westside Stories — Bookstore.
Conspiracy Comics
Bookstore
Conspiracy Comics is Bookstore.
J.H. Gordon Books
Used bookstore
J.H. Gordon Books is Used bookstore on 314 King Street East.
314 King Street East
Aloura
Bookstore
Aloura is Bookstore. Aloura also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
Riverside Bookshelf
Bookstore
Riverside Bookshelf — Bookstore on 32a Dundas Street West. Also worth knowing about Riverside Bookshelf: the map lists its hours as We-Su 10:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
32a Dundas Street West
Hours: We-Su 10:00-18:00
Phone: +15194429799
N2N Books - Used book store
Bookstore
N2N Books - Used book store — Bookstore on 28 Athens Street. Also worth knowing about N2N Books - Used book store: the map lists its hours as Mo-We, Fr 09:30-15:30; Th 09:30-18:30; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
28 Athens Street
Hours: Mo-We, Fr 09:30-15:30; Th 09:30-18:30
Phone: +1-905-574-1334
Brantford Bookworm
Bookstore
Brantford Bookworm is Bookstore on 331 Brant Avenue. Brantford Bookworm also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
331 Brant Avenue, N3T 3J9
The Printed Word
Bookstore
The Printed Word — Bookstore.
The Bookshelf
Bookstore
The Bookshelf is Bookstore on 41 Quebec Street, Guelph. The Bookshelf also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th, Su 11:00-18:30; Fr, Sa 11:00-20:30; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
41 Quebec Street, Guelph, N1H 2T1
Hours: Mo-Th, Su 11:00-18:30; Fr, Sa 11:00-20:30
Phone: +1 519-821-3311
Mountain Bookstore
Bookstore
Mountain Bookstore — Bookstore.
Indigo
Bookstore
Indigo — Bookstore on 550 King Street North. Also worth knowing about Indigo: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
550 King Street North
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +1-519-746-0641
What the map tells us about bookstores in Cambridge
15 of the 43 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
15 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
3 of the shops are tagged as selling used books — the second-hand shelves are where out-of-print gems and first editions turn up for pocket change.
The Cambridge bookstore crawl
Plot these on a map and the day plans itself: Indigo, Lookin' For Heroes on 83 Ontario Street South, Carry-On Comics, Cambridge Book Nook on 649 King Street East, Indigo on 1250 Brant Street, A Second Look on 109 King Street West, Old Goat Books on 8 William Street East, and Campus Store. That's 43 stops on the Cambridge bookstore crawl. 35 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for Cambridge
A few things worth knowing before you work through Cambridge's bookstores:
- Check the staff picks shelf first at Indigo. It's the fastest read of a shop's personality. If the picks excite you, the rest of the store will too.
- Ask the booksellers at Lookin' For Heroes. A good bookseller lives for the question 'what should I read next?' Give them three books you loved and watch them work.
- Check the cookbook section. Cookbooks are the most browsed and least bought section, which means the used shelf is full of barely-touched gems.
- Browse by serendipity, buy by list. Keep a want-list on your phone for the hunt, but let the shelves surprise you too. The best finds are never the planned ones.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Cambridge — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in Cambridge can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 43, or a bookstore we missed entirely? The map is the source of truth here — one OpenStreetMap edit corrects it for everyone.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 43 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Bookstore listings for Cambridge: 43 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.