Russell Books

Amazing bookstore, laid out very nicely with friendly staff. The used books have great prices! Excellent selection in all genres and other bookish/hobby items too.

What a majestic bookstore. It is spacious and has a vast collection of books. I was delighted to find most of the books I was looking for at good prices. If you are a book lover and love being in the midst of books, you can easily spend hours at this place. The staff are friendly and helpful too. They will offer to help you find what you are looking for or you yourself can approach them if you need any help finding something there. I am sure this place will become one of my favorite haunts in Victoria.

One of The greatest bookstore on the Vancouver Island! So many amazing books and great service !

We love the relaxed family atmosphere at Russell’s. The staff are amazing: personable, friendly, and helpful!! And they have an amazing selection of book in all genres! They welcome us to do our book launch there for my wife’s book “ Armando and the Amazing Animal Race” and they could not have been more supportive and helpful. Check it out!!!

Normally a 5 star place but have been very unimpressed at the $20 poster selection which are pixelated, low resolution, or very clearly AI renditions of celebrities (such as the Taylor Swift one below). You can get much higher resolution prints with NO AI from Monk Office for maximum $5.

I cannot walk out of the store empty handed. The selections and deals make my heart beat faster. Love Russel’s and the folks who own it and work there. It’s a must stop location for me in Victoria.

Russell books is a huge store with an incredible collection - floor to ceiling. There is so much to choose from and inspire you. Some of the stacks are so jam packed it can feel a little overwhelming. The staff are incredibly kind and helpful. Definitely a place to shop and inspire - and to visit again and again! So glad we came here on our visit to Victoria. If I lived closed I would be here weekly for sure!

I visit Russell Books every time I visit BC (from the US). They have a HUGE diverse & fascinating selection of new and used books...at great prices. I often find Canada and BC book subjects not often found easily in the 'States. They ship to the US at very reasonable prices, so don't fear weighing yourself down on your return trip if you can't resist the temptation (ask me how I know-).

Expansive selection of books are all types, and great selection of used books. A must visit! They have bookstore dogs which is the highest level of service!

Best for: discounts on new cookbooks. Huge space, lots of books and yet... their selection seems small. I can't usually find what I'm looking for, new or used. Shelves are a bit too close together for browsing. More signs indicating genre and letter of alphabet would be nice. As for browsing.. I wish they had displays and handwritten reviews, tables highlighting new releases by genres, etc. Their new releases shelves are shockingly small and oddly placed upstairs. What a great space! It just needs help with the browsing experience.

The book selection is amazing. I was awestruck by the vast collection of alternate editions/covers that I hadn't seen anywhere else in my bookstore travels. Allow yourself at least a couple of hours to browse the stacks (and even then you'll be remiss at all the ones you had to leave behind...) Staff was very courteous and helpful in guiding you amongst the labyrinth of titles. It was nice having used copies on the same shelves as the new versions, for the readers on a budget. Thank you for keeping the first editions behind locked glass. I fear that temptation would have been my financial undoing otherwise...

Forget Munro's Book on Government St., this is where it's at. Honestly the outside is not remarkable at all, as the mini strip mall and immediate surroundings are deceiving. The inside is way different being bright, spacious and airy...and best of all 2 floors with an elevator and escalator. While there is a lot to look at as a casual browser, the kids/toddler book section was pretty impressive. There was a large variety and some quality items were even on clearance markdowns which I could never recall seeing at any bookstore in my lifetime. The currency conversion works out in with U.S. dollars too. Overall I think it's worth a tourist stop if visiting in town.

I LOVED this bookstore. I was visiting the area for a few days and was almost done with the book I brought so decided to hop in to grab a new one. This store is very well organized and has two floors with an escalator and an elevator. Their young adult section isn't as large as I wanted it to be but I can't fault them: they had so many other books too. This space was super clean and had a bunch of staff around to answer questions. I loved it and I'd definitely recommend it.

What a wonderful family owned bookstore. There are so many new and used books. If you can't find what your looking for they will order it for you or keep you on a list and call you when they get a copy. There are two floors. I only made it to the main level. The books are stacked on shelves from the floor to the ceiling. I was in the cookbook section for such a long time. The staff were very helpful in helping me find the book I wanted. There were a few places to sit. Can't wait to go back on my next visit to Victoria.

Russell books is rocking an excellent show Every time I walk into that place, I feel a sense of safeness and pleasure because I know I am in the company of hard working + knowledgeable people! Here are a few strengths of the RB: -the staff members friendly, they are also very knowledgeable of the products! It's quite refreshing to be able to ask questions and receive the answers in a pleasant manner. -the store layout is great; not only is it well laid out in a way that accommodates the public health measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, it also jolts me with excitement every time I am able to make my way there! -good selection and process for ordering books they might not have is a dream! Overall, I highly recommend you select RUssel for your book-searching needs!

Russell Books has been an amazing fixture in Victoria for a long time, but with their move to their new space, they've created a destination bookstore. While Munro's is lovely, it has slipped to second place with Russell's creating a truly wonderful space to while away an afternoon. In a world where Amazon has kicked the teeth in of so many bricks and mortar businesses, Russell's has shown that it can grow, thrive and tell Jeff Bezos where to go. My kids love to wander around, discovering new authors and opportunities to be taken away to magical worlds. With Russell's combination of used and new, it means that I can always afford to help them on their journeys.

Russell Books has a long history, which started in Ontario. I've been a customer for over twenty years. Russell's has a huge selection of new and used books and many other items. The customer service is always cheerful and efficient.

I have a visual impairment so I use the magnifier on my phone to help read. I was thumbing through cookbooks using the magnifier and one staff member came over in a huff and chastised me, "Taking pictures of the interior of books is copyright infringement." I was so surprised and I didn't feel like talking about my impairment so I said fine. But man, even if I did have a master premeditated plan to steal recipes this way, it seems like the response should be to either let it slide because it'd be a pretty petty crime, or at least be cooler about it and just say "sorry we don't allow pictures in here" or something to that effect. Otherwise, fantastic book store. Kinda pricey for used books.

I have a very patient family. They'll crawl around a bookstore and make games from the spines when they already have their one book they've chosen. Meanwhile, I'm only halfway done side-stepping through shelves mentally scanning every title. Russell Books is the one place that will tire out their patience and hunger, because I will lose hours in here. If you want a used copy of a well-known title, you'll have your choice of editions and conditions. Also, a great place to discover titles because of their galactic selection. I can't wait until travel opens again so I can ferry back over here.

If heaven is a bookstore, THIS IS IT! Floor to ceiling books on two floors. Yes, I wrote two floors. Not totally unusual, however, you have to enter the second floor from a separate street entrance. Every time I come to Victoria I browse here. So much fun!

My husband and I were recently in Victoria in vacation, and scoped out the local bookstores. This was one of our FAVORITES! They had so much I finally had to put the brakes on because we were going to be spending so much. I absolutely loved their old Hollywood section. I buy tons of old, out-of-print Hollywood bios for research in my own writing, and they had plenty. Another treasure was their section on the craft of writing. Bigger than just about any other store I've been in! I'd been looking for a copy of Donald Maass's "Writing the Breakout novel" forever, and finally found it here. There are two sections, so don't miss anything important. You have to go back outside from the storefront to the other entrance just to the right and climb the stairs to get to the fiction, history, writing, and Hollywood sections. The downstairs has cookbooks, crafts, the outdoors, etc. Can't wait to come back!

Used book lover's heaven! Literally floor to ceiling, wall to wall books, all types, all prices. Found two good ones, bargain-priced, within minutes. Excellent, friendly service. No public bathrooms, no public wifi, but lots of books!

Me and the missus recently visited this wonderful bookstore during a trip to Victoria. It has the feel and look of the type of bookstores I spent many a childhood hour in. The scope and variety of books they had was amazing. We both found books we had been looking for. In my case, it was something that was fairly hard to find. But they had it. And by the looks of it, they had a lot of stuff you might otherwise encounter difficulties in obtaining. Since they also sell used books, this place is going to be hard to resist the next time I visit Victoria.

What a gem. I loved stumbling into this store while wandering Victoria. A great selection, especially of gently used books! Fair prices and well organized. Definitely recommend a stop in this shop for any book lover.

10/5!!!!!! This is a HAVEN for all book lovers. There are shelves and shelves books for every genre that you could imagine. All of the stuff members are super friendly and you can tell that they are avid readers. It was fun to nerd out with them. I was able to find some of the original covers for the books that I grew up with and they were all so reasonably priced. I could easily spend a couple of hours here. I'm looking forward to my next visit. :)

In a time when bookstores are disappearing, this is a true gem Make sure to visit the whole store. Downstairs is the old rare items. A very good place to wander around and find a treasure.

We stopped in here to get a walking and hiking book, for we wanted to explore East Sooke as well as the immediate area. This bookstore was along the lines of Powell's bookstore where we live. Great selection, many levels, discounted books, etc. We weren't in there long but found what we needed and were on our way. Great find along Forte street!

My favorite bookstore in Victoria. Yes, I like Munro's Books, it's cute and easy to get to but I find myself actually BUYING books from Russell's. New books on the ground floor, used books outside and up the staircase and special/antique books outside and downstairs. I came to just browse and went away with three books. Those three books were bought individually because everytime I took my one book and headed for the door another one jumped out and grabbed me. Good selection if not packed into a space half what it should be. The people are friendly and helpful and the prices are lower than you'd expect.

Great store. Well organized and really wide selection. If you sell your books here, you won't get anything near what you paid but it's ok and you can buy used or new books with the credit.

I sadly converted to e-reading several years ago... But i keep a running list of books to buy (for myself or gifts) and come here every time I visit Victoria! Beautiful selection of new and used books. Amazing rare book collection. Amazing staff.

This is my favourite bookstore of all time, located in my lovely hometown, and every time I am back, it is a must visit. They have literally everything you could want. Multiple floors of books stacked from floor to ceiling, with reasonable prices and plenty of books that are hard to find elsewhere.Odds are, if you are looking for a particular book, you will be able to find it here. A lot of textbooks and older books and a staff who are genuinely knowledgeable and very into what they do - felllow bibliophiles rejoice! The prices are also wonderful - you can get a lot of books for a very reasonable prices. Does it get any better than this? No, my fellow booknerds. No it does not. Go get lost in the stacks :)

I've never seen so many books in my life and I love books. This is a great new, used, and rare books. The staff was really helpful and offered to order any books that that they didn't have. There are three floors with shelves from floor to ceiling. They had everything and in the basement a great selection of hard to find books. I had to buy a new bag to bring my purchases back to Washington with me.

My books (Set Free Indeed and Endless Possibilities) are featured in a lot of book stores including this one -- why I have not receive any royalties from Amazon -- I will never know. Pamela Fitch

This is the most impressive used book store I've ever been to. Their selection is insane. I was looking for some Latin American & Middle Eastern authors that are hard to find used, and they had pretty much their entire bodies of work in stock. It is incredibly well organized and the books are in fantastic condition. I've also never seen a used bookstore with so many staff. There must have been 8 employees in the upstairs section on a Monday afternoon. Russell Books must do crazy good business, because that's a lot of salary! They were all very helpful.

A highlight of our trip: Russell's is vast, well organised, has a helpful staff, and gave us credit for books we bright on to trade. The only complaint I have is that there are three sections, and you have to leave the store in order to visit one of the other sections.

This was my first time here and I was absolutely blown away by the assortment and collection of new and used books they had. I believe they have 3 separate entrances into the store depending on what you're looking for. The staff were all extremely friendly and eager to help me find what I was looking for. I ended up picking up GRRM's A Dance with Dragons for under $10. Can't beat the price! I wish Vancouver had something remotely close to this.

I've been a customer of Russell Books for over a dozen years -- ever since I moved to Victoria. Their large inventory of new, used and "vintage" books is unequalled on the Island and their staff are always friendly and helpful. I have purchased several hundred books from them over the years, both for my own library and as gifts for family and friends. I recommend this great shop to book lovers of all ages.

Book heaven in several storeys with everything that your literary heart can desire. Very fine music book section in particular.

Loved this adorable bookstore. If you want cooking books they have it. I had to limit myself to one. I also got a gardening book and a pregnancy book. The prices are great and you could be in there for hours!

When my book loving friend is visiting from Alberta, we always make a trip into Victoria to the best used books store west of Penticton. Two levels of choices makes it easy to spend an hour (or two or three) amongst the shelves. My kids love the kid options too!

Quite simply one of the best bookstores, well, ever. I would consider moving to Victoria (although Trump is also a factor) so I could be close to it.

A book lovers dream really, I could adventure through the floor too ceiling books for the rest of my life!

If you are a book enthusiast young or old, this is a must stop whether you are a resident on Vancouver Island or tourist. I came as a tourist and could have spent the entire day in this store. The prices are so reasonable and they had two very hard to find books that I was able to purchase. The staff were super friendly and helpful as well!

Amazing selection of books that go from rare to vintage to used to new. The staff is friendly and extremely helpful. This is a must stop if you have any time in Victoria.

This is the best bookstore I have ever stepped in. As a librarian, I have stepped into a LOT of bookstores. This bookstore is quaint and overwhelming- just the way I like it! The prices are unbelievably cheap and I love that new and used books are all thrown together. They have the most obscure books you wouldn't think you needed (but upon finding them heck yeah you do!). I could spend hours in here!

I will first say that my interaction with Russell Books was primarily through their online website. They had an amazing selection and the prices were great for me. I was able to find so many books I wanted (needed) but narrowed it down to 14. My low rating is entirely due to the shipping of my books and the circumstances surrounding it. I placed my order on Jan 12. After my books shipped on Jan 15, I waited over a week without receiving any notifications. I finally called the store on the website on Jan 28. The associate looked up my order, first told me it was shipping CanadaPost and took forever and then changed her mind and said it was shipping from the United States and was most likely held up in customs. She advised me to wait until the following Monday to check back if I had not received my items. She gave me the number of the warehouse that shipped my items (located in Victoria, BC and not the US) On Jan 30, I called the warehouse number. I was informed that my items had actually all shipped from Victoria and were being delivered by Purolator and gave me the tracking number. She tracked the package and saw that it had been sitting in Laval, QC (15 min from my house) for 8 days because someone wrote down my address wrong. I double checked my confirmation paper and email and both had my correct address, phone and email information. Whoever wrote out my shipping label did not include any of my contact info so Purolator was unable to contact me. She gave me Purolator's phone number and I called them. The gentleman there tried to correct my address and re-route the package because it was already slated to be returned to the sender. He told me to check on Monday to see if it was out for delivery. Jan 1, I checked the tracking and it showed the package was sitting in Vancouver, BC. I tried to call the warehouse several times but was unable to get through, nor could I access a voicemail. I called the store and spoke with an associate who told me the warehouse was closed on the weekends and unfortunately did not have a voicemail or answering machine. This explains why my package sat in Laval for so long. Purolator tried to contact the shipper but could not leave a message because they were attempting to contact between 4-6am Eastern time and BC is 3 hours behind me. I spoke with a manager who promised to have the owner call me the next business day. Jan 2, I received a call from the warehouse manager who had received my books and apologized for the error and was resending the package but would take another week to arrive. I could not even get them to overnight or even 2 day ship the items to me. The owner called me afterwards (because I insisted) and told me the reason she could not ship the items any faster was because she had lost money on my order by having to pay return postage and reshipping fees. Most businesses would offer some sort of compensation for a mistake that was entirely on their side, but I guess the circumstances surrounding my order made that impossible or improbable. I finally received my books on Jan 9, almost a full month from the date I ordered them. I am happy with the condition of my books, but I don't think I will order from their online store again. I always try to support local or Canadian businesses before resorting to shopping via the United States, especially when they offer extremely competitive prices, but I am afraid of having a repeat performance with Russell Books.

If you are a buyer: Russell books is a decent bookstore. It's the biggest in Victoria, and has good selection. They also have sale items for some items like cookbooks and childrens books at the front of the store, many of which make for good gifts. But other stock is terribly overpriced, including books that they have many copies of. You need to know your prices to avoid getting ripped off at Russell's. For example, I saw a used 2003 cookbook in there today that was $20. I punched it into Amazon.ca and there were copies available for under $10. If they don't have the book you want, you can be put on a list for them to call you when it comes in. I tried this once only to find a few months later the book I was seeking sitting on their shelf for sale. I never got a phone call. As for their staff, they seem to hire only 20 somethings who don't know much about books. They never seem to know if they have what you want in stock or not, and will simply point you to which shelf to look. Thanks! If you are a seller: Avoid this place like the plague. They make their money by buying large quantities of books for next to nothing, and selling them at huge markups. If you bring in books of any value, be prepared to be shocked by what they offer you for them. I once brought in a box of 40 newer university press books I spent $1000+ to buy during grad school. Russell's offered a whopping $40 for all of them. A buck a book. And they only would give in-store credit. Another thing that pissed me off was that they couldn't count them while I was there, nor say when they would have a quote ready. No, I had to come back at the end of the day. I ended up taking my books to another bookstore than does consignment and got $200 cash back for them.

Beautiful place, great displays, perhaps the tidiest bookstore I have ever visited! The staff is helpful and unobtrusive.

Lots and lots of selection and cute bookstore girls that made conversation with me while I walked the aisles. All of the prices are reasonable as well. If I lived in town, I would probably make this my second home.

If you love books this is your spot! Great selection of new and used books. Their used books are reasonably priced and if they don't have what you're looking for they will order it in!

I've been a long time customer here and have even sold back some of my books in exchange for store credit. I love the thrill of the hunt for a good book. Russell's has everything and the staff tries their very best to help you find that book whose author you've forgotten, or a rare publication. And although it's mostly used books there are plenty of new ones in stock, many of which sell for up to half the retail price.

I'd give this place one star if it wasn't for the books. One thing about the place I can say is good, is the selection. However, they have no inventory system and if you want to find something, they actually have to look in like 100 places. I don't have time for that, I'll just go to Munro's or order from bookdepository. The thing I dislike most about this place is that the people that work there, at least a lot of them, are fake-nice. Some are great, but when I go to a bookstore I don't want to be asked every 10 seconds if I'm finding everything I'm looking for. If I want help, I'll ask. If i wanted to be harassed I'd go to Chapters - hell, even they don't do that anymore! Seriously, it is nauseating. I just want to browse. And what's with the doors open in winter, it is always cold - I felt bad for people at the cash desk. The whole place has a dirty, squished feel to it. Like, it feels like a really big but crappy thrift store, except you can get pocketbooks at thrift stores for like, a quarter, but here? You pay like $4-5. For a shitty mass market paperback! I laughed when I first saw the prices for those things. Nice trades or hardcover, sure, but mass market? Laugh laugh laugh. The shelves are so high you might as well collapse from vertigo now. I never stay long as I start feeling naueous. I've been here enough times to have formed a pretty strong opinion. Why go if I dislike it? Because I still like books. Sometimes I really want to see if something might pop out at me. But mostly I go just to browse and get ideas - that is, until I get annoyed with people bothering me. And the following is why I actually do not go there anymore: Seems like they have a large staff turnover rate, and I'm not surprised. I wouldn't want to work in that icebox either with a bunch of phonies. I know a couple of people who have worked there and they are pretty unethical in their treatment of staff. All about the customers, just like a big heinous corporation. Might as well go to Wal-mart! I like supporting local businesses, but only if they are ethical - in their practices in regards to environment, staff, AND customers. You lose, Russell Books.

If you're looking for something out of print or obscure, you can more than likely find it at Russell Books. Very well organized with a ridiculous selection of new and used books, it's at the very least the best locally owned bookstore in Victoria.

I stopped in to sell back some books i had read recently and lighten my knapsack and got a reasonable price for them in cash (more would have come my way by store credit). I was pleasantly surprised by both the size and the organization of their stock. Too many used bookstores are impossible to navigate. The staff behind the counter was very friendly and i intend to return.

Excellent selection, friendly staff, and fair prices. Not only do they have a great variety of new and used fiction and non-fiction titles, but they also carry a good selection of books in other languages. My daughter loves this place for its young adult section (Pretty Little Liars, anyone?).

Love love love Russell Books!! I hate shopping at Chapters and love that Russell Books is a local bookstore that sells used and new books. The cashiers are really great and I've also sold some of my books to them and have gotten great prices for them.

Russell's is the first local used bookstore I think of when searching for a book. Great selection, friendly staff, and they pay good rates for your used books. Often can get new copies for a deep discount. Keep up the good work!