Martha Sharpe on her favourite bookstores
The Flying Books founder on slow days in Grand Bend and steak frites at L’Express.
After a decades-long career as an editor and publisher, Martha Sharpe started her chapter as an indie bookseller in 2015 by curating a small selection of books for temporary shelves across Toronto, including in the Gladstone and Peter Pan Bistro.
In the ten years since, she has grown Flying Books into a bookstore and a publisher with two locations in Little Italy and Queen Street West, a mentorship program for up-and-coming writers, and a stacked calendar of events and writing classes.
Her newest location, Flying Books at Neverland, features a cafe and wine bar and has become a destination for the city’s Lit Girls and Book Worms. She spoke to Airplane Mode about what bookstores to visit in Brooklyn and the best steak frites in Montréal.
Wild Blueberries in Georgian Bay
Over the summer, my family and I went to a friend's place near Manitoulin Island in northern Georgian Bay. It was just beautiful. On this one hike we did, there were wild blueberries growing like crazy and we just ate and ate and ate, and then we would walk some more, and there would be even more. We talked about how we would look back on that memory this winter, and not be able to convince ourselves it was real.
Favourite Bookstores
We lived on the south east corner of Prospect Park in Brooklyn for almost eight years. Greenlight has the latest and greatest: you go there to see the fiction profile of the moment. I'm dying to visit Books Are Magic and McNally Jackson is a favourite. Sarah McNally is a genius who changed the image of what an indie bookstore can be. I also used to live in Montréal, where Paragraph near McGill and Drawn & Quarterly on the Plateau are filled with well-read, bonkers, vibrant, hilarious, wonderful people.
Steak Frites at L’Express
L’Express in Montréal’s Plateau is the best restaurant. When you sit down, they bring you a jar of cornichons with wooden tongs. It's great. I order the steak frites of course. When it comes to wine, I put myself in their hands, or look at a couple nearby that seem like they're having a good time and know what they're doing and just say, “we'll get what that is.” We’re always splitting a bottle. Why just a glass? We’re going to be there for a while. You have to get there late, so you don't feel rushed.
Not-So-Beachy-Reads
I'll read something difficult on the beach. At Grand Bend I’ve read Daughter by Claudia Dey and My Brilliant Friend, from Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. I am also usually reading manuscripts that I'm considering for Flying Books.
Slow Days in Grand Bend
My family has always had a place on the beach here. The perfect day starts with a run on the beach and bacon, eggs, avocado, beans on toast, coffee, and orange juice for breakfast. Go down for a swim, read a bit, and then head into town. Maybe stop by Sea Jewels on Main Street for gifts or buy a ridiculous fluorescent thing at Archies. The mini-golf is great and so is the ice cream at The Dairy Dip. You wouldn’t really eat out in Grand Bend, so for dinner, we grill up some stuff at home — we have kids, so it’s usually burgers and hot dogs. Finally, grab what you’ll need for a fire and head down to the beach once more to watch the sunset and roast some marshmallows.
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