A book vending machine gives homes to unwanted books
A Toronto bookstore owner has taken vending machines to an exciting new level.
Owner of The Monkey's Paw, Stephen Fowler, a bookstore that specialises in lesser-appreciated books came up with the idea for a vending machine as a way to move books that weren’t selling, calling it the Biblio-Mat.
Initially, Stephen said he imagined the machine to look like a “painted refrigerator box with one of my assistants inside; people would put in a coin and he would drop a book out," he explained to Quill & Quire.
Luckily, that never eventuated. Instead, Craig Small, the head of an animation studio in Toronto and friend of Stephens suggested they make one instead.
It took Craig four months to figure out the best way to keep the machine running smoothly.
The best part is the price. Purchasing a random book from the Biblio-Mat will set you back $2 CAD.
"It's just an extension of the store," Fowler said to the National Post. "You come here to find the book you never knew existed. It's all about serendipity."
