I found this ancient bookmark while going through some of my few remaining physical novels – in this case it was in Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (which I didn’t really enjoy when it was released in 83 because I was still enthralled with the original two Pern trilogies, but enjoyed a lot more in 2012 when I re-read the whole series after Anne McCaffrey’s death).
Bakka Books Bookmark
I remember bringing the bookmark in to school in 10th grade and redrawing the right hand side (the ship, planets, and foreshortened versions of the “exhaust”) as the cover for my portfolio in art class that year.
I always loved visiting Toronto through the 80s because it meant I could spend an afternoon digging through the shelves at this location. The sheer selection of science fiction and fantasy there was incredible, and the staff have always been both knowledgeable and helpful – a good number of the old Bakka staff have gone on to have excellent writing careers of their own.
I’ve actually never visited any of the other locations since they moved, and had NO IDEA the Silver Snail was the off-shoot of the comic store half of the original Bakka.
The store has moved several times since the 80s, but is still going and is still focused on speculative fiction without the trappings of collectibles and models.
July Maps – 10 years
While on the topic of flashbacks, once again I went back a decade on the blog and grabbed one of my older maps to compare to my newer work. I’m occasionally flabbergasted that the blog is over eleven years old now, and I’ve been posting maps here for the majority of that time.
And I’ve been getting better. 🙂
Dyson's Dodecahedron 
Wow, good to hear about the specialty book store. I think every cool bookstore I’ve ever been to has closed. Treasure them while you can.
Amazing really. Some would have thought the well would (eventually) run dry.
Quite the work, Dyson.
: )
I didn’t realise Silver Snail was an offshoot of them either – I think Bakka are on Harbord now. Do you still live somewhere near Toronto?
Bakka was on Yonge, dangerously close to my apartment when I lived downtown. Loved that place. I found Moreta’s Ride so depressing I nearly failed a grade in middle school. Haven’t read it since (although my copy of dragonsinger fell apart I read it so often).
Yeah, Moreta & Nerilka back to back were too much for me at that age and I stopped following the Pern series until I went back and re-read all her works after her death.