Last-minute photos before Chapters bookstore closed in downtown Vancouver

I wandered into the downtown Chapters store yesterday to see what was still on the shelves.

While there were plenty of titles upstairs, it was a book desert on the main floor shortly before closing time on the final day.

Justin Trudeau's autobiography was one of the few new books prominently displayed near the entrance, but there didn't appear to be too many takers.

Meanwhile, the gadgets that used to be so prominently displayed on the ground floor had disappeared.

Customers were encouraged to visit the store at Granville and West Broadway to find them.

FGL Stores, which owns SportChek and Atmosphere stores, will reportedly take over the downtown Chapters location next month.

It was a sad end to 17 years of book retailing at that location. Even sadder is that when Chapters arrived, it helped drive the welcoming Granville Book Company out of business and had a pernicious impact on the locally owned Book Warehouse chain.

The only positive thing that emerged from those unfortunate events was the rise of Pulpfiction Books.

Its founder, Chris Brayshaw, used to work at Granville Book Company, where he likely learned a few things about competing against the giants.