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| - Librairie Michel Fortin is THE prime destination for all your language learning needs. It's also the only bookstore of its kind, which helps. :)
The store is divided in 2 sections, a huge one on the right of the store dedicated to French and English learning so you can flaunt your truly bilingual Canadian self (or just get to know a whole new world of cool Montrealers!). The smaller section you access directly from the entrance contains every language you might ever want to learn: Swahili, Lakota, Tibetan but also the usual Euro-languages and your customary Chinese and Japanese.
The selection of books can range from good to downright "Is that it?" depending on the language. Clearly the more obscure the language you're learning is, the smaller the selection. The fun is to find novelty learning aides such as "Making-out in Japanese" or the adventures of Tintin auf Deutsch. But just when you found the book that promises to make you a native Breton speaker, you flip it around to be violently assaulted by the discreet price tag. Fortin is unique, it knows it and it will make sure you do too. A simple, pocket size book is minimum $20-24. If you want a cartoon or a more detailed publication, you'll find yourself wondering whether you'll want to "Chat up Swedish Babes" or eat lunch at all.
The service is excellent tough. I've witnessed the employees call other bookstores to find a specific book for a customer. On one occasion, the book I had to buy was a bit sad-looking, the cashier promptly gave a 5% discount. Merci!
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