For a large subsection of people, much larger than most of us probably realized, the dream is the same:
“Oh my god, I’ve always wanted to own a bookstore!”
“Ha. So many people say that to me,” says Armchair Books owner Sarah Temporale. “Almost everyone. Or they say, ‘this must be the best job in the world.’ And for me, it is. I just don’t get as much reading in as I used to.”
Whistler’s only bookstore, Armchair Books, opened in Whistler Village in 1982 when Squamish resident Hazel Ellis found a tiny, 300-square-foot space tucked into a corner of one of the first buildings completed in Whistler Village and filled it with books.
“That’s two years before I was even born,” Sarah says. “Floor-to-ceiling books in the space that now holds just our children’s section. And Whistler Village was basically still a construction site. It must have been wild.”
It was. Village construction in the early 80s was halted by an economic recession, and Whistler’s future was unsteady, to say the least. The community only boasted 1365 full-time residents according to the 1981 government census.
“Of course, back in those days, Whistler only had one busy season, December to March,” says Dan Ellis, who took over Armchair Books from his mother in 1999. “We’d have line-ups out the door until April, and then for the next eight months it would just be locals. My mom didn’t mind because that gave her more chances to read at work, and of course, the Whistler community showed up and supported us. With such a small space, Mom was able to keep the store going until the Village slowly started getting summer visitors too.”
From 300 Square Feet to a Whistler Institution
Hazel expanded the shop in the early 1990s, then expanded again once the Whistler Post Office vacated their overflowing space behind the bookstore. When Dan took over in 1998, the shop boasted 1200 square feet of book lovers’ paradise. “I have three brothers,” he says, “but I am the only one who loves to read, so I came on board and let Mom have a break.”
In the early days especially, Dan would allow his employees to read at work, “so long as you put the book down when a customer comes in.” As Whistler grew into a year-round destination, however, reading time in the shop has diminished. “Over the years you get to know people,” Dan says. “Locals for sure, but also guests from all over the world that come in two or three times a year. I’d get to know them, and know their kids and greet people by name when they came in. That resonates with people, and it resonates with me too. Book lovers can be some of the most intelligent, fantastic and crazy people. Sometimes I felt more like a bartender, just listening to people spill their life’s story to me.”
One of those intelligent, fantastic customers was a young Sarah Temporale, who arrived in Whistler as a bright-eyed 24-year-old snowboarder who quickly found work in both a restaurant and a snowboard shop to finance her new life of shredding as much as possible, and reading in whatever downtime she could find.
“I was on the bus one day with a friend,” says Sarah. “When we sat down, my friend knew the person next to us and introduced her as Jeanette, and mentioned that she works at the bookstore. And I said, ‘Oh my God, I would love to work there!’ Because that is what everyone says.”
But in this case, Armchair Books was hiring. “We needed someone part-time,” Dan says. “Just one day a week. I knew Sarah as a great customer, a great reader. We were waiting for her to bring in a resume. She started as a part-timer and slowly but surely became a full-timer and then assistant manager.”
Sarah matched the store’s vibe and clientele as tightly as the air inside a balloon. This became important every autumn as Armchair played an increasingly larger role in the Whistler Writers Festival, which sees authors and readers from across the country converge in Whistler for a long weekend of readings, seminars, workshops and fun literary soirees. The fest takes place in the Fairmont Chateau Whistler hotel every year, and Armchair is onsite as the official bookseller.
“Dan set that up early on with the festival,” Sarah says. “We set up a pop-up shop with all the books the attending authors are presenting. It can be tricky to figure out how many of each book to bring in because a lot of the time, it depends on how engaging the author is at their event. Sometimes an unknown author who can connect with the live audience ends up outselling everyone.”
A New Chapter for Armchair Books
Dan handed the keys to the shop over to Sarah in 2023. “I was in my late 50s and feeling like there’s still a lot of stuff I’d like to do while I’m young,” he says. “I knew I wanted to leave the shop in the hands of someone who thinks about community and the people here. It’s about more than just books. Sarah figured out how to make that happen.”
“If I didn’t buy it,” Sarah says, “I think Dan would still be there!”
Personally, I’ve been an Armchair Books customer since 1988. And I can say with confidence that beyond a few cosmetic changes and a slightly updated/curated list of books on the shelves, not much else has changed under Sarah’s “new regime.” The staff still knows our names, the books I want are usually there (and if not, Sarah is quick to order them in), and my own son has outgrown the kids’ section (which I still remember as the whole store).
Books, Community and the Whistler Writers Festival
And you can bet Sarah will have her book table set up at this year’s 25th anniversary of the Whistler Writers Festival, set for November 5 to 8, 2026 at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, and the Whistler Public Library.
“I always wanted to work in a bookstore,” Sarah says. “The opportunity to do that and live what so many people think of as a dream… And to be part of such a legacy here in Whistler, joining something that has been part of this community since before I was alive and be able to usher it into its next chapter. That’s a big responsibility, but it’s also pretty special.”
And while Sarah admits running a small business definitely means she isn’t getting to read as much, Armchair founder Hazel Ellis is reading more than ever. “Oh yeah,” Dan says. “She’s 87, and she’s killing it. She lives two blocks from me and reads three to four books a week and only sees the bright side of things; that’s kept her healthy. I guess that’s her secret.”
That’s the magic of books: they can give you a life most only dream of, and a long one at that.
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