Local bookstores offer refuge from the rain and the gloomy economy
By Sheryl Wiser
Special to NWsource
Sheryl Wiser
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RSS for Daily FindWhether you're working less or just escaping more, curling up with a good book is a pleasure that not even a bad economy can diminish. A book is a relatively inexpensive treat, and Seattle is filled with new and used bookstores that provide both a great selection and a peaceful ambiance.
Here are a few of my favorites; I'd love to hear about yours. Tell me about them in the comments below.
Abraxus Books
In my opinion, Abraxus
Books, located in the old Ballard library space, is the mothership of Seattle's used bookstores
-- albeit one with Persian rugs, cathedral ceilings, green plants, cushy chairs
and 7,000 square feet of book love. What makes this place such a blast is the
extent to which congenial proprietor C. Anthony Topalian has catalogued his
tomes. "People are pressed for time, so we've really broken things down to
make browsing easier," he says. Everywhere you turn, there's another section
and subject to explore, like pirates or garlic-only cookbooks. When Topalian
says, "We can give you everything and anything you've ever wanted to read,"
he's not kidding.
Ophelia's Books
Fremont's Ophelia's Books is cozy and mellow. Funky plaster
busts act as landmarks for particular sections, like the sly little gnome with
pink trousers atop the gardening shelf. Owner Lisa Perry, an avid science fiction
and mystery fan, makes sure to stock the latest and greatest in those
departments, but she's also a thoughtful collector of all genres, including
young adult and children's books, which are housed upstairs. I'm a fan of her
supremely well-rounded and near-mint-condition literary offerings, which neatly
balance modern classics with contemporary titles.
Ravenna
Third Place Books
Ravenna Third Place
Books has achieved exactly what its name promises -- a neighborly "third
place" where the community gathers outside of home and work. Bright and
open, with worn wood floors and lots of elbow room, the bookstore offers the
best of both worlds for those who seek new and used books. You'll find plenty
of carefully selected classics and popular authors sharing shelf space. Hungry?
Hunker down with your newfound book in the bookstore's new Café Vios, the
second outpost of Capitol Hill's popular Greek eatery. If it's solitude you
seek, keep to the morning hours and avoid the weekends.
If you have a shop, sale, event or great product tip you'd like to share, e-mail seattleshopping@nwsource.com.
Copyright © The Seattle Times Company
Comments
Post a commentI love Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. It's part of a wonderful community center, just a couple of blocks off of Burke Gilman. Love it.
Add Queen Anne Books to great local book stores.
They are always well informed and friendly. There are 2 book clubs that meet there. There are plenty of author readings. They are incredibly supportive of our community and schools. With El Diablo coffee right next store there is always some fresh caffeine two steps away.
University Bookstore is still one of the best independent bookstores around. Great children's section. Plus, you can buy art supplies as well! And there's a parking lot--something I wish Elliott Bay had.
there are book shoppes and palaces that sell books. one of the best old time
book shoppes around is Bake Street Books
located in old town Black Diamond
and if you don't know where Black Diamond
is Find Out and discover the best book
in the State.
www.bakersteetbooks.net
Should you find yourself in Spokane don't miss Aunties Bookstore. A treasure trove of new and used books in a classic downtown building. Lots of comfy chairs make perusing your favorite books easy and If you are there on a Sunday afternoon, you might catch Bluegrass musicians jamming on the second floor.
Third Place Books Ravenna for book searching near home and Elliott Bay Books for book searching near work. Both stores have new cafes, and both new cafes are positive changes!
The funky-ier the better. I really liked the now closed store for some years now that sold used books & magazines in Fremont, but can't for the life of me remember the name, I loved to wander through the dusty stacks and treasure hunt.
Sheryl,
Half Price reigns locally. Any location. Of course Powell's is god like.
The Secret Garden Bookstore in Ballard is my favorite bookstore. It is small and friendly, a great place to browse. They will also order books and have them there for you to pick up. Small bookstores rock!
I swear to Gawd! It doesn't matter if we are talking bookstores or boutiques or you-name-it but recently the ONLY clothing stores, book stores and any other neighborhood store worth anything of value according to the Seattle Times resides ONLY in Ballard or Fremont. What a crock!
There really is a world out there beyond these narrow borders, dear reporters, and I suggest you go out and find them.
Thanks in advance.
With all due respect to the many fine small bookstores in Seattle, my favorite by far is the University Bookstore. One of the finest all-around stores anywhere. Notable strengths are technical and non-fiction, literary fiction, children's, and science fiction, but all areas are solid.
Let us pause for a moment to mourn the passing of the actual best used bookstore in Seattle, which was COUTH BUZZARD USED BOOKs in Phinney Ridge. It was an institution that fell prey to the rampant greed of the building owners during this hideous economy. I volunteered to shelve books for Jerry Lovchick for years because I got free books in exchange. It was a messy haven for bibliophiles.
I don't know if its still open, but what about Open Books, a Poem Emporium? What about the wonders of Elliott Bay Books, which is the last large indie bookstore in downtown Seattle. What about Arundel Books, also in downtown?
My favorite bookstore is, and has been for awhile ISLAND BOOKS on Mercer Island. It's and independent bookstore that has been an oasis of joy for book lovers since the 1970s! Owner Roger Page (yes, that is his real name) is a book god among men.
When I moved to Seattle in 1991, there were 365 bookstores in Seattle and surrounding communities, and I felt I'd died and gone to Nirvana (not the band, either). I visited every single bookstore at least once during those first years here, and was astonished by the variety of stores and books they offered.
Now that 3/4 of those bookstores have closed, I am still devoted to finding books the old fashioned way, by going to a bookstore, instead of buying from Amazon.
My dream is to one day open a bookstore in Maple Valley, which has no bookstore. Baker Street Books in Black Diamond is your only choice if you live out this way, and the owner is grumpy and doesn't take most books in trade. His used books are overpriced, as well. But I still shop there when I get a chance because its my only choice in the South King County area.
I read every single day, so I need to have a bead on good suppliers, and it saddens me that there are so few indie bookstores left.
Square One Books in West Seattle is the superstar on the West Side. For more than 20 years, they have been keeping us well read, with the fine and diminishing art of hand selling. Tell Gretchen or the other staff the last book you read and enjoyed, and she'll personally steer you to your next favorite book. Awesome!
Jackson Street Books counted itself lucky to be amongst the Seattle Booksellers. For many reasons, we are much happier in Hoquiam selling books at http://jacksonst-books.com/
Cherish those bookstores who still open their doors daily, they depend on you.
For used books, the Seattle Book Center on Stone Way has a high quality collection, reasonable prices, and a very nice owner who really knows his books! There is a nice store in Duvall, Duvall Books, with a good collection and great prices. Also outstanding, but a bit away, are the Tacoma Book Center (right next to the Tacoma Dome) and Easton's Books in Mount Vernon. Both large, quality collections. Finally, Bellingham has two great stores, right across the street from each other, Henderson's and Michaels.
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