Earlier this month CBS Seattle released a list of Seattle’s Best Independent Bookshops.
They begin their story::
A bigger book isn’t necessarily a better book — and so too a bigger bookstore isn’t necessarily a better bookstore. While Barnes & Noble, Borders and online retailers may have thousands of copies for that latest best seller, Seattle also is home to many smaller independent shops which cater to readers with finer tastes. Besides Elliott Bay, there’s also the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Left Bank Books, Wessel & Lieberman and others putting a unique stamp on Seattle’s reading scene.
Beside the shops mentioned above, Third Place Books, East West Bookshop and Queen Anne Books round out the list.
While we are delighted to have made the cut I thought it worth mentioning a few others that also help put a “a unique stamp on Seattle’s reading scene.”
Seattle, a perennial contender for America’s most literate city, has not been immune to the wave of change that has swept over the bookselling world. We have lost plenty of quality bookshops over the last few years – Bailey Coy, M. Coy Books, Square One Books to name a few- and many that still exist continue to struggle to stay relevant and profitable. But as for bookselling in Seattle, with all due respect to Mr. Sinatra, If you can make it anywhere, you can make it here. It’s up to you Seattle, it’s up to you!
Image above from a previous Book Patrol post Potterpalooza, on the the festivities held at Seattle’s University Book Store to celebrate the release of Harry Potter 7 back in July of 2007. The University Book Store didn’t make the list because it is technically not an independent but it’s damn close.
UPDATE: Thanks to Anna at University Book Store for letting me know that indeed the University Book Store is “100% an independent bookstore! We are part of PNBA and ABA, and we are a company run separately from University of Washington.”