Annie Bloom’s bookseller, author, nwbooklovers columnist, and humorist Jeffrey Shaffer was featured on Oregon Arts Beat. Follow the link to watch for snippets of his live comedy, a mini-tour of his bookstore, a side-by-side comparison of store cat Annie and her bookmark depiction, and more.
The holiday season was busy at Annie Bloom’s Books. A steady stream of customers flowed in, which was good. What’s not so good is when too many people are ready to make their purchases at the same time. The traffic of commerce starts backing up and shoppers are forced to stand in line. Line formation …
Oooh, I just love a good holiday gift guide! So after I helped put one together for Queen Anne Book Company, I surfed the websites of the independent bookstores of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and found MORE. Take a browse. You might even want to share your favorite lists because not everyone is lucky …
A consequence of working at Annie Bloom’s is that I’ve developed two personalities. BookLover Jeff is gregarious, always happy to start open-ended conversations with customers, and sometimes has trouble knowing when it’s time to shut up. BookSeller Jeff is pragmatic, maintains an awareness of what’s happening in every aisle, and is always careful not to …
I often think about the similarities between an independent bookstore and a good neighborhood restaurant. Hunger can be physical or intellectual. Sometimes a customer strides in with a specific request. The book title, author, and other information is written down and the transaction is quickly completed. It’s like sitting at a table and ordering without …
There’s a quip I sometimes use at the conclusion of a book purchase. It’s meant to be amusing but also contains a serious grain of truth. When the customer is in a good mood, my occasional comment as I hand over the selected items is, “These are ready for immediate use the moment you get …
“These stories reminded me of Lorrie Moore, whom I love, but if Lorrie Moore lived in a trailer in Olympia, Washington, with fewer puns but more loser boyfriends. Pretty funny, kind of sad, really good reading.” —Brian at Annie Bloom’s You can find Perillo’s stories and her PNBA Award-winning poetry at Annie Bloom’s in Portland …
We’re delighted that Red Tricycle Portland highlighted six Portland-area bookstores for their kid-friendliness in a recent post, “6 Great Bookstores for Pint Sized Bookworms”. Red Tricycle, which has city-specific sites for nine cities (including Seattle) as well as a national focus site, declares that its mission is “to help parents have more fun with their kids.” …
While you make your plans to enjoy the holiday weekend, here are some links for you: Staff picks from Village Books in Bellingham Staff picks from Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle Staff favorites from Annie Bloom’s in Portland Top 10 bookstores in America according to Travel + Leisure Summer reading recommendations from Publishers Weekly Real …
“If a book can be described as fun and dark, then Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa is that book. Benjamin Constable (yes, the main character shares the same name as the author) is an English writer living in Paris who becomes the unwitting participant in a very unusual treasure hunt. It begins when he comes …
