plastic is an engaging, epic workplace poem based on Rice’s own experiences as a factory worker. As the night progresses Rice references coworkers, the music on the factory floor, and his tattered copy of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. —Caitlin Baker, Island Books, Mercer Island, WA Discover the epic in the everyday at Island Books and …
Abandoned by their mother, adult siblings Salim and Sara rarely leave their house, while their father continuously pops in with bizarre advice as their grandmother lies dying. Funny, slightly insane, and completely absurd, The Endless Week by Laura Vazquez and translated by Alex Niemi has a place on my shelf of perfectly weird fiction. Think …
A book about healing, caregiving, and poetry. . . Small Rain is a beautiful book, one to read quietly while watching birds, contemplating life, and dipping into a poetry collection. One of my favorite books of 2024. Highly recommended! — Caitlin Baker, Island Books, Mercer Island, WA Bask in something profound and lovely from Island …
808s and Otherworlds by Sean Avery Medlin is a vibrant collection that bridges poetry and essay. With a hip hop vibe, Medlin explores their coming of age as a queer black person in suburban Arizona. Medlin’s writing has changed the way I look at poetry. –Caitlin, Island Books, Mercer Island, WA This was one of …
If your local booksellers seem a little more tired than usual this week, it could be because they’ve been shoveling paths to the store during the snowpocalypse, dealing with power and internet outages, and/or they’re attending a virtual conference for booksellers all around the country, which starts very early in the day for west coasters. …
In My Autobiography of Carson McCullers author (and former bookseller!) Jenn Shapland discovers love letters McCullers wrote to a woman named Annemarie. This discovery leads Shapland to look at a part of McCullers’s life never fully discussed publicly, and in part examine her own life. I love the way Shapland wove her life in with …
From the Island Books tumblr April 23, 2019 Seattle Bookstore Day is in its 5th year running, and we couldn’t be more excited! Island Books plans on celebrating all of April 27th with a schedule of activities (listed below). If you don’t know much about this wonderful holiday, Independent Bookstore Day was started in Northern California …
Bookstores and their employees put on a tremendous community effort for Independent Bookstore Day, but some book industry folks were able to get outside their regular stores to participate in all the fun. On Seattle Bookstore Day, one interstate bookloving team, Team Snack Pack, documented their epic journey: Indie Bookstore Day was so much fun! …
To ring in the holidays and celebrate This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! being selected for Pacific Northwest Book Award shortlist, author Jonathan Evison and his regional Algonquin sales rep, Kurtis Lowe of Book Travelers West, made the rounds of Seattle-area bookstores on December 1. Kurtis prepped the stores and planned the itinerary; Johnny signed …
On May 2, bookstores around the country celebrated the first Independent Bookstore Day. In Seattle, 17 bookstores banded together for Seattle Bookstore Day— a way to encourage readers to visit 3 or more bookstores with a SEABookstoreDay passport for a chance at prizes. People who visited all 17 stores on Independent Bookstore Day earned the …
