From the Island Books newsletter April 17, 2019 I’ve been writing poetry, or something resembling that, consistently since I was eleven years old. I’ve always liked words, the energy, the power, and the meanings that all vary. Unlike prose writing, poetry offers up a canvas of possibility in its negative space. I found I was …
From Shelf Awareness April 11, 2019 by Alex Mutter Seattle’s Madison Books Plans IBD Opening When Madison Books opens in Seattle, Wash., on April 27, Independent Bookstore Day, it will be the first new, general-interest, independent bookstore in the city’s Madison Park neighborhood since 2005. The roughly 400-square-foot bookstore is a sister store to Phinney Books, …
Winter 2018-2019 was a tough one. Snow and ice hit much of the region hard. Today, we officially welcome spring! May your walkways be clear, your carpets be unsalted, your deliveries be regular, and your snow shovels be stored away snugly. Below is a trip down snowy memory lane for February 2019– all after the …
This piece was originally published on the Island Books blog. Growing up, I loved getting lost in books: It didn’t matter to me if the book was adventurous, dramatic, suspenseful, or fantastical; as long as it transported me somewhere else, I was happy. I’d be so immersed in my book that I’d barely hear my …
On September 17th, Island Books of Mercer Island, WA began their “45 to 45,” which means every day for 45 days leading up to their birthday on November 1st they have a special deal or happening at Island Books. This week, they’re celebrating with discounts around the store. On November 3, they’re throwing a celebration in …
This was originally posted on Island Books’ tumblr It’s always a pleasure to see the list of finalists for the annual Washington State Book Awards, not least because the judges are some of our favorite people, local booksellers and librarians. We especially wanted to take note of this slate of books, though, since so many of their …
Seattle7Writers, the nonprofit collective of Pacific Northwest authors, partners with independent bookstores this summer to introduce readers to favorite authors and raise money for literacy nonprofits. In July, Island Books hosted the Seattle7Writers cookout to benefit Team Read, a nonprofit organization that pairs struggling young readers with trained teen reading coaches for one-on-one tutoring after school and …
At the end of July, Norton sales rep Dan Christiaens hosted Poetry Night at the Ballpark with the staff of Seattle’s Open Books, and, for some reason, me. Dan gave us all copies of Norton’s Baseball Haiku, too. The crew declaimed some memorized verse between innings, but mostly we just watched the game and had a …
Mother’s Day makes me mushy inside. I love picking out the cards, buying the gifts, and sending surprises to my mom and mom friends. It’s a special month. As a teenager I was never ashamed to kiss my mom or dad in public. We are fortunate to have children who still want to be around us (most …
I’d earlier read [Welsh writer Cynan Jones’s] novels The Dig, about a face-off between a violent misfit and a family man over a badger den, and The Long Dry, a chronicle of life on a cattle farm during a difficult summer. Both were terse and quietly potent, minimalist epics of elemental conflict between men and …
