How about we all find something to look forward to? Like the release of Tiger’s Mouth, the upcoming novel by Seattle bookseller Lucy Tan! You can preorder now in anticipation of the release November 17, 2026. From Ridgecrest Books in Shoreline, WA: Preorder Tiger’s Mouth by Lucy Tan Kevin, Becky, and Mary all worked with author, Lucy …
Katie Clapham is an author and bookstore owner in the small English seaside town of Lytham St Annes. I’ve been enjoying her weekly Substack newsletter, where she recounts the highs, the lows, the quirky conversations, and the entertaining incidents that take place in the bookshop. Clapham has now developed these weekly diary entries into a …
From Secret Garden Books in Seattle, WA: What’s the staff reading? Hana just finished… Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth Meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick: eighty-one years old, gloriously grumpy, fiercely independent, and never without a hot cup of tea– or a cutting remark. She minds her own business in her quiet Melbourne suburb, until a neighbor …
Revolutionary Letters is as much a poetry collection as it is unabashed, radical, stream of consciousness speeches. Di Prima was one of the few female beatnik writers allowed in the boys’ club of the literary movement. Certain letters seem most pertinent to the time they were written, while others hold ideas that give perspective on …
One of the things I get to do at Island Books, a thing which frequently receives less attention in our Book Notes, is choosing some of the picture books for our kid’s section. Initially I wasn’t sure how to decide what would be a good fit. But over the years and with the hundreds of …
Like the authors of some of my favorite recent memoirs—Hilary Peach’s Thick Skin, Finn Murphy’s The Long Haul, Charlotte Gill’s Eating Dirt—Paré-Poupart had access to the class-elevating levers of education but found himself in a blue-collar trade and chose to stay for decades. In his case, that’s hauling garbage in Montreal, hurling bags of trash into the …
An excerpt from Forest Avenue Press publisher and author Laura Stanfill’s August 30, 2026 substack: […] The Sea-Glass Shore by Julie Salmon Kelleher[,] Forest Avenue’s Sept. 1 release[,] is a selkie story that is not about entrapment and escape like the original seal-person myth. It’s a novel about what it takes to stay—in a marriage, in …
The Wild Beneath is an epic love story as well as a love letter to the ocean: its danger, mystery, and beauty. In the aftermath of a Pacific Northwest tsunami, Annie—who has lived on a sailboat nearly her whole life—is reeling on the shore, where she’s stayed behind with her best friend, Evan. Her parents and …
Lucy is irresistible. In this beautiful, layered, emotional story about a brother’s death, a resilient young girl finds support in unexpected places. I love how believably flawed the adults are in this novel and how the relationship between Lucy and her brother are depicted with so much heart without shying away from the hard parts. …
Puget Sound Book Festival Saturday, August 9 12-4 Mark your calendars! The Puget Sound Book Festival is returning to the Bremerton Waterfront for its 4th year. The festival is designed to celebrate indie bookstores and highlight what makes each attending shop unique, giving readers the opportunity to meet, experience, and explore a wide range of …
