In the small island community of Ebey’s End, life is quiet and sort of “normal” – whatever that is. And then along comes July, newly orphaned and in need of a place to live and grow. That’s where Anita the grocer, July’s sort-of-cousin, comes in. The social worker wants to park 14-year-old July at her …
I absolutely loved this book! It felt very Hitchhiker’s Guide meets Dungeons and Dragons, meets The Hunger Games. The banter and emotion between Carl and Princess Donut was fantastic and the achievements and item descriptions made me laugh out loud. Couldn’t put it down. –LaTanya, Trail’s End Bookstore, Winthrop, WA There’s a reason this series …
From Third Place Books in Seattle: June 22nd marks the 78th birthday of former Lake Forest Park resident Octavia Butler, the trailblazing author of The Parable of the Sower and the first Black woman to consistently write and publish in the field of science fiction. Butler lived in the neighborhood of Lake Forest Park from 1996 until …
I grew up in the shadow of mountains, along the mucky edges of the Nisqually River Delta on the outskirts of Olympia. On a rare clear day, you could see the Olympics to the West. Mount Rainier towered to the East. Our rambler abutted a tract of undeveloped forest land near Luhr Beach. Expansive, wild, …
If you need a good laugh and a good cry, pick this book up. Emily Austin masterfully marries tragedy with the poignantly ludicrous in this raw novel. Sigrid wants to die: fed up with her dissatisfying job, grieving the loss of her best friend, lamenting her heavy family dynamic, and feeling generally like growing up …
Engaged deeply with the question of the title, Robert Macfarlane has set out to demonstrate not only that rivers ARE alive, but how, and why, and in what kinds of ways. He is Virgil and Gandalf, Merlin and Hermes, our guide through what a river is or could be or should be. . . It is …
Corinna Luyken, Olympia author and illustrator, dressed as a character from her new picture book, The Arguers, for a special storytime and signing at Browsers Books. The book is visually stunning and very thought-provoking. The kingdom is known for its residents’ ability to argue, but sometimes all the arguments make it impossible to hear what …
Memorial Day honors the sacrifice of those who died in military service. If you choose to read and reflect, independent bookstores can help you find the right book. Here are some suggestions: The Women by Kristin Hannah The Wives by Simone Gorrindo Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown Facing the Mountain (Adapted for Young …
From The Seattle Times May 20, 2025 Bethany Jean Clement, Seattle Times food writer Partway through the first page of Moira Macdonald’s debut novel “Storybook Ending,” I started crying. Not with sorrow — the novel starts with the most intriguing two sentences, then takes us directly into the luminous, cinematic mind of one of the …
On Wednesdays, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller List is published. Every week, we love to see what books have been most popular in independent bookstores around our region. As we peruse the list, we ponder patterns. Then we present this weekly feature: Thursday Themes. Would you consider yourself an optimistic or pessimistic reader? Do you read to …
