The founder of Island Books, Lola Deane, was in the other
day. She lives on Shaw Island
but still shops here once a month or so for grandchildren and book club reads.
She told me a story about another bookstore in Alaska
where a customer was asked by the bookseller, “Can I help you find something?”
“Oh, no,” said the customer, “that’s the really fun part of coming here!”
At its best, visiting and browsing at our bookstore has always been a treasure hunt.
It was nice to be reminded of that at the beginning of
our 40th year.
I bring up this story because this month we are sharing our Top 40 list and have a display of the hot-selling titles from last year. I have an increasingly cranky view of this yearly exercise. It seems that all the press, media, blogosphere is focused on telling us what is most popular. What’s cool, what’s now, what everybody else is doing.
I take particular joy in those customers that dig into our
corners and come to the counter to buy an odd copy of the The Georgian Bawdyhouse, or My Fifty Years in Seattle’s
Medical Dental Building, or Hoosh: Roast Penguin, Scurvy Day and Other Stories of Antarctic Cuisine—all
of which sold in that bubbly month of December. We have 20,000 titles
in our ol’ cedar-lined chest of a bookstore. Come dig for treasure. Find
your own fun.
YEARLY TOP 40
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The Big Bestseller List!Remember when Casey Kasem used to count down the biggest music hits of the year? We've been doing the same thing for almost as long, but with books. Here we present the top titles of 2012 as chosen by the best judges of all, our customers. More
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SELF HELP--WHO NEEDS IT?
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We Say Settle
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HOT TOPICS ON OUR STORE JOURNAL
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The Gift of Story and Light
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COUNTER INTELLIGENCE
Kay's December Pick: NWWe read a lot, and despite ourselves, we're guilty of playing favorites. For example, this month Kay's excited about NW. Zadie Smith's brilliant tragi-comic new novel follows four Londoners--Leah, Natalie, Felix and Nathan--as they try to make adult lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. From private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their London is a complicated place, as beautiful as it is brutal, where the thoroughfares hide the back alleys and taking the high road can sometimes lead you to a dead end. Depicting the modern urban zone--familiar to town-dwellers everywhere--NW is a quietly devastating novel of encounters, mercurial and vital, like the city itself.
Here, our booksellers share their December recommendations. |
GET IN TOUCH
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3014 78th Ave. SE MI, WA 98040 Store Hours Mon-Wed: 9:30 - 7:00 Thurs: 9:30 - 8:00 Fri: 9:30 - 7:00 Sat: 9:30 - 6:00 Sun: 11:00 - 5:00 |
The Short Version
Island Books is sponsoring a short story contest, with "short" being the operative word. We're looking for the best original fiction that clocks in at 1000 words or less. Prizes! Publication! Fame! Fun!
MoreOpen Book Club
Island Books hosts an open book club
that meets the last Thursday of each month at 7:30pm. All are welcome
to attend, and if you purchase your book here in the store you'll always
get a 10% discount.More
20% Off Indie Bestsellers
Catch up on the titles dominating the indie bestseller lists and save 20% when you order online.
MoreeBooks
Did you know you can download ebooks and read them instantly from our website? Or that we sell ereading devices? Click through for more information, or just drop in to find out in person. You'll be glad you did.