My first “job” when I came to Seattle in the summer of 1979 was working for my best friend’s startup “company,” making string hammocks in an apartment on Capitol Hill. The Guilt Free Hammock company consisted of my friend Rich and myself with occasional assistance from his gainfully employed girlfriend. After toiling away for weeks on a homemade loom, we proudly obtained a low stall in Pike Place Market and hung out our sign. I think we had five hammocks. In that festive atmosphere of hawkers and gawkers we somehow managed to sell a couple of hammocks in a week. Thinking we'd had enough of success, we then went on vacation to the beaches of Olympic National Park with our remaining inventory. When explaining this “lifestyle” to my relatives back East, I told them that “people tend be a little more inventive when they land in this corner of the country.” This is a line I would repeat year after year as the parade of startups such as Microsoft, Costco, Starbucks, and Amazon emerged. People are more inventive here. Interesting stuff pops up when you combine rain with a fertile ground of artists, Boeing engineers and Norwegian fishermen. We even planted the icon of inventiveness here—The Space Needle. The Needle and Seattle’s history of self invention is the subject what may be one of the best and most entertaining books of the year. We are very proud to host Mercer Island-born and -raised Jim Lynch for a reading and signing of his new book Truth Like the Sun on May 16th At 7pm. We tell and sell a lot of stories in our old bookstore and this one is very special. It’s our story. Don’t miss this evening!!!
MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 13
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TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT OUR TOWN
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Seattle in Fiction
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SEATTLE SOUNDS
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Music on the Page
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THE MYSTERY ISLAND BOOKS ARTIST
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Surprise of the Year
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HOT TOPICS ON OUR STORE JOURNAL
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Reading-Related Rambles
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COUNTER INTELLIGENCE
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Garry's May Pick:America's Great Debate
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GET IN TOUCH
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3014 78th Ave. SE MI, WA 98040 (206) 232-6920 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 |
Poetry Contest Winners!
In honor of National Poetry Month, we sponsored a poetry contest (along with the Mercer Island Arts Council) on the theme of "What I Can Touch" that ran all April long. We received emails and took submissions over the counter throughout the month, and now that May is here, we're ready to announce the winners.
See DetailsSeattle History
2012 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair, as chronicled in the latest novel from Jim Lynch, Truth Like the Sun. He's visiting us in May, remember--don't miss it. Anyway, it's a good time to look back at the history of the metropolis.
Open Book Club
Island Books hosts an open book club run by our staff facilitator 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.
More20% Off Indie Bestsellers
Catch up on the titles dominating the indie bestseller lists, like Jodi Picoult's latest novel, and save 20% when you order online.
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