Flashback! I realized that I never published this lovely summary memory of Storiebook Cafe where mom and I had lunch one hot summer day. Their Facebook Page is here.
Storiebook Cafe in Glen Rose, TX is a delightful combination of two of my favorite things, food and books. Mom and I went for lunch, a cub of soup & a turkey/avocado wrap for me and a Reubin & soup for her. Both were really good. We shared the blueberry cobbler for dessert.
When dear daughter was in middle school, she didn’t want to go anywhere with her parents. The idea of going up to Seattle was abhorrent to her, but we dragged her along anyway. We stopped at Uwajimaya and the Kinokuniya Bookstore (525 S Weller St
Seattle, WA 98104) and she fell for it — hard. Ever since we have been visiting Seattle’s International District at least once a quarter. Today, my now happy travel companion and I went up to Uwajimaya because we were having an udon craving. We can’t go to Uwajimaya without buying those little chocolate mushroom cookie treats and visiting Kinokuniya. She walked away with a present for her friend, a manga and a CD. The store is packed with manga and all types of traditional, Japanese language books (novels, cookbooks, art, history, etc.). We found both The Hobbit and 50 Shades of Grey in Japanese! There is also a large music selection and plenty of adorable stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, stickers, pens and miscellaneous. Parking is free for up to two hours with store validation. http://www.kinokuniya.com/us/
By the way, when we got home… she thanked me for taking her!
University of Washington Tacoma’s Bookstore is the only bookstore in Tacoma that exclusively sells new books. People think of them as being primarily for student textbooks, but they have a bunch of great stuff including all types of books, art supplies, jewelery, scarfs and, of course, plenty of Huskies material. And there is a Starbucks adjoining. Just remember not to get lost in book store browsing and forget to pay the meter!
https://www.tacoma.washington.edu/shopuwt/business_detail.cfm?business_ID=2
With word that Borders Books is restructuring and one of my favorite smaller Seattle bookstores is closing, I wasn’t sure what to expect during my visit to Powell’s City of Books in Portland. I was pleased to see that it was very, very busy! Everywhere I looked there were folks perusing books.
Powell’s main store is located at 1005 W Burnside, Portland OR and is one of the world’s largest bookstores. The building contains 73,000 square feet of retail space and more than 3,000 people visit day. Their stores feature more than 1.5 million books, of which 65% are used (they buy 5,000 used books each day).
Today we went to the Artist Craft Fair and walked away with a darling pair of earrings, some pie on a stick and an interesting new book. But more importantly I walked away with the feeling that in my small little way I was supporting the local community.
Their website is here
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/
An article about the store can be found here
http://www.tacomaweekly.com/citylife/culture/kings_books_an_old_favorite_revamped/
As a side note, I just heard today that one of my other favorite bookstores in Seattle is closing because of the economy. It is so important to support quality local businesses!
Today my dear daughter and I went to an author event at Garfield Books at208 Garfield st, Parkland, WA, 98442. The delightful Cherie Priest was there to talk about her new books, living in Seattle and an extensive variety of other topics. Dear daughter and I had read her Boneshaker and just loved it! The book is in the Steampunk genre and has determined characters in an alternate history version of Seattle. Her website is here http://www.cheriepriest.com/
The bookstore itself has a thoughtful selection of books, as well as a sundry items that college students might need. http://luteworld.plu.edu/
Update: Garfield Books closed in the fall of 2016. I hear that the students can purchase books at a new store in the PLU Library.