The Book Shops of Pike Place Market

I may not be much of a shopper but you can bet I’ll always poke my nose in a book store. And there is always a book store.

Shopping in Pike Place might just be the quintessential Seattle experience. But something was missing… What was it now? Oh yes – Seattle coffee! On a cool damp morning, I was ready for a hot cup of coffee and a warm croissant. I got them from The original Starbucks  and Three Girls Bakery then settled in to wait for the bookstores to open.

Lamplight Books is tucked away into the hidden place behind the creamery and Three Girls bakery. The Sanitary Market building opens up into a pleasant court deep inside with a few benches, bistro tables and chairs. There, I found Lamplight in it’s little nook. This used book store specializes in arts, culture, and children’s books. I found a favorite book from my childhood, The Headless Cupid. Classic cookbooks made room for Jane Austen on eclectic and creative shelving. It even smelled like the magic of childhood. (Thank you to a fellow book-loving tourist for taking this pic.)

Left Bank Books is a little edgier. I’m so glad I had my coffee before entering this erudite establishment of articulate anarchists. Left Bank Books operates as a public collective. There is a shop where you can purchase books but the not-for-profit collective specializes in providing books to prisons. There is a lot of literary fiction, independent political commentary, small press and university publications. Gender studies? Got it! Race and culture? You bet! Disability, deaf, and mental health rights? This is the place! And the icing on the cake? Poetry, graphic novels, and science fiction! And if you think the books are good, you should hear the conversation!

First and Pike News is a real time warp! It’s a privately owned small business across from Left Bank Books. It’s a good, old-fashioned news stand with an international twist. You can get the Washington Post, the London Times, and even the Delovoy Petersburg! European fashion magazines share the shelf with university and literary mags. English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Chinese, Portuguese, and even Cherokee – there were languages I couldn’t even recognize.

Metsker Maps of Seattle pulled me in like a moth to the flame. Globes of every size and color pallet, filled the window and lined the tops of every shelf. There were folded road maps, topographical maps for hikers, and educational maps for school children. Beautiful wall maps hung on every wall. Some were artistically rendered others strictly nautical or geographical. I bought a giant blow-up globe for my grandaughter and a tiny marble globe for myself.  There were books there too! Giant atlases slid out of deep slots. Pocket-sized phrase books were stacked on the counter. Shelves everywhere were loaded down with travel books and tour guides. They even had an impressive array of geographicaly themed gifts. Everywhere I turned I found celebrations of travel.

Lion Heart Books is the hardest to find. In fact, I didn’t find it. Have you been there? Please comment. I understand that no list of Seattle literature is complete without mentioning it. After wandering the lower levels of Pike Place I began to worry about missing my plane and withdrew without this prize.

BLMF Literary Saloon is also hidden in Pike Place’s underground but I found this one! It was incredibly cluttered. The shelves literally overflowed with books. And yet, it was a strangely well organized chaos. The “travel section” started with a vertical stack of books reaching to a broad shelf. Other sections stacked extra rows on the floor in front of shelves giving the appearance of a great cypress tree of literature overgrowing the shop. The books had a life of their own and covered every wall and shelf floor to ceiling.

Of course, no visit to the Market is complete without going to see the “flying fish” of Pike Place Fish. I was expecting to see the fishmongers tossing salmon and was not disappointed. When Ryan asked if he could help me and I told him I was in the market for books, he didn’t bat an eye. He immediately showed me what he had to offer. Thanks Ryan.

Read ~ Write ~ Wander

~Angie

I had long avoided Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman. The title and and cover blurbs gave me the impression it was a 20-something’s privileged romp. I was sick of stories where half-formed adults use other cultures as their personal playgrounds. I had Susan pegged as one of those. I was wrong.

The book explores one of the real dangers of traveling off the grid in an unfamiliar culture. Pickpockets? Exploitive locals? Terrorists? Kidnappers? Price gouging? Nothing like that.  The real danger is within ourselves. The stress, disorientation, and culture shock of sudden immersion.

In Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, Clare and Susie are bright, well educated, and off to see the world. Starting in Hong Kong, they immediately discover they might be in over their heads and take turns comforting one another having bouts of homesickness and culture shock.

They seem to find their footing and befriend locals and other travelers but then things begin to seem strange. How do you know if strangers are telling you the truth? How do you interpret events when you don’t have any cultural reference or means to communicate? There is something very strange going on here!

The book has a classic “turn of the screw” pacing. A predictable opening, a slow but unavoidable escalation to a creshendo  of crisis and free-fall. Yeah, it takes the reader unexpectedly into can’t-put-it-down territory.

Wander-readers who have experienced the shock of sudden emersion into an unfamiliar culture will relate to both Clare and Susie’s feelings and understand the physical, social, and psychological stress involved. Those like me, who wade into other cultures gently after long research may view this as a cautionary tale. Which got me thinking – how would I react to an emersion experience? I never considered how shallow I have really waded in the sea of humanity. I think of my self as “well traveled” among my friends, but as I make new friends in the travel world, I begin to questions this part of my self-image.

Now I’m not saying I want to go jump off the deep end of the ocean to test my cultural swimming skills. But maybe it’s time to wade in a little deeper. Maybe even lift my feet off the sand and see how good I am at keeping my head above water. Yeah… just a little deeper…

Read ~ Write ~ Wander

~Angie

by Nancy Goldstone

Women were chattel and the marriages were arranged. Somehow, the four French sisters found themselves married to princes who all became kings. In a couple of cases, their husbands became (or remained) kings in no small part due to the influence, action, and interaction of the sisters. Who could resist a story like that? Not me!

Though the book is about the four intermingled lives and relations of these sisters, there are more strong women in the cast and in the back story. Blanche of Castile and Eleanor of Aquitaine had paved the way for the sisters with their example of feminine political power and wit. Not to say that they all got along.

Four Queens tries to be both historically accurate and personally engaging. Sometimes it succeeds other times, not so much. History buffs will find distracting geographical errors and miscalculated dates. Nancy is also somewhat inconsistent in her chosen spelling for some names resulting in mild confusion. (Is this a new character – no? Oh – I see!) So if you are looking for strict biography, you have been warned.

For lovers of historical fiction, who are comfortable with the author taking certain artistic liberties, there is nothing here that violates any major historical events or times. Historical fiction often projects the author’s interpretation and interest in the subject and gives the historical figure a life of her own. This makes her engaging and personal to a reader. Alas, historical fiction lovers may find the recitation of events a bit flat in places. For long sections, Nancy seems to be writing a high school history report.

The book fails to be the best of both worlds consistently. Still, it is good, fascinating history in many places and good engaging narrative in others. I found myself wishing the book would make up it’s mind. I wonder what Phillipa Gregory would do with this subject…

Read ~ Write ~ Wander

~Angie