Vacation Shopping

No matter where we are, we always try to keep an eye out for good, independently-owned bookstores. There wasn't too much time to shop while we were in Washington state, but here are a few bookstores that we enjoyed.

There's a great bookstore/gift shop at Uwajimaya in Seattle. I'm sure if we had been able to spend more time there I would have done a lot of damage to my wallet. I found the craft books especially intriguing - they're so colorful and stylish.
To escape from the crazy crowds at Pike Market, Lauren and I popped into Left Bank Books (top image). I loved the feel of this store. It reminded me of the used bookstores I use to hang out in while I was living in Edinburgh. Darvill's Bookstore in Orcas Island (bottom left) reminded me of the Shop Around the Corner in You've Got Mail (yeah, that's right, I made a Nora Ephron movie reference - so sue me). The pale yellow walls and old-fashion overhead lighting was really enchanting. I could have spent a whole day in Seattle's Elliott Bay Books (bottom right) - it's HUGE. Image New York's Strand, but with more breathing room. There's a giant room just devoted to used books and an upstairs landing filled with travel books. The store feels like it goes on forever.

I'm not bashing Borders and B&N, but if the big box, chain bookstores were to somehow disappear tomorrow, I don't think anyone would miss them with stores like Left Bank, Darvill's and Elliott Bay are around. That's why I have such high hopes for Wordsmiths Books - Atlanta's very own homegrown, independently-owned bookstore.