Seattle Book Hunt - Part 1

My wife and I have just returned to Vancouver, Canada after an overnight stay in Seattle, USA.  We caught an early morning Greyhound bus, the journey taking just four hours.

Once in Seattle we walked about 40 minutes until we found our hotel near the grid iron and baseball stadiums, passing a few book stores along the way.  The temperature was a very pleasant 22C.

We checked in at our hotel, unpacked, had a drink and then went for another walk to explore the city.  Our first stop was Globe Books.  This split level store is great and the owner very friendly.

This copy of Faulk's "Devil May Care" was the only Bond they currently had in stock.  When I went to ask the owner if he had any other Bonds hidden away somewhere else in the store he was explaining to a customer before us where other book stores were located in the city.  I listened intently.  Very handy!

If you wish to contact Globe Books yourself the email address is globe@zipcon.net

Skipping a few book stores close by because we knew we could easily return on our way back to the hotel, the next store we visited was Seattle Mystery Bookshop.  As soon as I walked in and saw books by familiar crime and thriller authors, with sections even dedicated to Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes, I knew this store was going to be promising.

This store has many quality new and second hand books.  There's even a few thin column bookcases of early American pulp novels near the front counter similar to the Popular Library and Perma Books Bond covers, but there were no Bonds among them.  After asking, one staff member guided me to the Bond novels they had in stock.  They had the current full collection of the Dan Mogford Pegasus Gardner books on the shelf, and a Deaver, but no older covers.  

On chatting to the friendly staff member I learned how scarce earlier Bond novels were becoming. As a side note she also informed me the store has a comprehensive on line book ordering system and often sent books to Australia.  And as a strange coincidence on asking where I live in Australia she commented that she had once even lived in Melbourne herself for a year (and loved our City ! )

Seattle Mystery Books can be found on the web at www.seattlemystery.com and they have the most amount of books signed by the author I have ever seen in one store.

My wife and I then walked to the Pike Place Market.

This famous Seattle market overlooking the glorious bay and docks is huge and has everything you can imagine, from tourist souvenirs, to fresh seafood, to paintings, to fruit and vegies, and the very first Starbucks.  It also has two second hand book stores.  The first, Left Bank Books unfortunately had no Bonds.

The second though, Lamplight Books, had a very friendly owner who showed me the only Bond she had in stock, an Ian Fleming hardback omnibus.

No luck so far, but plenty more book stores in Seattle to investigate. Please check out Part 2 tomorrow...