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by NWGirl
Seattle, Washington
April 30, 2006
From journal Ideal Day in Downtown Seattle
by MadMax
Leeds, United Kingdom
June 19, 2002
The real value of Elliott Bay isn't the selection of books though, it's the staff. These aren't kids working in Barnes and Noble for the summer, these are people who love books, the kind of people who have shelf-references memorized, who can identify long dead authors from the briefest and sketchiest of descriptions, who know the historical and literary context of nearly every book on every shelf. These are people who seriously love books.
The whole place feels dingy, the shelves are sagging, the stairs creek, the floor is stripped to the dusty, damaged floorboards and it's absolutely perfect. You will find things and buy things that you would never even look at in Borders - visiting the shop is a mind-opening experience.
The store's reputation helps pull in the big names for book readings, which are ridiculously underpublicised and poorly attended, meaning that you've got a good chance of turning up and having an actual discussion with an author, rather than a lecture.
Plan to spend an afternoon at the Elliott Bay - it is not the sort of thing to be done in an hour - buy some books and then nip round the corner for the best espresso in Seattle at Zeitgeist. Does it get any better than that?
From journal Summer in Seattle
by kylebarber
March 25, 2002
Besides offering a tremendous selection of works to purchase, Elliott Bay has a fabulous environment that has you lingering in the store long past a practical amount of time for shopping. The courteous and knowledgeable staff are also a bonus. A number of author readings, signings, lectures and workshops keep the reading community involved in the bookstore.
From journal Washington: Seattle