Jennifer. J. Chow

Bookless in Seattle

After Left Coast Crime, I experienced a little moment of panic at SeaTac airport. Where was my e-reader? I mean, I did spot a Little Free Library at the airport. Should I circle back?

Good news is that I eventually found my tablet nestled in a side pocket of my luggage. Not that I had to worry. I did also have books packed away inside my luggage. After all, I’d technically visited three bookstores while in Seattle: Third Place Books (vendor at LCC), Elliott Bay Book Company (host of an event for our very own Leslie + friends), and Mam’s Books (recently opened and only Asian-American indie bookstore in the PNW). Editor’s note: Indie Bookstore Day happens this year on April 27th, 2024–go support your local bookshop!

I also have a big heart for libraries. How many cards do I own now? Maybe four or five. Anyways, I checked out the Bellevue Library. The interior was closed for renovations, but I could admire their word wall.

But what happens when I don’t have books on hand? I’ll read receipts–anything with words. Check out these cute wordy items from my Seattle trip!

Pen from Mam’s Books
Bag from Hood Famous Bakeshop

What things do you read for fun?

37 thoughts on “Bookless in Seattle”

  1. Shoot, Jenn, I’m just like you. I read everything.

    If I don’t have a book on the plane, I’m reading the mags they provide. Yes, I actually read that information pamphlet every time I sit down.

    rumor has it I was reading the encyclopedia at the age of 6. Not sure if I believe it, but mom says so.

    I read all the staff book recommendations in the stores. Cheese description cards in Wegman’s grocery store? Yup. Food menus to see if there’s any new items? Check. Online reviews of things I probably won’t even buy? Definitely. Even been known to covertly read over someone’s shoulder.

    Man, in such a nerd!
    Hestia

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  2. Wow! The word wall is super cool, Jen! Happy that you found your ereader, whew.

    Hestia, an encyclopedia at 6 is impressive!

    Now that you mention it, I can remember reading cereal boxes at the breakfast table when I was little…the same box on different days…just to have words to look at! Now my aging eyes often get blurry if I don’t take regular breaks from text now…must say, I’m not a fan of that at ALL…so hard to stop reading!

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    1. I totally read the cereal box even now…

      I’m not a fan of eyes going blurry either. You can find me sometimes squinting at street signs. Plus, with that word wall, I wondered if they’d printed “Mystery” twice for a brief moment.

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    2. I was going to say the cereal box thing too, Cynthia. And my kids did the same thing. As for the ereader, Jen, I totally get that! My biggest fear when I travel isn’t the door blowing off the plane, or the oxygen mask dropping down, or an unexpected landing somewhere … it’s running out of things to read. Thank goodness for my Kindle! Glad yours was safe.

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    2. Fun Fact: 4 states do not allow billboards: VT, ME, Hawaii and Alaska. (I wasn’t sure whether we had them in NH, so I had to check! And we do.)

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  4. Yep, same! The backs of boxes (cereal boxes when I was a kid, for sure!), instruction manuals, people’s T-shirts, whatever’s around! I guess that need for constant word-input must be part of what makes us all writers.

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    1. I always read the instruction manual, but the rest of my household disagrees with me. And I love T-shirts! Though the other day at LCC, someone was staring for a while at my shirt–either that or they couldn’t read my name tag. P.S. They didn’t even say hi–just stared for a while and then walked off. Odd.

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  5. JEN: Thank goodness you found your e-reader! I love visiting indie bookstores. Mia P. Manansala told me about the new Mam’s Books in Seattle’s International District-Chinatown. I visited 2 indie bookstores upon my return to Vancouver BC on Monday.

    And yes, if desperate, I have read billboard & interior ad signs while travelling by bus or light rail, and anything else that my eyes can spot during my travels!

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    1. Woohoo! Love your support of indie bookstores, Grace! (I went with Mia & Jamie Lee Sogn to Mam’s–so fun!)

      Interior ads or light rail signs are great. It’d be amazing to see our books advertised at busy transportation hubs.

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  6. I’m with you – always need something to read. I’ve been known to read the cereal box at the breakfast table!

    I resisted getting an e-reader for years because I prefer a physical book. My son gifted me an e-reader so that I could visit him without packing a stack of books and it was eye-opening! I have the Kindle app on my phone & tablet so I always have my books close to hand. Now that I’m getting a bit older I especially love that I can enlarge the font for easier reading. You sent me a copy of Hot Pot Murder & I was reading it at my son’s but having trouble because of low lights, so I hopped on Libby to download a copy & finished on the Kindle! I caught up with the latest books by you, Gigi Pandian and Ellen Byron before seeing all of you at LCC, so many cozies on my Kindle & Edith Maxwell’s latest is up next!

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  7. I understand that panic at thinking you have nothing to read. Especially before a flight. And by nothing to read, I mean the book you are currently reading. I have the Kindle app on my phone (only way I read ebooks), so it’s not like I never have anything to read on me. But I’m planning to read that one specific book, and starting something new just doesn’t sit right.

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    1. Yes! I’m such a completionist, Mark. I like continuing on with the book I’ve already started. (Confession: I’m way less strict than I used to be. Now, I’ll actually stop reading things if the beginning chapters don’t capture my attention.)

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    2. Liz, I read those travel brochure mailings, even if I have no intention of going to the location. (Hey, one never knows.) Always cool.

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  9. OMG, I’m laughing because I will read anything, literally anything I can get my hands on. And Jen, if I’d found myself bookless before a flight, I would have full-on panicked! I once made the mistake of buying but not downloading a book prior to a cross-country flight and I did panic. Luckily, I dug through my Kindle library and found a book I had remembered to download.

    I finally caved and signed up to pay for the Apple newsfeed so I could finish all those dang articles that tempted interest, then led to a paywall. It’s no help on a plane, but it’s great for the airport. I consider it money well-spent.

    I just flashed on my favorite ODD COUPLE episode of all time. Felix talks Oscar into going to a monastery retreat where there is nothing to do. Oscar takes a pen to sugar cubes and turns them into dice. And if I remember correctly, Felix actually becomes desperate enough to read a toothpaste tube. That’s me everywhere.

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    1. I’ve done the same thing, El! Forgotten to actually download the book to my reader. Whoops.

      You don’t know how many times I’ve clicked on an article before realizing that there was a paywall…

      And toothpaste tubes? Comedic–and brilliant!

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  10. I love this, Jen!

    Since I’m a creative director/copywriter by day (and many nights), I figure it’s my job to read packaging, billboards, ads, bus benches…the list goes on. Of course, fiction will always be my first choice, but in a pinch, that cereal box will absolutely do.

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  11. Okay, this may appear twice as it seemed to disappear. I have been reading since I was 5 years old. My father took me weekly to the library to check out books. I actually won the award in 1st grade for the most books read–202 and my address was 202 West Pierce. I have always called books my friend and carry one with me always. Now I take my Kindle for traveling but always have a real book/friend in hand. You never know when you can read. My father had a great sign that I now have that says, “Old Wood to Burn, Old Wine to Drink, Old Friends to Trust, and Old Books to Read.” I wish that I could show the photo of it here because it is old and special.

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  12. And I used to read the Encyclopedia Brittanica and the World Books that we had that had stories and more. I love reading. I used to listen to audiobooks when we traveled but I would rather have a big old book in my hands and I love most genres though my likes have changed over the years–No more serial killers, horror stories, gruesome murders, funky books, etc.

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  13. Thanks Lisa. And last night we watched “Sleepless in Seattle” which I had not seen in a while. And I finished Barbara Ross’s Hidden Beneath. So many books, so little time.

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