Book nerds, unite! The best indie bookstores in the Seattle area

Here’s a bit of history trivia: back in the dinosaur days (aka the ’90s), Amazon started off as a tiny little company selling... books. Not a bad business to be in when you’re based in America’s most well-read city. Amazon’s doing alright, let’s go out and support the little guys.

Elliott Bay is the granddaddy of indie bookstores in Seattle. You can wander in this cavernous former auto warehouse for hours. The wooden shelves are sprinkled with handwritten staff recs, or pick out your own literary escape.

Peter Miller Books is the place for gorgeous, gorgeous books on graphic design and architecture. Come here to drool, and take home some inspiration for a beautiful life. Dreamy vibes!

The books in Seattle’s newest bookstore aren’t organized by genre or alphabetical by author — they’re organized by emotion. There’s a section for “being an outsider,” another “on expressing feelings.” You’ll find exactly what you’re looking for, and it might be in the form of a children’s book or a graphic novel.

Are you a foodie or a book lover? At Book Larder, you don’t have to choose. This cookbook store carries 1,000 titles in stock, covering every cuisine you can dream of. The yummiest bookstore proves that recipe blogs will never replace the printed word.

Sometimes it is really all about location, location, location. We’ll admit we love Eagle Harbor Book Company because browsing the shelves here requires hopping on a ferry to Bainbridge Island. That 35-minute ride always resets our brain into zen mode. You’ll find a good selection of local authors, new releases, and of course, fairy tales.

Third Place is the giant in the local bookstore scene, with branches in Lake Forest Park, Seward Park and Ravenna. It isn’t just a bookstore, it’s a seriously buzzing community space. Pre-COVID, we even attended a rock concert here!