What does a guy who grew up in Richmond Beach and Mercer Island know about folk and bluegrass music? As the owner of the Folkstore music shop in the University District and a talented musician in his own right, Stuart Herrick knows quite a lot, thank you very much.
By Tyrone Beason | March 30, 2008
Little Kids, Big City
I love walking tours, or at least the idea of them. I am an all-weather walker, and I enjoy knowing that Gub is already developing a map sense of her city. Of course, she is still too young to appreciate the educational aspects of a walking tour, but I when I am with her, I often find myself looking at things I'd passed a million times before without notice.
By Lilium Pierson | March 27, 2008
Pet Dish
A recent tidbit circulated through local blogs about a little black kitten with a kink in its tail that went missing from Twice Sold Tales, a used bookstore on Capitol Hill, earlier in the month. It's sad about the cat, especially if it was truly taken. In a city where thousands of unclaimed cats are euthanized every year, who needs to snatch one from a good home, er, store? My advice to would-be catnappers: Steal a book about a cat and then go adopt one.
By Lisa Wogan | February 18, 2008
Convergence Zone
Independent bookseller M. Coy Books will close its doors at the end of February. It's always sad to see a local business fail, but it's a true bummer to see a bookstore close, especially with the residents of America's third most literate city -- St. Paul, Minn. -- breathing down our necks. C'mon, guys! There's a TV writers' strike going on! Let's read some more books and give those Grain Belt-swilling chumps what for!
By Geoff Carter | January 4, 2008
Daily Find
A recent search for a field guide on the birds of Northern India led me to the charming new digs of Flora & Fauna Books. Last April, the Seattle institution moved from its subterranean space in Pioneer Square to an adorable cottage just outside Discovery Park in Magnolia.
By Kathy Schultz | January 8, 2008
Convergence Zone
There are many pretenders to the throne, but make no mistake: Fantagraphics Books is the very embodiment of so-called alternative comics.
By Geoff Carter | May 17, 2007
Holiday 2006
Once you've started keeping a yearly top 15 list of your favorite albums, it's impossible to stop. I haven't been a proper music critic since 1999 and yet I dutifully compile a top 15 every year, and will probably do so until the end of the music industry itself – which, by my estimates, should happen any minute now. When society falls down, the ice caps melt and bands no longer release "albums" purchasable in "record stores," I imagine I'll adapt with the times: a list of the top 15 downloadable album-like units in a given year, or perhaps a list of the top 15 most interesting lists from preceding years.
By Geoff Carter | December 18, 2006
Daily Find
Calling all foodies: Join the area's hottest chefs and cookbook authors at the Palace Ballroom on Tuesday, Dec. 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. for the "Ultimate Holiday Cookbook Social."
By Sarah Jio | December 1, 2006
Convergence Zone
No, this is not referring to your girlfriend or any girls you know. "High Maintenance Bitch" ($14.95, Sasquatch, 2006) is a new book about girl's best friend written by sister and brother Lori Pacchiano and Ryan Pacchiano.
By Kathy Schultz | July 21, 2006
Convergence Zone
The book is a great primer for city slickers with tips on how to build fires (teepee or log cabin style?) using a variety of woods, and stoking finesse. For practiced firebugs there's a chapter on the origins and physics of fire itself. Wogan's quirky sense of humor and witty prose keeps the book interesting even when reading obligatory information on safety (Eight Ways to be Sure You Don't Headline the 11 o’clock News). The book is full of suggestions on how to enjoy your fire — how to whittle, tipple (drink), tell spooky stories (text provided), and the complete words to "Home on the Range."
By Kathy Schultz | June 14, 2006
