Books and Botanicals @ Eagle Harbor Books

Flying Bird Botanicals 

I was out on the floor the other day when our display designer, Charysse, was putting the finishing touches on this gorgeous Flying Bird Botanicals Tea vignette.  I immediately started to yearn for a big comfy chair to spend the afternoon in, wrapped up, warm, and reading.

Flying Bird Botanicals @ Eagle Harbor Book Co.

It’s February, Valentine’s Day, on the Puget Sound: the sky is lighter earlier and stays lighter longer every day – and this far north, that is a balm to our souls.  The daphne is blooming, the crocuses (crocii? Crocusi?) are up, the tulips are starting to break ground, but it is still sweater and boot weather.  A sighting of Rainier over the ferry’s port side is fleeting but it’s there, pink in the sunrise. It’s wet, it’s cold, and a hot drink is always welcome. 

 

And aren’t these teas pretty? They’re from Bellingham and are organic, ethically wildcrafted, and support local farmers.  It’s nice to know that a little well-earned break in the day is a good thing for a lot of different people and reasons! 

And with any good cup of tea (and we have some really cool cups from which to drink that tea) you need a good book: one of my recent favorites, perfect for this time of year, is The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, by Katarina Bivald.  

Sara (a young woman from Sweden) and Amy (an old woman from Iowa) are pen pals and Sara is invited to come visit Broken Wheel for the holidays.  Unfortunately, Amy dies while Sara is on her way.  Having nowhere to go, the citizens of Broken Wheel insist she stay and live in Amy’s house for the remainder of her visit.  How were they to know she’d start a bookstore, or bring people together over books, or fall in love? TROBWR is a fun, sweet story of lives changed by books.  It is a wonderful story to share and is chockfull of great bookgroup ideas.  

We have a limited number of free bookmarks for TROBWR available.  They have a long list of each title mentioned in the book on the back. You may need a magnifier to read it, though - it’s a lot of titles!  (Sourcebooks. $16.99)

Oh, and by the way, this book and these teas would make a lovely Valentine's Day or birthday gift for a friend! And we wrap for free!
(Photo by Charysse Reaser) 

Every Sunday, we sit down and look at our weekly sales and see what makes our bestseller list. It's really fun to see what changes from week to week! Since we report our sales to both the New York Times and the American Booksellers Association (which compiles the Indie bestsellers lists from independent bookstores), our sales have an impact on what people are reading across the country!

Sometimes there is a runaway bestseller, often based on word of mouth or (most often) the words of an EHBC bookseller. This week that book is Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, which tells the fascinating story of the University of Washington rowing team that stunned the world with a victory at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Other bestsellers are driven by author events here and elsewhere on Bainbridge Island. Island author Barbara Berger's beautiful children's picture books take up a good part of our bestsellers list this week because of the wonderful show of her art at the newly opened Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (if you haven't been, you must go!).

The visit to Eagle Harbor Books by Seattle Times science writer Sandi Doughton put her book on earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest, Full Rip 9.0, high on our charts. Her conversation with Bainbridge writer Bruce Barcott made for a extremely interesting afternoon.

Finally, summer reading is big business in our bookstore and this year the lists of suggested reads for Hyla Middle School have sold well, and not just to Hyla families! Come see our table with their suggestions -- there are some great reads for middle schoolers.

So what books are making the bestsellers list in your home this summer? Are you looking for easy summer escapes? Do you like to read the newest and hottest titles? Or are you burrowing into nonfiction books in preparation for a summer adventure? We'd love to hear!

Kids in the garden

There is something special about kids and gardens. The sight of a youngster digging in the dirt, planting seeds or starts, eagerly waiting for that magic to happen. The pure joy when seeds sprout or vegetables begin to form. The epiphany that occurs when they actually get to taste something they've nourished -- sometimes something that they never would have tasted had it simply been set on their plate at the table.

We are excited that Seattle author Katherine Pryor will be visiting us Sunday, June 9, at 3pm, to talk about her picture book starring an initially reluctant young gardener, Sylvia's Spinach. And in the spirit of her book, we are inviting young gardeners and their families to send us pictures of their own gardens, the more unique and crazy, the better! Have you ever planted herbs in a boot, or spinach in a wagon? Let's see your favorite garden pictures, and we'll post them on our website during the month of June!

Color Wheel of Books!

We have a table back toward our children’s department that has been a carousel of colors lately! The first week the books were all bright yellow and we had lots of compliments on the interesting, cheerful display. No themes, just color. But lots of interesting books are yellow.

Ellyn, who does many of our displays, decided to go with the karma. Since then, our wheel of color table has been blue, orange, and purple. This week, in light of the dreary weather forecast, it is all grey.

But still, the books are all lovely and intriguing! You want to linger. And as you watch the table, you are amazed at all the intriguing covers in so many shades.

We’ll probably end up with a rainbow table toward the end. But until then, what color would you like to see? Bet you can’t stump us!

-Victoria

New Title Tuesday

Happy Valentine's Day! 
& 
New Title Tuesday

The Detour by Andromeda Romano-Lax. 

“A gently haunting work of subtle and surprising wisdom.”—Booklist

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt is a 2011 Staff Favorite at Eagle Harbor Books. Janis recommends this book: "Fueled by alcohol and mixed with eccentric and rambunctious personalities, it is a delightful tale, and a must-read to the end."

All There Is by Dave Isay.  This book is perfect for your Valentine's Day sweetie. This touching collection includes an array of love & marriage stories collected through the oral history project, StoryCorps.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo has received spectacular reviews from the New York Times, the Seattle Times, & USA Today.

Thursday nights just got much better...

If cookies and wine don't encourage you to attend a book reading, I'm not really sure what will. Claire Dederer is here tonight to read from her best-selling memoir, Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses. The paperback was just released this week, so here's to a great year of sales for Claire! Cheers! 

New Year, New Blog

We are super excited to finally enter the 21st century and start a blog for Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island, WA! We are still in the process of making this blog look pretty and organized, but for the time being, please enjoy some pictures of our store.

Visit our website or Facebook page to catch our first official blog post of 2012!