Mimsy Were the Borogoves

Book Reviews: From political histories to bad comics, to bad comics of political histories. And the occasional rant about fiction and writing.

Seattle, Washington: Ophelia’s Books

Jerry Stratton, March 8, 2016

I walked down the hill from Queen Anne and across the Fremont Avenue bridge to get here; it’s a nice, if convoluted, walk. Much of the time it feels like walking down someone’s long driveway.

Ophelia’s Books isn’t as big as Twice Sold Tales, but what they have are interesting, and they are also right next to a decent record store.

Like Twice Sold Tales, they have cats. Possibly a requirement of Seattle bookstores, possibly a requirement of bookstores in general.

I only picked up two books when I was here, but one of them has been on my list for years, and one I never even knew existed. Still Life is the second in A. S. Byatt’s Frederica series; so far I have only read the third, Babel Tower. But what I have read of Byatt made me pick it up immediately from their discount rack.

Still Life is practically a primer on writing.

Sign of the Labrys is a strange book from AD&D’s infamous Appendix N. It is definitely a relic of the sixties, where it’s a great thing that most people are dead because it stopped overpopulation, war, and capitalism. Fortunately, the capitalists created a huge surplus of food, shelter, and supplies, so that there’s enough for everyone for a long time. A hard book to find, but well worth reading if you’re a D&D fan. Its combination of fading technology and magic looks a lot like old-school D&D.

If you’re doing a bookstore tour of Seattle, Ophelia’s needs to be on your route.

Ophelia’s Books
3504 Fremont Ave N
Seattle, Washington

Sept. 26, 2015

Still Life A. S. Byatt $3.00 trade paperback
Sign of the Labrys Margaret St. Clair $4.00 mass market paperback

In response to The bookstores less traveled: These aren’t the bookstores people travel across the country to visit. But if you’re already traveling across the country, you’ll want to take advantage of the opportunity to visit them.

  1. <- Librarium
  2. The Book Stop ->