The Elliott Bay Book Company

We all have such diverse tastes here at Elliott Bay that it is rare for us to agree on a novel. The Imperfectionists has us going around saying "Yes, it is that good!" in agreement. Each chapter would be a wonderful short story on its own, each character deserves his own novel. Highly recommended.

I picked up this memoir because I am fascinated by border collies. Jon Katz gave me an inside look at joys and frustrations of a life with border collies, but he also gave me more than I expected. Jon Katz approaches life with curiosity and courage; he feels change and upheaval are good for the soul.
I have since read almost everything he has written and am a grateful reader.

I am fascinated by mountain climbers who choose to live on the edge of death. As a woman, I am particularly intrigued by the women who do so. I read this book in hardback, and read it again when it came out in paperback. I find myself wanting to read it again, but realize that is a bit excaessive. Instead, I am buying it for all my friends. Vicarious thrills!

If you've never read Sarah Waters, author of the scandalous and fabulous Tipping the Velvet, I recommend starting with Fingersmith. Be prepared for a serious page-turner...
Reminiscent of Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, Fingersmith is about a young, poor orphan raised by a family of petty thieves (fingersmiths) who is recruited to aid "Gentleman" in his elaborate scheme to marry an heiress for her fortune.
Warning: You will be helpless to stop reading until the very end!

When a customer who always recommends fabulous books said I should read Bringing Down the House, I must confess I was doubtful. On a Saturday night I tentatively picked it up. I stayed up until 2:30 a.m., utterly unable to put it down. And I've never even gambled. So, now I am recommending it as a great fun read.

If you have yet to discover the sun-drenched, hard-boiled world of Ross Macdonald, this is the book to get you hooked. And I can't think of a better summer mystery; Lew Archer follows a trail of shady characters from Malibu to Guadalajara and keeps crossing paths with a group of surfers in a zebra-striped hearse.

Leila, a young divorcee with a six year old son named Kippy, impulsively left New York in 1951 and booked passage for herself and her son on a ship to Hong Kong. There she met four beautiful young men sailing their beautiful boat "The California" around the world. (Look at the pictures in the book.) Ms. Hadley talks the men into allowing her and her son to join the crew and they travel together for about a year. Give Me the World is Ms. Hadley's memoir of that incredible voyage—wonderful!