Island Books (WA)

An impressive, highly curated bookstore for so many reasons. There’s a massive section in the back for parents, young teens and the main area is really well-organized and clean. Nice balance between fiction and non-fiction. They have a a decent selection of magazines, notebooks, scarves and other goodies. My favorite part are the little notes they have on books they recommend! I miss seeing that in bookstores.

It may be the only book store on Mercer Island, but it's one of the best, & coziest book stores I've ever been to. It's a fun place to browse and wander in, the staff there are kind give plenty of space for you to look around at your own pace. They have a great selection of books, and trinkets. We visit every time we are in town!

What I liked: Went for breakfast to Homegrown next door, excellent sandwiches. After that we decided to walk into this local bookstore, after all, local bookstores are one of my favorite places to visit and to purchase books and magazines. This place is bigger than it looks from outside, it goes deep and at the end of it they have a nice kid's area with a good selection of children's books and games. The bookstore has many old typewriters in display which are very fitting for the store and I left wondering if they would sell me one or a few of those. The atmosphere is friendly and very welcoming, the book and magazine selection is great, as it is all the little gifts and stationary. We purchased a calendar, a magazine, a few stickers, and a book. Loved it. Observations: There was a person next to us or very close almost the entire time my wife and I browsed through the store, I am not sure if it was an employee but it felt uncomfortable, this person seemed to be monitoring us while pretending to be looking at something else - and maybe she was, I am not sure but I am just sharing our experience. We'd be back, I am an avid reader and always try to get my books and magazines from local businesses. Also, don't forget the sandwiches next door, they are pretty good!

Love, love this bookstore. It’s super cute, has a great vibe, lots of places to sit and read, and there aren’t just books for sale…they’ve got lots of local products like soaps, candles, chocolate, and gift items. The employees will also leave little cards hanging on some of the books they’ve read and tell the customer why they enjoyed that particular book.