Last night I went for a run after work and then did some walk-running between various galleries in the Capitol Hill Art Walk and then had to say goodbye to friends early to run over to Elliott Bay Book Company to buy a gift for a friend. Elliott Bay Books closes at 10 pm. I got there by 9:57 and...

...the lights were out and the door was locked. There were employees still inside the store putting their coats on and such. I love independent bookstores, I love Elliott Bay in particular, I love how knowledgeable the employees are, I love that many of the booksellers are themselves writers, and I love that it's in my neighborhood, but I don't love how hard it can be to buy a book there. Several times I've gone there looking for a book they should have, a book any used bookstore would have, and they don't have it, because they don't have used books. (Now that so many other used bookstores have closed, can you please reconsider, Elliott Bay gods? The Powell's model is a beautiful model. PLEASE!) It's also been my experience that if I ask if a book can be ordered, they say, "We might be able to order it for you," and then gaze discouragingly into their computer, as if what they really mean is, "Just get it on Amazon." I met an Elliott Bay employee recently at a bar and told him about the "We might be able to order it for you" phenomenon, and he told me: "We don't like to promise things we can't be sure of." Fair enough. I sorta prefer the razzle-dazzle "Absolutely we can get that for you!" approach, after all I don't want to feel discouraged while shopping at a store I love for shopping for the thing I'm shopping for, but I can put up with brutal honesty. Still: Can you at least be open the hours you're open?

I say all this because I like you.

Love,
Christopher