In Seattle, if you want to get your hands on a real book made of paper and ink, you’re lucky enough to have plenty of independent bookstores to choose from, where friendly folks are willing to make recommendations, reach things on high shelves, and let you pet their cats. To help show your appreciation for this wealth of local resources, there’s an entire day devoted to these places: Independent Bookstore Day, which is tomorrow, April 30. In honor of the occasion, there are events happening all over town, and we’ve compiled them all onto our Things To Do calendar.
Your options include a dog costume contest at Elliott Bay and live music at the University Book Store. The main event, however, is the Champion Challenge, which will take you to 17 indie bookstores all over town (and out of town, from Bainbridge to Mercer Island)—and if you finish, you’ll win 25% off purchases at each bookstore for an entire year.
In preparation for the big day, take this quiz (Which Seattle-Area Bookstore Are You?) and thank your lucky stars Barnes & Noble isn’t on the list.
Update: An earlier version of this post mentioned the grand opening of Third Place Books in Seward Park, which has been delayed.
