Our store hours are from 10 to 7, Monday through Saturday, and 12 to 5 on Sunday.

For those wanting to order for pickup, please email us at info@phinneybooks.com or call at 206-297-2665 to place an order.

You can also order books to be shipped via our page on the Bookshop.org site. To go to our storefront on Bookshop, click here: bookshop.org/shop/phinneybooks. (Please note: Bookshop is not our site, and the inventory listed on their site does not reflect what we have in the store, but we receive 30% of all purchases made through our store on the site.)

Thanks for all of your support for our ten years in business!

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Welcome to Phinney Books, the neighborhood bookstore in Phinney Ridge/Greenwood in north Seattle.

7405 Greenwood Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98103 206-297-2665 info@phinneybooks.com

Hours: M 10-7 T 10-7 W 10-7 Th 10-7 F 10-7 Sa 10-7 Su 12-5

Our latest book recommendations

To read more, check out back issues of our weekly newsletter, and sign up to receive new ones every week.

Featured

New Book of the Week (November 12, 2024)

Big Vegan Flavor

by Nisha Vora

Unless you have your own test kitchen, reviewing a new, 600-page cookbook can only be a partial exercise, but after using Big Vegan Flavor for the last two months as a part-time, non-expert cook in a mostly vegan household I can say that it has been a slam-dunk success every time. Vietnamese Rice Noodle Bowls with Crispy Tofu & Mushrooms? Yes! Lemony Pasta with Sausage & Broccoli? Yum! Cheesy Herb Bread Pudding with Caramelized Leeks? Delish! Braised Carrots & Chickpeas with Dill Gremolata? Our handwritten note on this page: "So. Damn. Good." The flavors are indeed big, the recipes are straightfoward, and we're just getting started. —Tom

Old Book of the Week (November 12, 2024)

Phinney by Post Book #119

Meaning a Life

by Mary Oppen

Mary Colby and George Oppen met in a college poetry class in Corvallis in 1926; they spent a night together, for which Mary was expelled, but by then they had chosen to leave their pasts behind to share a life full of "conversation, ideas, poetry, peers." In the 50 years that followed, they found all of those, as well as hoboing, art-making, sailing, donkeys and horses and dogs, war, the Communist Party, parenthood (after many lost attempts), labor and labor organizing, exile (both chosen and not—they spent many blacklisted years in Mexico) and return. Mary's account of their shared life—in her first book, published in her 70th year—is told with deliberate, simple eloquence, and it's a pleasure and a provocation to read of lives lived with such originality and courage. —Tom

Kids' Book of the Week (November 12, 2024)

I Know How to Draw an Owl

by Hilary Horder Hippely and Matt James

I Know How to Draw an Owl is my favorite picture book of 2024. Beautiful and heart-wrenching, yet as quiet as an owl gliding through the trees, it depicts a serious issue with subtlety and sensitivity. Belle and her mom have been sleeping in their car in a forested park. It's scary being in a strange new place, but one night Belle finds comfort in the huge eyes of a majestic owl who seems to be welcoming them. Through minimal text that packs a punch, local author Hilary Horder Hippely has crafted a meaningful book that stays with you for a long time. —Haley

Old Book of the Week (October 29, 2024)

The Children's Bach

by Helen Garner

This book reminded me of the 1983 movie, The Big Chill, but with more nuance and an off-beat soundtrack (and an Australian setting). Published just a year later, it’s also about college classmates from the sixties whose orbits recross in the eighties. But while the film is smugly (says a smug Gen X-er) focused on Boomers’ disillusionment, Garner seems to see the era not as a failed revolution but a nudging open of the doors of convention. After graduating, paterfamilias Patrick and spiky-haired, loft-dweller Elizabeth made different life choices, but Garner never judges, only observes. In fact, she shows us characters through each other’s eyes—with only brief glimpses into their thoughts—making them less knowable, but more alive because of that. I adore Garner’s realism because it’s spare and straightforward and then she’ll throw in a fillip of particularity—a physical detail, a line of dialogue—that almost shifts the tone from fiction to documentary. Garner is a national literary treasure in her native Australia and she deserves a higher profile here. And YOU, Discerning Reader, deserve to be introduced to her unique style and sensibility. —Liz

We're a general-interest store selling a carefully chosen selection of new books across a variety of categories. We don't have a whole lot of space, but we make a special effort to have interesting reading in fiction, kids' books, essays, history, cookbooks, music, cities, nature and science, graphic novels, and books about the Northwest. We also sell a selection of paper goods and puzzles, and we'll always have lots of NYRB Classics on hand.

Every week we send a weekly newsletter, featuring book recommendations, new releases, event news, and other stuff, which you can sign up for here.

We opened in June 2014, after taking over Santoro's Books, the neighborhood bookstore for almost a decade. Here are some of the articles about the store, before and after our opening, if you'd like to read more:

"Bookstores in Seattle Soar, and Embrace an Old Nemesis: Amazon.com," ["embrace" might be a little strong...], New York Times, Apr. 11, 2014
"Across the Street from the Future with Tom Nissley," Seattle Weekly, Apr. 29, 2014
"Ballard Author and Jeopardy! Champ Buys Santoro's Books," Phinneywood.com, Apr. 2, 2014
"For the Love of Books: Jeopardy! Champ to Open Seattle Bookstore," MyNorthwest.com, Apr. 28, 2014
"Welcome Seattle's Newest Bookstore, Phinney Books, Tomorrow," Stranger Slog, June 20, 2014
"Independent Bookstore Series: Phinney Books," CityArts, June 25, 2014
"Phinney Books: A New Literary Anchor for Greenwood," Seattle Times, July 6, 2014
"Tom Nissley of Phinney Books Shares What He's Learned from His First Bookstore Christmas Season," Stranger Slog, Dec. 11, 2014

Inquiries about the store (and special order requests) can be sent to info@phinneybooks.com.

Thanks. Hope to see you in the store!

Tom Nissley

Holiday Bookfest 2024

The annual Holiday Bookfest returns to the Phinney Center (6532 Phinney Ave. N) at its traditional time: 2-4 pm on Nov. 23 (the Saturday before Thanksgiving)! Come for two fairly frenzied hours of fun and holiday shopping as more than two dozen local authors sign books (and we sell them). Joining us this year:
**Fiction:** Erica Bauermeister, Elisabeth Eaves, Laurie Frankel, Alma Garcia, Robin Oliveira, Juan Carlos Reyes
**Nonfiction:** Peter Ames Carlin, Claire Dederer, Reagan E.J. Jackson, Susan Lieu, Maggie Mertens, Bill Thorness
**Cooking:** Renee Erickson, Ashley Rodriguez, Becky Selengut
**Nature & Outdoors:** Steve Duda, Taha Ebrahimi, Cassandra Overby, Craig Romano
**Kids:** Amanda Abler, Lynn Brunelle, Ben Clanton, Tae Keller, Andy Chou Musser, Corey R. Tabor, Laurie Ann Thompson, Phoebe Wahl

The Top 100 Bestsellers of Our First Ten Years

We’re ten years old! Thank you for all your support during our first decade here in Phinneywood. Of all the books you’ve purchased here, we’ve compiled the top 100, with many familiar names and a few surprises.

Our Ten-Year Top 10s

In celebration of our tenth birthday, we each looked back and chose the ten favorite books we read in the past ten years (not always ones that were published in those years). You can see the lists from Anika, Doree, Haley, Kim, Liz, Nancy, and Tom—and submit your own Top 10!

Our TENTH-year bestsellers

Our tenth bookstore birthday was June 20, 2024. See our Top 100 bestselling books from our tenth year (and find links there to our bestsellers for each of our previous years).

OUR FAVORITE READING FROM 2023

What books did we most love in 2023 (even if they weren’t written in 2023)? See our year-end top 10 lists from Liz, Tom, Anika, Doree, Kim, Nancy, and Haley.

OUR ORIGINAL T-SHIRT STYLES ARE BACK!

Our original t-shirt designs (by Elinor Nissley of course) are back! Choose which side of our store to represent with TRUE and MADE-UP shirts, available now in a variety of sizes and styles, including sweatshirts, long-sleeve tees, and youth sizes. (Currently only available via online ordering with Bonfire.)

Our 2nd Store: MADISON BOOKS

Madison Books, our sibling store, which we opened in 2019 in the heart of Madison Park (at 4118 E. Madison St.), is now under new ownership. We are delighted that Sarah and Christina, who have worked at the store for a year, have taken over, and we hope you’ll continue to visit their lovely little book-crammed store. Visit their website for updates, and read about the transition in the Seattle Times.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, November 23, 2 to 4 pm: The 15th annual Holiday Bookfest, featuring two dozen local authors, at the Phinney Neighborhood Center

Gift Certificates

We do have Phinney Books gift certificates available for purchase, for any amount. They are physical (not electronic) gift certificates, and they can best be ordered in person at the store, over the phone, or via email at info@phinneybooks.com.