Spotlight on Bookstores: *Ravenna Third Place Books* in Seattle

I’m delighted to welcome Sarah Jio to She Is Too Fond of Books today, spotlighting Ravenna Third Place Books, one of thebookstores that she frequents in her hometown.  Sarah is the author of The Violets of March, a delightful novel set in Bainbridge Island, Washington, and following interconnected dual story lines; it will be on bookstore shelves in less than two weeks!  Her second novel, The Bungalow, is scheduled to follow in Summer 2012 – there’s no stopping this busy mother of three, who, in addition to being a novelist, is the health and fitness blogger on Glamour.com.  Keep up with Sarah Jio and all the news on The Violets of March and her other work by visiting her website and following her on twitter.

Dawn, thank you so much for having me! I’m gearing up for the release of The Violets of March (out on April 26!), and am ridiculously excited about seeing my very first book in a bookstore (a dream come true for this author who wrote her first “book” at age 7—it was called “A Tugboat’s Dream,” but I won’t embarrass myself with the details!). I frequent many bookstores in my hometown—Seattle—but there’s one in particular that my husband and I take our three little boys too often: Third Place Books in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. I’ll be paying a visit there soon to see Violets on the shelf, and, OK, to snap a few silly author photos of me being goofy, holding the book, etc.

I adore this bookstore for many reasons—the homey feel, the proximity to our home, the friendly staff, the great little children’s section where my three boys (ages 4, 2, and 8 weeks) always find a new Spiderman, Thomas the Train or other picture book to fall in love with. I love seeing them get excited about reading, and I’ll always remember the first time my middle son, Russell, showed interest in books—at, of course, Third Place. A picture book all about trucks (loaders and lifters, dump trucks, garbage trucks—you name it, it was in there!) caught his eye, and his little face lit up with such incredible joy. He loved the book so much, we couldn’t bear to take it away from him, so we let him take it into his crib for naptime that day. Consequently, he slept with the book for the next many months. He’s now 2 and still loves it. We’re fairly certain he’ll be packing the book along with him when he leaves for college.

Bookstores are places for family memories, and also, at Third Place, great meals. At the amazing adjoining café, called Vio’s, they serve the world’s most to-die-for falafel sandwiches and lattes made with the perfect thick and creamy foam (I’m a major foam person). Bliss. Good books, good times, great food (and let’s not forget, amazing coffee) are made for each other, and Third Place Ravenna hits the spot.

Thanks for sharing Ravenna Third Place Books with us, Sarah!  I can absolutely relate to the young ones taking favorite books to bed with them A family-friendly bookstore that has an adjoining café (and, according to their website, also the Third Place Pub for those times the kids aren’t with you) … sounds like bliss, indeed!