Snow Goose Bookstore - Stanwood, WA

Snow Goose Bookstore - Stanwood, WA

Fun facts from the Snow Goose Bookstore!  These are the kinds of things you learn from great indie owners like Kristine and Tom.  Where else could one learn these things?

All of us have that unread pile (or piles) of books and everyone has their own organizational system.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, Kristine is concerned about her piles for safety reasons.  It is advisable here in an earthquake prone area to not stack books next to your bed higher than head level, thus preventing injury from falling books during an earthquake.  Depth and number of piles?  No problemo.  Pile height?  Below the head.  For you grade school kids, let me offer a rhyme to help you remember this safety tip, "when stacking books beside your bed, never stack above your head."

Also from Kristine, we were discussing two non-fiction books, Unbroken and The Boys in The Boat, that both had a connection to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  One of the regular customers at Snow Goose was actually in attendance at those olympics.  She was there when she was 4, has some recollection, but probably moreso through her parents and their stories as she became older.  Where else could you hear stuff like this besides a great indie?

But I digress.  The Snow Goose is a small, quaint indie in a small Washington town.  I worry about survival for an indie here but Tom and Kristine say they have a decent population base for great local support.  They also draw from the many tourists who have a home here during the summer season.  In addition to a great selection of books they have greeting cards, socks, fashion hats, local art works, locally made jewelry, and a few other small items of interest.  It really is a number of these extra items that help the indies continue to stay in business.

As with so many other indies and their owners, Tom and Kristine were absolutely wonderful to talk to.  Such a great fringe benefit of this journey I'm on.  Their eyes are wide open to the reality of their survival but they have it together and are doing fine.  Unfortunately, they don't have a live snow goose wandering the store but of course they have a CAT, Jenny.  She came on "staff" about a year ago.  Do you think stray cats just wander until they find an indie to hang out at?!

When you get to the Pacific Northwest, enjoy the wonderful scenery and enjoy at trip to a hidden but great little independent bookstore in the hands of two super people, Tom and Kristine.  Go to an indie and buy a book.  Bonsoir.

TIBS UPDATE:  Readers, I'm not sure how you all access this blog but if you have access to social media you can like The Indie Bob Spot on Facebook and you can also follow The Indie Bob Spot on Twitter.  However you access, thanks as always for reading.

CURRENTLY READING:  All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr.  Highly recommended by everyone I've visited.

RECENTLY PURCHASED:  The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair, Joel Dicker.  This is huge in Europe and has recently been translated to English.  We'll see if it is as big on this side of the pond.

Outside the Snow Goose on a great day in Stanwood, WA.

What you see is what you get.  This is the view inside the front door.  

Front window display with the snow goose.

They have socks  

This is Jenny.  Kristine and Tom were hoping she could step up and start doing more for the store on the internet.  It appears her talents are more suited to taking breaks than IT!  

Pick out a hat to go with the socks you'll be buying.  

A great children's area.  

Actually, they DO have snow geese, they just aren't alive!

Great display promoting the local authors and the region.  (Tom & Kristine, please note that Jenny is still on break in the lower right hand corner of this photo).  

Jewelry from local artists that you'll need with your hat and socks.  

Two great chairs to sit down and try out a book.  

Tom & Kristine, the owners of the Snow Goose.  

Yours truly with Tom and Kristine.  

This should be posted in every indie!  Follow the directions, people!