Describing Seattle as "a book town in an e-reader world, proud of its devotion to real books and real bookstores," the Washington Post's Diane Roberts explored a few traditionally bookish destinations in the city where Amazon has its headquarters, noting that "despite the Northwest's haute-techiness (Microsoft's headquarters is just across Lake Washington, too), Seattle still loves paper and print."
Among the bookstores highlighted were Lion Heart ("an excellent selection of children's books that goes way beyond Harry Potter"), BLMF Literary Saloon ("Customers should not expect to be coddled.") and Left Bank Books, which "stocks a T-shirt that shouts 'Read a [expletive] book!' "
Roberts "wanted to kiss the polished wooden floor the minute I walked into the Elliott Bay Book Co. It smells of ink and paper (and coffee and cherries--there's a good cafe in the back), and it glistens with new books; books you've heard of and books you didn't know existed." 
Elliott Bay bookseller Alan Brandsted told her that the bookstore is "hyper-aware of the Amazon empire. Sometimes people come in and look around, then buy online.... We see ourselves as a resource. Come in here, and something might be revealed."
