Snow Goose Books & Frames, Stanwood, Wash., is closing. In a letter to friends and customers on its website, co-owners Tom Bird and Kristine Kaufman, who purchased the business in 1998, expressed sadness that "the time has come for us to say a fond farewell. Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to find someone to take over the reins here.... Although we will still be here into the month of June, we want to take this time to say a huge 'thank you' for all your support over the years. You welcomed us when we first arrived, you helped us move (twice, that's two separate thank yous), you got us through the Great Recession, you made us a part of your lives. And you've given us the best job in the world--sharing books we love with people who love books."
Mourning the impending loss of the town's bookstore, Stanwood Camano News columnist Jeremiah O’Hagan wrote: "I've spent my life aswirl in words, and bookstores have been a constant--shopping in them, going to readings in them, comparing them. The best ones warehouse an area's literary culture. For all the years I've been around town, I've counted Snow Goose among the surprisingly great shops.... Books mirror our dreams and aspirations and insecurities. Our fantasies. It's intimate to let someone into your reading life, and to frequent a bookstore is to trust the persons running it. So far, no one is buying Snow Goose. Bird and Kaufman have cut prices 30% and are selling everything, even the shelves. I--we all--wish them the best in retirement, though I can't help wondering, What is a town without a bookstore?"