Neighborhood Reads<\/h2>\n
On April 25, 33 stores in the region will celebrate Seattle Independent Bookstore Day with activities including in-store readings, scavenger hunts and story times for children, giveaways, and treats. For the heartiest book-lovers in the region, the 25 is also the launch of the 10-day Passport Challenge, which requires participants to get special cards stamped at all 33 stores by May 4 in order to win a one-time 25% discount at every participating SIBD store.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Passport Challenge has grown dramatically since SIBD\u2019s founding in 2015. It now includes bookstores that sprawl across the area, from East West Books & Gifts<\/a> in Edmonds to Brick & Mortar Books<\/a> in Redmond to Page 2 Books<\/a> in Burien.<\/p>\n One of the seemingly farthest-flung bookstores in the challenge, Poulsbo\u2019s Away With Words, is actually incredibly easy to reach from downtown Seattle. Just take the ferry to Bainbridge, then hop on the 390 bus, which takes you straight to Poulsbo \u2014 all told, a trip of less than an hour and a half. In heavy traffic, it\u2019s sometimes harder to get to Ballard from South Seattle on public transportation.<\/p>\n Away With Words is celebrating SIBD with a new ferry-themed tote bag created by local designer Jen Colburn, a giveaway for a free year of audiobooks by local indie bookstore-friendly audiobook service Libro.fm, and appearances by local authors Mary Lou Sanelli, Julie Farley, Eve Kasey, and Sarah Eriksen. The husband-and-wife team that co-owns the store, Kevin and Bittina Sheen, are also hoping that new visitors brought in by SIBD will appreciate Away With Words\u2019 unique blend of bookstore and bath and body shop.<\/p>\n The mixture of two seemingly disparate stores seems as natural a pairing as \u2026 well, books and water. But on walking into the shop, it all comes into focus. From the bathtub full of bath bombs and the displays of soaps and facial masks at the front of the store, on back to the genre-dominated bookshelves, Away With Words functions as a spa for body and mind \u2014 a place to lose yourself in the pleasure of a luxurious skin care regimen and a perfectly escapist novel.\u00a0<\/p>\n And the owners note with pride that many of the pleasures you can buy at Away With Words are hyperlocal: \u201cWe make all of our lotions, scrubs and candles in-house,\u201d Bittina explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n Away With Words was founded in 2018 by Elise and Geneva Lee. The Lees were looking to sell the business after Geneva\u2019s paranormal romance novel series hit the bestseller charts. The Sheens were friends with the Lees, and Bittina \u201coffered to work there for a day because [Elise] had a couple people call in sick\u201d during the busy holiday rush of 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo I had a crash course of like 10 minutes \u2014 \u2018Here\u2019s how you run the cash register, here\u2019s how the store works,\u2019 and then I was just by myself for the whole day,\u201d Bittina recalls. It was a frantic, busy shift, but she went home invigorated, and that night, she and Kevin started seriously discussing buying the business.<\/p>\n The Sheens grew up in Poulsbo, and since they married in 2022, they have devoted themselves to the Poulsbo community and the arts in Poulsbo in particular. While they were planning their wedding, they also founded the Poulsbo Film Festival<\/a>, and Bittina served for years on the board of the Historic Downtown Poulsbo Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n When they started considering buying Away With Words, Kevin recalls, \u201cI was thinking, \u2018What could be more Poulsbo than owning a small business on Front Street?\u2019 It would give us an opportunity to be even more involved.\u201d They got the keys to the shop in January of 2023 and now oversee a staff of four booksellers.<\/p>\n The shop reflects their varied interests. Kevin\u2019s parents Kay and Wray are ceramists who, for years, had a booth in Pike Place Market, and now the shop carries some of their ceramics, along with Poulsbo-themed ceramic magnets that Kevin makes. As the founders of the Poulsbo Film Festival, it makes sense that Away With Words has a books-on-film section that\u2019s better than any other store of its size. And Kevin\u2019s stint as a candlemaker in a Georgetown factory gave him the experience he needed to create the handmade scented candles, soaps and other bath products available in the shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the three years that they\u2019ve owned Away With Words, Kevin explains that the Sheens have expanded the shop\u2019s children\u2019s book section to include \u201cdiverse books and good representation of different stories,\u201d and they\u2019ve similarly built out the horror section and added games. The shop is quickly becoming a showcase for Poulsbo\u2019s surprisingly large and growing population of local authors. \u201cLast year, 10 out of 10 of our store bestsellers were local authors,\u201d Bittina says with pride.<\/p>\n Now they\u2019re working on expanding the author events and book club schedule, including plans for what might be their biggest event yet: A book launch party on May 19 for Gig Harbor author Rachel Linden\u2019s latest Poulsbo-set novel, \u201cA Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity,\u201d in partnership with local businesses mentioned in the novel.<\/p>\n In the end, the Sheens hope that everybody can find something to love at Away With Words, \u201cwhether it\u2019s a lotion or a candle or a ceramic dish or a magnet,\u201d Kevin says. \u201cWe\u2019re the store where you can come in and find a gift for literally anyone you know.\u201d<\/p>\n Gig Harbor author Matt Dinniman\u2019s \u201cDungeon Crawler Carl\u201d<\/a> series \u201cis a hard book to keep in stock right now,\u201d Kevin\u00a0says. \u201cOne of our staffers, Annika Hald, loves that series\u201d and has championed it from the beginning. Kevin also loves a recent stand-alone Dinniman novel, \u201cOperation Bounce House.\u201d<\/a> \u201cI read a lot of horror and mystery and thrillers, so there aren\u2019t usually a lot of jokes in there,\u201d Kevin says, \u201cbut Dinniman does a great job setting a scene and then landing a funny joke.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat are Away With Words customers reading?<\/h2>\n