OK, I’ll admit it, we here at CHS are pretty excited about Elliott Bay Books coming to Capitol Hill. I know many of us have our reading lists and credit cards out and ready to help make sure they’ll stick around for years to come. But if you ask Spine & Crown owner Kris Minta, our enthusiasm is misplaced.
Kris is a hardcore bibliophile and has worked in book-selling his whole life. He readily admits that the longer he’s been in the business, the more esoteric his tastes become, both in books and subsequently the stores that sell them. So take these opinions with a grain of salt. I don’t agree with everything he says here, but he makes some great points. Definitely worth a listen.
Kris is not exactly optimistic about the future of brick & mortar (new) bookselling…
Kris explains what is wrong with the mainstream book selling business, and why he thinks Elliott Bay has more in common with Barnes & Noble than a true indy bookstore.
I also interviewed Pilot Books owner Summer Robinson (for another video I’m working on) and asked her to respond to Kris’ claim that Elliott Bay is part Barnes & Noble.
Kris questions whether Elliot Bay is really the heart of Seattle bookselling, and takes a jab at the Stranger’s coverage of the move, calling it “Elliot Bay Porn.”
At least in terms of numbers of stores, Kris is definitely correct that Elliott Bay is just the tip of the iceberg for Capitol Hill Booksellers. Here’s a list of bookstores that have come and gone, just in our neighborhood, compiled by commenter willieopal whos owns Pistil Books.
Here is a list of retail bookstores that have come and gone on Capitol Hill since 1993 (when my bookstore, Pistil Books, opened):
Red & Black Books
Pages (in the same space as Red & Black)
Beyond the Closet (on Pike)
Dundee Books (this was around for only about a year on Pike St.)
Horizon Books (used books on 15th)
Fallout Records (they had comics and zines)
Automotive Books (specialty store on 12th Ave.)
Co-op Books (little leftist store on 18th Ave.)
Pathfinder Books (socialist bookstore on Madison)
Warehouse Books (in the Broadway Market)
Chameleon Books (on 15th)
Boticelli Books (where Spine & Crown is now)
Bailey/Coy
We still have these bookstores:
Spine & Crown
Twice Sold Tales
Half Price Books
Louis Collins Rare Books
Pilot Books
City Books
Edge of the Circle (not just a bookstore)
Quest Book Shop
Horizon (online)
Pistil Books (online)I’m probably forgetting some…
You mentioned Kris and Chris. Is this one person or two?
Also: It’s Barnes & Noble, not Barnes & Nobel.
Kris/Chris could stand to be more gracious about his contemporaries and their establishments…even the corporate giants. Selling an Oprah book is not the devil’s work.
My take: bookstores are like grapes & grow best in bunches.
“Who cares?” about media play on a new, large bookstore on Capitol Hill? Especially as a resident, I do. It’s a business investing on our ‘hood. Bravo.
Howdy “cheesecake” (if that is, indeed, your real name,)
Not long after you did this video, about a month ago, I went in to Spine and Crown Books and talked with Kris for a couple of hours about this same stuff. He told me directly about what he disliked about my books coverage in general and my coverage of Elliott Bay in particular. We had a discussion, and I conceded some points and he conceded some points. It was a reasoned talk with an intelligent man who feels passionately about his corner of the book world, and it didn’t at all resemble what you did here with these videos.
I’m not saying that Kris is the victim here—he’s a big boy, he can take care of himself—but I really think the way you framed this blog post is irresponsible and you should be ashamed of yourself. You just went in with a camera, wound him up, and then cut the most controversial parts into bite-sized nuggets to throw to the slavering blogosphere for a couple of hits. And then, worst of all, you put the words “Ravings” and “Lunatic” in the headline and cowardly distance yourself from him in the preamble like you’re not in any way culpable for this post. And you’re not even brave enough to put your own real name on the post, either.
I hope your advertisers and prospective interview subjects take a look at this post and think about what they’re getting into when they get involved with CHS. You’re pitting a bunch of great local businesses against each other in an effort to create some sort of soap opera bullshit and then sitting way back out of the way and snickering at how clever you are about it.
This is really disgusting.
Hi-ho,
Paul Bobby Constant
It’s “Elliott Bay.” Check your spelling, next time.
I’ve only been to Elliott Bay a few times in the 12 years I’ve lived in Seattle; Pioneer Square is just too far away, that’s how lazy I am.
I didn’t love or hate it while I was there. “Love” I pretty much reserve for Powell’s, but that’s some tough competition. I think it’s interesting to hear Kris’ comments, and I felt like David (Cheesecake) wasn’t trying to be unfair to him. It definitely doesn’t strike me as “really disgusting”.
I would definitely like to watch a video chat with Kris and Paul; as Paul says, points would be conceded by all, and folks in the area would definitely learn something.
PS: Cheesecake, you might want to fill out your CHS profile, so people can find your video website.
I wrote the headline and can take the heat for it. Clearly, we don’t think Kris is a madman — he has a lot to say about an interesting question so he gets quite a forum here to say it. I was having fun with the energy and passion and trying to find a way to make it clear that we know this is an alternative viewpoint without labeling this: “Commentary > Alternative: Headline here”
I apologize if that didn’t come through but I really was trying to lighten this up, not bring it down. And I certainly wasn’t trying to disgust anybody.
I’m also fixing the numerous typos. Only excuse for that is that so much of I my editorial energy was focused on if this piece had value and should run. I’m not a binary person for that kind of decision — I still have some doubts — but I believe, in the end, it’s a valuable alternative view of something we might be taking for granted. I’m still excited about having Elliott Bay in the neighborhood. I still wonder if it will matter for its challenging business. The post goes enough in that direction that I thought people might enjoy the challenging ideas.
Kris is one person. I didn’t realize I said “like” so much. Can someone help me with that?
All I can add is that you’re seeing about six minutes of a 45 minute interview. I don’t think the selection is too unjust, but it does lack context – which would have made my points less sharp and perhaps more logical or agreeable. Oh well. Or hi-ho, as Paul would say.
Oh, and Summer is exactly correct about E.B.’s devotion to local. Many thanks for highlighting this commendable aspect. Also to Alan for pointing out that E.B. will be a valuable asset to the neighborhood. Wouldn’t deny it, and I expect positive fallout all around. Wasn’t thinking about it in neighborhoody terms.
Sorry about my funny eye.
Oh, the mighty Paul Constant! Only he is worthy of making any commentary on the local books business. After all, he used to work in a few of them back in the day, and I hear that he now reads books quite often.
It’s obviously irresponsible to give anyone else a platform to opine on the state of bookselling in Seattle, even if it is a wellspoken bookstore owner who seems to know his stuff.
But of course even the mostly slightly critical comment on Constant’s flawlessly dull coverage of the book scene must put the speaker outside of the world of acceptable discourse. And any neighborhood website who gives platform to such vile views from a business owner in that neighborhood must be boycotted.
By the by, if y’all aren’t subscribed to Kris’ quirky blog, y’all are missing out. ( http://spineandcrown.blogspot.com/) Infrequently updated, but quirky and fun.
Uncle Vinny! For liking the blog, you deserve a discount the next time you’re in. If only I knew who you were… The shop has a Facebook page now that’s pretty active. You can become a fan, if you like.
Oh no – it is not the Stranger/Danger.
What a bizzare ego those folks have.
Fearsome and full of it, they correct spelling on blogs!!!
At the same time, they wear jeans that should have been washed a month ago … hmmmm
Paul, you’re being a big baby. Someone disagrees with you and you get all defensive and bitchy. No one is trying to create a “soap opera”. This is just a differing opinion from the Stranger Status Quo of “WE like it and WE’RE cool so you’d better like it or YOU’RE not cool!” CHS is presenting an alternate viewpoint and that’s an alien concept to any writer at The Stranger. And, your not very subtle dig at Blogger Journalism is silly and tired and symptomatic of the Old Media that The Stranger is always ragging on, (yet fully embraces when it helps the bottom line; Slog is helping to save the print edition’s ass). Face it, neighborhood journalism is part of the New Media and thousands of people on the Hill look to it for their local news before heading to The Stranger to look at the entertainment listings and Savage Love and rag on shit on Slog. Sniffing that this blog isn’t REAL journalism makes you sound like an old lady. (And, getting cunty about spelling/grammar is a bit hypocritical coming from a Slog writer who’s boss is frequently guilty of similar (and worse) spelling/grammar errors in his posts).
For the record, I’m delighted that Elliot Bay is coming to the Hill. I also realize and fully accept that they ARE a yupped/hipstered up Barnes & Noble and I don’t care. The more book buying options, the better.
For the sake of all the women (and their gentlemen friends) reading this blog, is it possible that we could refrain from using the word “cunt” or any version thereof in a derogatory manner please?
Much appreciated!
krdsings: I apologize for my dickish behaviour. I promise not to make the same retarded mistake. I’m just a silly faggot.
Don’t worry, Kris, we all look funny on camera. Or at least, I hope it’s just the camera.
Ouch, I totally agree that “bookstores grow best in bunches” and extend that to book culture. May I suggest that’s what makes it possible to love Elliott Bay, Kris at Spine & Crown, AND Paul Constant equally?
Also, it sounds like I was struggling to say nice things about Elliott Bay on the video, but that’s not the case. I was just struggling in general that morning. I discovered NOON journal and Gaspereau Press at Elliott Bay, just to name a couple examples, and I’ve been attending their events since high school.
first off Paul, if you click on my username I have my picture, my name and my website all there in my profile, I’m not trying to be anonymous. I just happen to have a dumb username on this site that I made when I had no idea I’d be writing/ making videos for the site.
I’ll let Justin speak for himself on the headline… but no, I’m not ‘ashamed’ of myself for it, it’s clearly tongue in cheek.
Not sure what your point is about your conversation with Kris. It sounds like you guys had a constructive conversation, but I don’t see what that has to do with this post.
As for your claim that I went in and “wound him up” and pulled out only the most controversial parts… that’s just not true, and you have no way of knowing either of those things since you weren’t at the interview and can’t see what I cut from it. Sure, I did pull some of his more controversial points, and I cut out a lot of other stuff, I pulled the points that I found to be interesting… it’s called EDITING. I do it, you do it, all your co-workers at the Stranger do it. Not sure why you’re surprised about this. Trust me, if I wanted to make Kris look bad, I could’ve gone down a very different path.
But thanks for riding over on your high horse and checking out CHS!
David Albright