Lissa Brewer: Scratchpad: Exploring the coast's bookstores
Apr. 12—On the waterfront streets of Astoria, Manzanita, Ilwaco and other nearby towns, rows of seafaring adventures, sprawling histories and stories to escape with on an afternoon lying in the sand dunes — or on the grassy lawn by the Astoria Column — are never far out of reach. Some local bookstores make their home in cedar shake cottages, while others join with neighboring coffee shops. At least one has a resident dog to greet.
This week, two Cannon Beach booksellers will participate in hosting Get Lit at the Beach, a festival returning after three years with an impressive lineup of authors, plus a set of venues small enough to inspire conversation. More about the event can be found in this week's cover story.
Not long after I arrived in Astoria, one coworker rose from a desk a few feet away, insisting that I ought to venture into Jupiter's Books on Spruce Street, near the Cannon Beach Chocolate Cafe. Both are worth repeated visits, preferably one after the other.
While Jupiter's specializes in rare editions and signed copies, Cannon Beach Book Co., the Hemlock Street bookstore providing copies for a Saturday afternoon signing at the Surfsand Resort, offers a wider selection of new releases. Both are worth visiting to pick up editions by local authors. I've taken finds from each on memorable trips, including on a camping excursion on the Olympic Peninsula last summer. Despite my stacks of unread books on shelves, I'm still going back.
More enchanting places to find your next book along the coast include Cloud & Leaf Bookstore in Manzanita, Beach Books in Seaside, Lucy's Books and Godfather's Books in Astoria, Time Enough Books in Ilwaco and many more that I might have yet to discover.
