Mulligatawny, A Stew of Stuff

When I moved to Washington state back in 1991, there were 365 bookstores in the Seattle area, one for every single day of the year. I nearly swooned with bibliophilic delight! Now, as with newspapers, the book industry is drying up, becoming smaller and there are far fewer bookstores to be had. Still, I am fortunate to be able to shop at Island Books on Mercer Island, Baker Street Books in Black Diamond and Elliott Bay, now on Capitol Hill in Seattle. And when we go to Portland for my husband's favorite past time, Drum and Bugle Corps competitions, I get to sneak into Powells City of Books, one of my favorite spots in Oregon.
So I was delighted to read the following in Shelf Awareness:

As the digital age continues to draw a bead on traditional indies, the
Everett, Wash., Daily Herald observed
that "the cultural coroners are out in force again, pronouncing the time
of death for all bookstores. But people like bookstores. They especially
like, and are loyal to, independent bookstores. People who write books
also especially like bookstores. That's where they give readings
(libraries too!) and meet people who read their books....

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599775

"Community is key. In the Northwest, we are lucky to have plenty of our
own examples: Village Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599776 in Bellingham,
Watermark Book Co http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599777. in Anacortes,
Elliott Bay Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599778 in Seattle, Auntie's
Bookstore http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599779 in Spokane and Powell's Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599780 in Portland. Funny how a 'dead' business also
continues to sound like one of the best things that could happen for the
future of downtown Everett."

I've just finished reading three books, The gorgeous "The Bards of Bone Plain" by my favorite fantasy author Patricia McKillip, "Destiny Times Six" a book written in Astrology's heydey in the 1970s by Katherine de Jersey and the final book in the "Fever" series, "Shadowfever" by Karen Marie Moning.
McKillip's prose was, as always, splendid and spellbinding, and the story sad and glorious, while Ms de Jersey had some fascinating takes on people via their astrological chart, and I felt that I learned something about astrology and how the planets influence us, or don't, as the case may be.
Shadowfever was a juicy tome full of climaxes, confrontations, and background/explanations of what and who everyone really was, including the main character, whose journey was long, twisted and in the end, worth all the pain.