Island Books — Attraction in Mercer Island

A number of months ago,(6), I discovered, to my horror, that a book I had borrowed from a cherished friend was actually a personally signed edition, not only autographed by the author...it had also been signed by the hero's daughter. A book is a sacred object to me, and when I realized that through my personal peregrinations the book could not be returned to the owner in its original pristine condition I just figured I would purchase another one for her...until I happened to turn to the title page. I thought I was going to be sick. The look in my friend's eyes when I showed her the book, broke my heart. I resolved not to give her signed personal copy back to her until I could include a brand new hard bound edition not only personally autographed, once again, by the author, but also, the daughter of the hero of the book. I contacted Island Books, where my friend got the paperback book at a special author signing event and plead my case. I was immediately connected to their intrepid "Miracle Worker, " Cindy. She listened graciously to my story and accepted my request. The author, quite famous, is a bit of a recluse,...as is the hero's daughter, both preferring their private worlds. Both are difficult to reach, much less have respond. None of this deterred Cindy. She diligently, politely proceeded, knocking softly on doors with a velvet gloved hand and making persistent, gentle searching enquiries. Several times she came up against barriers that would have stopped most. Her strategic research is worthy of Scotland Yard. She simply will not stop until she reaches her goal. Cindy is a dedicated, brilliant, patient, gracious lady and an unbelievable, incredible asset to her employer, Island Books owner, Laurie Raisys, who, by the way treasures this person. Need I say that Cindy Corugo, special, rare books person, accomplished all I challenged her with; constantly staying in communication with me as she moved through this odyssy. I don't know how I can possibly express my gratitude to this woman whose stellar "Customer Service" goes "beyond the pale." I will tell you that I am working on it. Due to my career in broadcast television, radio, marketing and sales; in major markets...with my "hallmark" being customer service, Cindy will be richly, appropriately rewarded as she deserves to be. My reward, will be the smile on my friend's face when I give her what she considered impossible. Thank you once again Ms. Cindy Corugo! Thank you Ms. Laurie Raisys, for approving the time it took for Cindy to accomplish this feat. Most Sincerely,...

What I liked:

Went for breakfast to Homegrown next door, excellent sandwiches. After that we decided to walk into this local bookstore, after all, local bookstores are one of my favorite places to visit and to purchase books and magazines.

This place is bigger than it looks from outside, it goes deep and at the end of it they have a nice kid's area with a good selection of children's books and games. The bookstore has many old typewriters in display which are very fitting for the store and I left wondering if they would sell me one or a few of those.

The atmosphere is friendly and very welcoming, the book and magazine selection is great, as it is all the little gifts and stationary. We purchased a calendar, a magazine, a few stickers, and a book. Loved it.

Observations: There was a person next to us or very close almost the entire time my wife and I browsed through the store, I am not sure if it was an employee but it felt uncomfortable, this person seemed to be monitoring us while pretending to be looking at something else - and maybe she was, I am not sure but I am just sharing our experience.

We'd be back, I am an avid reader and always try to get my books and magazines from local businesses. Also, don't forget the sandwiches next door, they are...

A great bookstore. I’ve lived here for decades and somehow never found my way in here, but I’m glad I finally did. The most pleasant surprise was the excellent science fiction and fantasy section. At so many indie book stores this section is an afterthought; some Douglas Adams, some George R. R. Martin, and whatever doorstop volume in the latest Tolkien retread series is on the NYT bestsellers list. I guess most indie bookstore owners are just unfamiliar with the genre (or worse, don’t think they need to be). Whoever curates this section at Island, though, put some real thought into it, deftly mixing bestsellers, classics, and some new discoveries. I went home with books by two authors that were new to me, and loved them both. I’ll be back to...