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Category: Bookstores [Edit]
Neighborhood: Capitol HillMon-Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
"A tiny jewel box of a store. Small but solid inventory (all killer, no filler). Great, oddball titles near the checkout desk. Watch your…" read more »
"Stay as long as you like! Let me know if you need any help finding anything! Pet the kitties!" Those were the words of the enthusiastic owner who greeted me and gave me a tour around Twice Sold Tales. This was my first time at this location, which I had been meaning to go to since I realized that Twilight is even worse the second time around. (read: my personal library was in desperate need of some new additions.)
So on my day off, I scheduled a visit to the bookstore in between swimming at All Star Fitness, tanning at Desert Sun, drinking chai at Victrola, and grocery shopping (hot tip- this is a recipe for a perfect day). With no real idea of what I wanted to read in mind, and no real recollection of what I'd recently read and actually liked ('The Time Travelers Wife' is horrible), I decided I'd wing it. I walked up the ramp, opened the door, and walked in.
The owner was so friendly and cheerful. Her first suggestion was to start with the rack of cheap $1 and $2 books, which I did. She then walked me through the Fiction Section, and over to the Children's Section, where I instantly scooped up a copy of Make Way for Ducklings and opened it up to see if the story had changed since I'd last read it 15 years ago. Thankfully, it hadn't.
Most of the other patrons were students who were looking to save a few bucks on books for class. If she didn't have it, the owner handed them a list with all the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the other used bookstores in Seattle. Way to make it easy! :) I probably sat on the floor for 30 minutes with a kitty purring in my lap, as I tried to decide which books I was actually interested in reading, and which books I should buy just to have them on my shelf. In the end, I walked out with 4 books for $17, and hours of reading await.
Ok - who isn't in love with the cat that looks just like a killer whale?! I live less than a block from this bookstore and I readily admit to paying visits without even intending on buying a book. I go sometimes just to pet cats!
I've always found that the prices of books here are very fair. Additionally they have a pretty good selection considering how small they are. Even when my brother pays visits to me from CA we go here (to pet cats) and look for books he can read on his flight back home.
I think it's wonderful that this store is a home to cats who would otherwise not have homes. It's also a smart marketing tool because not only is it tempting to go in and just pet the cats, but they appear to be trained to lead you around the store and force you to browse in sections you didn't even go in there to look at. DARN! It's hard to walk out with empty hands.
This location is waaaaay better than their U District branch. I almost didn't come here because of my horrible experience at the one in the U District. But my husband can't pass up a bookstore so he made me go. And I was glad I did because the staff were much friendlier and it's bigger and better organized.
They have cats! Okay, I guess I could have read the small sign on the door that says "No dogs, because we have cats," but I didn't see it. So I was surprised to see 5 cats hanging out. Most were sleeping. One followed me around. I am super super allergic to cats but I really like them. And this one liked me so it was happy walking in circles around me even though I couldn't pet it.
I left with some books and a really runny nose. I will definitely take some allergy meds before my next visit.
I have to admit that I had very little interest in the books and only went for the cats. I love this bookstore. From what I could see, they had an amazing selection of used books, and would be one of those places I could sit and read for several hours had I not been entertaining out-of- town guests. To sit and read with a cuddly cat in my lap would be simply heavenly, especially if that cat is one that I don't have to feed or clean or pay vet bills for...what a perfect scenario.
Help, I'm lost in a maze of books and being stalked by cats!
I like the new Twice Sold Tales location. It's closer to me and 3 out of 4 times I've walked in and almost immediately found what I was looking for. They've got a good selection of books, and if you can't find something specific, there's a Half Price Books a block away. Plus, as of this writing they're having a "happy hour" promotion after 4pm for 25% off their used books. Stop by on your way home from work and save some cash!
Books! Me!
Cats! Me!
friendly staff.. I love it!
I go there once every two weeks and find an old read. sometimes i find some tapes and other none book things. The owner is very talkative but nice and I can never leave without a book in my hands. Each one has a history and a price. I love the old books the most!!!
Cats!
+Cheap books!
+Crazy mazes of rooms and bookshelves!
= happy face
Can be a little difficult to figure out where certain shelves are due to the crazy mazes
+Not a great selection of certain books (science, etc)
=sad face
Overall, I quite enjoy it. It's more of a place to spend some time than a place to run in and out, but it seems like a good place to spend some book-browsing time.
Well, what do you expect of a cat lover like me? I mean... this is like coming to a proverbial heaven, surrounded by gods of the feline sort and books... musty, musty books... gah, I love that smell. I sort of wish new books had old book smell built in some days, but I like new book smell, too, at least when there's lots of colored ink involved in the cover or inside.
I've scored some oddball books here... but more often, I sit and read... and hope one of the cats will humor my lust for their love and attention...
Now that my own cat is here permanently with me, of course, I am a little less in need of the love from the other gods--kinda like having Zeus (or Hera... Hera is more personable, I think) hanging out in your kitchen and whining about why Poseidon isn't there, right?
In any case, I am stuck on old, old books in random assortments. It brings me back to my childhood, literally, as my whole house seemed full of random books I couldn't get enough of. I'm sure there are even a few family Bibles in this place if you look hard enough. Just like home... musty, dusty, and full of bizarre opinions of bizarre people from all kinds of bizarre times.
I'm thrilled this exists. Cats own the WHOLE WORLD. This place just realizes this inevitable truth. I love em for it.
Didn't give it that last star cause there's SO MUCH stuff.
Always have buyers remorse after leaving there.
Also, I just now got the pun about cats! TALES... TAILS... Ha.
Here you can find the "hard-to-find" fiction books you've been looking for. Victor Pelevin? Maybe. Newer and popular too. Pay attention to the employee picks if you are looking for challenging or just interesting reads. Also, the window items are quite good deals and reads.
They pay good money for good books (don't bring them more Grisham and Dan Brown, please).
Sorely lacking in the mystery section; sigh. Poetry; check. Fantasy; check. Sci-fi; check minus. GLBTQ; check plus.
Cats galore but this location has more space so you don't smell the litter box as much and the cats will only bother you if you go looking for them (I always do but I know this annoys some people).
Thankfully, the new location does not have as many bitchy signs / postings (which I think were harmless but turned some folks off which means fewer customers, less money, etc. etc.) around the store as the one before. The new location also means they might struggle a bit as they will no longer get bus riders to come in and browse. So support them as much as you can (even if you then go down the street to Half-Price books . . . ). I hope they're around for a long while.
Twice Sold Tales on Cap Hill has moved they are now at
1833 Harvard Ave
corner of Harvard and Denny way one block off Broadway behind Pete's Coffee
so went in here tonight looking for some winter reading materials
this is a Local Institution and if they don't have what you want, they are not afraid to point you in the direction of another used book store
also the staff is up on used books and authors
only bad part about the new location is parking,you are best to park on Broadway and walk down a block as parking in only on one side of the street on Harvard and Denny
Good to know that Twice Sold Tales is moving to a new location off of Broadway, near Denny Way (the building itself will be demolished to make way for a mass-transit station).
After losing about half of its actual space next door a few years ago, I stopped coming in here. Plus, I had moved off Capitol Hill, anyway.
But it was this store that introduced me to the joys of used bookstores. Their 25% off sale after midnight on Friday through the following morning at 8:00 a.m. made this a great wee-hour haunt for book-lovers.
Waiting for the #43 bus to the U. District, it was always a pleasure looking in at the great titles on display in the window--quality books, rare and distinguished in some way.
The selection of books was good, and they have always seemed to have new books coming in all the time.
Though the cats seemed to leave a lot of fur here and there, I kind of miss them (the other Twice-Sold Tales in Fremont and in the University District also have their resident cats).
And I was always impressed by the "world population counter" in the windows: whirling ever upwards by the second as the population of our already crowded world explodes...and no one seems to care!
All in all, a really nice change from the Barnes & Nobles or Border's chain bookstores. There's actually a person who owns and runs this business, not a corporation. Plus, you won't find older books there, as you will here.
It's hard to imagine anything more perfect than cats and books together in one place. I can walk into the shop and grab just about any book off of the shelf and be pleased with my reading experience. Many a time I have walked in and grabbed a book to read at a nearby coffee shop.
It has a comfy feel. I love being surrounded by that old book smell.
No bathrooms, though! Yikes!
I never really did used bookstores 'til I moved to Seattle, lost my job, and couldn't afford to feed my reading habit at Barnes and Noble anymore. Everyone here is so into supporting used bookstores I figured I'd give it a shot. My first experience was at Twice Sold Tales. I'll never forget it.
I walked in not knowing about the cats at first and couldn't understand why I smelled shit. I kept looking at the bottoms of my shoes thinking I stepped in some homeless guy on Broadway's poop on my way in. It wasn't until I stepped on the tail of the one of fattest cats I'd ever seen in my life, and it screeched like I'd shoved an Encyclopedia Brittanica up its ass that I realized the smell was cat shit. Thankfully, the crazy owner wasn't there. I later found out she doesn't play around when it comes to those cats. I've seen her throw people out just for petting them. If she'd seen what I did, I would've been excommunicated from the place.
I never found what I was looking for that day. Probably a Bukowski book. I was into the Buk at that time. I wasn't really impressed with the collection though, and after stepping on the cat's tail, I was so worried that the cat and all its kitty pals there would scratch my eyes out and eat my flesh like a can of tuna that I had to get out of there.
I have a job now, so I can afford brand new books, which I usually buy at BNN. But if I'm really jonesing for the stale smell of old books and other strange odors, I'll head down to Elliot Bay Books. Bigger selection, and at least the crackheads in Pioneer Square don't have tails to step on.
I'm gonna keep this short and sweet.
Great bookstore.
Lot's of cats.
Lot's of fur....everywhere!
It's not exactly the best *smelling* book store, and I'll probably be sneezing for hours after visiting - but the $2 rack makes me FRICKIN' HAWT!
When a book costs less than coffee, I'm much more likely to give it a chance - So, I've read a lot of books I wouldn't normally... In fact, the $2 rack is where I discovered one of favorite books ever. (As evidenced by the fact that it eventually disintegrated in my hands while I was re-reading it for the kajillionth time.)
Next time I go, though - I'm taking an antihistamine first.
I used to really love Twice Sold Tales. But since they sold half the space and walled it up, it isn't quite the same. I still find good stuff, but they seem to have a lot less inventory, and it's less comortable for wandering the stacks.
I also have to say that the owner is quite an intense personality, and on when days that she's there, the vibe in the store can get a little hard to take..
Giant fat cats. Tall bookshelves with that old book smell. Giant fat cats. Old book smell. I can keep repeating. There's really nothing more to say.
Fun and funky (and often funky smelling) used bookstore -
Twice Sold Tales is one of the many used bookstores in Seattle that seems to have mandatory cars lying around in it. This is quite fun, I love petting the cats, who are usually sleepy. You can certainly find some bargain books among the stacks, sometimes a diamond in the rough, sometimes just hay in the haystack though. They do buy books, in case you are selling. The cats can leave a bit of an odor around though (where are the supposed to pee anyways?). So, not bad for a visit, try to snag a book for much less than a chain store. If you are a used-bookstore person, this place is right up your alley.
I missed places like Twice Sold Tales the years I lived away from Seattle. I missed the coziness, the random assortment of books, and the familiar location. First visit after my return I was greeted by a big sleepy kitty who cheered up my afternoon.
Sure, there are 2nd hand book stores in every city, but there is something unique about Twice Told Tales -and it isn't just its adorable feline residences. Small businesses like this are gems.
Never know what you'll find. The prices are great and staff friendly.
I love this place! It has two of my favorite things CATS and BOOKS! I used to drive up all the way from Tacoma when I lived down there just to browse the books and play with the kitties. With how much attention I am surprised the cats are as friendly as they are. The only thing this book store is missing is a yummy coffee stand *hint hint*. I've never walked out of this book store empty handed. I usually prefer used books because I am supporting a local biz and there's something special about them. I hope that the new location is working out for the owner and will be around for many more years.
Cats and books! Books and cats! When I grow weary of my twenty-something friends and our booze fueled ways, I come here to pet the felines and smell dusty books and look forward to my future as a senile, crotchety old woman who will be eaten by her dear Kitty Wittums after her gigantic book collection crushes her at the ripe old age of 93.
hours and hours and hours will go by as you browse through the maze of shelves.
yes, there are cats roaming the place but i'm indifferent to them as they are to me. There're books to be found, clutched, OMG'd and read.
The store will be there the following week, don't get too many books all at once. Get three at most, one to read immediately, one trash-y/guilty pleasure and one to help you become a better person.
Walk down to Top Pot only a few blocks away and make nice with the new buddies over a double chocolate and soy latte.
Some 11 or 12 years ago, when they were open all night on weekends, and I was but a homeless teen, my boyfriend and I would sleep propped up against shelves, and rarely be bothered, they even bought us a pizza once. We now return the favor, by going in whenever we need a book, or even think we may need a book, you will ALWAYS find something cool to buy here. Plus the cats, Marco si the fattest and he freaking rocks@
I just meet the owner or one of them. She was buying coffee and talking with the barista. I had my dog with me and he starts barking. She flips out and says how rude that my dog interrupt her while she talks about some kind of dolphin sculpture. Then she proceeds to get on her cell phone while she pays for her coffee. I can't believe this person owns a business and treats people this way. Perhaps she needs to put the books down and reconnect with society.
i read through a few twice sold tale reviews and two words come to mind... really? and seriously?
because the last time i was in there the guy was SO STINKIN MEAN! aside from the super rood and standoffish actual ringing up of the books transaction, which is like a qualification you MUST HAVE if working on capitol hill....
i went in there looking for a tony robbins book - so of course i'm not going to ask where it is because i'm shameful for even wanting to read it. but i OBVIOUSLY looked lost and was hoping for some gem of a dude to ask me if he could help me find my way. i was tripping over cats, sneezing from their dander, and fumbling my way through every aisle, toppling over human obstacles that will read an entire book in the store without buying it (go to a freakin library and get oot of my way!!).... i was like obviously wanting someone to ask me if i needed help - doing the whole scratching-my-head bit, cusping my chin, pointing index finger to and fro with question-mark eyebrows... walking in front of dude wondering aloud "gee i wonder where it could possibly be!"....
no help.
maybe they leave you to wander aimlessly on purpose because it's a thrilling experience to "happen" upon your next favorite read...and you always end up with way more than you went in there for... but i was quite perturbed when i ended up back in my cramped house with an armfull of books, none of which would teach me "how to win friends and influence others"....
My favorite used book store in the city! They may not have the best selection in town, but they make up for it with attitude. There are cat ramps all around the store going from floor level to the tops of the bookcases for the numerous cats that are lounging about so you know who rules the place. Some perfect Friday evenings for me have included dessert at Dilettante (Gateau Japonaise), followed by a midnight visit to Twice Sold Tales - they're open all night Fridays. Not sure whether they do this anymore, but there used to be 20% off for shopping at this late hour.
I like Twice Sold Tales because they have lots of old 70s versions of my favorite 19th Century British novels with whack pictures on the front. And because they have cats wandering around. But the cats aren't very friendly, just present. Their selection of novels, especially the classics, is really good. My other favorite genre is craft books and that area is less well represented. Still, 2 dollar paperbacks? I can't hate on that.
This used bookstore is really cozy and has a pretty impressive selection, despite is crammed and often chaotic layout. I particularly love the foreign language books section (huge) and the TON of old scifi novels. The cats are beautiful, but don't go expecting a big show (if you are a crazy cat lady like myself, you will be a bit disappointed that the cats don't really pay attention to you ;)).
On my last visit the shop clerk insisted I take a book free of charge due to a few pages falling out. It was priced at eighteen dollars. I insisted on paying at least ten. When I gave her my ten dollars, she gave me a dollar back in change. Now that's class.
I love the thrill of finding that book you've been looking for, or finding a book you've never heard of, and then getting it for pretty cheap. I have found a couple treasures at this place, and the quirky atmosphere apeals to me. I love that there are tons of cats roaming around, esp the big fat black one. I am easliy amused...
This MY kind of bookstore! Twisty, turny, an amazing selection, and lots of character. They are open until 10 pm, too (except Fridays, when they are open ALL NIGHT! and all Used books are 25% off. Way cooler than that roller rink lock-in you were going to attend). I love the cats, too. What a paradise it must be to be a bookstore kitty. All the love and affection you could dream of. As far as I can tell, there are four. Two adults, and two orange kittens. Marco is the king "Gato Elefanto", and even has a t-shirt dedicated to him (see photo). At my estimation, he must be over 20 lbs. "Husky" doesn't even begin to describe him. This bookstore has all of yur reading needs and more. They have sale items out on the sidewalk, too. If you're the used bookstore type - this is your new haven!
Any bookstore with free roaming cats has got to be cool. Especially when it has wooden walkways above the bookshelves for the cats to get around on. The humans are also pretty cool, very knowledgeable about their selection. Not many places to sit, but many interesting and funny features to find while you browse the books by category. A fun place to find a book.
a used bookstore with lots of books and lots of cats. twice sold tales wouldn't be my first stop when seeking a specific book, but for leisurely bookhunting surrounding by cats, both playful and purring, it can't be beat.
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: University District
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits
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