Not Just Seattle Recommended Reading

Here are a few books that highlight the Northwest Experience, from Seattle and beyond. They represent a number of writers who don’t get much airplay nowadays.

Full disclosure: many of these are affiliate links to Amazon. All books I love and highly recommend, and it’s nice to feed your blogger, too.

Emmett Watson:

A great curmudgeonly lover of Classic Seattle, before the wave of Californians in the 80s, and the tech boom of the 90s. He was famous in my house for the creation of the fictional Society For A Lesser Seattle.

Richard Hugo:

A student of the eminent poet and professor at the University of Washington, Theodore Roethke, Mr. Hugo hailed from greater Seattle (I believe from Burien, but I can’t confirm that right now). I came across his work in a poetry class. And Seattle’s Richard Hugo House is part of his legacy.

Phoebe Judson: 

Not exactly a writer by trade, but Ms. Judson crafted this book about her experience as an early settler in Washington. Eventually she made her way north, where she helped found the city of Lynden, near the Canadian Border.

Sherman Alexie:

Perhaps the best known Seattle/Washington based writer, Alexie’s works have been lauded by many. I delight in his style. This is one of my favorites of his.

Harvey Manning:

I love Manning’s Footsore books. But I particularly enjoy his memoir-esque book about wandering the shores of Puget Sound.

I’m working on expanding this out. Let me know what I should add.