On Saturday afternoon, I stopped by Chin Music Press, the new bookstore in Pike Place Market to take a look around. It is a storefront for the local, small press that has made a name for itself by producing gorgeous books that you not only want to read but to put on your shelf and savor. Like Paul Constant of the Stranger noted:
Every single book produced by local publisher Chin Music Press is a work of art. There’s no house style: The books always feature unique design elements, embracing typography and color and use of images in a way that makes traditional publishers look, well, traditional. These are books as art objects, books that look good and that feel good in the hand, the perfect response to the argument of e-books. (And how are they between those beautiful covers? They’re quality works that span a whole range of topics.
When I stopped in, they were hosting a book signing for D. Michael Ramirez, who translated “the recently released bilingual poetry collection Lizard Telepathy, Fox Telepathy by Osaka poet and award-winning photographer Yoshinori Henguchi.” Funny story: I as told that Saturday was meant to be a small affair for friends and family and curious strangers who wandered through the market until the Stranger posted that it was an “open house,” so they scrambled to have some snacks available.
Owner and publisher Bruce Rutledge told me that they plan on hosting book readings and signings for local authors (not just ones published by Chin Music) in the fall, as they get accustomed to having the storefront and as the store attracts more attention.
Here are a few things of note about Chin Music Press:
- Bruce Rutledge and Yuko Enomoto started the press twelve years ago, while living in Tokyo. It originally focused on contemporary Japanese culture, but has since broadened to other interests. Rutledge pointed to a series of books about post-Katrina New Orleans for example, as well as Kate Lebo’s 2013 book A Commonplace Book of Pie.
- Kate Lebo’s A Commonplace Book of Pie and Shiro: Wit, Wisdom and Recipes from a Sushi Pioneer, the memoir/cookbook from Seattle sushi chef Shiro Kashiba are two of its most well-known local releases.
- The Pike Place Market storefront is not just a bookstore, but the office for the press. While they aren’t open on Mondays (or Sundays), you can probably find people working on the publishing end if you walk by on a Monday.
- Rutledge pointed to a small table with newsletters and calendars from other Seattle-area bookstores. He said that he wants the store to be a part of the Seattle literary scene.
- Along with Phinney Books, which opened in June by former “Jeopardy!” champion Tom Nissley, there have been (at least) two independent bookstores to open in Seattle since Amazon’s dispute with Hachette began.
{Chin Music Press is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11am-5pm in Pike Place Market (#329).}