Elliott Bay Book Co. plans its move, plus other bookish news

Lit life |

Spring is upon us, ready or not. Here's an update on the goings and comings of bookstores, authors and libraries:

The last day of business at the Elliott Bay Book Co.'s Pioneer Square location is March 31; Elliott Bay expects to reopen on or about April 12 at its new Capitol Hill home at 1521 10th Ave.

If you're craving one last visit to the stacks at Pioneer Square, here are some upcoming readings: Turkish author Elif Shafak ("The Forty Rules of Love: A Novel of Rumi," Monday, March 8); Ted Conover ("The Routes of Man," March 16); local author Indu Sundaresan ("Shadow Princess," March 24); and a joint reading by Mark Spragg ("Bone Fire") and Laura Bell ("Claiming Ground: A Memoir") on March 26. The last scheduled reading at the old store is March 30. It features Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, whose credits include the movies "Robocop" and "Basic Instinct," reading from his new book, "Jesus of Nazareth." Once again, I have to say — I did not make this up.

Elliott Bay is sponsoring other readings in other places throughout March, including an appearance by Chang-rae Lee, reading from his new novel "The Surrendered" at the Seattle Public Library's main branch on March 15. (206-624-6600; www.elliottbaybook.com).

In other Capitol Hill bookstore news, Pilot Books, upstairs in the pedestrian mall at 219 Broadway Ave. E., is holding a Small Press Bookfest this month. Pilot Books stocks books from small presses, packing 800-900 titles into a modest space. For more information on the fest and on the store, visit pilotbooksseattle.com, where you can experience excerpts from previous readings, courtesy of YouTube.

Meanwhile, west across the Sound, the Eagle Harbor Book Co. on Bainbridge Island is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Your Lit Life correspondent was home reading several 900-page biographies, forcing her to skip the Feb. 27 birthday bash, but the booksellers at the store say the celebration continues "all year long" (206-842-5332; www.eagleharborbooks.com).

And at the Mountaineers headquarters at 7700 Sand Point Way N.E. in Seattle's Magnuson Park, the library has reopened. Temporarily closed because of budget issues (the part-time librarian was laid off), the facility is now available to Mountaineers members and the general public "every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening, usually from 6-8 p.m.," according to a press release.

The Mountaineers Library contains thousands of books, travel guides, videos, maps and periodicals on every conceivable outdoor topic. Club members have checkout privileges; nonmembers can browse and make photocopies. Volunteers have stepped up to keep this facility open; for day-to-day hours and to search the collection, www.mountaineers.org/library.

Last but not least, congratulations to Bainbridge Island novelist Kristin Hannah, whose latest book, "Winter Garden," was floating in the upper reaches of best-sellerdom — No. 3 on the Publishers Weekly best-seller list — last week.

Mary Ann Gwinn: 206-464-2357 or mgwinn@seattle times.com. Mary Ann Gwinn appears on Classical KING-FM's Arts Channel at www.king.org/pages/4216533.php