Book notes: Seattle

By Wildsam Field Guides.

One of my favorite books from last year was [Oaxaca Journal](/book/2024/06/28/oaxaca-journal.html, and I thought I’d like to read the same kind of book about Seattle. Searching the seattle public library I came across this book. It’s a travel guide (not interested in that), but had a few extra sections that were a deeper dive than your usual travel guide.

Almanac: a section with old newspaper clippings, letters, and other historical artifacts. These include the description of a “seattle dog” (hot dog with cream cheese), a 1957 Seattle Times article about Octopus Wrestling (you pull octopuses out of the ocean with your bare hands, largest was 125 lbs), and a letter from a 19 year old from a Japanese internment camp in Puyallup during WWII.

Interviews: some highly condensed interviews with “locals of note”. Quick read.

Stories: A collection of short stories. The one about ferries made me laugh the most (if it doesn’t delay or interrupt your schedule, it’s not a ferry). My favorite was “Rebel City Walking”, about the author’s experience growing up around Seattle and participating in protests.

Some good nuggets in this book but not what I was looking for. It seems that Seattle might not be big enough to be a “Read Your Way Around Seattle” entry in the New York Times literary guide. I’ll keep up the search on this.