Third Place Books

I LOVE this store. To be fair, I love any store that is filled with books, but this one is special.
The kids area alone is reason to come here. The selection is vast, and the store has programs for pre-​k kids.
The rest of the store is nicely organized, and well laid out with chairs nestled here and there among the shelves. I found a book here that I had been looking for for years.
The commons has a couple of food spots & offers live music some evenings. Everything you need to spend a whole day here.

I come here to get cards and rarely ever look at books here, although every now and then I would look at the popular non-​fiction table and the new bestsellers selection. I love sending thank you cards. I think they’re special and underrated, and I’m super picky about my cards. I can spend as much time browsing for cards as I do browsing for shoes. Third Place Books used to have so many great cards, ranging from funny to quirky (pop-​up cards with high-​fiving cats) to serious to wise, that I can’t find anywhere else, but I was kind of disappointed with the selection I found on my last visit here.
Aside from books and cards, they also have the biggest selection of tchotchkes. I don’t know what else to call them. They’re just fun items that often make great and thoughtful gifts, gag gifts or seasonal decors. I found the cutest mini santa hat here that I wore all Christmas long and then kept for next Christmas. They also have a wide variety of fun mugs, socks, Seattle novelty items, and small gift items. Free gift wrapping with your purchase all year long too!
There’s a bakery, a BBQ place and a few other businesses in the same building, so it can be kind of noisy and it smells like breakfast most of the time (which always makes me hungry).

This is the best bookstore I have been to in many years. They have a very knowledgeable and friendly staff. I love the little book reviews and staff pick information they put on random books. I did not need any assistance, but I listened to a very well read and knowledgeable staff direct customers patiently and well informed

Third Place Books is probably the best bookstore in this area and one of the best bookstores in the Seattle area. They host a lot of great author events. There is also an extensive book selection here and the staff are very friendly. It’s a great space here to buy books and support local!

I would like to highlight a specific issue I had with a Managing Partner for Third Place Books at the Lake Forest Park location.
Several years ago, Third Place Books had a promotional event that coincided with Julie Andrew’s new book to be released at the time. The first 1000 purchases of the book would include a chance to meet Julie Andrews at the store and have her autograph a copy of her new book. My wife is a huge fan of hers, and so I of course went ahead right away and purchased/​pre-​ordered a copy online, WHICH INITIALLY WAS ALLOWED. However, for whatever reason, Third Place then decided to renege on this mechanism of securing a spot for signing, and would not honor our pre-​order purchase as valid. They also directly changed the webpage advertising the event.
After being informed that we would now have to come to the store and stand in line for many hours (I understand that this is reasonable in normal circumstances, but also was contrary to their initial offering online), we decided to raise the issue with TPB’s management. Enter a Managing Partner of TPB’s — I will call him Omega.
Over the course of 7 email exchanges, Omega proceeded to first state that while he expressed regret, our online purchase was not valid for entry into the event and we would have to come into the store to be able to qualify for meeting Julie Andrews and having the book signed. This exchange continued as we pushed Omega to honor the original offer (which he also never admitted to after they changed the webpage), but he would not budge. Eventually the communication devolved into basically him saying ‘To bad, we don’t have to do anything, #$%^ off’. I was blown away by how little regard we were given, especially as we both had been long time customers at TPB’s and stated this and how we thought that everything else about their stores was so wonderful. Zero response, including not even a semblance of an apology. A total, total shock and let-​down.
Unfortunately, this entire experience ensured that we will never again be shopping there, unless we received an official apology. I have no idea if Omega is still there, but regardless, our dollars when purchasing books and such are spent nowadays elsewhere. We also have actively shared this story with friends and family when TPB’s has come up in topic. I know that most people will never have an experience like this at TBP’s, and typically we love supporting local business, but this instance was just to egregious to overlook. Third Place Books, until we receive an apology, you have lost our business entirely, and we will also make sure to actively spread the word regarding terrible customer treatment.
Other than this isolated instance, we have never had a problem there, and loved the staff and product, not to mention the great atmosphere. 1 star for Omega and lying to/​disregarding your customer, 4 – 5 stars for everything else.

Had an obscure travel book I wanted available in store (Lonely Planet: Indonesia). Very thankful!

I love this place — it is inviting and offers interesting new and used books. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and book lovers. They bring in lots of authors too. Just a community treasure in this age of big box bookstores.

This is a great bookstore for those that still need to feel the pages in your hands. I love walking through the shelves and and poking around, sometimes not even buying anything.
My favorite part is the seating area in the food court. It’s much different than something like the mall has. There is a coffee shop/​bakery that serves soup and sandwich type meals in addition to coffee. There is also a BBQ place and a Japanese place. Love getting a coffee and pastry from Honey Bear Bakery and sitting down to do some work. There is a mild chatter of other people eating lunch together or discussing books. Perfect for this girl who can’t study in silence.
There is also often live music or author meet and greets in the evenings.
Definitely worth a visit!

Excellent staff. Best place to sell used books around. They’re a bit pickier but they give a lot more than Half Price for what they take.
Also excellent selection of clean, good condition books used and new. Definitely worth checking out.

I love this place of course because it has books, but mainly for its setting. It is above a King county library and in the same room as the Honey Bear Bakery and other restaurants. So you can buy a book have a coffee and pastry and check out a book from the library all in the same building. Also the Lake Forest Farmers market is on Sundays in the parking lot and it is one of my favorites as it is almost exclusively fresh fruits, vegetables, and grass fed meats and eggs with very little crafts.
There is also a small trail beside a stream on the West side of building should you need a stroll.

Love this place! Great free entertainment on the weekends with keep be music. Awesome to see all the couples and families actually come out here to dance to the many different music varieties that perform weekly.
The bookstore itself is very very good. My kids love coming here to get great books both new and used for hard to beat prices. It’s location is central to all of the great little shops Lake Forest Park’s Towne Center has to offer.

Seriously a book lovers dream. They have a food court with a wide range of options & prices with plenty of sitting & tables. They have a stage with sound proof curtains to allow the authors their speaking & reading time. They do online, over the phone, & in person purchases for books. They also allow for buy backs if the books are in good order.
I came on June 14^th, for the Deborah Harkness book signing of her 3^rd installment, in paperback, of the All Souls Trilogy, The Book of Life. The staff knew all the info I had questions for like: Is there a signing limit? Does she have pre-​signing options, in case I couldn’t stay? Will there be a Q&A time? Etc.
Deborah Harkness was amazing! She treated this as a fun event for us, even thought she’d done it hundreds of times. A highly intelligent women who I look forward to reading her many other options of books to come.
I look forward to coming back for many other author signings & to buy more books.

Great food options, nice meeting place. I give it 3 stars tonight for the family aspect. The play area is always disgusting, the toys are old and broken and missing pieces and the rug is dirty and stained. I even found human poop on the floor in the play area this evening! Management has an opportunity to create a better kid space!

Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this indie bookstore (other smaller sister site is over in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood) until recently! No bookstores at all in Shoreline (lame!), so TPB in Lake Forest Park is my closest option when I’m not headed one of several other indie bookstores in Seattle’s many neighborhoods.
My recent visit was on 5÷10÷15 to buy a magazine and books for birthday presents. Luckily, I found exactly what I needed for each recipient. As always, excellent selection of both used, new, sale, staff-​reviewed, and rare books. You can even sell your books for cash or store credit. There’s also various gift items and used CDs. Book readings and signings for authors traveling through. Complimentary gift wrapping is available, upon request for your purchases. Friendly, knowledgeable staff.

I like this store and the accompanying Mall. It is one of the last full service Book stores and never once did they tell us (like the chains do) — we have a much better selection on line.
Their prices are comparable (perhaps slightly higher but you get to take the book home with you) and you can see what you are buying — even pick a corner and read the first chapter to see if it is what you want.
They actually had a lady there that helped me find books for both my younger grandkids and a teenager. She was knowledgeable with what kids are reading with many suggestions and very helpful. NOTE — most of the employees are friendly and helpful.
The book store has a great selection and I spent time (as I use to love doing) browsing the titles and buying off the shelf.
We come a long way to visit them and usually it is in conjunction with the Big Band live music concerts with dancing — they have once a month. There are other concerts but the Big Band is my favorite — and no I am not that old — just enjoy the music and holding my wife while we are dancing.
The food court has gone down hill which is making it harder to support them at the concert but still has a couple of OK choices.

Having gone digital a few years ago, combined with not having a good independent book store near me, it’s been a while since I actually set foot in a book store. I ashamed — I totally forgot how awesome they can be.
Third Place books is on the second floor of Lake Forest Park’s Town Center. Its floor plan opens to the common area and draws you right in. The selection is excellent — the store is quite big — and there are good displays of staff recommendations, best sellers, and so on.
It felt good to wander the aisles and actually discover and sample some new authors, and pick up a regular olé book for an upcoming flight. I wished I’d had more time to explore — I felt like I was visiting an old friend I hadn’t seen in ages. It’s my own fault we’ve been apart so long; I look forward to changing that in the future.

Unexpectedly awesome café with huge wood tables and a great friendly atmosphere! Haven’t purchased a book yet, but they have a good selection.

My favorite third place!
As if the bookstore wasn’t fun enough, this place has so much more, and it’s impressively nice:
— it has a food court (apart from the books of course)
— they sell new and used books (the price of new books are over the prices on Amazon, but under the prices Barnes and Noble)
— they have very comfortable chairs near the shelves, so you can sit, and relax reading a book
— they have a very busy schedule with author events, game nights, concerts (live music in a special room)
— there’s a great variety of books
The day I went there was an author talking about his new book. I was looking for a book, so I stopped at one of the sections. There was a lady knitting while reading a book in one of the chairs. I grabbed some books and sit at the other chair to take a look at them. Felt very relaxed.
I just wish it was closer to my house, but still, I’m definitely a regular there now =)

They have McSweeney’s. They mix old and new books on the shelves. Their prices are reasonable. They have sections on all sorts of alternative lifestyles. The magazines they offer are generally thoughtful. They’ve got tons of New Yorker merchandise. They have various satirical and generally off-​color books.
In short, they’re pretty cool.

Third Place Books, where have you been all my life?!! (Or, more aptly, I suppose, where have *I* been all these years???).
Just came here for the first time yesterday and I’m now the hugest fan of this place! As a book lover who sorely misses all the brick-​and-​mortar book stores of yore, this place truly fits the bill! It’s a very large store, yet it still feels intimate, with ample niches for reading. There is a centrally located information desk with very knowlegeable and friendly folks who will help you find anything. There’s a used book section and I hear you can sell your books here. There is a small but GREAT little gift shop to the right when you enter and it has some really cool things (and some funky and fun greeting cards, too).
The childrens’ section stands out, as it is jam-​packed with books and toys for the younger set. There’s a nice teen section as well, and lots of bargain books on tables throughout the store.
There’s a bakery and food court attached to the store proper. Seriously, who needs anything more? Even if you bring your kids here, you can literally spend hours and hours and everyone would be happy!