Left Bank Books

The Pike Place Market clock ticks away above Left Bank Books as it has since the shop opened in 1973, counting every minute of the it’s 40-year existence. The bookstore sits at the Market’s brick-laid entrance next door to Pike Place Flowers, a bit of sugar next to Left Banks’ spice. Buttons in the window hint at the bookstore’s anarchist roots—“Smash the State” and “Question Authority”—but the vibe inside is mellow and inviting.

“I love having conversations with people about which books they’re reading and the projects they’re engaged in,” says Chris Paine. “We have a really good back-and-forth with the people who come in.”

Left Bank is a not-for-profit bookstore that operates as a collective, the oldest of its kind in North America. Paine is currently one of eight core members who run Left Bank Books, along with approximately 20 volunteers. There is no board of directors, owner, managers or single individual who has final say. Decisions are made at bi-monthly meetings, but no votes are taken. Everyone must agree.

“This has always been a super easy collective to work with,” says Paine. “We have really clear goals. Our interest is to keep the bookstore going, make it good and something we’re excited about and excited to have people visit.”

In the 700-square foot space, the red-painted wood floors extend upstairs to a loft overlooking customers below. A gnome reading a book pokes his red-pointed hat from underneath a bookshelf. A Starbucks sign hangs on the wall with a red, spray-painted X through it. A bumper stick stuck to a shelf bluntly advises, “Read a F-king Book.”

“What draws people is the overall, anti-authoritarian feeling. We have books that are outside of mainstream interest,” says Paine. “There is a ton of fiction, poetry and kid’s books, but we also try to focus on things you won’t find elsewhere.”

Left Bank stocks upwards of 8,000 new and used books plus zines, pamphlets and political and literary ephemera. Over nearly 50 categories include everything from social justice to fermentation cooking and anarchism. A well-stocked fiction section offers known names next to foreign translations. Left Bank bestsellers like Chuck Palahniuk and Kurt Vonnegut are stored behind the counter to deter sticky fingers.

“One zine that sold amazingly well was about the fashion of The Golden Girls,” says Paine. “We had 15 copies and we sold them all in two weeks. People went gaga for it!”

Left Bank workers run the gamut from high school students to senior citizens, musicians to political radicals. Core collective members have been involved for nearly a decade and there is always a wait list to volunteer. Staffers work a few shifts per week, so everyone has outside jobs. All are appreciated. The only day Left Bank closes is May 1 in honor of International Workers’ Day.

The workers are the soul of the shop. Core collective members are each provided a monthly budget to order books. They sift through the old-school card catalog—there is no computer checkout at Left Bank—to determine purchases. A card might read, “Best book ever! Please keep in stock!” or “Low inventory, reorder.”

“The character of the store definitely changes as people come and go and that’s part of what makes it fun and dynamic,” says Paine. “I don’t expect people to come into the bookstore knowing what they want. I expect them to come in and wait for something to jump out and grab their attention.”

Customer suggestions also influence what Left Bank stocks. Business spiked during the 1980s, in response to the Reagan presidency. Environmentalism was a favored topic over the last decade. Surveillance and privacy issues are current hot topics.

Left Bank wants to remain a haven for ideas whether they’re printed or passed from person-to-person. Left Bank has recently reentered the world of publishing with its first full-length book, and another publication is already in the works. Book readings, one or two monthly, will continue, and a long-term goal is digitizing the collection for online sales.

“Tourists come in and say, ‘Thank God you exist! There is nothing like this where I’m from in Texas, Alabama or Alaska,’” says Paine. “It cheers then up to see places like us that are a marketplace for ideas. It encourages them that not everywhere is a cookie-cutter, big-box store.”