Almost 10 very PNW books you might want to read this summer

Pineapple Street has a reference to a city the PNW

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(this list of pnw books contains affiliate links to a site that supports local bookstores)

I often read books with a sense of place before I go on a trip, so here are a few that feel very Pacific Northwest if you are visiting the area or even if this is where you call home. Some of these PNW books are also ones that are my favorite books of all time. I find it so interesting to read about Seattle and places nearby and see how fictional life (or sometimes fiction loosely based on reality) in these places compares to how I live.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

I think all Seattleites must read the Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and pretty much anything else by Jamie Ford. His books are often centered on the Chinatown International District in Seattle and that area just got put on a list of the most endangered historic places in the USA. So maybe by reading about the area a bit more we might see more people wanting to save this area too.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

I’m not sure where in the Pacific Northwest this one is set in or if it is actually a real place at all, but it feels very Seattle/ Portland/Vancouverish and I loved Remarkably bright creatures so much I didn’t want it to end.

Where’d You go Bernadette by Maria Semple

I read this ages ago and I need to re-read it because I read this when my kids were little and now they are more aligned with the age of the daughter in the book and if feels like Seattle has changed a lot even since this book was written in 2012.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

Our whole family read this book and it’s set in Washington State. You can see some of the places in The Boys in the Boat in the Seattle area. I may have signed my teenagers up for rowing because of this book too. Apparently it’s going to be a Netflix series so you might want to read it before you watch it.

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, And a Mother’s Will to Survive

I have to admit that with this one, I only watched the Netflix series and found it really eye-opening. And as I was writing this list, I remembered I have the book and I should read it to see how it compares. Stephanie Land writes about Port Townsend but the series is filmed in and around Victoria BC so if I did this all again, I’d read the book first, watch the series, then go to Victoria to look for some of the places.

Crying in H Mart Michelle Zauner

I am currently listening to this on Audible and it is gut-wrenching and beautiful. Michelle is half-Korean growing up in Oregon and her childhood reminds me of growing up half-Japanese in Canada. Her memoir that centers around food and how she deals with her mother’s battle with cancer is so bravely written and I am not sure if it would be better to get the book or the audible read for this one.

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

I love Emiko Jean’s writing and she is an Oregon-based author and mom of twins. Tokyo EverAfter is such a cool fairy tale story that could also happen in real life and I would have appreciated this so much when I was a teen. I loved this read so much.

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

There is a one or two sentence reference to Seattle in this book that caught my eye, but this one is otherwise totally New York. However, Pineapple Street is one of the best books I’ve read in a while-an actual book I read cover to cover barely putting it down to take care of children, dog and bodily functions and because it mentioned Seattle, I’ve included it on this list.

And the Twilight Series

Of course you’ve familiar with these ones right? Seabrook, one of our favorite places to visit is not too far from Forks…..

And of course there are so many more I could add to this list of PNW books and I will add to it over time. Do you have a favorite book set in the Pacific Northwest too?

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)