Ophelia’s Books

Ophelia's Books has sold used and collectible books in Fremont since 1997, by the store's own account, a few blocks from the troll under the Fremont Bridge. The shop takes its name from its first cat, Ophelia, who supervised the grand opening. When Seattle Gay News profiled the store in 2021, Jill Levine had owned and managed it for twelve years, and The Seattle Times has since called it Fremont's oldest bookstore.

Three floors use every inch of space: a main floor with a reading bench, an upstairs loft reading nook reached by old wooden stairs, and a basement that holds the LGBTQ shelf. Used books run floor to ceiling, collectible and signed copies turn up, and the store now carries a small selection of new books that can be ordered online for pickup in the shop. The store keeps an Our Cats page on its website, a nod to the felines that have supervised the stacks.