Phinney Books

Phinney Books opened in June 2014, taking over Santoro's Books, which had been the neighborhood bookstore for almost a decade, according to the store's own site. Founder Tom Nissley, a former Jeopardy! champion, used his game show winnings to start it, The Seattle Times noted in 2024. The store marked its twelfth birthday on June 20, 2026. A sibling shop it opened in 2019, Madison Books in Madison Park, is now under new ownership.

This is a general interest store selling a carefully chosen selection of new books in a small space, with fiction, kids' books, essays, history, cookbooks, music, nature and science, graphic novels and books about the Northwest, plus plenty of NYRB Classics. The Seattle Times noted that books are sorted into two sides, True and Made Up. Paper goods, cards, calendars and puzzles make it easy to grab a gift. Staff recommendations fill the store's newsletter, the first 100 Phinney by Post selections are collected in the store's own Phinney by Post Book, and the monthly Ridge Readers book club meets outside the store. In September 2026 the shop was the bookseller for a Seattle Arts and Lectures event at Meany Hall.