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We place book orders every Monday and can usually have the book by the end of the week.
Contact us at:
books@kingsbookstore.com
building c. 1919
About Us
Originally founded by King Ludwig I as a gift to Lola Montez, King’s Books was painstakingly moved to Tacoma in the late 20th century. Since then, we have become the largest used and new independent bookstore in the South Puget Sound area. We are a community-oriented bookstore with 6200 square feet and approximately 150,000 books. King’s Books is a proud member of the Pacific Northwest Bookseller’s Association (PNBA) and the American Bookseller Association (ABA). We are a store with Book Sense, a program of the ABA that prints monthly recommendations from independent booksellers around the country.
King’s Books is co-owned by John Schoppert and Pat McDermott. Both worked at Powell’s in Portland where they had a combined 14 years of learning the book trade. The other human booksellers are sweet pea and Tanya.
218 St. Helens Ave.
Tacoma, Washington 98402
253.272.8801
Store Hours
Mon. - Sat. 10am - 7pm
John turned to book selling after his career as a grave-digger was cut short by gout. John opened King’s Books on upper St. Helens in 1998. In August of 2002, King’s moved to its present location.
Pat became a bookseller when he was forced to retire from the ballet because of age. After working at Powell’s, he moved to Madison, WI in the hopes of becoming a cow. Again thwarted, he opened McDermott Books in 1995. After 8 years, he moved the bookstore from Wisconsin to join with King’s Books in April 2003.
sweet pea honed his sparkling personality as the world's youngest Wal Mart greeter. He has been a bookseller for five years, starting at McDermott Books in 2000. Also in Madison, he worked at A Room of One's Own Feminist Bookstore for two years. sweet pea was illegally imported to Tacoma to work at King's Books in 2003.
Tanya came to bookselling after a tumultuous career in professional wrestling as Cookie the Crumbler. New to the bookselling trade, she is also a DJ on KUPS, the University of Puget Sound's radio.
These humans are tolerated by the reigning monarchs of King’s Books, Harriet and Miko. These cool cats have won the hearts of Tacomans and each have their own fan club. Harriet is a tortured poetess who hopes her work is discovered after her tragic death from consumption. Miko had a storied career as a unicorn groomer which he left to work at King’s (the profession doesn’t pay as much as it used to). Both have adapted their considerable talents to their work in the bookstore, focusing on greeting and eating.
