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​​A LITTLE BIT ABOUT US

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Hi, I'm Becci (pronounced like Becky), and I opened this shop with my husband, Jacob, who has been by my side since 1995. We have three grown sons, two granddaughters, two Yorkshire Terriers, and a house rabbit.

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I'm a Master Certified Health & Life Coach, and books have been part of my life since I was very young. I started out reading primarily fiction, but after a car accident at age 14 that required emergency brain surgery, a school elective put me on a path toward personal development, health, and wellness, right when I needed it most.

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For years, books weren't just an escape. Learning through books was how I advanced my career in marketing and events and later in healthcare leadership, long before I went back to school and earned degrees in business and health & human services. Jacob has also been an avid reader since childhood. My wonderful, geeky, gamer husband earned a degree in drafting when our kids were very young and started out in architecture before eventually moving into IT, where he still works full time today.

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Somewhere in the middle of building careers and raising a family as teenage parents, Jacob and I kept coming back to the same dream... owning a bookshop.

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We've spent a lot of our weekends doing the things we love most. Brunch, a bookstore, and then somewhere to sit and read for a while. Coffee for me, a beer for him. I had started down the bookselling path earlier in my career, but the timing was wrong and I had to set it aside. Since then, we've had countless conversations about what our future bookshop would be like, always imagining it as something we'd do in retirement.

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But I never wanted to wait that long.

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ABOUT OUR SHOP

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Bent Ear Books is a pop-up independent bookshop based on Seattle's Eastside, offering new and used books. What we carry is broadly curated and shaped by community interest, with a focus on engaging nonfiction and fiction exploring ideas, stories, and lived experience... with the idea that books can meet people where they are, emotionally as well as physically.

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We sell both new and used books because giving books another life and keeping them in circulation just makes sense to us. As a family that's beautifully complex, culturally and neurodiverse, with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, we're also glad to support local, independent and marginalized authors.

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While I'm the one who mainly handles the curating and the community side of things, Jacob's usually behind the scenes helping me handle the inventory, making sure the car gets packed and the booth actually gets built. With my chronic condition and current physical limitations, this shop is very much a two-person job.

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ABOUT THE LOGO

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In addition to the meaning of "bending an ear" - bending your ear toward someone or something to listen carefully, favorably, and with deep attention or empathy -  the name and logo were also inspired by our two Yorkshire Terriers, Fiona and Finley, whose ears never fully stood up. Finley's ears bend over at the tips, and if she tilts her head back and is interested in what you're saying, one of her ears will stick straight up. It's adorable. We got her while I was recovering from a surgery, and she got me through a really rough time.

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WHY THIS MATTERS

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On Christmas Day 2020, my oldest brother was murdered while he was unhoused after a divorce that had already cost him so much... his connection to his family... to his son... and then his dog. His death is a big part of why we hope to eventually partner with organizations that support pets that are living on the streets and unhoused individuals trying to stay connected to the people and pets they love.

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It's also part of why I offer workshops alongside books, and why I'd like to bring some of my coaching background into this too. What I've learned over the years, both as a Master Certified Coach and just as a person who's been through a lot, is that when things feel uncertain, most people don't need more advice. They need someone, or something, to help them make sense of it. The right book can do that and so can the right person. If you're curious about my coaching work beyond the shop, you can find more information here.

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My life is an open book, and I'm sure there will be other opportunities to share more. But I'd love to hear a little of your story if you're open to sharing, because your story matters too. We’re very excited to be on this adventure and hope to meet you one of these days at one of our pop-ups.

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Read with curiosity. Live with compassion.

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Happy reading,
Becci & Jacob

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