Love your North Seattle neighbor! Join me and Anne in Shoreline to celebrate the films that have changed us.

It’s time to celebrate in my neighborhood!

If you drive north through Seattle, it’s easy to cross the border into the city of Shoreline without even realizing it. And when you do, you might find yourself drawn by a strange, magnetic force to NE 165th. Why?

That’s where you’ll find a legendary Landmark movie theatre called The Crest — my local theater! — that is still alive and well. The Crest shows great films — including Netflix exclusives that won’t play on the big screen anywhere else in town — for discount prices. (It’s also one of only two places in Seattle where I have run into Bill Gates! He was there, many years ago now, to see The Wind that Shakes the Barley. He loves his local landmarks, I guess!)

Across the street, you’ll find a good old-fashioned 7-11, but you’ll also find a fantastic independent bookstore called Ridgecrest Books, which exists as the fulfillment of a dream for a former Seattle Pacific University English major.

And, on the same block, you’ll find a partnership of pubs — Ridgecrest Public House and Drumlin, where Anne and I do have done a lot of writing over the years and made quite a few new friends. Currently, Drumlin serves as a coffee shop in the mornings and a lively, event-focused bar in the evenings where you can participate in karaoke, enjoy live music, and hear from the locals about their passions.

And that’s where I come in!

Ridgecrest Books and Drumlin are joining forces on Tuesday, July 28, at 6 PM, to spotlight my new book and my adventures in moviegoing, film criticism, and more. I’ll talk about the eleven-year journey of writing Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema. The bookstore will make copies available, and I’ll sign them for you. You could take care of a lot of your Christmas shopping ahead of time — surprise your friends and family with signed copies of this book. I’ll write a message inside for whomever you please!

But it’s not just about me. It’s about you and the movies that continue to inspire and change you. I’ll invite those who show up to tell us about a movie that has enlightened you in some way — inspired you, challenged you, influenced what you believe and what you care about. That’s what I love best about bringing this book to audiences — I want to stir up a conversation in which we all go home with new movies to check out, new friendships with kindred spirits, and appreciating the power of art in new ways.

If you have questions, email me at overstreetreviews at Gmail.