May 2008

  • Google – an engine of cultural domination?

    Librarians, including me, typically have a love-hate relationship with Google. We use their tools, just like you, oh yes we do. We are also constantly aware that there is a vast pool of knowledge sometimes called the Invisible Web that Google never shows you. But hey, Google’s motto is “Don’t be Evil.” How bad can dependence… Continue reading

  • Just for fans of Sex and the City …

    All the hype around Carrie Bradshaw and Big hitting the big screen is giving me happy flashbacks to those weekly Sex and the City get togethers — 30 minutes with the TV and another two hours gabbing and laughing with friends. Sure, reruns are on almost every night of the week (or you can reserve… Continue reading

  • Staff Favorites: Three novels to try this summer

    My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki Documentary filmmaker Jane Tagaki-Little gets her big break when she is assigned to travel the U.S. in search of wholesome beef-eating families for a Japanese TV show, My American Wife, sponsored by a large beef-exporting conglomerate. The show is supposed to encourage more beef consumption in Japanese viewers,… Continue reading

  • Time Travelers or Of Slavery, Then and Now

    You’re sitting on a plane and, unbeknownst to you, an age-old dilemma is being replayed. There are no chains. There is no auction block, but your seatmate is enslaved. Sound farfetched? It isn’t; slavery persists in the 21st century. It is a global phenomenon and is harder to recognize and, therefore, more difficult to address.… Continue reading

  • Eeeee eee eeee by Tao Lin: A “book review”

    Tao Lin was in Seattle a little while back and had some very interesting things to say about our fair city. I think that Tao Lin is the first writer I’ve read who was born the year I graduated from high school. He is the sort of writer who cries out for expressions such as “deadpan” and “tongue-in-cheek” and “ennui”… Continue reading

  • GET a J-O-B!

    With unemployment in Washington on the rise and inflation in the news, you might be thinking about how you can brighten your job situation. I bet these women, working in a shoe factory, would have loved a better job. You’re in Luck! We’ve compiled a collection of resources to help you search for a job… Continue reading

  • The Genesis Suite

    Have you heard about the Genesis Suite? In 1944, Hollywood composer/arranger Nathaniel Shilkret commissioned leading composers of the day (Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Milhaud, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Tansman and Toch) to write a piece based on the book of Genesis. The seven-movement work (Shilkret himself wrote one of the movements) premiered in 1945 in Los Angeles. In the early… Continue reading

  • All Robbins all evening: a Pacific Northwest Ballet Preview

    Discover the artistry of choreographer Jerome Robbins at a lecture and video preview of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s program, All Robbins. All Robbins includes three ballets: Fancy Free, In the Night and The Concert (or, The Perils of Everybody) with music by Leonard Bernstein and Chopin. Doug Fullington, Educational Programs Manager at PNB will discuss the… Continue reading

  • Historic Preservation in Fremont

    If you’re familiar with Fremont you know it has old and interesting architectural treasures gracing its streets. Ever wondered what the history of these buildings might be? Come to the Fremont Library during the month of May and see the marvelous display provided by the Fremont Historical Society celebrating preservation and adaptive reuse of historic… Continue reading

  • The Vampire List, Part 2: Urban vamps

    If you’re looking for vampires, the best place to find them is in the library. I’m serious. Even the undead like to read. You can also check the bank, the grocery store, the gas station, and, considering current gas prices, probably even catching a ride on a Metro bus. The point is, in the parallel… Continue reading

  • Destination Venice

    If your interest is piqued by ancient cities with mazes of streets and canals, of hidden plots and secrets, then you must like reading about Venice. The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt begins on January 29. 1996 the day the Fenice Opera is destroyed by fire. Berendt’s citizen interviews reveal the intricacies of… Continue reading

  • The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares

    This haunting novella – sort of an ethereal counterpart to Wells’ Island of Doctor Moreau, inspired in part by the author’s fascination with Louise Brooks, The Invention of Morel is the curious fable of a man lost on an island where he falls in love with the beautiful Faustine, who seems not to know he exists. It is small… Continue reading

  • May Question of the Month – An irregular series

    The reference librarians at The Seattle Public Library are pretty darn amazing. They don’t know everything, instead they know where to find everything. As part of an irregular series of posts we salute the talented and dedicated reference staff at your local library. Names and other identifying information have been removed from the questions we… Continue reading

  • Shelf Talk(s) with Cory Doctorow, pt. 2

    Librarians like Cory Doctorow a lot, not least of all because we both tend to think that information wants to be free, and we both get a kick out of giving books away. However, if you want his actual analog pen-and-ink signature on his latest book – Little Brother – Cory will be appearing at the library’s… Continue reading

  • Shelf Talk(s) with Cory Doctorow, pt. 1

    Cory Doctorow is coming to Seattle this weekend, on tour to promote his latest book – Little Brother – a smart dystopic thriller aimed at young adults, but with something to say to everyone. (Comparisons are odious, but if Gene Shalit were here he might say 1984 meets Catcher in the Rye. I’d add in Eric Frank Russell’s Wasp.) He’ll… Continue reading

  • Cheese Festival at the Market — and some cheese in fiction

    This weekend is the fourth annual Pike Place Market Cheese Festival, where you can learn how to make cheese at home, taste artisanal cheeses from all around the world and listen to cheese experts extol the virtues of cheese in all its stinky, delicious variety. I hope you have a good time. I won’t be… Continue reading

  • Reflecting on Baltic Rites of Spring IV

    After weeks of cold weather, co-hosts Leszek Chudzinski and Maryte Racys awaited this year’s Baltic Rites of Spring with trepidation. To produce a joyful celebration, Primavera’s arrival at 1000 Fourth Avenue (the Central Library) in Seattle was an absolute must. Would She ever arrive? Finally, She appeared on April 26! Trumpets flared and Thousand Winds,… Continue reading

  • The Vampire List, Part 1: Love Bites

    So you want to read a vampire story. Your interest is understandable — they are compelling. But before you begin this journey, I warn you, once you start on this path, there’s no turning back. There are legends of a cure of course, but really, once a vampire groupie, always a vampire groupie. What’s worse… Continue reading