November 2008

  • What’s going on in the library catalog?

    You might have noticed some changes in the library catalog recently. It’s true; we’ve been adding some new features and trying to make some existing functions work better.  Check out some of these new features that have been added: Reviews If you’ve been searching for a way to share your opinions about books, movies, or music,… Continue reading

  • Some books we’re thankful for.

    Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote Capote’s first published novel displays thoroughly his skills at poetic description. This is a story of illusions from the inner self of Joel, a sensitive young man, as he copes with the strange household that becomes his home. Coming from New Orleans, he passes through Biloxi and with… Continue reading

  • Lost and Found II

    Following up on a recent post on found objects, here are some other cool lost things found at the library. Ian Phillips’s Lost: Lost and Found Pet Posters is loaded with notices of missing dogs, cats, bunnies, birds (including several identically-described cockatoos), and ferrets in photographs or drawings, dashed off in desperation or lovingly detailed by a child’s hand, together with… Continue reading

  • Parenting in the Wired Age

    Parents today have so many networks and resources available to them. It can be daunting, but it can also be reassuring. There are so many decisions to make, so many styles to choose from. Do you breastfeed or bottle-feed, or both? What bottles should you use? Cloth or disposable? Co-sleeping or crib? Those first months… Continue reading

  • Tips from a news junkie

    One of our librarians, Jesten, has me totally hooked on PressDisplay, an online library service featuring hundreds of U.S. and international daily newspapers. I knew Jesten was a total news junkie, but it was her post on Push To Talk this week that reeled me in—and ended up being extra handy for me. Recently I… Continue reading

  • Mom, was Pocahontas at the first Thanksgiving?

    One of the joys of parenting is the stop-in-your-tracks moments that shake your world view.  For me, one of those moments came a couple of years ago when my then 8 year old asked “Hey Mom, was Pocahontas invited to the First Thanksgiving with all those men in black?”  “Wow,” I thought, “where do I go… Continue reading

  • Book review: The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu

    By day, Maxine Kiss is a super-powered demon hunter with inhuman strength and intricately tattooed, armor-plated skin. By night, the tattoos peel away and become a pack of deadly demons standing between Maxine and the creatures from across the Veil. When the veil drops, it’s up to Maxine and her demon “boys” to round up… Continue reading

  • Off The Map

    “William Gibbs’ first painting was twenty inches high and thirty-one feet wide, one foot shy of the perimeter of my room. The dimensions suited the subject, the ocean’s horizon. He hung it so that when I lay on my bed, I could stare out fourteen miles to the horizon any way I looked. Encircled by… Continue reading

  • The Blurb King

    A couple of summers ago, I checked out the novel Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, seduced by the cover and a glowing endorsement from Stephen King. “To say this is a terrific debut novel is really too mild. I haven’t read such a relentlessly creepy family saga since John Farris’s All Heads Turn When the… Continue reading

  • Okay, where is all the ‘free money’ for college?

    I’ve always heard that there’s money for college—if you know where to look. My son still has three years until college, but recent headlines about tuition going up as the economy goes down (Cost of higher education heading up, Washington Post) and indentured college grads (Graduates drowning in debt from high cost of college, Seattle Times)… Continue reading

  • Getting Started with Downloadable books: NetLibrary

    Welcome the wonderful world of digital books. Watch this video to learn how to use our NetLibrary collection. You’ll be able to download books right to your computer. No waiting in line and better yet, no driving around to get the books you want. As with any new technology, sometimes there can be a few… Continue reading

  • Lost and Found

    One of the most attention-getting displays we have ever done at the Central library was an exhibit of things we’ve found in library books. You’d see even the most harried or preoccupied patrons stop to peer into the Plexiglas case with its odd assortment of scribbled notes, old Polaroids, postcards, ticket stubs and bookmarks ornate… Continue reading

  • Natural Seattle

    As a native Seattleite, I’ve been blessed my entire life with our four seasons, umpteen varieties of rain, and countless beautiful days (no matter what kind of weather we’re having).  Recently someone asked me about a particular bit of weather lore, and this led me on a quest to find out more not just about… Continue reading

  • See the world from a different point of view: Read a book by an animal

    Woof! Woof! Miaow! Miaow! Books with talking dogs and cats are as numerous as feathers on a hen. Witness Sight Hound by Pam Houston or Caroline Alexander’s Mrs. Chippy’s Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton’s Polar-Bound Cat. Our canine and feline companions are forever sticking their little wet noses into criminal investigations, as well.… Continue reading

  • November Question of the Month: An irregular series

    The reference librarians at Seattle Public Library are pretty darn amazing.  They don’t know everything, instead they know where to findeverything.  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 showcase. Got a… Continue reading

  • The End of the Alphabet, by C.S. Richardson

    While checking in a batch of library materials recently my attention was caught by a little book and on a whim I checked it out. It was a novella by C. S. Richardson entitled The End of the Alphabet, and while I was drawn initially to its theme of travel my interest was held by… Continue reading

  • Napoleon on the Nile at the Frye

     How did 19th century artists and scientists come to rediscover Egypt and the Middle East? How did the images and explorations of those artists and scientists spark “Egyptomania” as a cultural phenomenon? Two museums in the Puget Sound area try to answer those questions with complementary exhibitions that look at Egypt and the Middle East… Continue reading

  • A president in the family

    During this presidential election, I am reminded of our family’s dearly held connection to another president, in another time. Our family has always been proud to be able to claim a connection (although distant) to Franklin Pierce.  My mother and grandmother took our family history very seriously. Stories and White House artifacts we own were… Continue reading