March 2009

  • Eat This Book!

    If you haven’t yet heard about the Seattle Edible Book Festival, prepare to be delighted. This annual event scheduled for “around April 1” each year is our local chapter of the International Edible Book Festival — no, this is better — Le Festival International Du Livre Mangeable! Yes, there are people all over the world doing this: Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France,… Continue reading

  • Close to you: Our fascination with ‘Siamese’ twins

    My book group recently read Lori Lansens’ novel The Girls about sisters in Canada who are conjoined twins. We were all a little hesitant to tackle it and not sure we’d be able to get past the subject matter to get to the characters and story, but Lansen’s writing made that concern a moot point, and we all… Continue reading

  • Which books to bring?

    Whenever I plan a trip, the first thing I consider is which books to bring with me. I want books that are pertinent to my travels as well as books that will entertain and inform me—and comfort me in my strange and scary new environment. Also, for obvious reasons they must be in paperback. I… Continue reading

  • Job Search Resources: Creating a Resume

    Need work? Need a career change? Need help? The Seattle Public Library has you covered. We’ve an entire page on our website devoted to resources for job seekers. And because some of them are a bit intimidating we’ve prepared a series of short videos to help you get the most out of these sites. Let… Continue reading

  • Spring Break Fun for Teens at the Seattle Public Library

    Hey Seattle area parents: Stuck at home this spring break with a teenager (or two) who’s got nothing to do? Well, you’ll be glad to learn that the Seattle Public Library is offering a number of cool programs for teens—and they’re all free! For example, the Northgate Library will be showing anime videos on Tuesday, March 31,… Continue reading

  • Legacies of Slavery film series starts March 29th

     “Family Confronts Its Slave-Trading Past: Local DeWolf descendant is featured in ‘P.O.V.’ documentary” was the headline in the P-I that caught my eye.  I was intrigued because of  my own history of growing up in South Carolina as a descendent of a slave-owning family. “Traces of the Trade: a Story from the Deep North” tells… Continue reading

  • Discovering Oxford: Then and Now

    My small town roots drew me to a hefty arty book about the people in Oxford, Iowa, population 705.  But it was my love of a good story that kept me glued to The Oxford Project. In 1984, Peter Feldstein photographed 670 Oxford residents (the population then was 676) and displayed the 4×5 black and… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reading: Author Lisa Lutz talks about what she’s reading — and even what she’s not reading

    Lucky us! The author of the hilarious mystery series starring Izzy Spellman will be in Seattle next week. Double lucky us—because Lisa Lutz sent us a note from her book tour to give us a peek at what she’s reading:  Since I’ve been under a strict deadline lately, and am currently on a book tour,… Continue reading

  • Harry Potter versus Twilight: Who did you vote for?

    Yesterday Seattle teens tackled one of the biggest issues of 2009: Which is better, the Harry Potter or Twilight series? Three-hundred passionate Potter and Bella fans packed the auditorium at the Central Library for this hotly contested literary smackdown. The winner? According to the debate judges … Harry Potter!  A poll of the audience also… Continue reading

  • March Question of the Month – an irregular series

    The reference librarians at Seattle Public Library are pretty darned 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 showcase.… Continue reading

  • Reading the Signs

    A while ago we had a couple of posts about some intriguing collections of found objects – notes, photos, love letters, grocery lists – mostly things you were never meant to see that offer revealing sidelong glimpses at lives, and life. Of course, things you were meant to see can be revealing also. And hilarious.… Continue reading

  • The Tudors

    I have become obsessed with the Tudors. It all started when I checked out the DVD set of the first season of the Showtime series The Tudors, which stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry VIII, from the Central Library right before the big snowstorm this past December. My husband and I spent several evenings… Continue reading

  • The Third Policeman

    The Irish may be said to possess the gift of gab, but the truth is they’re none too shabby with the pen, either. Most readers have at least a passing familiarity with the usual suspects-Joyce, Yeats, Wilde-but may not be aware of the lesser known author Flann O’Brien. O’Brien (a pseudonym of Brian O’Nolan) wrote,… Continue reading

  • The Visitor and Little Bee

    Two of the most powerful stories that I recently encountered were stories about immigrants and refugees. One was in a film and the other was a novel, but both left a strong impression on me. In the film, The Visitor, a widowed, burnt-out professor in Connecticut, Walter Vale, (played to perfection by Richard Jenkins, who… Continue reading

  • Women of the Seattle Fire Department

    Women fire fighters-Washington (State)- Seattle-Recruiting Poster-1978   What’s it like being a pioneer?  Just ask Bonnie Beers. Here’s your opportunity.  Beers, the first woman hired as a fire fighter for the Seattle Fire Department will be speaking on March 24th at 2:00 p.m. in the Bertha Knight Landes Room of City Hall. The Seattle Municipal… Continue reading

  • Book review: Pure Blood by Caitlin Kittredge

    Washington author Caitlin Kittredge (she lives in Olympia) takes readers on another trip to Nocturne City. In Pure Blood, the second book in her series about werewolf Luna Wilde, bodies of dead drug addicts are turning up around town. Luna knows these people are more than just victims of overdoses, and when the son of… Continue reading

  • Reminds Me Of Garden State

    “Maybe that’s all family really is a group of people who miss the same imaginary place.” Ever since Garden State came out I’ve been trying to recreate the sensation I got when I saw that movie for the very first time. You know the laughing, crying, not wanting the story to end. Here are just… Continue reading

  • El Lector

    Our library serves people speaking many languages. Here is one of them. En El Lector de Bernhard Schlink; Michael es un adolescente enfermo de hepatitis, un día al volver a casa se siente mal y una señora lo ayuda. Siguiendo los consejos de su madre va a buscarla y agradecerle lo que hizo por él.… Continue reading