October 2010

  • October 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 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

  • Metro Reads 4: What are you reading on your commute?

    Some books we saw on Metro and Link: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel on Route 7 to Rainier Beach Foods That Fight Pain by Neal D. Barnard  on Route 54 to West Seattle A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin on Route 54 Web of Love by Mary Balogh on Route 54 The… Continue reading

  • Music That Says Fall

    The transition from summer to fall in Seattle is often a subtle shift in weather — it gradually grows darker, colder and the leaves turn. As soon as that first chill enters the air, I gladly wear scarves and sweaters and find myself drawn to thicker books and darker, more introspective music. Here are some albums I will… Continue reading

  • Book clubs for kids

    Ever since I started the Kids’ Book Club at the Northeast Branch, I’ve been getting requests from families about offering more book clubs for different ages, schedules and so on. I often tell families that they can help their kids start their own book club. “Oh no, that would be so much work!” It sounds… Continue reading

  • More In the Stacks

    Here are some more “Shelf talkers” in the stacks: Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron A twisty plot starts out all innocent when an old high school classmate shows up at Ivy and David’s garage sale. The next day, the visitor is dead – and the last place she was seen was going into… Continue reading

  • Top 5 Free Tools for Learning a New Language

    Want to learn a new language for free? We have some suggestions for tools that will help you. Here are our top 5 free resources for learning a language. 1. Byki Online – The Seattle Public Library doesn’t offer Rosetta Stone, but we do offer two fantastic online learning services, including Byki Online! Continue reading

  • Paralyzed by anticipation

    The book is sitting on my bedside table.  Its been there, unopened, for two weeks already. I pick it up every evening. It mesmerizes me. And it paralyzes me. For my entire adult life I’ve been reading Terry Pratchett.  His amazingly inventive sardonic wit has caused me endless embarrassment as I laughed out loud in restaurants, on… Continue reading

  • After The Hunger Games

    I just love a good dystopian nightmare.  I’m not sure what this says about me, but some of my favorite books take place in future worlds shattered by environmental apocalypse or ruled by terrifying and mysterious dictators.  What is it about these books that’s so appealing?  I think it might be the fun of seeing bits of our own present in an… Continue reading

  • Lesser Known Children’s Classics

    Everyone has heard of classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight Moon. But what of those lesser-known picture book treasures, once enjoyed but now a distant memory? Luckily for you, we still have some of these wonderful stories at the library. The Man Who Lost His Head by Claire Huchet Bishop What a wonderful and odd… Continue reading

  • The new medieval historicals 2010

    This is a great year for historical fiction! A plethora of medieval and Renaissance novels entered the market in competition with the ever-popular Philippa Gregory. Gregory’s latest novel, The Red Queen, is fabulous by the way — an imaginative portrait of Margaret Beaufort, the indomitable, ambitious and frighteningly powerful mother of Henry VII. Alison Weir’s… Continue reading

  • Skyscraper Safety Before 9/11

    The tragic events of September 11, 2001 focused attention on the safety of skyscrapers and their vulnerability to airplane collisions. Yet the issue was by no means a new one: for more than half a century, architects, engineers, politicians, and the general public had been concerned about the possibility of a plane crashing into a… Continue reading

  • Growing Neighborhood Gardens

    Gardening is in my blood – my mom is a Master Gardener, and I’ve enjoyed digging around in the dirt since I was little. However, as a Seattle renter, I haven’t had much space to garden until this year when I finally got my own plot in a P-Patch Community Garden. Run by the City’s… Continue reading

  • Mushroom Mania

    Autumn in Seattle means rain and lots of it. While many Seattle residents are indoors moaning about the miserable weather, a few of us are rubbing our hands with glee as the drops fall. We are the wild mushroom hunters, and this is our favorite time of year. On any given fall day after it rains,… Continue reading

  • Teens can earn service learning credit at the Library

    Are you, or is someone you know, currently a teenager? Does the  teenager in your life enjoy reading, writing and meeting other teens from all over the city? Does he or she happen to need service learning credit in order to graduate from high school?  If so, we recommend the library’s Teen Center Advisers program. Teen Center Advisers… Continue reading

  • The Sky’s the Limit: Young Women and Aviation

    There are two books in the Library’s collection with titles that sound exactly alike: Flyy Girl and Flygirl. But don’t get them mixed up. One is a gritty, realistic, coming of age urban fiction—that’s Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree. The other, Flygirl, is an action-packed, historical novel about flying during World War II written by… Continue reading

  • Top 5 reasons the new Library catalog is amazing

    Let’s face it, the new Library catalog is amazing! With a slick way to log in, the ability to better manage your book lists and a smarter way to search, there’s a lot to talk about. But we’ve managed to narrow down the top 5 reasons the new Library catalog is amazing:  5. Logging in… Continue reading

  • The Novel: Live! 36 authors to create a novel in six days

    Here’s your chance to read it as they write it: Tomorrow morning at 10 sharp, novelist Jennie Shortridge will write the opening lines of a new novel, something she’s certainly done before, but never in so public of a space. This time, Shortridge and 35 other local authors are writing on stage in The Novel: Live!  —… Continue reading

  • Garlic Lovers – Ready, Set, Sow!

    In Puget Sound gardens, it is time to reap. Even if many of the tomatoes on the vine are still green. For garlic-loving gardeners, it’s time to sow.    Garlic is not about immediate gratification. Garlic is sown now (October ideally), and then harvested in July or early August. Some sources recommend planting garlic in… Continue reading