May 2011

  • Classic Picture Books

    I just got done reading Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom about the influential editor and director of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls. Many of the books Ms. Nordstrom edited are classic picture books that still have universal appeal to children today. Ms. Nordstrom published the Carrot Seed written by Ruth… Continue reading

  • Cult Classics: Nightmare Visions

    Dystopian fiction is all the rage at the moment, but grim visions of the world as it might become, or as it already is, are nothing new. Here are some masterful views of our world glimpsed through a glass darkly that are perennially popular with our readers, and with good reason. Atwood, Margaret The Handmaid’s Tale A… Continue reading

  • Treasures of the Library: Old, Big Magazines

    While perusing the magazine shelves at the Central Library one day, I came across some very large, very aged magazines we have in our collection that aren’t in publication anymore. I took a look. I was delighted with what I found inside. Each one is about  11 inches by 17 inches in size (they are… Continue reading

  • Who’s got the sweetest disposition?

    Now that Seattle weather is arguably taking a turn for the better (crotchety curmudgeons like myself prefer the cold and the damp, dagnabit), my thoughts meander toward one of my few beloved outdoor activities, a pastoral pastime that comes as close to a spiritual event as heathens such as I ever experience. I am of… Continue reading

  • Confessions of a book club dropout

    I still haven’t found a book club. Or rather, I haven’t found one I can stick with. I’m pretty sure it’s me; maybe I’m just a solitary reader by nature, or have commitment issues. Still, I can’t help but feel like I’m missing out, seeing all those great book groups our library hosts all over the city, including a… Continue reading

  • What’s funny?

    Sometimes we just want a funny book, but our definitions of “funny” differ widely according to individual taste, background and predilection. When I was six going on sixteen I thought my mother’s sense of humor was just bizarre. She loved Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis and Lucille Ball: it was the slapstick humor she loved. To… Continue reading

  • A look back at West Seattle

    Last year the West Seattle Branch library celebrated its centennial: 100 years in a building that has always and only served as a library for the Admiral neighborhood. The library has weathered just a few changes in 100 years: earthquakes, a flu epidemic, and card catalogs that morphed into microfilm to computer databases, not to… Continue reading

  • So what’s for dinner tonight?!

    I must admit that I’m a bit of a foodie – I love food, enjoy cooking, trying out new and exciting recipes and putting my own signature spin to some classic dishes. And I love watching reality TV cooking competition shows like Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen and Iron Chef: America. I’ve always thought that I’d… Continue reading

  • Fashion, Fashion, Fashion

    You watch “Project Runway,” or “The Fashion Police.” You hear names like Christian Lacroix, Issey Miyake, John Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs, and Michael Kors. But how did it all begin? The first fashion design houses began around the turn of the century (the 20th century that is). Fashion design itself started in the late 19th… Continue reading

  • May Question of the Month – an irregular series

    How can I get a copy of the Seattle newspaper birth announcements for babies born Sept 1st 1967? With your Seattle Public Library card you have unlimited free remote access to our subscription database the Seattle Times Historical Archives. (the link will take you to a page where you will need to input your library… Continue reading

  • The Gospel of Anarchy

    I heard Justin Taylor read from The Gospel of Anarchy last month at the University Bookstore with Blake Butler. Usually, readings are similar to reverse radio talk show host sightings: kind of awkward, not what you expected, the voice all wrong. Instead, Justin’s voice was like (another simile?) seeing a band live for the first time… Continue reading

  • Honk! Fest! West!

    This year the Fourth Annual Honk Fest West, a free three day community supported music festival, will be taking place on May 13th-15th. I luckily stumbled upon this event last year due to a friend of mine creating the logo for the event.  I attended the Georgetown location and it was a blast! There was… Continue reading

  • What to read while waiting for A Game of Thrones

    It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since the Lord of the Rings hit theaters, and the world was instantly smitten with High Fantasy–visions of hobbits dancing through our heads! If you loved Tolkien’s Middle Earth and always craved something more after devouring the books, then HBO’s new adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s A… Continue reading

  • See how pretty, see how smart

    Well kids, the self-proclaimed “greatest band in the history of music,” the Melvins will once again be gracing Seattle with their exalted presence May 13 and 14. They will be playing some of their most esteemed works, including the albums Houdini and Stoner Witch, in their entireties. If you need to find me I’ll be… Continue reading

  • Books that are One with the Bike

    I’ve been reading some interesting books about bikes and bike riding, racing and commuting. Here are a few books that have an interesting angle or two. Sometimes the angle is from the ground looking up. Come and Gone: A true Story of Blue-Collar Bike Racing in America by Joe Parkin This is Parkin’s follow up to… Continue reading

  • Our online book group discusses “Little Bee”

    We’ve been talking for years about doing an online book discussion group, but we never saw a model that really inspired us. It’s easy enough to start something online, but how do you get people to actually show up? People might be eager to share an opinion, but how do you create enough of a sense of… Continue reading

  • BiblioBagels: My Adventures in Bagel Chemistry (Part 2)

    In yesterday’s post, I was on a quest to make Montreal bagels with the help of the library’s resources. A friend had just told me about the process of retarding the dough (placing it in the fridge overnight before boiling and baking the bagels). I was curious about this mysterious-sounding process and decided to investigate… Continue reading

  • BiblioBagels: My Adventures in Bagel Chemistry (Part 1)

    Seattle is not a bagel town. It’s nearly impossible to get a genuine bagel here. Sure, lots of places claim to sell the real thing, but they’re only a pale imitation. And don’t even get me started on bagels from a grocery store—those are just lifeless circles of bread masquerading as bagels. What is a… Continue reading