July 2011

  • A little investment help from your friends: Tips from the library for bond investors…..

    Library users who invest know that stock information is available 24/7 online via The Library’s free databases Valueline, Standard and Poor’s NetAdvantage and Morningstar.  But what kind of help can the library give with bonds?  Bonds are harder to research than stocks, especially prices, and the library has never really furnished bond price information.  But we… Continue reading

  • Aliens, cowboys and the return of Vinge

    After a decade of silence, the wonderful science fiction and fantasy author Joan D. Vinge has returned to the publishing world with her novelization of the new movie Cowboys and Aliens. Now before you cringe at the thought of a movie novelization, read on! Vinge, though she has authored almost 20 different books, is probably… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Suggestions from Montlake library readers

    Frozen Assets by Quentin Bates New series introduces Icelandic detective Gunnhildur. Another winner for the Soho Press publications. Check their website at sohocrime.com.       ~ Kristine Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn For mystery readers who enjoy a good laugh. Chet, the dog detective, treat lover and voice of the book is back riding… Continue reading

  • The World’s Fair

    The Century 21 Exposition (or Seattle World’s Fair) took place in Seattle from April 21 to October 21, 1962. The first major American world’s fair after World War II, it presented an optimistic vision of a future improved through science and technology, and promoted Seattle to the world as a space-age city. Exhibits focused on… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Suggestions from Ballard readers

    The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi A solid steampunk novel that imagines a world where global warming has caused massive changes in society and genetic modifications of all life has caused new diseases and cultural shifts.      ~ Charlie Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products by Sophie Uliano… Continue reading

  • July Question of the Month – an irregular series

    Thank you for enlisting the help of The Seattle Public Library to identifythe history and use of the “floating shift” typewriter key you saw for sale in the FriendShop at our Central library. I am a librarian in the Business, Science and Technology department and I am happy to provide a little background information on… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Suggestions from Southwest and Delridge readers

    Emily’s Ghost by Denise Giardina What a fabulous look into the lives of the Bronte sisters! I almost felt as though I walked upon the moors with Emily.     ~Sarah, Southwest Child of Fire by Harry Connolly Gritty urban fantasy without swooning romance- so refreshing! Well-imagined world only subtly different from our own. The main… Continue reading

  • Start Spreading the News

    If there is any industry or service that has had to hear the braying prognostications of pessimistic doomsayers more than the library, it has to be the newspaper business. In that regard I feel a particular kinship with those who continue to toil tirelessly for the journalistic profession, especially if we are related by blood.… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Suggestions from University Branch readers

    Kraken by China Mieville So far, the best of Mieveille’s works, reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere with more occult and police procedural thrown in, and more apocalypses than you can count! All for a giant squid.      ~ Anya The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by Jerome Lawrence A play based on the life of… Continue reading

  • To Oz on a Nook

    One of the best things about using an e-reader, as I keep saying, is the tons of out of print wonderful books available now. (“Tons” I use metaphorically, because being e-books, they don’t weigh a thing.) I eagerly browse the OverDrive Gutenberg E-Books and have hit the jackpot a number of times. Lately, since it’s… Continue reading

  • A Couple Fun Recipes

    When I put on the apron I am truly at the mercy of the cookbook. I’m no chef, but I can follow a recipe reasonably well and I do enjoy the process. Here are a few recipes that helped me keep dinner at home and made me look good.  Spaghetti alla Carbonara – The New Best Recipe (p. 251-252). Gotta’… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Suggestions from Northgate Library readers

    Gotz and Meyer by David Albahari A very different take on the genocide of the holocaust, as imagined through the eyes of two non-commissioned SS officers assigned to drive the gassing trucks.        ~ Sharie  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley A quirky, slightly dark mystery solved by a quirky,… Continue reading

  • Librarians’ picks for fourth- and fifth-grade readers

    Looking for a few books for your nine or ten year old? Take a look at the eight books suggested here, and be sure to check our Seattle Picks: Books for Fourth and Fifth Graders 20-item list in our catalog. Extra Credit by Andrew Clements (2009) Abby takes on an extra credit pen pal project… Continue reading

  • How about a little horror for your summer?

    Our librarians put together a list of some of their favorite horror novels and short stories from the past couple of years. Most of the books are available now, or have short waitlists. Here are a few to get you started: Horns by Joe Hill After the murder of his girlfriend, Ig Parrish gets drunk… Continue reading

  • Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin.

    If I were a benevolent dictator (and how could it be otherwise?), I’d make everyone read Timothy Snyder’s Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin. Snyder’s work is too important to gather dust; it must be on the move, it must pass from hand to hand until we’ve all read it. From cover to cover. Why? As… Continue reading

  • Origami Boxes

    I like to fold paper. A lot. I don’t like make cranes, other cute animals or little people. I like making boxes, and putting together geometric shapes. There is one origami author and artist that is the queen of such things: Tomoko Fuse. Her boxes can be fairly (and I use the term loosely) simple, to… Continue reading