May 2012

  • G is for Goodis, Dark Prince of Noir.

    I know – you were thinking G was for Grafton, but as the Kinsey Milhone series already made an appearance in a recent post on the most prolific female detectives, I get to resume my Alphabet of Crime with one of my all time favorites: David Goodis. Close your eyes and think of “Noir.” What do you see, hear, feel?… Continue reading

  • Silly Stories to Share

    I don’t know about you, but despite the glorious weather, everyone I know is in need of a bit of cheering up.  I turn once more to the picture books, the silly and the sublime. Waiting For Winter by Sebastien Meschenmoser I know we’re all waiting for summer at this point, but don’t let that… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: That is not dead which can eternal lie

    I get asked rather frequently by patrons for horror recommendations, but it’s always a tricky question. While the explosion of the urban fantasy and paranormal romance readers seem to be the most frequent horror reader’s I encounter, I have also noticed a disturbing trend of people looking for H.P. Lovecraft read alikes. I say disturbing… Continue reading

  • Beautiful in the Mouth: On the Reading and Writing of Poetry

     What is a poem on a page but a Field of Light and Shadow where For Love of Common of Words, A Radiant Curve catches 19 Varieties of Gazelle gazing into Darkening Water becoming Human Dark with Sugar going Heart First into the Forest Meaning a Cloud, Torn Awake is coming to be torch song… Continue reading

  • Seattle Reads Author Amy Waldman Reflects on Her Recent Experiences at Seattle Public Library Readings

    Author Amy Waldman recently appeared at several Seattle Public Library locations to talk with audiences about her novel,  The Submission, this year’s Seattle Reads selection. The book describes the events following a jury’s blind selection of a ground zero memorial, designed by a Muslim-American architect. Here are her reflections on talking with Seattle readers about the book. One of the primary goals of… Continue reading

  • Accessibility Camp Seattle 2012

    Accessibility Camp is an unconference focusing on the topic of digital accessibility. Events like this have been held throughout the country, as well as other countries including Canada, England and Japan. The Seattle Public Library will be hosting Accessibility Camp Seattle 2012 at the Central Library, on Level 4, all day Saturday, June 2 & Sunday, June 3.… Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: A strong female voice

    In this column we regularly highlight a Your Next 5 Books submission that we find interesting, funny, unique, or useful to other readers. Submit Your Next 5 Books entry now, or stop by and see us in person, and maybe you could see your (anonymous) reading habits on Shelf Talk! Continue reading

  • Sasquatch and Folklife kick off the 2012 NW summer music festival season

    Memorial Day is right around the corner, and you know what that means – Summer music festival season has begun in the Pacific NW! This weekend (May 25-28), Seattle music lovers can head on down to Seattle Center for the 41st annual Northwest Folklife Festival, which features the folk music traditions of many cultures, performed… Continue reading

  • Bringing a dog home: Picture books about adopting a dog

    If you were lucky enough to have a dog growing up you know how perfectly kids and dogs go together! Dogs provide unconditional love, and caring for a dog teaches children responsibility, kindness, and compassion. Here are some of my favorite picture books about the joys of adopting a dog! A young boy imagines what his… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: As cool as their covers

    Even though I did a column not too long ago about updated book covers, I was really struck by the fact that three books I read this week all have gorgeous artwork. These titillating and beautifully rendered designs stopped me in my tracks and had more than a little influence in my choosing to read… Continue reading

  • Crime: Evil under the Rising Sun.

    Watching the cherry blossoms burst forth and fade always makes me think of Japan. But my Japan is not a place of samurai, ninja and serene Zen temples. The Japan I think of is lit by neon rather than a rising sun. A place of tailored suits, leather jackets, discos and hostess bars, a place where… Continue reading

  • Wonderful Old Guidebooks

    Who would take along a 1930s guidebook on a cross-country road trip across the United States? John Steinbeck, for one! Steinbeck makes reference to a set of depression-era guidebooks in his well-known travelogue Travels with Charley: In Search of America, which is about his 1960 road trip around the U.S. with his French standard poodle… Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: Characters you can sink your teeth into

    In this column we regularly highlight a Your Next 5 Books submission that we find interesting, funny, unique, or useful to other readers. Submit Your Next 5 Books entry now, or stop by and see us in person, and maybe you could see your (anonymous) reading habits on Shelf Talk! Continue reading

  • Reading John Irving’s ‘In One Person’

                               Note: John Irving will speak at Town Hall, this Thursday, at 7 p.m. Slightly shocking, discomforting and utterly wonderful: these words describe every book John Irving has written, some more than others. And if you check the literary components chart under Irving’s name in Wikipedia, you’ll note that nearly all of the author’s repeat… Continue reading

  • Who We Become

    “We had been so close to missing each other, he and I. He had turned out to be the greatest gift of all.”        -The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate There are people we interact with in life that help us become the people we are supposed to be. While some are with us for a lifetime… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: An ode to teenage anarchists

    There’s nothing like a great story starring a strong, resourceful teenager who thumbs their nose at authority and manages to save the day by being true themselves, instead of bowing to whims of establishment. Whether we’re talking about young adult literature or not (and really, does that distinction matter to us science fiction aficionados?), I… Continue reading

  • Crime: If You Like Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series.

    In his 1950 essay The Simple Art of Murder, Raymond Chandler outlined the character of the modern detective, in words fit to quote at length: “…down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. … He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual… Continue reading

  • Cooking the Northwest: Jess Thomson’s Favorite Local Cookbooks.

    Jess Thomson’s latest cookbook, Pike Place Market Recipes: 130 Ways to Take Home Seattle’s Famous Market, was released this week. We asked Thomson to comb through her cookbook library for a selection of her favorite local authors.   If there’s one book I want to carry with me at all times when I shop, it’s Edible… Continue reading