July 2012

  • Your Next 5 Books: Books with families and food

    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

  • London Calling: a Reading List.

    “London itself perpetually attracts, stimulates, gives me a play & a story & a poem, without any trouble, save that of moving my legs through the streets… To walk alone in London is the greatest rest.”   ~ Virginia Woolf, Diary, March 28, 1930. So you say your tickets to the London Olympics got lost the… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Bujold the rabble rouser

    Rebels and rascals are rife in fiction and this is especially true in science fiction. Science fiction readers like to see evil being fought in all of its forms and want to follow bold, brash heroes who stand up against tyranny and plain idiocy, too. I wrote in an earlier Shelf Talk post on how I… Continue reading

  • Come meet Gerald Chertavian at the Central Library

    Year Up is a non-profit organization whose mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing low-income urban young adults (ages 18-24) with an intensive one-year professional education and training program that will give them the skills, experience and support to empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Gerald Chertavian,… Continue reading

  • Crime: The I’s Have It.

    As I set out to read my way through my alphabet of crime, I was a little worried about the letter ‘I,’ but it turned out to be quite a little Anglo-French treasure trove. Here are three great authors in our mystery “I’s,” each with their own distinct voice. Graham Ison is one of the many… Continue reading

  • Summer Reading: Reviews from Beacon Hill Readers

    The World in Half by Christina Henriquez A young woman searches for her Panamanian father. Raised by her American mother, she has thought she was the result of an affair. Heartbreak/triumph, self-discovery, bi-culturalism — Very good!      ~ Suzanne Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín A deceptively subtle book, masterfully describing the inner life of a young Irish woman… Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: A well-written read

    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

  • Summer reading: Reviews from Ballard readers

    Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks When fiction and nonfiction merge, the outcome is Caleb’s Crossing. A wonderful, historic piece – perfect for a vacation on Cape Cod. ~ Lori Unterzakhn by Leela Corman A heartbreaking and beautifully-drawn graphic novel chronicling the lives of two twin sisters growing up in New York City’s lower East-side circa 1910.… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Filling up your e-reader for vacation

    If I sound unbearably giddy during this week’s column know that I haven’t won the lottery, I’m just going on vacation! I love vacations not so much for swimming in the ocean or stomach-churning rides at an amusement park or camping near some beautiful vista with all of nature’s majesty. No, I love going on… Continue reading

  • Crash: Bank Failures and Other Economic Catastrophes

    You don’t have to look far to find news that illustrates how we are still struggling to dig our way out of a severe economic crisis. How did we get in this mess again? As it was happening, there were lots of articles about housing market bubbles, bank failures, subprime lending, bailouts, securities scandals and… Continue reading

  • If You Like Daniel Silva… (he’s coming to the Library!)

    Come see #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva in conversation with Warren Etheredge at the Central Library’s Microsoft Auditorium, at 7 p.m., Monday, July 23. I love July for the warmth and light to read a good book in the evening on the porch, and the sure and certain knowledge that I’ll have… Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: A list for the eclectic Ereader

    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

  • Summer reading: Montlake readers’ suggestions

    The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje Wonderful sense of time and place, peopled by a small group of memorable pre-teen boys; although fiction, the parallels to Ondaatje’s life are many, he is a truly extraordinary writer. I loved this book!! ~ Spring The Once and Future King by T. H. White I loved this book! I… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Reviews from readers at our Northeast Branch

    Cakes and Ale by Somerset W. Maugham An old book with language used at the time in Britain. Smooth writing with an easy beat to follow. Interesting descriptions of people and places. ~ Carol Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America by Jonathan Gill A fascinating history of the… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Reviews from readers at our Southwest branch

    Feed by Mira Grant Loved it!!! Couldn’t put it down. The zombies are here to stay. Bloggers saved the day and are here to stay also. A sci-fi with drama and action. ~ Trudy The Half-stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda E. Brunstetter This book really brings together an odd assortment of characters. You are… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: What to read when you’re not watching Game of Thrones

    Since he joined the Night’s Watch, Jon Snow hasn’t had much time to read, what with all the other things keeping him busy at the Wall, like fighting ice zombies and protecting Sam and wondering what his pet direwolf is up to. And now that Jon has been captured by Wildlings, there’s even less time… Continue reading

  • Are You Tough Enough? Derek Raymond’s Dare.

    Among crime readers, there are certain qualities that serve as points on our criminal compass. For example, authors who put a scalpel to the subtle psychological underpinnings of crime contrast with those for whom swift action on every page is essential. Another scale lies between whodunnits with a humorous or “cozy” feel, and those on the darker, grittier… Continue reading

  • Science Insight – Heard about the GOD particle?

    International scientists at the CERN physics research center near Geneva claim to have found signs of Higgs Boson, an elementary sub-atomic particle believed to have played a vital role in the creation of the universe after the Big Bang. Two independent experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva have turned up signs of the… Continue reading