November 2012

  • Science Fiction Fridays: You like Dresden? I like Dresden!

    Or at least, I really dig sarcasm with my paranormal adventures. If you’re looking for snarky, smart-ass dialogue combined with uncompromising ethics, well… there are fewer great picks out there than one might hope. However! Here are a few to tide us over as we wait for the next Dresden Files book to show up… Continue reading

  • Seattle’s Negro Repertory Program

    On Saturday, December 1st, the Douglass-Truth Branch will host a lecture and Q&A session on the Negro Repertory Company in Seattle. The program will be provided by Dr. Barry Witham, emeritus professor of Theatre at the University of Washington. A federally-funded theater program, the Negro Repertory Company was a project of the Works Progress Administration.… Continue reading

  • Three for Free: Seattle Songs

    Welcome to a new Shelf Talk series, Three For Free, in which we highlight three songs from the Freegal* collection for you to download and enjoy! I thought I’d kick this series off with a few songs about Seattle. From Perry Como to Nirvana, many artists have sung odes to our fair city. Here’s a… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: To never sleep again

    What if you never needed to sleep? What if you were hyper-intelligent and used your every waking hour better and more efficiently than those who did need sleep? If you were Sleepless, would the Sleepers appreciate or fear you? Nancy Kress’ powerful novel Beggars in Spain asks these questions and more while creating memorable characters… Continue reading

  • Black Friday Specials at the Library!

    As you’re heading for the stores or mall this Black Friday, don’t forget to stop by your local library for the best door-busting deals of all! All books, music and dvds are free free free. Where else can you find such deals on Black Sunday, Black Monday, Black Tuesday,     Black Thursday, and Black Friday (sorry – we’re… Continue reading

  • A Tribute to Old Dogs

    Our beloved dogs age all too quickly. Fondly remembered is this old and faithful companion. There’s no mistaking her senior status with that gray muzzle on black fur. It was some time ago when she departed for the great dog park beyond. But, as they say, old dogs don’t die – they just join cyberspace…… Continue reading

  • Think about stuff

    I was tidying the shelves in the Living Room at Central Library when I ran across a book called Tattoos: I Ink Therefore I Am. I read through the chapter titles: “How to Read a Tattoo, and Other Perilous Quests,” “Tattoo You,” “To Ink or Not to Ink,” “The Vice of the Tough Tattoo.” Other… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Five more favorites from our librarians

    Surface Detail by Iain Banks Lededje finds herself in the middle of the dangerous machinations of the all-powerful Culture who turned its attention to solving the problem of death itself by creating a virtual afterlife. The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett After an eccentric scientist discovers an infinite number of alternate Earths only a “step”… Continue reading

  • Crime, Seattle Style: A Reading List.

    Some of our favorite mysteries set in the rainy streets of Seattle. Third & Forever, by Lowen Clausen Grace Stevens investigates a series of rapes involving college athletes, including one dating the daughter of her former partner, in this final chapter of a gripping trilogy by a former Seattle police officer. Queer Street, by Curt Colbert.… Continue reading

  • Reading Jack Nisbet

    I first learned about Jack Nisbet when I was visiting my Aunt Noreen in Chewelah, Washington. Jack had just released his book Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson across Western North America and was working on his next book, Purple Flat Top: In Pursuit of a Place, a collection of short stories about the… Continue reading

  • Goodbye to All That (the Passing of an Era)

    Harry Patch’s life nearly ended in 1917 as he stood in a muddy trench during the World War I battle of Passchendaele. An artillery shell burst right over his head, wounding him and killing three of his best pals. But Patch didn’t die that day; in fact, he survived to become the last living veteran… Continue reading

  • Seattle librarians help readers find books via Facebook

    Give us a book you like, we’ll give you a book to love! Next Wednesday, November 14, readers will be able to get personalized book suggestions on SPL’s Facebook page. A team of librarians from six of our libraries will collaborate all day — from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. — to suggest books to… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Friday: Bulletproof fiction Part I

    I’ve written before about the joys of graphic novels and the great crossover appeal with science fiction and fantasy tropes. But what about that crossover working the other way? A growing number of authors are writing stories with superheroes in more realist settings, or as I like to call it, bulletproof fiction. This subgenre is… Continue reading

  • SPL Discoveries: Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

    I’m a big fan of the Hardcase Crime imprint, which has been publishing a succession of luridly jacketed vintage pulp fiction alternated with contemporary noir ever since their premiere title – Grifter’s Game by Lawrence Block – in the sultry summer of 2004. I also love Stark House, a small press publishing a steady stream of vintage crime fiction by… Continue reading

  • Jack Nisbet on Vasily Grossman’s Volga.

    Today’s post is by naturalist and author Jack Nisbet, whose latest book is David Douglas, A Naturalist at Work: An Illustrated Exploration Across Two Centuries in the Pacific Northwest. Nisbet, a Spokane resident and winner of the Washington State Book Award,  will be appearing at the Central Library on Tuesday, November 13. The Volga is the great river of… Continue reading

  • Say What?

    Have you ever wondered how our brains learn a language? What does your brain know about language that you don’t? Is it really true that kids are better at learning a new language than adults? This Saturday a University of Washington doctoral candidate in Neurobiology and Behavior will be at the Central Library discussing just… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: The future is now in Korea

    With South Korean artist PSY’s song “Gangnam Style” transcending its viral video status to become a global music chart phenomenon, it’s impossible not to see the ascendence of K-pop. I find k-pop so fascinating it is the sound of the future. Glistening surfaces, immaculate sound construction and hyper-processed vocals make it sound like music conceived… Continue reading

  • Crime: Presidential Thrills

    As if this election season wasn’t thrilling enough, we’ve compiled a little list of Presidential Thrillers for your reading delight. Can fiction possibly be stranger than truth? Continue reading