December 2012

  • Seattle readers’ favorite teen books of 2012

    Last week we asked people on Facebook to tell us their favorite teen novel published in 2012. For those who regularly read teen fiction (and since 55 percent of all young adult fiction is purchased by adults, it seems like there are a lot of us …), it will be no surprise that The Fault… Continue reading

  • Suddenly everything has changed

    I’ve never been able to keep a New Year’s resolution. In 2006, after a string of particularly bad dates, I vowed to take a year off of dating. Three weeks later, I met my partner of almost seven years and counting! As you reflect on the past year and focus on goals for the next,… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Top twelve of 2012 Part 1 of 3

    It’s the end of the year and that can only mean one thing: list season has begun! Here is the first in a three part series of the 12 best genre books I read that were published this year (or very late last year). Some of these may be familiar to readers of this column,… Continue reading

  • Crime Thursday: When history and mystery mix

    Being a pacifist, I’m not sure why I find it so relaxing to read a good murder mystery. English crime writer P.D. James, in her autobiography Time to Be in Earnest, offers the following explanation for why mystery aficionados enjoy the genre: “…the catharsis of carefully controlled terror, the bringing of order out of disorder,… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Alternate holidays

    I am a proud Grinch. I don’t enjoy anything about the holidays; not the lights, not the food, not the music and definitely not the cold weather. However, one thing I do love is a heartwarming science fiction tale, and it seems like even the most dour author can turn out a warm and fuzzy… Continue reading

  • It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine…

    I most often read non-fiction; stories about societies or individuals in times of strife, war, anarchy, disease, and pestilence. I am often humbled by the civility and dignity that these individuals and groups maintain when the proverbial ca-ca has hit the fan.  As for fiction, there seem to be many dystopian pieces of work out there… Continue reading

  • Occasional Mysteries: Reading Retro

    I’ve recently been reading some classic historical mysteries. That’s classic not in the sense of “set in older times,” but as in foundations of the genre, written in the vernacular of older times. First published in 1903, The Riddle of the Sands, by Erskine Childers could in some ways be thought of as rather more… Continue reading

  • Backwards down the number line (Part 3)

    In the words of Madeline Kahn’s character Lily von Schtupp in the movie Blazing Saddles, “Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome, c’mon in.” Come along as we conclude our quest “backwards down the number line” in search of numerically titled albums available for checkout in The Seattle Public Library’s BiblioCommons catalog. For those of you just joining us,… Continue reading

  • Three for Free: YouTube edition

    Remember when they had music on MTV? I don’t. YouTube has wiped that knowledge from my brain. Whenever I want to watch a music video, or even just listen to a song, it’s going to be on YouTube. But if I’m going to be in the car or on a bus with my mp3 player,… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Graphic novels for giving

    Graphic novels make the best gifts. I mean, who doesn’t love to feel like they are giving a truly great gift, and a gift that might actually have a deeper resonance with the receiver. Graphic novels are special because you can give the right graphic novel to almost anyone. People who self-identify as the “I don’t read”… Continue reading

  • Five novels our librarians suggest for holiday gifts

    Three Northwest authors just happen to have written some of the hottest new books of the season, but we’re also including a British novel (with a Northwest connection!) and an Australian novelist for some international flair. Blasphemy by Sherman Alexie Alexie, one of Seattle’s most enigmatic and daring writers, combines 15 previous and 15 new… Continue reading

  • Exquisite prose

    There are times when I want a rowdy tumble with poetry – with the sly wit of Billy Collins or the seductive songs of Pablo Neruda. Today, though, I celebrate the prose books that make me breathless with delight at the sheer wizardry of their words. An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler Adler describes her… Continue reading

  • YA author Martha Brockenbrough picks 5 books to give teens this year

    Looking for ideas for books to give teen readers in your life? We think Devine Intervention by Seattle author Martha Brockenbrough makes an ideal gift. An L.A. Times review compared it to Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens; others have said Brockenbrough is a good match for readers who like John Green. But what else would make a good… Continue reading

  • Seeing is believing, even when you’re reading

    Ever since the first printing press and the resulting boom in literacy and the availability of the printed word, another commodity arose. Font, is now such a simple word, it’s easy to forget its historical context. Font was initially from the French fondre meaning to melt or cast; a far cry from our current association… Continue reading

  • Three for Free: Stand-out songs by Bumbershoot 2012 performers

    Sure, the rain is back and we’re hunkering down for months of gray skies here in Seattle, but I’m still buoyed by the several rainless weeks that eased us into autumn. I’ve found a simple way to tap back into that sunny time–revisiting some of the outstanding music I heard at Bumbershoot, Seattle’s annual music… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Bulletproof Fiction Part II

    Here is part two of my suggestions for the growing number of authors who are writing stories with superheroes in more realist settings, or as I like to call it, bulletproof fiction! Check out Part I for more suggestions. The Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann The Ghost is the haunted vigilante of an alternate history… Continue reading

  • Thrilling Chilling Winter Stories, Live!

    This Winter, Thrilling Tales (the Library’s storytime for grownups) has got some great tales of crime and suspense lined up by masterful storytellers of today and yesteryear. We’ll have arctic adventure, unspeakable terror, hitmen, con-men, stick-up artists and librarians! Yes, that’s right – on Monday January 28 we will be having a special storytime dedicated to libraries and librarians, and coinciding with the… Continue reading

  • Gift Giving Ideas

    This is the time of the year when many people give gifts. Some people are easy to buy for and others are more challenging. We have both types on our lists! For inspiration, we took a look at books on gift giving in the library’s collection, did some internet searching and brainstorming, and came up… Continue reading