April 2013

  • Get Your Garden On!

     Now that the nice weather has started revving up, everyone I know is looking for excuses to be outside. When it comes to gardens, I’m of the plant-it-and-hope school, but if you’re ready for some hands-on advice to get started, or to further your skills, here are some inspiring books and local resources to check out!  Continue reading

  • Behind the scenes in North Korea

    If you’ve been following international news lately, you have probably noticed a spike in rhetoric and tension coming out of North Korea, and corresponding political maneuvering from South Korea and the United States. Fortunately for information buffs, in the past five years several excellent non-fiction books have been published that provide us a rare peek… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Springtime horror is in the air

    American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett Mona Bright inherits a house in the small, practically unknown town of Wink, New Mexico, and moves there in the hopes of discovering more about her mother’s mysterious past. However, the townspeople of Wink don’t take kindly to strangers and Mona begins asking questions that they don’t want answered. Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week: Household Budgeting

    Like many good things, sound financial planning starts at home. It’s your money and you work hard for it – do you know where it all goes? All the places money can go in our daily lives – why it goes there, where it should go (and should not go), where it could go to in… Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week: Making sense out of saving money

    Remember when your parents first got you that cute little piggy bank? It was a big deal because it symbolized a financial rite of passage and instilled a growing sense of independence. And after completing a series of mundane tasks or chores you could triumphantly deposit your hard earned money into it at the end… Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week: Eliminating credit card debt

    Credit card debt can feel like a heavy burden. It can be frustrating and anxiety provoking to pay high interest rates month after month. Paying only the minimum payment each month keeps many cardholders in “perma–debt,” a state many families have come to accept as normal. But never fear – there is hope. You can… Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week: Learn to invest

    Investing information is notoriously steeped in jargon and the underlying concepts themselves aren’t exactly the most user-friendly. Whether you are planning to start investing on your own, or just want to be more informed when you talk to your broker, there are many different tools you can use to get up to speed. Of course,… Continue reading

  • Happy Money Smart Week!

    This week Shelf Talk is highlighting financial literacy topics for Money Smart Week! Money Smart Week is a national campaign to help increase consumer awareness about all things money. Hundreds of different organizations participate, including libraries. The campaign started in Chicago in 2002 and has quickly spread across the country. There are a myriad of… Continue reading

  • Let’s Celebrate Volunteer Appreciation Week April 21-27

    Have you ever wanted to make a difference in the world? Do you find yourself horrified by events in the news? Are you shocked by things that happen in society? Do you ever witness the injustices that happen to others? Do you ever wish there was something you could do to help? Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: The romance of histories that never were

    Spring is in the air and it’s got me in the mood for some light, but never fluffy, romantic fantasies. This past week, I read three alternate histories that had romance and magic in abundance. What books would you suggest for a great alternate history with a gripping love story? Continue reading

  • Fountain of Wisdom

    As a student in the University of Washington’s Library and Information Science Program, I have been helping digitize photos from the Library’s Seattle Historical Photograph Collection. I’ve discovered a lot of interesting photos, but one of my favorites is a photo of the library’s Fountain of Wisdom with the artist just peeking out from behind… Continue reading

  • Who is Caring for Whom?

     I just finished reading Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and will probably never forget the story and the poignant relationship between Louisa and Will. Will is a suicidal paraplegic and Louisa is his reluctant caregiver, later his friend and perhaps more. It’s absolutely NOT depressing, though you might get out your hanky just in… Continue reading

  • For the love of llamas

    Have you noticed all the recent books* starring llamas? In case you’ve missed out, here’s a list for the whole family: Llama of Death – the third installment in the Gunn Zoo Mysteries series by Betty Webb – features Alejandro, a grumpy llama who loves children. When a dead man is found in Alejandro’s pen,… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Friday: Carnal pleasures

    IF you’re looking for a great fantasy read, try this one on for size! Wraeththu by Storm Constantine Continue reading

  • Crime: Inside Korea, North and South with James Church and Martin Limón.

    Last year Adam Johnson, author of the tremendous novel The Orphan Master’s Son wrote us a great post on his experiences in North Korea, including a peek at what passes for a library there. If you’re among the growing number of people watching the startling developments with this mysterious nation with concerned fascination, you owe it… Continue reading

  • It’s Rhyme Time in Seattle: Poetry events around town

    It’s National Poetry Month once again, and Seattle’s got it covered. First of all, Seattle Public Library offers many opportunities to write, read, and hear poetry all month long at various branches around the city: The winning haikus from our city-wide Haiku contest are posted here on our website, with one featured each day through April… Continue reading

  • Fiction with a side of wry: Five books our librarians love

    Smart, witty and fun to read: That’s the criteria my fellow librarian Misha and I used when selecting books for our newest “Humor” list. Here are some of our favorites from that list. Middle Men by James Gavin With deadpan humor, these stories of Los Angeles men of the slacker variety provide insight and wit… Continue reading

  • A new year of hope and forgiveness by Cambodians

    The New Year that begins for Cambodians in April is called Chaul Chnam Thmey in Khmer language, which literally means “Enter the New Year.” April 13-15, 2013 marks the end of the year 2556 BE (Buddhist Era) and the start of 2557—a sacred festival of an ancient culture. White Center in southwest Seattle, just a hop and… Continue reading