June 2013

  • Science Fiction Fridays: The 5 best queer sci-fi reads of the decade

    Farthing by Jo Walton Set in an alternate 1949 where Hitler won the war, Lucy and David become embroiled in a murder investigation and their only hope of exoneration is the work of a Scotland Yard investigator with secrets of his own. A wonderfully clever and dark murder mystery that has quite a bit to say… Continue reading

  • Librarian suggestions for kids’ summer reading

    Just before school ended earlier this month, our children’s librarians were out “school visiting” to promote summer reading. In addition to information about joining our Summer Reading Program, children in our local elementary schools hear their neighborhood libraries do a show-and-tell style of talking about great books. You can find various neighborhood and school book suggestion… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: If you like Jane Austen

    If you’ve read everything by Jane Austen, and would like more in that same vein, you should try Georgette Heyer. Heyer has been credited with writing the first modern historical romance novels. Many of her novels are set in the Regency era in England (the same time period/location as Jane Austen’s novels), and she also wrote… Continue reading

  • Historical Fiction: The wives of Henry VIII

    Divorced, beheaded, died Divorced, beheaded, survived So much historical fiction relates to King Henry VIII in some way: his mother, his sister, his niece, his Church, his advisors, his children and his wives. Most of us have a blurred idea of who these wives were and which ones were executed, though many readers know Anne… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Where to go after SIFF!?

    Alas, the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival has come to an end, so where will you track down more great movies this summer? The Seattle Public Library, that’s where! Few of this year’s films are yet available, but SPL does have some from last year’s Golden Space Needle Award Winners. Three that I recently enjoyed… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: One for the Guys, One for the Gals

    There are precious few movies about LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) people in which a character doesn’t die, kill somebody, commit a crime or remain closeted and self-loathing. Why is it so difficult for Hollywood to make a grand gay romance—or even a simple one? Be that as it may, in recent years the number… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: 5 sci-fi reads our children’s librarians love

    Red Lantern’s Revenge by Michael Acampora It’s up to the Green Lanterns Corps to save the underground seas of Mars from the Red Lanterns and the fate of Earth ‘s own polluted oceans hangs in the balance. Torn By Margaret Haddix Jonah and Katherine travel back in time to 1611 to save John Hudson, the son… Continue reading

  • Historic Expeditions

    I love reading travel accounts from bygone eras, when so much of the world was still unknown and could be accessed only by foot, horse or boat. Here are some fascinating accounts of historic journeys: The Fourth Part of the World by Toby Lester The Waldseemüller world map of 1507 is the 1st that shows… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Contemporary summer reads

    Summer is just around the corner in Seattle! It’s almost time to relax on the beach at Golden Gardens with a good romance novel. If you’re looking for the ideal summer romance novel filled with witty banter and great character chemistry, you can’t go wrong with the current queen of contemporary romance: Susan Elizabeth Phillips,… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Paranormal romance vs. urban fantasy

    Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy are like kissing cousins. Considering all the vampires and werewolves involved, maybe that should be biting cousins. The big difference between Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance is usually where the focus is placed in the story. It’s not that Paranormal Romances can’t include an other-than-human hero or heroine, or that… Continue reading

  • Lumpen London

    The loveable con artist is a staple of British literature.  Lucky Bunny by Jill Dawson fits the pattern, but with a whip smart female protagonist who comes full circle from stealing from doorsteps to keep her little brother fed, to taking part in the heist of the century to escape from an abusive husband with… Continue reading

  • Historical Fiction: Where do you want to go?

    What are your travel plans this summer? Chances are you can easily find a historical fiction book to enhance your visit if you are traveling to Great Britain, Mexico, Australia or Western Europe. Finding good historical novels set in other places is more difficult. Below is a short list of recently-published historical novels that might… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Films about the Fourth Estate

    This month, two highly anticipated TV series – Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom and  House of Cards, the critically acclaimed Netflix original series – are available on DVD. Both shows deal with journalists and the power of the news media, a topic that was the subject of three smart, classic award-winning films. His Girl Friday (1940), based on… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: The 5 Iain Banks books you must read

    It’s almost unbearably depressing that for the second week in a row this column in taken up with a tribute to a fallen giant of the genre. This past weekend British science fiction and mainstream writer Iain Banks died at the age of 59. Banks had publicly announced two months ago that he had been… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reads: Some of Tao Lin’s favorites

    Taipei, Tao Lin’s newest novel, delivers a deeply personal, powerful and moving story about family, relationships, accelerating drug use and the lingering possibility of death. We are so pleased to have Tao Lin with us today on Shelf Talk, talking about books he loves. One of my favorite novels is Lydia Davis’ The End of… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reads: Science reporter Sandi Doughton on earthquakes

    Seattle Times science reporter Sandi Doughton’s book Full-Rip 9.0: The Next Big Earthquake in the Pacific Northwest  covers the scientists who are trying to understand when, where, and how big the next earthquake will be. She’ll be discussing her book and research next Tuesday, June 18, at 7 p.m. at the Central Library. And today… Continue reading

  • Dancing about architecture

    The unusual design and architecture of Seattle’s Central Library has inspired many people. Every day, throughout the day, someone can be seen taking pictures of the steel and glass building both inside and out. Photographers are found around the Fourth or Fifth Avenue entrances looking into the honeycombed windows or skyward at the jutted angles… Continue reading

  • Comic book memoirs and family secrets

    Several talented cartoonists have used comics memoir (also called graphic memoir) to chronicle their family stories. Alison Bechdel has rightly received much acclaim for her books Fun Home and Are You My Mother? which closely examine her relationships with her father and mother respectively. Below are several more comics which deftly explore complex familial relationships.… Continue reading