July 2013

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Real-Life Historical Romance

    Whether meeting (or creating) the perfect mate, experiencing a marriage gone wrong or finding lifelong love, romance is a main theme in much of life. Here are a few historical accounts of real-life relationships: How to Create the Perfect Wife: Britain’s Most Ineligible Bachelor and His Enlightened Quest to Train the Ideal Mate by Wendy… Continue reading

  • Historical Fiction: World War II at Sea

    Seattle’s Seafair Fleet Week (July 31–August 4) is a 64 year annual tradition that brings military ships to the Port of Seattle for public viewing, to honor the men and women who serve their country at sea. Historical novels about World War II at sea add a vivid and exciting dimension to our celebration. Older books, like Nevil Shute’s… Continue reading

  • Awesome

    With the hustle and bustle of everyday city life, we sometimes forget to appreciate the simple things in life. I know I can’t be the only person who enjoys things like the other side of the pillow, popping bubble wrap, sweatpants and the smell of the coffee aisle in the grocery store. If you do… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Movies for Summer Nights

    As we head into the dog days of summer, two new films – The Kings of Summer and The Way Way Back – celebrate how the season often plays a significant role in the movies. Here are a half dozen films that take place in summer – the sweet, the silly and the steamy. Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Friday: The three best 19th century fantasies. Oh, also with dragons!

    A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir By Lady Trent by Marie Brennan An irrepressible young woman in a stifling alternate history Victorian age finds action and adventure when her new husband takes her on an expedition to study dragons in their natural environment. The way the author uses little period details to flesh out the… Continue reading

  • An Evening with Jamison Green at the Capitol Hill Library!

    On Thursday, August 1st at 6:30 p.m., come join us at the Capitol Hill Branch of the Seattle Public Library for a reading and discussion with author, educator, and transgender advocate, Jamison Green.  Mr. Green has spent over 25 years working for transgender civil rights, health, and social safety. Starting with a grass-roots support group… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Putting the Steam in Steampunk

    First of all, what is this steampunk, anyway? Think of it this way. If the kind of technology in Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea actually worked, if all those marvelous Victorian steam-powered machines, and we used airships like the Hindenburg instead of airplanes, well,… Continue reading

  • Historical Fiction: Tall Ships and the Napoleonic Wars

    During the Age of Sail, which lasted roughly from the 16th to mid-19th century, elaborately-rigged tall ships served to transport goods and passengers and to wage wars, like the Napoleonic Wars, which is famously portrayed in the fiction of Patrick O’Brian. O’Brian’s 21 novel series featuring Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin were first published between… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Chewing the scenery

    “Chewing the scenery,” an American phrase coined in the late 19th century, refers to dramatic, theatrical overacting. Watching performers chew the scenery can be excruciating, except when it’s an excellent actor or actress working with top-notch material – then it’s fun. Here are four films – two with dysfunctional workplaces, two with disintegrating marriages – that feature actors at the… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: The wonderful and weird writings of Samuel Delany

    Science fiction legend, philosopher, professor, critic and eassayist Samuel R. Delany will  read from his new book, Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 23 at the Central Library. Delany is known for his frank, unflinching and often disturbing exploration of topics such as religion, sexuality, philos0phy, love and… Continue reading

  • Author Kevin West shares five readable cookbooks

    We are thrilled to have Kevin West, author of Saving the Season: A Cook’s Guide to Home Canning, Pickling, and Preserving, a new (and gorgeous!) book covering the basics of preserving as well as advanced recipes.   Continue reading

  • Toilet Reads: Fascinating Nonfiction about the Necessary Acts

     The human body is fascinating. But sometimes what is more fascinating is what we do with what comes out of the human body. The book Life of Pee, by Sally Magnusson, is a testament to some of the strange and ingenious things we have done with urine. We have used it to dye our hair,… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Bluestockings in Romance

    Not all the heroines in historical romances love going to balls and attending soirees. There are some that prefer the quieter things in life; like reading a book. There have always been women (at least in the pages of romances) who would rather be reading! Bluestockings were educated, intellectual women. Romances featuring bluestockings as heroines are… Continue reading

  • Three smart, witty authors you want to read

    I’m pretty sure you all know that David Sedaris has a new book, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls. Maybe you’re even one of the 1,095 people on the waiting lists for our 217 copies (that’s five different formats: print, large print, CD, eaudio and ebook). But there are some other writers out there who are… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Looking for a new TV series?

    Today’s Movie Monday column is focusing on television. Why? Because many people regard the past ten years as a new Golden Age of television. From Six Feet Under and The Sopranos, through The Wire and to Breaking Bad and Mad Men, both critics and the public see the writing contemporary on cable TV programs as… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: 3 steampunks perfect for summer reading

    Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells edited by Ellen Datlow A stunning collection of short stories by some of the best fantasy authors in the field that range from lush historical fantasy to thrilling steampunk, and everything in between. Plenty of revenge tales (a personal favorite of mine) and all the authors capture the Victorian period… Continue reading

  • Los Bros Hernandez continue to amaze

    Should they ever award a Nobel Prize in Literature to a cartoonist, the debate might focus solely on which Los Bros Hernandez deserves it most. Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez are best known for their comic book series Love and Rockets which they created with their brother Mario in the early 1980s. Los Bros Hernandez have… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Ex-Box

    Now it’s not a gaming console, it’s that little box in the back of your closet or in the storage unit at your apartment, that little box of doom and gloom. I’ve come to believe that most of us have a Pandora’s box of heartbreak. It has the power, once opened, to bring back all… Continue reading