January 2014

  • Seattle v. Denver in the READING BOWL!

    We know who will win the Super Bowl on Sunday, but which city reads more? We know the answer to that, too, but in the spirit of sportsmanship, we challenged Denver Public Library to a Twitter Reading Bowl to see who can get more people tweeting about what they’re reading. They accepted the challenge, and… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Hot Reads for Cold Nights

    Prepare to turn down the heat in your home, because the following sizzling selections of erotic fiction will be sure to raise the temperature! Melting the Ice by Jaci Burton Burton’s reliably steamy sports romance stories continue with this newest volume in her Play By Play series. A hockey player gets enlisted by an old flame… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: See the Movies of Tomorrow Today (In Your Mind)!

    Hollywood looking to books for inspiration is not a “novel” idea. (Ahem.) Certainly the upcoming slate of 2014 theatrical releases is no different. After the runaway success of the Hunger Games and Twilight sagas, teen fiction will continue to provide fodder for the multiplex with adaptations of Vampire Academy, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars,… Continue reading

  • Finding books to help deal with death

    In the last month, four people have died suddenly or tragically who I did not know well but I am close friends with some of their families, friends or co-workers.  And, I’ve just heard about a nephew planning to get married later this year.  So I eerily feel like I’m writing a story called “Four… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: What Makes New Adult New?

    Before answering that question, some definition may be required. After all, “New Adult” is a fairly new fiction genre. As in 2009 new. New Adult has been described as an older YA book, but that doesn’t quite capture it. For this reader, New Adult fiction is all about people who are college-age or early 20s… Continue reading

  • Wave Upon Wave

    The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea mega thrust earthquake that occurred on Sunday, December 26, with an epicenter off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. That quake caused the worst tsunami in history, resulting in 280,000 lives lost. Two items in our collection tell us the story of that disaster with very different experiences: Sonali… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Happy Birthday, David Lynch!

    Director, artist, musician and all around good guy David Lynch turns 68 today. Lynch is indisputably one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary cinema, a man whose style has often been aped but never replicated. No other director can so often scare the pants off me and wow me with intense beauty, often in the same… Continue reading

  • SPL Foundation funds 19,000 ebooks!

                            Have you noticed that there are a LOT more ebooks available through OverDrive recently? We hope so! Due to a generous award from The Seattle Public Library Foundation, we were able to take advantage of the recent decision by three major publishers — Penguin, Hachette and Macmillan — to make their ebooks available to… Continue reading

  • Knitting—It’s Good for What Ails You!

    Knitting is turning out to be a healing art.  There’s starting to be more and more evidence of the ways in which it brings health benefits: repetitive activities make us feel more relaxed, can decrease stress, and may even ward off dementia.  And it’s not hard to learn—just get comfortable with a basic knit stitch,… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Dragon Romance

    Would you like to be part of “A Festival of Dragons” this weekend? It’s the theme of this year’s RustyCon, the science fiction and fantasy convention happening this weekend (January 17-19) at the Seattle Airport Marriott Hotel. In honor of their Dragon theme, this Romantic Wednesday will be devoted to Dragons in romance. And yes,… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s ‘A Great Wilderness’

    We’re excited about the opening of the Seattle Repertory Theatre‘s production of Samuel D. Hunter’s A Great Wilderness, this Friday! Expect to be touched by this story that explores issues of faith, aging, family dynamics and homosexuality. At the edge of forced retirement, and on the cusp of dementia, a man who has devoted his life to… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Guns, Car Chases And Psychopaths! What More Could a Girl Want?

    I’ve always been one of those girls that’s enjoyed a good action flick, but I have to admit I’m kind of picky…shocking, I know.  I tend to prefer campy humor without sacrificing intelligence, an edge of your seat ride that should involve chase scenes, guns, and fire, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a slight… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Friday: Staff Favorites

    Here are a few science fiction (and one fantasy) book recommendations from our staff: In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker In the dystopian future, biodiversity and cultural treasures have been lost through human folly… or would be, if a shadowy entity called “The Company” was not working behind the scenes, sending immortal misfits through… Continue reading

  • Staff Favorites: Teen fiction our library staff loves

    Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger Reading Gail Carriger is like eating a favorite pastry and discovering an unusual filling: light, decadent, funny, paranormal steampunk adventure—this time for teens! Sophronia is a young lady who’d rather climb the side of a building than the social ladder. Fortunately for her, she’s been sent to the right finishing school. Delightful hijinks… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Remembering Janet Dailey

    Prolific romance writer Janet Dailey passed away last month at the age of 69. According to Dr. Pamela Regis, author of A Natural History of the Romance Novel, there are more than 300 million copies of Janet Dailey’s books in print, making her one of the most successful fiction writers of all time. Continue reading

  • Cold Weather Music, Part Two: Me Time Edition

    With the holiday season coming to its end, I’m sure we’re all feeling a bit over-socialized. Parties, gatherings, reunions… And now a new year is coming on, and we all have a bit of thinking to do – a little planning and little resolution-making. Time to take a little “me time” and get, well, deep.… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Why so Blue?

                 Is there another color that has figured so prominently in a movie title? Possibly, but I can’t remember the last time three good movies with the same color in the name came out at the same time. Continue reading

  • Staff Favorites: 5 nonfiction books we love

    Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love & Karaoke by Rob Sheffield Rolling Stone editor Rob Sheffield oozes popular culture and arcane rock music trivia from every pore. But in a good way. In this memoir (his third!), he explains his addiction to singing karaoke, even though he can’t sing. He also tells endearing… Continue reading