April 2014

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Wedding Season

    ~ posted by Eric G. Both of my siblings are getting hitched in the next year, so I’ve got weddings on my mind! In honor of the start of the busy wedding season, I’ve pulled together a list of mostly new wedding-related romance titles. Mazel tov! It Happened One Wedding by Julie James Julie James’… Continue reading

  • I Am Woman

    ~posted by Kara I was never a die-hard fan of graphic novels or comics. I remember in high school I was convinced by a friend to read Peach Girl and I found it entertaining enough, but not enough to turn me into a fangirl. As I get older, and I find less time to sit and read,… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Joan Crawford through the Decades

    ~ posted by Frank Joan Crawford (1904? – 1977) is undoubtedly one of the greatest leading ladies of the 20th century on film. She’s often remembered as a movie star with huge shoulder pads and a troubled private life (thanks to the scathing biopic/camp classic Mommie Dearest) that tarnished her reputation as an accomplished actress.… Continue reading

  • Seattle Reads is NOW

    ~Posted by Jen B. We are delighted to welcome inaugural poet, Richard Blanco, for Seattle Reads 2014, beginning on Saturday, April 26! The featured work this year, For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey, traces Blanco’s experience after receiving the White House committee invitation to submit three poems from which the inaugural… Continue reading

  • Discovering LGBTQ mysteries and detectives

    We’re gearing up for the April 30 event “The Queer Detective” that will feature three northwest mystery writers, which means it’s a great opportunity to take a moment, pull out the old spy glass, and seek out a few of the mysteries that are on SPL’s shelves. LGBT detectives, investigators, and crime solvers are not… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Can’t-Miss Contemporary Series

    Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins Higgins is one of my go-to authors for smart and humorous contemporary romance, and I find myself suggesting her books to a wide range of readers. Once you start one of her warm, character-rich stories, you’ll be laughing, crying, cheering and swooning – sometimes on the same page! This… Continue reading

  • Music and poetry pairs

    Posted by Chelsea W. WIn case you haven’t heard already, April is National Poetry Month! I normally write music posts here, but I also love poetry. So, in honor of Poetry Month, I will bring music and poetry together today! Because the Library, of course, can help you get both. Recently, I was reflecting on one… Continue reading

  • Caffeine: The World’s Favorite Drug

    Posted by Selby Whether you slam an energy drink in the afternoon or start your day with a cup of joe, most Americans consume some amount of caffeine during the day, and we love it. Recently, author Murray Carpenter took a good long look at a drug many of us use daily without thinking about it. In his… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: A Country Called the West

                           ~posted by Mike My brother hates Westerns. At least he says he does. As far as I know he’s only seen two of them, one of which was Quentin Tarantino’s weakest feature. But such a blanket statement like hating all Westerns ignores how truly… Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: Entertaining books for vacation

    Readers in Seattle: Did you know you can get a personalized list of recommended reading? Here’s an example of  Your Next 5 Books — a reader’s request and the librarian’s recommendations (these suggestions from Eric at out Northgate Branch): A Seattle reader wrote to us and said: The books that have captivated me most recently are: The… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: the Baddest Bad Boys

    One of the great romantic themes is the redemption romance, or how someone who has been very, very good saves someone who has been very, very bad, all through the power of true love. In Regency romances, this was the “reformation of a rake” story. In paranormal romance, a vampire has been the hero of… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’

    Posted by Jen We’re excited about the opening of Seattle Repertory Theatre‘s production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? this Friday, April 18th. Set amidst campus politics, Albee’s hilarious and provocative masterpiece examines why we are sometimes cruelest to those we love most. George and Martha (theatre’s most dysfunctional couple) invite young Nick… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: A Cinematic History Lesson with Bill and Ted

         ~posted by Mike On their first outing, Wyld Stallyns guitarists Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan traveled through time in a phone booth (not unlike another wacky adventurer), kidnapping historical figures for their make-or-break history project. The fate of humanity hung in the balance. Genghis Khan went bananas in a sporting… Continue reading

  • Frugal Friday Fun

    Most of us don’t mind having fun that costs a little less….as long as it is just as fun as the costlier kind! Here are a few frugal AND fun ideas to get you ready for the weekend. First, take advantage of the library’s museum passes program. With your SPL card, you can reserve and print… Continue reading

  • Hey, Big Spender

    One of the toughest things we face when dealing with money is spending a LOT of it all at once. It feels like the minute you buy something really big it will go on sale or you’ll see something better. Face your fears by following these steps: Continue reading

  • Raising a Money Smart Kid

    Does trying to raise a money smart kid mean that you want to come home to a little Gordon Gecko calculating the P/E ratio for their next stock purchase? Probably not. Although my preschooler would look great in a power suit, I think I would rather focus on giving her the tools she needs to… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Love and Money

    ~posted by Marlene H. As the saying goes, “the love of money is root of all evil.” But to paraphrase another saying, “everybody needs roots.” Or, to put it the way that a lot of mothers do, “it’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich person as a poor one.” We always… Continue reading

  • Savvy shopper secrets

    My dad taught me early, a penny saved is more than a penny earned because you don’t have to pay taxes on it. I didn’t really understand taxes then, but the rest of it made perfect sense to me. We had very little money and talked often about how to get more for less. A… Continue reading