June 2014

  • Movie Mondays: First & Final Features

    Sometimes getting a handle on an artist’s oeuvre can be a bit daunting. Even tackling the output of creators whose work we adore can be an uphill battle. For example, Howard Hawks is my favorite director but I’ve only seen a measly 13 of the 47 films he helmed. Imagine the plight of the John… Continue reading

  • Color Fascination

    by Richard C. Toddlers. Oh my gad. Working at the library I walked by one the other day and saw her point out her little finger at a colorful book. Just barely, ever so softly, I heard her whisper… “rainbow.” Well. Thoroughly and utterly moved by her little murmur – I’m easily moved; it’s why I… Continue reading

  • Medieval cathedrals reach for heaven

    ~ Posted by Ann G. and Jen B., who have contributed several posts together on different subjects as portrayed in nonfiction and in fiction. Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King Imagine that you had to climb Mt. Everest– as Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay did, with no modern climbing equipment and 44-pound… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: LGBTQ Pride

    Posted by Eric G. It’s been 45 years since Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQ) New Yorkers fought back against police harassment at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, helping to usher in the modern LGBTQ rights movement. This weekend is also the 40th Anniversary of the Seattle Pride Parade, which was lucky… Continue reading

  • Caring for the Caregiver

    ~posted by Ann G. Some of the toughest things about caring for older family members are knowing how to navigate the many systems we come up against, and taking care of ourselves so that we have the energy to take care of them too. In July, the library is hosting a series of lunchtime programs… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Hitchcock through the Decades at the University Branch!

    Few artists have had such long and successful careers as the supreme stylist of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. The University Branch is celebrating Hitchcock’s remarkable longevity with a film series showcasing one film from each of the six decades he worked in, from the silent era of the 1920s all the way to the grimy Technicolor… Continue reading

  • Summer of Learning: Zone in This Summer!

    On June 23rd, the Seattle Public Library will be launching a brand new Summer of Learning program! Zone In: Explore, Create, Connect! So, what’s so new and exciting about this summer program? This year, SPL is taking reading to whole new level! Many of you may have heard about a new focus in education and… Continue reading

  • Shout-out to the Teens at the Central Library

    Did you know that our library has Teen Advisory Groups? They meet on a regular basis all over the city. They come together and earn service learning credits by writing blog posts and creating displays and giving us direct feedback on our databases, and finding ways to help the library create interesting, engaging programs for… Continue reading

  • I Want To Be A Real Princess

    Little girls and their princess fascinations…it’s bound to happen. Your daughter or niece becomes completely obsessed with those blinged-out, spoiled, little darlings and you’re stuck with the monotony of it all. Well, thanks to a mom who decided she wanted her daughter to know about real princesses with a bit more gusto and drive than… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reads: Christopher Barzak, author of “Before and Afterlives,” shares what he’s reading

    Christopher Barzak will be reading from his recent collection of short stories, Before and Afterlives, on Wednesday, June 25th at the Central Library on Level 4, Room 2 at 7:00 p.m. His novel One for Sorrow was recently made into the film Jamie Marks is Dead, starring Liv Tyler and Judy Greer. Christopher was kind enough… Continue reading

  • The Books That Kept Me Up All Night

    There are good books and there great books—and then there are the books that you simply can’t put down. Work, friends, sleep—it doesn’t matter. Everything else fades away and all you can think about is finishing that book. This is my favorite thing about reading, and it’s what I hope will happen every time I… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: New LGBT Cinema

    Posted by Frank In honor of Pride Month, let’s take a look at some of the most recent feature films and documentaries from the LGBT community. For movies about the lives of gay men, consider: Test, which follows the exploits of Frankie, an understudy in a San Francisco dance company in 1985; The Happy Sad, which explores the… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reads: Django Wexler, author of ‘The Forbidden Library,’ shares what he’s reading

    We are thrilled to have local author Django Wexler, author of  The Forbidden Library (and oh, do we ever love this one!), as our guest blogger today. We recommend it for fans of Inkheart by Cornelia Funk and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. You’ll also want to check out his adult debut, The Thousand Names (2013). We asked Mr.… Continue reading

  • 2 teens + 1 library = 389 volunteer hours!

     Posted by Cheresse The Southwest Branch is getting ready to say goodbye and good wishes to two AMAZING teen volunteers Christina and Andrey.  Why do we have to say goodbye? Because they’re graduating from high school this week. Woohoo! We all know that teens are required to volunteer 60 hours to graduate high school. We… Continue reading

  • KIRO MyNorthwest: Vacation reads from Seattle librarians

    KIRO’s MyNorthwest asked our librarians for vacation reading suggestions. This slideshow on MyNorthwest includes 13 novels, with brief descriptions from librarians in SPL’s Reader Services. To make it easy to place holds, here’s that same list in our catalog.: Seattle Summer Reads 2014   Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Making the Roaring 20s Roar

    ~posted by Marlene H. What made the Roaring 20s roar? Or in the case of romance, maybe that should be RAWR! Thanks to Downton Abbey, there has been a revival of stories set in the 1920s, and wow! Not all stories with romance in them are necessarily romances. But romance certainly adds spice to a… Continue reading

  • Wide Open Spaces

    I was lucky to grow up in a DIY environment since the women in my family have all been blessed with something like a “creating” gene. Smells of baking and crocheted projects lying about were just a part of my childhood. My dad was the fixer-upper working in the garage or the garden out back.… Continue reading

  • Theatre at the Library Presents – The Hunchback of Seville

    Washington Ensemble Theater By Katie H. The Capitol Hill Library and the Washington Ensemble Theatre will host a preview performance of the world premier of The Hunchback of Seville by playwright Charise Castro Smith on Saturday, June 14th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Capitol Hill meeting room. After the performance, the play’s designers and cast will… Continue reading