August 2014

  • The “right” time to start a business

    Today’s guest blogger, Jeff Levy, is the owner/president of The Entrepreneur’s Source, based in Bellevue and Seattle, Washington. He is the co-author of the book Making the Jump – Into Small Business Ownership which is available at the Seattle Public Library. Jeff works with individuals interested in exploring self-employment and will be offering a free… Continue reading

  • The Art of Singledom

    “I’ve been single for a while and I have to say it’s going very well. Like…it’s working out. I think I’m the one.” – Emily Heller After a ten year hiatus from the dating world, I finally started playing the game of dating two years ago and I got asked out for the first time… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: 2014 RITA Award Winners

    By Eric G. It’s that time of year again! The Romance Writers of America (RWA) recently announced the winners of the 2014 RITA Awards, which recognize achievements in romantic fiction. The Sweet Spot by Laura Drake Drake’s novel indeed hit the sweet spot, snagging the Best First Book award. The story focuses on bull rider Jimmy… Continue reading

  • The Many Faces of Labor Day

    ~posted by Anne C. As Labor Day approaches on September 1, many of us are gearing up for a weekend of barbecues, picnics at the lake, and last romps with the kids before school starts again. Here on the 7th floor of the Central Library, we are also taking a moment to reflect on the… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Wrestling with Religion

    2014 has been called the year of the Christian film. We’ve seen an adaptation of the beloved bestseller Heaven Is for Real; the surprise indie hit God’s Not Dead; Son of God, a feature film edited from the popular miniseries The Bible; the Christian family-friendly Moms’ Night Out; and the controversial biblical epic Noah. Not to mention the reboot of the Left Behind series starring Nicolas Cage and Ridley… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Something in the Sky. Something BIG!

    By Richard C. Remember that huge cylinder hovering over Earth, desperately sucking up the ocean in search of long lost whales in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home? Well the “gigantic and probably dangerous object in the sky” theme makes great science fiction. No “take me to your leader” message here, folks, instead an unfathomable confrontation with… Continue reading

  • Three for Free: Guardians of the Galaxy edition

    In this summer’s most enjoyable movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill (aka Star Lord) is an Earthling snatched away from his home as a child in the Eighties and thrown into a life of crime and adventure on faraway alien worlds. His only reminders of his life on Earth and his beloved mother are… Continue reading

  • Adult Summer Reading Challenge: Paranormal Romance

    – posted by Selby G. Part 4 of our Adult Summer Reading Challenge focusing on subgenres of romance. This week’s romance subgenre is a doozy and, admittedly, the reason I started reading romance novels. Paranormal romance is all the weird stuff. Men (and women) who can shape-shift into tigers (or just about any other animal you… Continue reading

  • Alaska beckons

    It’s been quite the hot summer — it has many of us dreaming of going even further north to catch some cool breezes and gain additional daylight hours to play in. Alaska beckons! Ann says: Alaska is vast, beautiful and unforgiving. Many men (and a few women) have been lured to Alaska by its beauty and its… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: What’s So Funny about Sports?

    I love comedies. I don’t love sports. But I do love the sports comedy sub-genre. These four films rise to the top of the ranks in my book (along with the best sports comedy ever, Caddyshack, which I’ve blogged about previously and will probably write about again). The Bad News Bears (1976) was a favorite of mine as… Continue reading

  • Holy Exclamation Points, Batman!!!

    ~posted by Jenny C. All the staff favorites we’ve been featuring lead me to want to share my recent favorites with you, too. There may be an excess of enthusiasm in this post, but I’m not going to apologize for that. Great books! Deserve! Enthusiasm! The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg This book… Continue reading

  • Adult Summer Reading Challenge: Amish and Christian Romance

    Posted by Selby G. Part 3 of our Adult Summer Reading Challenge focusing on subgenres of romance. Inspirational or religious romance novels are a hot commodity these days, particularly books featuring the Amish. With no sex, and a lot of God, the focus is more on finding love that nurtures one’s soul than a steamy romance. Continue reading

  • In memory of Robin Williams

    Yesterday, we were met with the shocking news that Robin Williams died at 63 of an apparent suicide following struggles with depression. A comedian with boundless energy, he also excelled in dramatic roles as well as those that straddled both worlds. Williams burst onto the scene in the 1970s with one of the decades most… Continue reading

  • Immigration from the Tops of Trains

    By Richard C. Enrique’s Journey By Sonia Nazario I remember so vividly the beginning of Moby Dick when Ishmael says “…whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul… then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.” The full quote is truly golden. Like Ishmael, whenever I… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Cinema from the Middle East

    ~posted by Frank If your knowledge of the Middle East is limited to what you see and hear on the news, consider these ten films from from the region that deal with everyday life – many grim, some humorous – as they shed some light on this tumultuous region. For films dealing directly with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,… Continue reading

  • Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy

     By Richard C. Fiction may offer thrilling tales of espionage, international and covert operations galore, but gems of nonfiction on the lives of spies and spy agencies will also keep you riveted. What I want to know is, are books about spy agencies as fascinating as they are terrifying? Here are my latest three reads in search of an answer: MOSSAD By Michael Bar-Zohar… Continue reading

  • Author Event and Cooking Demo at the Lake City Branch

    Come meet local author, cook and urban farmer, Amy Pennington as she discusses her new book Fresh Pantry: Eat Seasonally, Cook Smart & Learn to Love Your Vegetables at the Lake City branch and shares the bounty of fresh tomatoes.  She will demonstrate recipes and share samples from her newest book using tomatoes fresh from the… Continue reading

  • Adult Summer Reading Challenge: Historical Romance

    Posted by Selby G. Part 2 of our Adult Summer Reading Challenge focusing on subgenres of romance. Historic romance novels run the gamut of time and place. Pick up one and you could be transported to the bedchamber of a Tang Dynasty courtesan or the castle of a noble lord. Either way, historical romances are… Continue reading