July 2015

  • To the Polls! The Municipal News and Historic Seattle Elections

    ~posted by Jade Just in time for election season, we’ve launched our Municipal News Digital Collection featuring nearly 100 years of issues from 1911 to 2010. Produced by the Municipal League of Seattle, the news provides insight on hot button civic issues of the day such as prohibition, dance halls, desegregation, the Alaskan Way Viaduct and… Continue reading

  • Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Comic Fantasy, All Pratchett

    ~posted by David H. If there has ever been a king of comic fantasy, then that crown was worn by the late Terry Pratchett. And in that crown, the shining jewel is the Discworld series. Published in 37 different languages with over 80 million books sold, Pratchett is second only to J.K. Rowling as the… Continue reading

  • Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Comic Fantasy

    ~posted by David H. Much like its sister genre science fiction, funny isn’t the first word that springs to mind when people think of the fantasy genre. The straight-faced seriousness of early fantasy authors like J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) and Robert E. Howard (Conan), and contemporary ones like Robert Jordan (The Eye… Continue reading

  • The Lost Cause

    ~posted by Carl The Confederacy and its long shadow has been in the news in 2015 following the Charleston church shootings and the subsequent removal of the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol building in Columbia, South Carolina. Is that flag a symbol of the honored heritage of valiant defenders of Southern soil, or… Continue reading

  • Have an Art Affair!

    ~posted by Library Staff There’s nothing like a good book on a cool and cloudy day to lay the foundation for a foray into the art world. Year round, all over the city there’s more art than can meet the eye, but summer is the season to have an art affair! Now, I’m not just… Continue reading

  • Future Books about Seattle’s Past (and Present)

    ~posted by Frank From history and science to food and music, there are a bounty of books about our fair city and environs being published over the next few months. Here are a dozen of the most noteworthy titles. Classical Seattle: Maestros, Impresarios, Virtuosi, and Other Music Makers. Profiles of 35 musicians and arts leaders who have made Seattle a world-class city… Continue reading

  • Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Gaslamp Fantasy

    What exactly is Gaslamp? Think of it as Regency-era steampunk, flavored more by magic than machine oil. It’s a genre that invites readers to take a stroll with lady detectives, or sip tea in the receiving rooms of alternate universes. House of Holmes: Gaslamp Detective Stories The Eterna Files Rival teams in Victorian-era London and… Continue reading

  • Peculiar Nonfiction

    ~posted by Frank Nonfiction is vast. When you look beyond cookbooks and biographies, you’ll find some niche titles that you may not have known there was an audience for. Here are some of the most singular works of nonfiction published in the past year; perhaps one of these oddball titles is just the one for you.… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo: Published the Year You Were Born

         – posted by Kimberly This summer The Seattle Public Library, in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures, is excited to offer a summer reading program for adults called Summer Book Bingo! In order to help you along on your quest to complete your bingo sheet, we have pulled together some book suggestions based on each category.… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo: Authors Under 30

        – posted by Andrea This summer The Seattle Public Library, in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures, is excited to offer a summer reading program for adults called Summer Book Bingo! In order to help you along on your quest to complete your bingo sheet, we have pulled together some book suggestions based on each category.… Continue reading

  • Following My Nose

    I spent a weekend in Tacoma enjoying the Taste of Tacoma at Point Defiance Park, which involved wine and beer tastings, fried oysters and a BBQ pork bun. It was a wonderful little food adventure. To be honest though, I have been spending more and more weekends off in Tacoma gallivanting with my boyfriend and… Continue reading

  • Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Magical Beasts

    ~ posted by Jessica H. If you’re unfamiliar with fantasy, Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn is a quiet classic.  A unicorn is told by hunters that she is the last of her immortal kind, causing her to wonder if this is true.  As she leaves her forest, she is recognized by humans as simply… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo: Banned books

       — Posted by Abby This summer The Seattle Public Library, in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures, is excited to offer a summer reading program for adults called Summer Book Bingo! In order to help you along on your quest to complete your bingo sheet, we have pulled together some book suggestions based on… Continue reading

  • Freegal – Five for Free – Brainwave Radio Edition

    By Cameron M. She opened her laptop, waiting for that familiar chime and the home screen to load. Belinda’s mind began to wander, until it was just as blank as the screen in front of her, and she forgot the reason why she had picked the computer up entirely. Earth, Wind & Fire began playing… Continue reading

  • Summer Novels for Kids Full of Hope and Glory

    ~posted by Diane There is a memorable last scene in the movie Hope and Glory when the school blows up, thanks to German bombs in WWII. The moment of jubilation and absolute glee when the little boy knows there is no school to go to is not unlike that second when the last bell rings, dismissing kids for summer vacation.… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo: Local authors

       — Posted by Linda J. This summer The Seattle Public Library, in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures, is excited to offer a summer reading program for adults called Summer Book Bingo! In order to help you along on your quest to complete your bingo sheet, we have pulled together some book suggestions based… Continue reading

  • Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Dragons

    ~Posted by Jenny C. Oh, Dragons! How do I even begin? I mean, we’ve recently had a post that featured the Mother of Dragons — and by that I mean Anne McCaffrey (sorry Khaleesi). And my friend Misha’s post captured three of my all time favorite dragon fantasies: Temeraire, (Master and Commander with dragons), Tooth and Claw, (Dickensian succession drama) and A Natural History of… Continue reading

  • Art at the Library: the Public Works of Art Project

    ~posted by Jade D. You may have noticed a few pieces of art when visiting your local library branch, but did you know that the Seattle Public Library has a rich collection of artwork featuring more than 300 pieces from Pacific Northwest artists? The library was one of the first locations in Seattle to offer… Continue reading