February 2017

  • Children’s Literature Saves Lives

    After the raucousness of politics last fall, I overheard a woman say that she had been binge watching Hallmark Channel love stories. I could certainly relate as I retreated for weeks on end to exclusively reading children’s fiction, where issues are surmountable and endings often good. Truth be told, the writing and illustrating for children… Continue reading

  • Library Insider: A Conversation About Privacy With Becky Yoose

    We’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the Library’s privacy efforts and what patrons can do to increase their privacy when using Library resources, so we sat down with Becky Yoose, The Seattle Public Library’s Library Applications and Systems Manager, to find out more about privacy at the Library. What is your role… Continue reading

  • Lady Power!

    Today, in honor of those fierce and fabulous ladies over at The FBomb Breakfast Club, I want to talk about the power of women helping women succeed. There’s a special feeling when you know a lady (or a crew of them) has your back, encouraging you and reminding you how strong a worker and teammate… Continue reading

  • Intriguing Latin American Fiction

    Only about three percent of all books published in the United States are works in translation, and many of those books don’t necessarily garner a lot of mainstream press. As part of our ongoing series highlighting intriguing international fiction, here is a glimpse of some recent, interesting novels from Latin American authors. Continue reading

  • Florynce “Flo” Kennedy: Black Radical Feminist

    It’s Black History Month, the perfect time to read about social justice trailblazers both celebrated and forgotten. Margo Jefferson’s wonderful memoir, Negroland, about growing up in a wealthy, elite African American family in the 1940s and ’50s, was my first introduction to Florynce “Flo” Kennedy, an outspoken Black feminist who inspired Jefferson and many others. Continue reading

  • Never Again: Japanese American WWII History and American Muslim Rights Today

    Seventy-five years ago, approximately 7,000 Seattleites were ordered by the U.S. military to leave their homes and sent to incarceration camps. Most ended up at desolate Minidoka in southern Idaho. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, signed on February 19, 1942, two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, forcibly evacuated 120,000 Japanese Americans… Continue reading

  • For the Love of Data: An Open Data Release

    Back in the spring of 2012, Book 1 of the Fifty Shades trilogy did something for the first and last time at SPL—the physical copy circulated more copies than the e-book version.  Over the next three years, the e-book version had over 500 circs per quarter. Meanwhile, by early 2014, circulation of the physical book… Continue reading

  • Now More Than Ever, Reading is Power

    This book you are now reading is a manifesto of sorts–my manifesto, a manifesto for readers. Because I think we need to read and to be readers now more than ever. Every January I struggle to decide what I want to read. Do I catch up on what I missed the previous year, or do I read… Continue reading

  • This Valentine’s Day, Use Your Words!

    What truly says “I love you” to your Valentine? A fancy dinner out? Good luck getting a table, or avoiding romantic indigestion as you navigate the desperate crush of other romance seekers. A box of chocolates? Hardly original, and not exactly helpful with our New Year’s resolutions. Do diamonds speak louder than words? Nope – not even close:  … Continue reading

  • Working the Room: Making Space to Create

    A place to think, to spread out, to collect one’s thoughts and work through ideas.  An environment where inspirations are realized, this is necessary to the creative process.  It can be a dining table doing double duty, the corner of a room, space in an attic or basement, but make space.  However you have to… Continue reading

  • Immigration and the Refugee Experience Presented in Comics for Kids and Young Adults

    Comics can be an effective gateway toward empathy and understanding. Both fiction and non-fiction comics can help the reader visualize and develop context for a wide variety of human experience. Here are a few comics which may help younger readers learn about the lives and experiences of refugees and immigrants. Continue reading

  • Lisa Kron’s Well at Seattle Repertory Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents Well by Lisa Kron from February 10 to March 5, 2017.  How does an adult child care for a chronically ill parent? Lisa Kron’s Well explores her complicated and loving relationship with her mother, as well as community activism and the nature of illness—all through the lens of deconstructed theatre Continue reading

  • Publishing new book round-up – February 2017

    Looking for something new? Here is a selection of books being published in February 2017. 2/7 – The Book of Hygge by Louisa Brits – another book about the Danish phenomenon that promotes coziness, comfort and connection, from the happiest people on Earth. 2/7 – You Are the Universe: Discovering Your Cosmic Self and Why It Matters by… Continue reading