That familiar chill in the air, those reddish tints starting to appear in the leaves, that playful note of pumpkin spice latte asserting itself amidst the less seasonal scents of marijuana and Axe body spray on city streets: it can only mean one thing. Another Booktoberfest has arrived! Each October, dazed and confused from the flurry of Summer reading, librarians emerge blinking into the autumnal light, and head for the bar. We hope you’ll join us in pubs and bars all across the city, to share books and stories, songs and games. Come out and play! Here’s a quick rundown of what’s in store this year:
- Trivia Nights! Come out with friends and strut your smarts at a trio of Librarians’ Revenge trivia nights, Monday Oct 2 at Union Bar in Hillman City, and October 10 at either Floating Bridge Brewing in the University District, or Naked City Brewery in Greenwood (two venues, to fit everyone in!) No entry fee, fabulo
us prizes: find out if you’re smarter than a librarian! - Bookish Happy Hours! Grab a book, call a friend, come out to mix and mingle with librarians at a trio of happy hours, October 4 at Trace, Downtown, October 9 at Loretta’s Northwesterner in South Park, and October 10 at Sam’s Tavern in South Lake Union. Order yourself a drink and mingle with other book lovers as you discuss what you’re reading and your favorite (or least favorite) books and authors.
- Karaoke! – or rather, Libraryoke! Belt it out for the love of books! Do you love to sing karaoke & love books? Then these are the events for you: Libraryoke, on October 22 at the Skylark Café in West Seattle and on October 26 at Bar Sue on Capitol Hill. You are highly encouraged to sing songs inspired by or about books and libraries, and we’ll have prizes for singers who choose bookish songs or who dress up as their favorite authors or literary characters. All
ages welcome! - Books à la carte! New this year, this October 23 come out for dinner and drinks, and get great reading suggestions at the same time, as our team of librarians goes table to table in this fast-paced fun literary smorgasbord! Arrive by 6:30 at Vios Cafe in Ravenna Third Place books to be sure and get a seat, and order food & drink!
- Literary Fortune Telling! Here’s another new angle on sharing books: as part of LitCrawl 2017, we’ll bring out the tarot cards and read your reading future. Pick a card – and learn what your next book will be! October 19, 6 p.m., at Capitol Cider.
- And finally, lots and lots of Spooky Stories! To get you in
the Hallowe’en mood, we have four spooky story events to choose from, at six venues. It all starts on October 19 during LitCrawl, as we host our third annual Late Night at the Library: Scary Stories in the Stacks, an all agesevent at the Capitol Hill Library at 8:05 p.m. We’ll have two nights of Ghastly Tales and Cocktails, on October 24 at Lottie’s Lounge in Columbia City, and October 26 at The Conservatory in Georgetown. Another set of stories for ‘Ales from the Crypt, on October 28 at Floating Bridge Brewing in University District, and October 29 at at Tippe & Drague on Beacon Hill. And then on October 31, we have Hallowe’en Horror at Third Place Books in Seward Park.
We hope you can join us at some of these events. Booktoberfest happens with the generous support of The Seattle Public Library Foundation, and also an assist from the Friends of Seattle Public Library, who produce souvenir Booktoberfest drink coasters that you may see popping up in bars all across the city. We are so grateful for their assistance!
Happy Booktoberfest, everyone!
Leave a Comment