November 2017

  • Favorite Picture Books of 2017

    The “Best Books of the Year” lists are out in abundance, and your Children’s Librarians from the Seattle Public Library are eager to share some of their favorite books of the year as well. Picture books will always be my favorite format for children’s books. There’s so much variety, so much invention, and they simply… Continue reading

  • How to Succeed at Gifting Books this Holiday Season.

    Books make the perfect gift, except when they don’t. Few presents are such a joy for a reader to open as a well-chosen book, but we all know that sinking feeling when a literary gift strikes out. Giving a book can be an emotional minefield, as the books we share are reflections our ourselves, bound… Continue reading

  • Never mind Hallowe’en: Christmas is the Original Haunted Holiday.

    It’s that time of year again – a time of ghosts and goblins, of sudden chills and flickering candle flames at the stroke of midnight, of frights and haunts and things that go bump in the night. No, this isn’t a leftover post from Hallowe’en. For the Victorians, the spookiest holiday of the year was… Continue reading

  • Intriguing European Fiction Nov 2017

    As part of our intermittent, ongoing series rounding up interesting international fiction, let’s take a tour of European fiction published this fall in the US.  The Dying Game by Asa Avdic (Sweden) In this psychological thriller set on a remote Swedish island, Anna is supposed to fake her death and then spy on the reactions… Continue reading

  • What we’re reading, November 2017

    I feel lucky every day for a workplace where our casual conversations in hallways, before meetings and over the water cooler (if we had one) are regularly about what we’re reading. Periodically there’s a call-out on our staff message board asking people to chime in with what they’re reading and loving — the books that… Continue reading

  • Activist + Artist = Artivist

    Artists make things and make things happen. Activists stir the public pot and ignite social change. They agitate, demonstrate, boycott and protest. Artivists react and respond to current and historical events through acts of creation and have been doing so for a long, long time. See for yourself! A People’s Art History of the United… Continue reading

  • Burlesque 101

    Join us November 18th at Timbre Room, 7-8:30pm, for Carnal Knowledge, a burlesque show designed to educate and entertain. Performances featuring Miss Kitty Baby, The Marquis Façade, Mx. Pucks A’Plenty and more! Hosted by Donatella Howe this show will explore the forms and functions of the art and the local history of burlesque. This event is 21+.… Continue reading

  • Your Thanksgiving Kitchen Helper

    Thanksgiving is just over a week away. Have you figured out where and with whom you’ll be celebrating and eating? If you’re cooking, have you begun planning your meal? If you’re a worrier, have you begun panicking? No matter where you are in the process, here are a few books, DVDs and websites to help… Continue reading

  • D.I.Y. Holiday? The Time to Start is…NOW!

    Yes, yes, it’s two weeks before Thanksgiving, and for many of us it’s too early to think of the holidays. But for those who are among the ranks of making gifts for loved ones, the time to start is…NOW!  Check out these do-it-yourself books to help you make that special gift that will be cherished… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s THE HUMANS: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Rep’s THE HUMANS: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents Stephen Karam’s THE HUMANS from November 17 to December 17, 2017. Stephen Karam’s THE HUMANS is an uproarious, hopeful, and heartbreaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate and give thanks at his… Continue reading

  • The Artist in Fiction or Creating Your Own Story

    Sometimes it is hard to separate the two, don’t you think? I mean the hard-baked idea of what an artist is or is not. The journey of an artist becoming an artist may be singular, but it is accompanied by a lot of noise! Do you chart your own path or are you casting about… Continue reading

  • Let’s talk time

    Sunday morning saw us fall back from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time, setting our clocks back an hour. It reignited the biannual discussion in my house about the wisdom (or lack thereof) of time change, the history of time, the whole shebang. With time on my mind, I pulled together these books for your… Continue reading

  • Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: Audiobook Memoirs Read by the Author

    I unabashedly love audiobooks. They are not cheating. Audiobooks are simply a different way to take in and make sense of information, and to enjoy stories. Audiobooks have an inherent performance value that can be done well with multi-person cast productions or simply great individual narrators. My personal favorite is the particular insight and authenticity… Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction – November 2017

    Food, faith, France, fakers….November’s got it all! Check out the most anticipated nonfiction being published this month. Continue reading

  • New Fiction – November 2017

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