January 2018

  • February Literary Holidays

    February is the month for Library Lovers! At least that is one of the lesser known celebrations of February. This month long holiday started as just one day on February 14th (Library Lovers Day) but has since expanded to encompass the entire month. Feel free to show your love for the library by visiting a branch or exploring our online resources. Here’s a handy… Continue reading

  • Library Reads: New books for February 2018

    This month’s Library Reads includes a book by a Washington author (The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah), a novel set in a library (Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern), and a memoir reviewed by one of our librarians (Educated by Tara Westover). Time to place some holds! The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah Leni and… Continue reading

  • Bus Reads for January

    Bus reads is back with a twist! We want to hear from you! Share what you’ve read during your commute: whether on a bus, a train, or the light rail. To mix it up I’ll incorporate reviews from you, our patrons, into future Bus Reads columns! I may even see you on the bus! Here are my… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s IBSEN IN CHICAGO: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents IBSEN IN CHICAGO by David Grimm from February 2 to March 4, 2018. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of books, CDs and films to enhance your experience of the show: Seattle Rep’s IBSEN IN CHICAGO: Beyond the Theatre. Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen gained success in the Scandinavian world… Continue reading

  • Mayor Jenny Durkan on the Book that Made the Difference

    This past November, Seattle swore in a new Mayor and City Councilmember, and we here at ShelfTalk thought this would be a great opportunity to continue our series of posts in which we invited your representatives to share books that have meant a lot to them. This time, we asked them “What book was most influential in your… Continue reading

  • Contextually appropriate audiobook narrators

    Audiobooks are great. They are not cheating – they count as reading. They are also wonderful opportunities for more tangibly presenting the characters and tone of any particular work. Whether it’s an individual narrator, or a full cast with sounds effects and music, listening to a well done audiobook can really magnify your experience of… Continue reading

  • Pie and Whiskey

    There are some combinations so perfect that when your attention is drawn to them, you wonder how you’ve missed them for years. That was my feeling upon discovering Pie & Whiskey, which is simultaneously: a fantastic compilation of short work from Washington authors, edited by Kate Lebo and Samuel Ligon; a raucous, celebratory literary event… Continue reading

  • City Council Reads – Teresa Mosqueda, Citywide Position 8

    This past November, Seattle swore in a new Mayor and City Councilmember, and we here at ShelfTalk thought this would be a great opportunity to continue our series of posts in which we invited your representatives to share books that have meant a lot to them. This time, we asked them “What book was most influential… Continue reading

  • Click! Photography through the Lens of History

    Click! A photograph is a precise record of an irretrievable instant, locked within the borders of a frame that transcends time. Did you know that the history of the camera predates the history of photography? Check out 100 Ideas that Changed Photography for more eye opening discoveries of how a room-sized device came to be… Continue reading

  • Books For Two

    Sometimes being in a book group can be a lot of pressure – not just the assigned reading aspect, but trying to get a group of people together to meet. A book group can simply be just two people getting together; maybe a coworker that you can go out to lunch with once a month… Continue reading

  • January Literary Celebrations

    January comes with a break from the holidays, but if you enjoy celebrating and love books, here are some ideas for literary celebrations for January. We’ll start off with Tolkien day on January 3. It’s his birthday and a day celebrated by the Tolkien Society. They recommend a very simple celebration: find somewhere to have a drink, and at 9 PM make a toast with… Continue reading

  • Seattle Public Library’s Most Checked Out Books, 2017

    We’re already into 2018, but I can’t resist one more look back at reading in 2017. Do you ever wonder what others in the city are reading? Here’s a sneak peak: lists of the 10 most checked out print books and ebooks. So what was Seattle reading in 2017? We mostly checked out fiction, with… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s TWO TRAINS RUNNING: Beyond the Theatre

    Here in Seattle we claim playwright August Wilson as one of our own, even though he was born in Pittsburgh and spent only 15 years (from 1990 until his death in 2005) here. But it was here, in the basement of his Capitol Hill house, where he completed his magnificent Pittsburgh Cycle (sometimes also called the… Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction Roundup – January 2018

    Start the new year with a host of self-improvement books, provocative essay collections on race, and a trio of true crime tales from James Patterson. 1/2: Achtung Baby by Sara Zaske. Discover the parenting secrets of Germans from an American journalist who moved to Berlin. Continue reading

  • New fiction roundup – January 2018

    1/2: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn – Recluse Anna Fox stays in her New York apartment, drinking wine, watching old movies, and spying on neighbors. Then she sees something shocking happen with the new family across the way. Twisty psychological suspense for fans of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train. Continue reading