December 2018
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Party Like It’s 1918!
I’ve never been one to enjoy the large crowds underneath the Space Needle on New Year’s Eve night; rather, I like to ring in the New Year with friends at smaller events in the city. One year was spent wandering around Tacoma during First Night and when I lived in West Seattle I would ring… Continue reading
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2019 Reading Resolutions
It’s the end of December, a time when many are setting New Year’s Resolutions, although I personally prefer to just go with a list of goals. Whatever your terminology, perhaps you’re considering a reading resolution? If you’d like to undertake one but you’re unsure where to start, here are a few ideas: BY NUMBER The… Continue reading
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Bus Reads for December
Commuting to Seattle by bus five days a week gives me a lot of reading time. Here’s what I read on the bus in December: Sal by Mick Kitson. A beautiful book despite its tough subject matter. The sisters, Sal and Peppa, are adorable and charming. Sal, the oldest, has been taking care of her younger… Continue reading
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Library Reads: Books to start 2019
What could be better than a list of 10 librarian-recommended books coming out in the next month? A list of 14 is the answer to that question. For January, in addition to the Library Reads Top Ten (books voted on by librarians across the U.S.), we’re highlighting four additional books from the Library Reads “Hall of… Continue reading
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Holiday Reads for the Rest of Us
To get into the holiday spirit this year I’ve been cranking up the Christmas tunes, decorating the Christmas tree, and drinking hot cocoa while watching Home Alone, but when it comes to books I need something a little less sparkly and bright. I like to read realistic fiction – nothing against a good cozy mystery… Continue reading
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Books inspired by podcasts
Being talked at is one of my favorite past times. Whether someone is telling me a fascinating story about Seattle’s history at work or my husband is listing and ranking his favorite cheeseburgers at home, I love listening. So much so, I listen to complete strangers talking inside my earbuds all the time. In this… Continue reading
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Heist Fantasy: Magic, Action & Adventure
I have realized that some of my favorite recent fantasy reads have featured an elaborate heist adventure at the center of the story. Heist fantasies offer the magic, action and adventure that will keep you turning pages while they also feature characters on the margins of society, grifters and scrappy survivors whose struggles and high-stakes… Continue reading
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Social Justice and Activism for Young Adults
From #MeToo to Black Lives Matter to March for Our Lives, the voices of activists are ringing loud and clear across this country right now. Many of these voices are those of young people, and teens today are more empowered than ever before to create change and make their voices heard. As a result, there… Continue reading
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Food Comics and Manga
I’ve been reading a lot of food-focused manga and comics recently. Maybe I’m just a hungry person? I do like food, but really, while these manga and comics share the culinary theme they span some wildly different story-telling territory; from D&D-esque dungeon crawlers, to queer slice-of-life stories, to cooking competitions. Some of these stories even… Continue reading
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Seattle Rep’s IN THE HEIGHTS: Beyond the Theatre
Seattle Repertory Theatre presents IN THE HEIGHTS by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes from November 23 – December 30, 2018. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of books, films, and music to enhance your experience of the show. In the Heights blends hip-hop, jazz, pop, salsa, and merengue to tell a story… Continue reading
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10 Novels We Loved This Year
We love all of the end-of-year “top ten” book lists, but the ones we use to guide our own reading (and gift giving) are always the ones prepared by librarians. These lists tend to have a wider range of titles, genres, and distinct voices. They’re not necessarily bestsellers (although six on this list were Peak… Continue reading
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Twenty Children’s Books We Loved in 2018
What a wonderful year for children’s books this was! Children’s Librarians from Seattle Public Library selected Ten Amazing Picture Books and Ten Wonderful Novels and Comics that were published in 2018. Each list is rich with stories that reflect a range of different experiences and perspectives. Here is just a sample of what you can… Continue reading
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Ten Young Adult Books We Loved 2018
There are so many truly outstanding books for young people published these days that it gets more and more difficult to chose our favorites at the end of the year. These ten, selected by the Teen Services Librarians at Seattle Public Library, stood out for their strength of writing, quality of characters, and stories that… Continue reading
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Ten Non-Fiction Books We Loved in 2018
As the New Year approaches, join our librarians in looking back on our favorite reading of the year gone by. By popular acclaim, here are ten non-fiction titles that made the biggest impact on us in 2018. (Fiction and books for youth will follow in the days to come). 2018 was a huge year for… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – December 2018
December’s not just about the holidays. Enjoy these nonfiction titles being released this month. 12/4: Babel. Gaston Dorren explores the twenty most widely spoken languages in the world, which accounts for half of the Earth’s population. 12/4: Congo Stories. Fidel Bafilemba and John Prendergast consider the impact of five decades of exploitation of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup – December 2018
12/4: The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson – School librarian Charlotte finds herself filling in for her glamorous twin sister who falls ill the night before a beauty pageant. 12/4: The Dakota Winters by Tom Barbash – This family saga follows the Winters family, living New York City’s famed Dakota building, in the year… Continue reading