April 2019

  • Bus Reads for April

    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 April: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. This book is so hard to put into words with its madness and dark tales of a person consumed by multiple identities. Born in Nigeria to… Continue reading

  • Why you should read Les Misérables

    You’re watching it on PBS, and maybe you can hum all the tunes from the musical – but there’s nothing quite like reading the book itself. But it’s so looong! True. Compared to the miniseries adaptation‘s six-hour running time, the unabridged audiobook – read by master narrator George Guidall – runs for over sixty hours,… Continue reading

  • The Year’s Best Crime Writing: The 2019 Edgar Awards

    The Year’s Best Crime Writing: The 2019 Edgar Awards

    Pulitzers, Bookers, Nobels – bah! For crime fiction fans it’s all about the Edgars. Last night the winners in several categories of crime and thriller books were announced at the Mystery Writers of America’s annual Edgar Awards ceremony: here’s a full list of these titles in our catalog, including non-fiction, books for children and teens,… Continue reading

  • Taking Me Back

    Taking Me Back

    I was having a conversation with a friend the other day over our love of Spam. One year for her birthday her husband bought her a sampler pack of 12 different varieties! That was something new I learned – I had only ever known of the true blue original can. Growing up my mom used… Continue reading

  • Reading Notre Dame

    It has to be the worst possible reason to have a bestseller. In the wake of last week’s devastating fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel Notre Dame de Paris – perhaps better known to English speakers as The Hunchback of Notre Dame – has climbed to the top of the… Continue reading

  • In a Cloistered Monastery – A Reference Question

    “The architecture of cloistered convents features a small door to the exterior designed specifically to allow groceries and other small supplies to be delivered while maintaining the privacy and separation of the nuns. What is the formal name for such a door (it likely has a name in Latin) and what is the English translation… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN by Christina Ham from April 26 to June 2, 2019. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of books, music and films to enhance your experience of the show. Nina Simone’s “Four Women” is a haunting, critical exploration of racial stereotypes and the legacy of slavery… Continue reading

  • Theater in the Library: My Name is Asher Lev

    Seattle Jewish Theater Company has been performing classic and contemporary Jewish theater throughout the Seattle area since 2011. The Library has hosted several of these performances in the past and we are pleased to give patrons an opportunity to see SJTC’s latest production. Join us in the Microsoft Auditorium at the Central Library on Sunday,… Continue reading

  • ‘Tis the Season for Hanami

    Spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest and the cherry trees are putting on quite a show! One of the more popular attractions in Seattle for cherry blossom viewing, also known as Hanami, is our cherry trees located at the University of Washington Quad. Although the origin of the trees is debated, according to The… Continue reading

  • Three on a Theme: Yellow-Gloved Covers

    Do similar covers or titles catch your eye? Often, for me, it’s just two books at a time. The big payoff is when you come across three on a theme published close to one another, as in these recent stellar books — a memoir, a biography, and a  novel — with their yellow-gloved covers. Maid:… Continue reading

  • If You Liked Where the Crawdads Sing

    With its lyrical descriptions of nature and tempestuous love story, Delia Owens’ evocative debut novel Where the Crawdads Sing (a current Peak Pick selection) has taken the literary world by storm. If you enjoyed it, or if you’re still waiting for your reserve copy to arrive, here are some similar titles you might enjoy. Aldo… Continue reading

  • The 2019 Lambda Literary Awards Long List is here!

    What good are awards? Do they really mean anything? Are the winners truly better than other books, or is it just a popularity contest? We’ve known readers who only read award winners, and others who actively avoid them, on the theory that award winning books might be more admirable than enjoyable. But there is definitely… Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week: Get Started Investing for Retirement Now – It’s Really Not Hard

    Money Smart Week: Get Started Investing for Retirement Now – It’s Really Not Hard

    Judy Hucka, editor of the BetterInvesting Puget Sound Chapter Newsletter is our guest blogger today. BetterInvesting is a national, nonprofit association whose mission is to provide sound investment information, education, and support to help create successful investors. Instructors are volunteers and receive no monetary or financial payment or gain from your participation. BetterInvesting and the… Continue reading

  • New fiction roundup, April 2019

    Now back to our regularly scheduled programming, and the books actually coming out this April. In the fiction realm, you have several options for revisiting high school and its lasting impacts; stories of immigrants trying to forge their lives in the United States; and much more. Happy Reading! Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction Roundup – April 2019

      Inspiration for those who want to make a difference. Sober reflections on the environment. Different perspectives on psychiatry and therapy. For nonfiction fans, April has fresh perspectives on a host of topics. Continue reading

  • New Fiction & Non-Fiction Roundup, April 2019

    On the first of every month, we usually publish our roundup of new fiction & non-fiction releases for the month ahead, but this month there are so many fascinating titles coming out, we’ve decided to spread the wealth across two days of posts. Here’s a quick preview of books released just today. 4/1: Harold Runs… Continue reading