May 2020

  • Staying Healthy with Your Library: Consumer Reports – Health Products

    Consumer Reports, publishing their well-known magazine since 1936, is an “independent, nonprofit member organization that works side by side with consumers for truth, transparency, and fairness in the marketplace.” Consumer Reports online includes buying guides with ratings for hundreds of health-related products in dozens of categories including hearing aids, bike helmets, sunscreens, and fitness trackers.… Continue reading

  • Write On!: Nonfiction Writing Informs the World

    Do you have an investigative mind? Is sussing out the “true story” something that intrigues you? Does researching a topic or an issue give you a thrill? How many times has someone said, “You should write about that!” If you have, ever, dashed off a letter to the editor, why did you stop there? Why… Continue reading

  • Jazz in Seattle?! Jazz in Seattle!

    While jazz has well-established reputations in New Orleans, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, you might be surprised to find that Seattle has long been a part of this rich music tradition. In an effort to capture and preserve this history, the Special Collections department of the Seattle Public Library created the Seattle Jazz Archive,… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2020: Set At or By the Sea

    It seems as long as people have told stories, they have told sea stories. Gilgamesh crosses the sea and even dives to the bottom in the quest for eternal life. The nautical adventures of Homer’s Odysseus are literally legendary, as are those of Jason and the Argonauts. More recently, both Edgar Allan Poe’s Narrative of… Continue reading

  • Four Flights of Fantasy for Your Listening Pleasure

    Tired of looking longingly out your window while stuck inside? Then escape into these fantastic worlds each offering endless hours of aural pleasure! Each of these first books in their respective series represent a different flavor in the enormous fantasy pie. Have a slice, or better yet try them all! Happy listening.  The Belgariad Series… Continue reading

  • Digital Knitting

    While Ravelry.com is arguably THE place to get knitting and crocheting patterns, Seattle Public Library has many pattern books as ebooks that are free to borrow, from beginner learning books like Teach Yourself Visually Knitting, to books on advanced techniques such as Knitting Brioche: The Essential Guide to the Brioche Stitch by the venerable Nancy… Continue reading

  • Fiction eBooks – Available NOW!

    Hundreds of Always Available fiction eBooks are now available until June 30th due to the generosity of several publishers and distributors. Check some out while you wait for your holds to be filled and for the library to reopen. This collection is particularly a boon for fans of translated fiction. Some highlights include Sayaka Murata’s… Continue reading

  • The Story of Film Part 6: Sex & Melodrama!

    The Story of Film Part 6: Sex & Melodrama!

    Moving forward in Mark Cousin’s The Story of Film, we’ve reached the mid 1950’s. By now, the rise of television in America was making a definite impact on Hollywood. Film-going in the US, which was at its peak in 1946, was declining, especially now that TV sets were affordable to the public. And television was… Continue reading

  • Oh, doggone it!

    Dogs can completely change the way we feel—for the better. They are funny, loving, and intelligent. Canine companions live in an estimated 63 million U.S. homes, so it’s no wonder stories, movies, and videos featuring dogs have always been big hits. Let’s not forget our own local legend, the public-transit-riding dog, Eclipse, who rides the… Continue reading

  • Noteworthy Nonfiction eBooks – Available NOW!

    Thanks to the generosity of several publishers and distributors, The Seattle Public Library now provides access to hundreds of Always Available nonfiction eBooks until June 30th! While you wait for your holds to be filled and for the library to reopen, check some of these out. Five National Book Award nominees are available, including two… Continue reading

  • Library Podcasts with a Seattle Focus

    Last week I highlighted some of the diverse podcasts the library has to offer on it’s website with no library card required. I wanted to discuss some of the other things offered on the Library Podcast page, specifically the variety of discussions on Seattle and Seattle history. In Fall of 2019, the Library hosted discussions… Continue reading

  • Write on!: The Very Personal Journey of Keeping a Journal

    You can travel any day at any time, circle back and revisit the past in the present or venture far into the future. Moments are remembered, ideas may be realized or not, a memory cherished, a day best left forgotten is there on the page and, now, you realize something you could not have understood,… Continue reading

  • Award Winning Comics for Your Bucket List 

    A Bucket List is a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime. This can take many forms, but for many lovers of the written word this comes more often in must read books. Here are award winning comics that are a must read for any one… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2020: Epistolary

    And then there’s that square marked “epistolary.” You’d be forgiven for Googling that one, where you’ll find it means a story told in the form of documents, such as diaries, emails, texts, and – most traditionally – letters – aka, epistles. To which you might respond “they write novels in the form of letters?” Oh… Continue reading

  • Virtual visits: Art collections and experiences online

    Uncertainty about safe and healthy travel these days has caused many of our plans to be interrupted or canceled. For hours we had planned itineraries, scheduled exhausting (but fun!) days, and made must-do, must-eat, and must-see lists, but sadly those lists will remain unchecked for now. The strolls we imagined we would take in renowned… Continue reading

  • Helping Children Cope in Scary Times

    It can sometimes be scary being a kid. There are potential dangers lurking around every corner, from the dark to monsters to carrots? Yes, carrots. But in these uncertain times due to COVID-19, it can be harder to explain these fears away. But good news! The Seattle Public Library has lots of books aimed at… Continue reading

  • Original Independent: John Sayles

    Filmmaker and author John Sayles has been creating excellent work for over forty years. Helming his first film in 1980 at the age of 30, he had already written two books and a few genre films for Roger Corman, including the timeless eco-parables Piranha and Alligator. Favoring stories about communities during moments of upheaval and… Continue reading

  • Library Resources on Compassion

    “Compassion” and “empathy” have become self-help buzzwords lately, with the recent rise of TED-talk superstars like researcher, author, and speaker Brené Brown. But what does it actually mean to practice compassion towards oneself and others, and how can we use these tools to take better care of our relationships? Here are some library resources for… Continue reading