August 2023

  • A Peek at Peak Picks – September 2023

    Check out the ten new books joining Peak Picks in September! In fiction, Canadian Mohawk author Alicia Elliott follows a young Indigenous woman whose failure to connect –  with her infant daughter and her new posh neighbors – has horrifying consequences in And Then She Fell; Kim Coleman Foote merges fact and fiction in her… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2023: Workers’ Rights!

    Are you well into #hotlaborsummer and still looking for stories of solidarity to fill out your workers’ rights Bingo square? I’ve got plenty of books for the bargaining table below. On the Line: A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women’s Epic Fight to Build a Union by Daisy Pitkin First up is a harrowing… Continue reading

  • Read with Isaac from Heartstopper, Season 2!

    Read with Isaac from Heartstopper, Season 2!

    Have you had a chance to watch Heartstopper, Season 2? The tender, heartwarming coming-of-age screen adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novel series has captured the hearts of fans of all ages, and perhaps no character is as dear to librarians as the ever-reading Isaac. Here is a sampling of the many books Isaac is seen… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2023: Chosen by the Cover Part 2

    #BookBingoNW2023: Chosen by the Cover Part 2

    Still working on your Summer Book Bingo? Maybe you haven’t filled in the “Chosen by the Cover” square just yet? Let me suggest a few more books with covers that caught my eye! Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly Set in 2003, a bookbinder finds a queer love letter in a book and becomes obsessed with… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2023: Debut Essays or Short Stories

    I’ll be honest, I’m quite distractible. And I’m a book piler. I go back and forth between novels, poetry, comics, and so on. So, what could be better than reading deeply personal or timely topical essays, or short fiction that affords the fulfilling seeds of an unfulfilled story plot or character formation? How about an… Continue reading

  • ‘Black Activism in Print’ Exhibit Highlights Art and Community Activism

    Black Activism in Print: Visual Art from the African American Collection, now on view at the Level 8 Gallery of the Central Library, is more than just an art exhibit. Though it features beautiful art prints by prominent artists and activists Charles White and Elizabeth Catlett, it is also a wonderful opportunity to learn about… Continue reading

  • Teen Summer Reads 2023, Part Two

    Teen Summer Reads 2023, Part Two

    Our teen librarians had a lot of suggestions for casual summer reading, so we made another list! Teen Summer Reads, Part Two. In Becky Albertalli’s romance Imogen, Obviously, Imogen has always been the token straight girl, the best ally ever. When she visits her childhood best friend Lili at college, Lili reveals that she told… Continue reading

  • Get a Kick Out of These Picks

    The FIFA Women’s World Cup is ongoing now until August 20th, and fans across the world are captivated by women’s soccer (football anywhere but here) being played in Australia and New Zealand. If your goals include reading books about women in soccer, check out these keepers and run with it! In Racquel Marie’s You Don’t… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2023 In Translation: What’s in a Language?

    I always find the consuming too much of one thing to be detrimental to my reading health, like eating a menu of only grilled cheese sandwiches would be for example. For a wider, more nourishing literary diet (and to get another square for your Book Bingo blackout), I suggest adding books translated from other languages… Continue reading

  • Prepare for the Solar Eclipse Doubleheader

    Did you know that there are two solar eclipses happening over the next year? The first will occur on October 14, 2023 and the second on April 8, 2024. Each will be viewed as partial eclipses in Seattle. The Seattle Public Library is here to help you prepare with free solar-viewing glasses, eclipse education programs… Continue reading

  • Three on a Theme: Haunted Media

    At our recent author event with Silvia Moreno-Garcia, an audience member requested more suggestions for haunted media. If you are also looking for such suggestions, please enjoy the following three! All feature movies in one way or another. Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Lifelong friends Monserrat and Tristán stumble into an opportunity they can’t refuse… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2023: Indigenous Author

    As I’m writing now on the lands of the Coast Salish people, specifically the Duwamish, in a city named for Duwamish and Suquamish Chief Seattle, it feels appropriate to recognize the many ways Indigenous individuals and nations have shaped our society. One way we can do this is by centering Indigenous creators, like Indigenous authors,… Continue reading

  • New Fiction Roundup, August 2023

    More great summer reading awaits with August’s new releases! 8/1: Bellies by Nicola Dinan Two young gay men, Tom and Ming, connect in college and begin a life together in London. When Ming transitions to living her life as a trans woman, secrets come to light and threaten their relationship. (general fiction) A Peak Pick!… Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction Roundup – August 2023

    The lazy days of summer are the best time to immerse yourself in a good read. Biographies and memoirs are plentiful in August, along with a wide range of essays and histories. In biography, Yunte Huang narrates the life story of Anna May Wong, old Hollywood’s most famous Chinese American actress, in Daughter of the… Continue reading

  • Huzzah! It’s a Ren Faire!

    Hail library patrons and well met! Summertime Renaissance Faire season is upon us! Here are a few items we hope will excite and inspire you to join in the revelry. Let the anachronistic good times roll! For some background, have you ever wondered how the idea of a modern Ren Faire came about? In Rachel… Continue reading