December 2023

  • New Year’s Resolutions 2024

    Are you a devout resolution-maker, a goal-setter, or just someone who likes to consider new habits? As we ring in the New Year, read on for inspiration; or peruse our more in-depth booklist: New Year’s Resolutions 2024. Eating From Our Roots: 80+ Healthy Home-cooked Favorites From Cultures Around the World by Maya Feller Nutritionist and… Continue reading

  • A Peek at Peak Picks – January 2024

    We’re starting the new year off with a bang, and twelve new Peak Picks! Check out these books coming your way in January 2024. In fiction, Susan Muaddi Darraj gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in Behind You is the Sea; Karl Marlantes transports readers to Cold War Finland where… Continue reading

  • More Middle Grade Fiction for Adults

    More Middle Grade Fiction for Adults

    Earlier this year, I shared some middle grade fiction books that I believe can (and should!) be enjoyed by adults, too. Since then, I’ve discovered more great titles. If you are looking for well written and compelling stories, don’t miss out on these reads based on where we shelve them in the library! Hummingbird by… Continue reading

  • Read All About It! The 8 Great Titles for the 2024 Global Reading Challenge

    Read All About It! The 8 Great Titles for the 2024 Global Reading Challenge

    The Seattle Public Library’s 2024 Global Reading Challenge books tell stories about many things, including a Navajo water monster, a magic button, and a rescue Chihuahua with a destiny to rule the world. Now in its 29th year, the Global Reading Challenge is a reading incentive program between the Library and Seattle Public Schools (SPS). Fourth… Continue reading

  • Thrills and Chills for Winter Movie Nights

    Thrills and Chills for Winter Movie Nights

    When the sun goes down at 4pm and the weather report says ten solid days of rain, there is nothing I like more than a hot cup of tea, a blanket, a cat on my lap…and watching something scary. For horror fans, there is nothing better. Like listening to moody music when you’re feeling down,… Continue reading

  • Writers’ Room Interview: Amontaine Aurore

    Welcome back to our Writers’ Room interview series! Today we’re talking with Amontaine Aurore, a member of the 2023 Seattle Writers’ Room cohort. The Writers’ Room, located on Level 9 of the Central Library, offers a space for writers to work on their projects and access Library resources. Use of the room is through an… Continue reading

  • Joyful Additions to Newspaper Access, Including NYT Cooking!

    Just in time for the holidays, The Seattle Public Library has added several online newspaper subscriptions to our collections that should make Seattle’s cooks, sports fans, shoppers, gamers and news followers very joyful. Seattle Public Library cardholders now have 24/7 online access to an expanded New York Times subscription that includes NYT Cooking, Games, the… Continue reading

  • One Documentary, One Concert, One Night of Rapturous Viewing!

    One Documentary, One Concert, One Night of Rapturous Viewing!

    Get your toes tapping and your soul soaring with these music documentaries. Starting with the elephant in the room, The Elephant 6 Recording Co. documentary takes an inside look at the 90’s rock collective most famous for Neutral Milk Hotel’s mythically held greatest-album-of-its-decade: 1998’s In the Aeroplane over the Sea. But as Robert Schneider, creative/spiritual leader… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2023: Adult Fiction

    Every year we ask our staff across the system for their favorite books published in a given year. Enjoy this variety of fiction staff favorites from 2023, with descriptions by our very own library staff! Chain-gang All-stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah “In this book about a not too distant future, where the prison system has… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2023: Children’s Books

    Staff Faves 2023: Children’s Books

    As 2023 draws to a close, Library staff want to share our favorite Kids books of the year – from picture books to chapter books, and from graphic novels to nonfiction, here are just a few of the Kids books published in 2023 that our SPL staff loved! PICTURE BOOKS In I’m Going to Build… Continue reading

  • Writers’ Room Interview: Cara Diaconoff

    Welcome back to our Writers’ Room interview series! Today we’re talking with Cara Diaconoff, a member of the 2023 Seattle Writers’ Room cohort. The Writers’ Room, located on Level 9 of the Central Library, offers a space for writers to work on their projects and access Library resources. Use of the room is through an… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2023: Adult Nonfiction

    Library staff across the city weighed in on their favorite nonfiction books published in 2023 – and what a great, eclectic list we have! Read on for highlights of the excellent nonfiction included (these are books favorited by multiple staff), or jump right into the full 62-item list. Pageboy by Elliot Page “In this timely… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2023: Teen Books

    Every year we ask our staff across the library system for their favorite books published in a given year. Here is a selection of teen titles that staff thought were the best for 2023. Summaries adapted from catalog. Thien Pham’s graphic novel memoir, Family Style, tells how Thien’s first memory isn’t a sight or a… Continue reading

  • Writers’ Room Interview: Arendse Lund

    Welcome back to our Writers’ Room interview series! Today we’re talking with Arendse Lund, a member of the 2023 Seattle Writers’ Room cohort. The Writers’ Room, located on Level 9 of the Central Library, offers a space for writers to work on their projects and access Library resources. Use of the room is through an… Continue reading

  • More Manga Now Available Through Hoopla!

    Manga lovers rejoice! Hoopla has expanded its offerings and now includes many titles from Kodansha. This includes Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, and some of my personal favorites: Continue reading

  • Writers’ Room Interview: Morgan Richter

    Have you heard of the Eulalie and Carlo Scandiuzzi Writers’ Room at the Central Library? The Writers’ Room, located on Level 9 of the Central Library, offers a space for writers to work on their projects and access Library resources. Use of the room is through an application process for the Writers’ Room Residency. We… Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction Roundup – December 2023

    There’s nothing better than a book to get you through the cold, windy, dark days of December. Check out the top nonfiction titles for the last month of the year. Former Republican leader Liz Cheney issues a warning to Americans who ignore the Constitution in Oath and Honor, while Tim Alberta reports on American evangelicals… Continue reading

  • New fiction roundup, December 2023

    Shorter days, longer nights, but still time to be enticed by a new title! A range of general fiction, romance, mystery, and more await your discovery. 12/5: All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow Sunday Forrester, who is autistic, lives a happy, well-ordered life with her strong-willed teenage daughter, Dolly. When charming new neighbors move… Continue reading