January 2024

  • New Fiction Roundup, February 2024

    February brings us a bevy of new fiction, including multiple genre mashups such as fantasy mystery and historical fantasy, and an especially strong slate of historical fiction, among many other excellent titles. 2/6: The Adversary by Michael Crummey In 1800s Newfoundland, two siblings fight a cutthroat battle to control the coastal shipping trade. As the… Continue reading

  • A Peek at Peak Picks – February 2024

    Check out the ten books we’re adding to Peak Picks in February! In fiction, dozens of authors – including Margaret Atwood, Douglas Preston, Tommy Orange and Celeste Ng – are the forces behind individual tenants in a New York City apartment building during the height of the COVID lockdown in Fourteen Days; Hisashi Kashiwai follows… Continue reading

  • Black-Owned Business Excellence’s 5th Annual Symposium Is Jan. 31 to Feb. 2

    Kicking off Black History Month, the fifth annual Black-Owned Business Excellence (BOBE) Symposium will take place from Wednesday, Jan. 31 to Friday, Feb. 2. The symposium aims to educate and inspire historically underserved business owners with the tools and resources they need to launch, revive and expand their businesses, and will be held at Tacoma’s… Continue reading

  • Choose Your Own Romance Adventure

    With cold weather and dark nights, there’s nothing I enjoy more than curling up with a warm romance book. If you’re new to the genre, you may be overwhelmed with all of the settings, tropes, and pairings, but here’s a small selection of some of my favorites to sample! Fake Dating One of the most… Continue reading

  • More Music Documentaries, Please!

    More Music Documentaries, Please!

    Let’s continue our dive into music documentaries, snapshots of musical process and lasting impact from notable musicians. On deck today: Little Richard and 90s band Morphine. Little Richard: I amEverything is well-titled. Gay. Black. Visionary. Check. Check. Check. But was Richard the king of rock? More on that later. The film explores his career chronologically… Continue reading

  • Snowy Reads 2024

    There’s nothing like a cold snap to remind us of the power of winter! If you’re looking to burrow into that feeling, check out one of these wintery reads: Cold Victory by Karl Marlantes In 1947 Finland, what begins as a friendly challenge between an American and a Soviet military attaché – a secret cross-country… Continue reading

  • What Seattle Teens Read in 2023

    What Seattle Teens Read in 2023

    What are the kids checking out these days? We were curious, so as a follow-up to our post on The Seattle Public Library’s most popular books for adults in 2023, we’ve gathered the top checkouts for teens last year, including fiction, nonfiction and e-audiobooks. It’s an interesting list, ranging from award-winning graphic novels such as… Continue reading

  • New Year, New Series

    2024 has begun, and with it, a whole new slate of reading goals! Perhaps you want to pick up a new hobby to meet a New Year’s resolution, or want to try new-to-you genres. Another great way to bring in the new year is with a new book series! Here are some great series starters… Continue reading

  • And The Seattle Public Library’s Most Popular Book in 2023 Was …

    Now that we’ve turned the page on another year, it’s intriguing to look back and see which titles captured the interest of Seattle’s readers in 2023. Below are The Seattle Public Library’s top 10 checkouts in adult fiction and nonfiction (both print and e-books) and e-audiobooks for the year. How do these titles stack up… Continue reading

  • New Teen Fiction for 2024

    New Teen Fiction for 2024

    Looking for the newest stories? Here are some brand new teen titles to start the New Year, with annotations adapted from the catalog. (Created December 2023.) In Arushi Avachat’s novel, Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment, high school senior Arya must navigate fraught family dynamics, the fallout of her two best friends breaking up, and a tense… Continue reading

  • New Fiction Roundup, January 2024

    As 2024 begins, January hopefully kicks off another year of excellent fiction to dig into. 1/9: Cold Victory by Karl Marlantes In 1947 Finland, what begins as a friendly challenge – a secret cross-country ski race between an American and a Soviet military attaché – turns life-and-death when the race becomes public and freighted with… Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction Roundup – January 2024

    Happy 2024! It’s a new year, and we’ve got plenty of books for those of you looking to start the year off on a positive start, along with compelling histories, stimulating science, and lots more! Judson Brewer (Unwinding Anxiety) examines why we eat when we’re not hungry – and how to stop – in The… Continue reading