July 2025
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You Can Do It! Book Bingo Tips and Recs for the Final Stretch
It’s almost August – how’s your Book Bingo card coming along? If you need inspiration and recommendations for filling up those final (or first!) squares, we’ve got you. We asked a few veteran Book Bingo players for their favorite reads, and how they keep Book Bingo motivation strong through August. Tips included poetry, sticky notes,… Continue reading
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Fruit Book Revue
It’s an open secret that Seattle’s summer is the sunny antithesis of our rainy reputation. Talked about less is the amazing fruit that appears in farmer’s markets, co-ops, and along random sidewalks during the summer months. While there’s probably nothing better than eating a perfectly ripe fruit raw and unadorned, eventually, one wants pie. Or cake.… Continue reading
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Museum Pass Expands, Adding Two Sites
The Library’s Museum Pass program is expanding! Museum Pass offers Library cardholders free admission to participating museums and cultural organizations. As of last week, Seattle Parks and Recreation has joined Museum Pass to provide free admission to the Seattle Japanese Garden, located in the Washington Park Arboretum, and the Volunteer Park Conservatory. The passes are… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2025: Humor
Knock knock? Who’s there? No, Who’s on first… That was either met with crickets, a chuckle, or an eyeroll, which drives home that not everyone’s sense of humor is the same. There is something for everyone, and, notwithstanding the above attempt, the written word can be hilarious. Absurd situations, witty turns of phrase, wry retorts—all… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – August 2025
We’re adding eight new books to Peak Picks in August! In fiction, acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz delivers a cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own restaurant in Automatic Noodle; Joy Fielding’s riveting psychological thriller features a dementia patient who makes a shocking confession—and the one woman must decide whether… Continue reading
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Ai, Rebel The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei at Seattle Art Museum
Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei is on display at the Seattle Art Museum until September 7, 2025. As an artist, Ai Weiwei uses humor and provocation across artistic mediums, prompting viewers to think deeply about history, society, and culture. To enhance your experience of the exhibit, librarians at the Seattle Public… Continue reading
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Miss Amanda’s Picture Books- Summer 2025
Summer is underway and hopefully you are taking advantage of the longer days and beautiful Seattle weather. If you haven’t picked up a Book Bingo card or your Summer of Learning gameboard, it’s not too late to start! Here are some new picture books for your summer reading that capture that summer feeling. Don’t Trust… Continue reading
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6 Titles for Mid-Summer Book Bingo Inspiration
It’s mid-July, which means we’re halfway through Book Bingo season and you have six solid weeks to read books in fun categories and fill up that bingo card. For the uninitiated, all summer long, The Seattle Public Library, Seattle Arts & Lectures and new partner, King County Library System, celebrate Book Bingo, a program that encourages… Continue reading
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Teen Book Bingo 2025 – Round One
Teen Book Bingo has begun! Here is a selection of two titles each from our suggested reading lists to get you started. From the Gender Bender category, you might enjoy Beating Heart Baby or The Prince and the Dressmaker. Beating Heart Baby, by Lio Min, follows Santi as he meets and is entranced by Suwa,… Continue reading
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Staying Cool at the Green Lake Branch on the Hottest Day of 2025
How do you stay cool at the Library? On Wednesday afternoon, July 16, when outdoor temperatures hit 90 degrees, we stopped by the Green Lake Branch to check in with a few patrons about how the branch’s first summer with air conditioning was treating them. The branch was packed all afternoon, with most seats in… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2025: New to You Format
Of all the 2025 Book Bingo categories, “New to You Format” is the one I see stumping folks the most. So let’s work through it and see if we can help even the most widely read participant find something that fits! Afterwards, visit this booklist with two examples of each category explored below: New to… Continue reading
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Celebrating Shelf Talk’s Next Chapter
Do you notice something different about the Library’s Shelf Talk blog? We’ve given it a new look and feel! Started in 2008 by the Library’s Reader Services team, the Library’s Shelf Talk blog has served our city’s lively and diverse community of readers for 17 years. We’ve redesigned it and updated the platform to make… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2025: Disability
One of the joys of Book Bingo is expanding reading beyond what you might ordinarily pick up, and hopefully discovering what Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop termed “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors:” books that offer both opportunities for self-affirmation and insight into the experiences of those different from us. Within the Disability category, there is… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – July 2025
Happy summer everyone! In addition to this month’s Peak Picks, enjoy these nonfiction titles coming out in July. In history and politics, Tim Weiner follows up his National Book Award-winning classic Legacy of Ashes with a history of the CIA in the 21st century in The Mission. Laurie Gwen Shapiro profiles Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the… Continue reading
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Want to Talk to Someone at the City of Seattle?
Do you have a question for the city but you don’t know where to start? The City of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods and the Library are here for you! Over the next few months, the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) is hosting monthly community office hours at select Library locations to make it easier for Seattle… Continue reading