February 2026
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Learn About the Hidden Histories of Native American Activism on March 10
“How can a nation founded on the homelands of dispossessed Indigenous peoples be the world’s most exemplary democracy?” That is the question that opens Dr. Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovery of America,” which won the 2023 National Book Award in Nonfiction. The Library is honored to have Dr. Blackhawk present this year’s annual Bullitt Lecture in… Continue reading
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The Seattle Public Library responds to Feb. 23 Urbanist article
Dear patrons and community, Some of you may have read or heard about a Feb. 23 article published by the Urbanist regarding implementation of The Seattle Public Library’s Community Use Agreement under the supervision of Library Environment and Security Manager Andrea “Andee” Walton. The Library has significant concerns about the claims made in the article… Continue reading
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Read George Takei’s Graphic Memoir with the West Coast’s Biggest Book Club
We have good news for Seattle readers! This spring, The Seattle Public Library invites you to take part in One Book, One Coast, a shared reading initiative connecting more than 140 library systems across California, Oregon, and Washington, including more than a dozen in Washington State alone. Organized by LA County Library, One Book, One… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – March 2026
We’re adding twelve new Peak Picks in March! In fiction, Maria Adelmann’s newest novel follows an adjunct professor gigging her way through academia’s poor job market when she crosses paths with her old PhD adviser whose new novel might be about her in The Adjunct; the latest from Elizabeth Berg, Life: A Love Story, is a warm, intimate novel… Continue reading
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2025’s Best in Genre Fiction
This January, librarians from across the country met to debate the best books published in 2025 for adults. The Notable Books List highlights literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; the Listen List is all about outstanding audiobooks; and The Reading List, which I want to highlight, gathers outstanding genre fiction across eight genres: Adrenaline (aka thrillers, adventure stories), Fantasy, Historical Fiction,… Continue reading
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6 Books That Speak to Midwinter Moods
“The Pacific Northwest has a cold like no other place. It seeps through your clothes and keeps you cold like your own personal ghost had moved in.” — Neko Case, “The Harder I Fight the More I Love You.” For some Seattleites, February is a time for sojourns to sunnier locales. For those who stay… Continue reading
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Where Is Dr. King Living Today?
At the start of every year, we celebrate the life and achievements of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Although his life on Earth ended in 1968, his words and deeds inspired many people to carry on his life’s work right up to this very day. For your own inspiration, here are some of their stories… Continue reading
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Cooking Up a Roti-Related Business, With Help from the Library
In late 2024, when Komal Kashiramka decided to “take the plunge” to leave a corporate job and start a business in the food industry, she sought out helpful (and low cost) resources for entrepreneurs. The Seattle Public Library was not one of the places she originally thought to look. But the business research tools she… Continue reading
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Cozy Survival: Making a Home in the Wilds
Lately, I’ve been running across books that instruct by example how to eke out survival while making a comfortable home. Cozy survival, if you will. In January, my apartment had a gas leak that caused a lapse in hot water and heating. Winter suddenly became very wintry. Luckily, I felt more prepared to weather the… Continue reading
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We Won a Bookish Super Bowl Bet + Parade Snaps
Like all of the Emerald City, The Seattle Public Library has been reveling in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win — but in a very library-like way. Late last week, we placed a bookish bet with Boston Public Library: The library with the winning team would get to create a booklist for the other to host.… Continue reading
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Whoa, It’s Lunar New Year: Cook Your Way Through the Year of the Horse
Happy Lunar New Year! February 17th marks the start of the Year of the Horse and kicks off dayslong festivities in different communities. Everyone has their own cultural and familial traditions when it comes to celebrating this time of year, and what better way to celebrate anything than with food? During Lunar New Year, many… Continue reading
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Photo Album: Broadview Branch’s 50th Celebration Is a Home Run
On Saturday, Jan. 24, more than 1,100 community members streamed into the Broadview Branch to celebrate its 50th anniversary with storytelling, speeches, cake, music, puzzles, games, and five decades’ worth of history, stories and memories. The day started off with Native storytelling with Siobhan Kekoa – with many adults and kids attending. An early special… Continue reading
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New Teen Romance
Romance sells a lot of books, especially around Valentine’s Day. Here are some of the best new teen romance titles released in the past year. In Trung Le Nguyen’s latest graphic novel Angelica and the Bear Prince, Angelica is grieving and dealing with burnout. When she receives messages of support from a bear, or… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – February 2026
America celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, and the first of many books about our nation’s history are being released this month. Acclaimed historian Jon Meacham unites centuries of essential American voices to understand our national debates and divisions in American Struggle while CBS News’s senior correspondent Norah Jones paints a vivid portrait the hidden… Continue reading
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Local Authors Take the Stage for KUOW Book Talks
Want to be part of a book club that features selections by some of our region’s greatest talents, and offers you a chance to meet the author in person? Welcome to the KUOW Book Talks Live series at the Central Library. From February through May, KUOW Book Club host Katie Campbell will sit down with a… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup, February 2026
2/3: How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee ThompsonRom-com meets slasher flick when a speed dating event turns into a bloodbath and friends Jamie and Laurie will have to use all their knowledge of genre tropes to get out alive … and maybe find love on the way. (romance thriller) 2/3: The… Continue reading
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Impact Story: When a Children’s Author Comes to Town
The benefits of reading for kids are well-known: literacy, language skills, empathy. But on a winter morning at Seattle’s John Rogers Elementary, a group of 40 fourth and fifth grade readers are showing something else: pure, unadulterated excitement. The students are crowded on the floor of the school library for a talk from Ernesto Cisneros,… Continue reading
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Exploring the Library’s Photography Books
I love reading photography books. Flipping through their pages brings a much-needed sense of creativity and inspiration, while also providing a window into history, community, and the world around us. Here are some that I have enjoyed recently: Pilgrimage Annie Leibovitz travels to locations that hold meaning for her, including Emily Dickinson’s house in Amherst,… Continue reading