April 2026
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24 Checkouts a Minute: The Library’s 2025 Impact Report
How did our community use the Library in 2025? Hot off the digital presses, our 2025 Impact Report paints a picture of The Seattle Public Library’s impact in numbers and stories. While the Impact Report shows a record number of active patrons and growing participation in programs, as Chief Librarian Tom Fay noted, “it is… Continue reading
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4 Nonfiction Reads for International Workers’ Day 2026
Since the establishment of International Workers’ Day in 1889, May 1 has been an important date for labor unions, immigrant rights advocates and organizations that strive to advance the cause of workers’ rights. Ahead of International Workers’ Day, we invite readers to explore the past, present and future of the labor movement, including an overview of American labor history, a deep dive into anti-racist activism in Seattle, an interrogation of the very concept of solidarity and a… Continue reading
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The Crows are Coming! Corvid Facts and Fiction
It’s that time – the sunsets are later, the allergies are gearing up, and the crows are stirring. Most people know of the infamous swooping season – when new and protective crow parents will now consider you A Very Suspicious Character and suddenly whoosh! …you’ve been stealth swooped. Patrons of the West Seattle branch are keenly aware of their resident corvid guardians I’m sure. But move past the anxiety inducing fly-bys and there is so much to celebrate about the family Corvidae! From magically engineered war corvid fiction to fun crow facts, the library is here to satisfy your crow curiosity…crowiosity? Of course, leading the charge is Hollow Kingdom by local author Kira Jane… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – May 2026
We’re adding eleven new Peak Picks in May! In fiction, Laurie Frankel returns with an exuberant and timely new novel, Enormous Wings, about 77-year-old Pepper Mills, who moves into a retirement community, falls in love—and becomes pregnant; the latest from Walter Mosley, Ghalen, is a beautiful coming-of-age novel that explores love in all forms—romantic, familial,… Continue reading
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Find Your Library Joy – Evening Magazine Reports from the Central Library
Tuesday, April 21 was an especially fun day at the Central Library. King 5’s Evening Magazine spent a few hours at the Library filming a story in honor of National Library Week. Host (and Almost Live alum) Chris Cashman interviewed our head of Library Experience and Engagement Kai Tang, visited the art gallery and music… Continue reading
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Fiction for Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month
April is Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Heritage Month, often celebrated alongside Arab American Heritage Month, and we’re here to celebrate MENA authors in adult fiction. Check out these recent titles to delve deeper into the perspectives of MENA voices across multiple genres. Things Left Unsaid by Iranian British author Sara Jafari traces the… Continue reading
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Celebrate National Poetry Month
This April is the 30th anniversary of National Poetry Month! Celebrate all month long by exploring the poetry booklists below, or sign up forr a Poem-a-Day from poets.org. National Poetry Month 2026New poetry readers looking for a place to start or avid poetry lover looking for something new should explore this list of recent award… Continue reading
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‘Shining a Light on our Common Humanity’: Living with Conviction Exhibit
An exhibit showcasing photographic portraits and stories of formerly incarcerated individuals struggling to rebuild their lives under the burden of court-ordered debt is now on display at the Central Library’s Level 8 Gallery. A satellite exhibit opens at the Green Lake Branch gallery on April 26. “Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State” displays around… Continue reading
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A Journey Through Space – Books to Read While You Wait for Project Hail Mary and Watch Artemis II
If your feed is consumed by the Artemis II mission and the blockbuster movie Project Hail Mary, you might be looking for books to take you into space as well. Though Andy Weir’s novels have a long wait right now, we’re happy to suggest some titles with similar themes of exploration, survival, ingenuity, and friendship… Continue reading
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Gardens in the Anthropocene: Seed Saving as Activism, Planting as Rebellion, Mutualism as Resistance
After another weird winter that gave us snow in March, Spring has officially begun: the Cherry Blossom cam at UW is live and the trees are in glorious bloom. In an era of compounding global climate crises, expanding food deserts, and catastrophic land and resource extraction in the race to build ever larger, more powerful… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – April 2026
Spring has arrived, and April is the pinnacle of the spring publishing season. In addition a half dozen nonfiction titles featured in this month’s Peak Picks, there are dozens of new books to consider. Check out some of the highlights below! In memoir and biography, social media superstar Isabel Klee searches for true love in… Continue reading
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Pacific Science Center Returns to the Museum Pass Program
Get ready for butterflies, spiders (!), a makerspace, planetarium, and more. For the first time since COVID, the Pacific Science Center, one of Seattle’s favorite indoor spaces, is participating in the Library’s Museum Pass program! Museum Pass offers Library cardholders free admission to 17 participating museums and cultural organizations. The Pacific Science Center is offering… Continue reading
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Poetic Fiction for Teens: Recent Novels in Verse
Novels in verse offer the best of both worlds: a solid plot with characters that pull you in and a lot of white space on the page, so the story is all meat and no filler. Here are some great new titles from the last year or so. (MS = middle school) In Nikita Gill’s book Hekate, young Hekate finds herself an orphan,… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup, April 2026
April showers us with reading options aplenty, from thrillers to examinations of interpersonal relationships, farm life, and beyond. 4/7: American Fantasy by Emma Straub Reluctantly, 50-year old newly divorced Annie is on a cruise with her sister, a cruise featuring the boy band of her youth. As a repressed part of herself is unlocked by alcohol, nostalgia, and a sense of possibility,… Continue reading
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Three Thousand Cheers for Reading: Global Reading Challenge 2026 in the Books
On Tuesday, March 31, with an electric crowd cheering at every opportunity, a team of fourth graders from John Stanford International School became the 31st Global Reading Challenge city champions. With a sweet team name — the Global Bananana Pancake Group — the Stanford students scored a whopping 115 out of 120 points. They were… Continue reading