rablogspl

  • On the hunt for the latest CD by your favorite band?

    Are you a visual learner? Hoping to find that hot new movie or CD at Seattle Public Library but not sure how to search the catalog? We are experimenting – Let’s us know what you think. Just click to start the video. And then start power searching the SPL Catalog . Continue reading

  • Books for new moms

    New moms barely have time to bathe or eat. How could they possibly have time to read?! They make the time, that’s how — during their children’s naps, while nursing or as they wait in line at the doctor’s or the grocery store. Reading other moms’ stories, whether fact or fiction, can ease the isolation… Continue reading

  • Seattle Reads author … in Seattle!

    Dinaw Mengestu, author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, is in town (see the schedule for his five Library visits and two other appearances) — and that in itself is a beautiful thing. Lots of cities now have community reads or “One Book” projects to bring people together for  discussions and events centered around a book. But… Continue reading

  • Read a Movie, See a Book

    “See what it is invisible, and you will see what to write. That’s how Bobby used to put it. It was the invisible people he wanted to live with. The ones that we walk past every day, the ones we sometimes become. The ones in books who live only in someone’s mind’s eye.” A Love… Continue reading

  • Book critics pick their favorites for Spring 2008

    I’m number 134 on the Library hold list for Beginner’s Greek by James Collins — but I’m not worried. Not only does the Library have 52 copies, I know I’m in good company with 174 other Seattle readers (of which I am confident the 133 ahead of me are all super fast readers), as well… Continue reading

  • Expecting Adam by Martha Beck

    Is it possible that the true account of two Harvard academicians parenting a Downs Syndrome child could be funny? How about hysterically funny? Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic by Martha Beck is a charming mixture of sophisticated humor, satire (mostly targeted at Harvard), self deprecation and spirituality including visions and out… Continue reading

  • Unleash your inner librarian!

    What are the odds? The brand spanking new Library of Congress subject heading for “Public Libraries – California – anecdotes’” is getting quite a workout. In the past six months we have seen the publication of two humorous memoirs by librarians in the Los Angeles area: Don Borchert’s Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas… Continue reading

  • Metro Reads: Books spotted on local buses

    We’re always interested in what people are reading: We’re the ones on buses craning our necks to get a look at book titles and authors. Perhaps you’re the one maneuvering the book cover at the perfect covert angle to make us really work for our noseyness. Or perhaps, like us, you also notice what others… Continue reading

  • Attack of the Evil Scary Children!

    Quick: what is more frightening than circus clowns? Okay, sure – scary dolls with eyes that follow you across the room are even worse – but what can strike fear into the hearts of even creepy clowns and disconcerting dolls? Children – that’s what! Don’t think children are scary? Here are some books and movies that might just have you thinking otherwise.   The Bad Seed,… Continue reading

  • Need Computer & Business Books?

    The Safari Books Online database provides easy online access to a wide range of business & computer-related books.  Safari includes books on software programming techniques, programming languages, IT, Web design and computer technology as well as books on Windows, Macintosh, or Linux operating systems.  It includes current books published by O’Reilly, Addison- Wesley and Pearson. Safari allows you to search in book… Continue reading

  • Depression: Out of the Shadows

    On May 7th the Central Library is hosting a special preview of a PBS documentary, Depression: Out of the Shadows, followed by a panel discussion focusing on at-risk youth. One out of four young adults will experience a depressive episode by age 24. How does depression impact at risk youth? DEPRESSION: Out of the Shadows, a PBS documentary… Continue reading

  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat

    Seattle considers itself the boating capital of the world. And it should be, with 200 miles of shoreline on Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union and Green Lake. If you need proof, come to the Opening Day of Boating Season on Saturday, May 3rd. An annual tradition since 1920, the festival is sponsored by the… Continue reading

  • Cold War Graphic Novels

    The Cold War and the post-Cold War era gave authors and artists a lot of grist to mill.  While the novels and plays are famous and plentiful, there isn’t much in the way of graphic art that conveys the history of the time while also telling a great story.  Here are four graphic novels that tackle… Continue reading

  • Cozy up with a Northwest mystery author

    Seattle author Mary Daheim’s “Alpine” mystery series takes place in a gorgeous town in the Cascade Mountains where newspaper editor Emma Lord solves murders and still meets her weekly deadlines. Wondering where to start with this series? Daheim brilliantly titles these in alphabetical order, starting with The Alpine Advocate, The Alpine Betrayal and so on… Continue reading

  • When you can’t get enough … a trio of literary trilogies

    What if you love a book so much you can’t bear for it to end? There may be a solution: Read books that have a sequel or — even better — read a trilogy. One of the best known general fiction trilogies is Robertson Davies’ famous “Deptford Trilogy,” which focuses on Deptford, Ontario, and its inhabitants and… Continue reading

  • Family photo sparks information quest

    I was looking through some old photographs recently and came across this one, taken in 1950, of my father with his mother and sisters standing in front of a Totem Pole. Dad tells me the family had driven over from Chewelah to visit his grandparents, and while they were in Seattle, they stopped at the… Continue reading

  • Comics 101

    As you may know, comics are a big deal in Seattle. We’re home to a number of nationally recognized cartoonists (Ellen Forney, Pete Bagge and Jim Woodring to name just a few), Fantagraphics Books and The Comics Journal. In honor of all the great cartoonists in our midst, The Seattle Public Library threw a Comixtravaganza… Continue reading

  • Parallel stories

    When Possession (A.S. Byatt) came out in 1990, readers of literary fiction swarmed libraries and bookstores to get copies of this story-within-a-story relating the modern day characters to famous people in the past. In Byatt’s tale, a scholar finds an old letter written by Randolph Ash, which leads him into delicious research that in turn… Continue reading