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  • King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

    I thought the days of video gaming on console machines were over, but it is not a lost art. King of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters is a truly entertaining documentary about an underdog challenger to the Donkey Kong high score title.  After being laid off from Boeing, Redmond resident Steve Wiebe hones his Kong skills with… Continue reading

  • Hike Seattle

    Happy Earth Day! All over Seattle, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, the sun is peeking out from behind the clouds – spring is finally here! What better time to get out on the trails and explore the beautiful landscapes of the Pacific Northwest? Whether you are a seasoned hiker or novice, there… Continue reading

  • Strangeness in the Stacks

    One of the best things about working in a big library that has been around for a century or so is all the odd and curious old titles one stumbles over in our own vast collection. If you want a sense of what I’m talking about, check out Russell Ash & Brian Lake’s Bizarre Books: A Compendium of… Continue reading

  • Demons Are a Ghouls Best Friend by Victoria Laurie

    When professional medium MJ Holliday hears that a boarding school in Upstate New York is being haunted by a terrifying phantom, she and her business partners rush out to banish the bad guy. With the help of the Lake Placid townsfolk and a friendly specter named Eric, MJ attempts to learn the truth about the… Continue reading

  • April Question of the Month: An irregular series

    The reference librarians at Seattle Public Library are pretty darn amazing.  They don’t know everything, instead they know where to find everything.   As part of an irregular series of posts we salute the talented and dedicated reference staff at your local library.   Names and other identifying information have been removed from the questions we showcase. … Continue reading

  • Earth Day: How about no trash in Seattle?

    It’s Earth Day again! Break out the recycled-paper banners and … well, what does one do to honor Earth Day? This year I would like to highlight the work of one Seattle-based website that’s doing its part towards sustainability by offering an event called No Trash Week. The goal of this event is not to… Continue reading

  • The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo

    One of my favorite books in our poetry section isn’t a book of poetry at all. Richard Hugo’s The Triggering Town gathers nine brief lectures, essays and “sentimental reminiscences” by the beloved Seattle writer. I’m not a poet and I don’t plan to become one, but Hugo’s ideas are so wise and clear, and his humor and candor… Continue reading

  • The Making of a Museum

    With the opening of the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) on March 8, 2008, Seattle’s cultural map expands to include one more unique and interesting destination. Through interactive exhibits, programs and events the museum promises to “document the unique historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.” NAAM is, clearly,… Continue reading

  • Want to Write?

    Are you an aspiring writer? Maybe, like me, you used to do a lot of creative writing when you were younger but somehow don’t find the time now. Well, there are a number of aids to help you get into (or back into) the writing habit. First of all, free creative writing classes are popping… Continue reading

  • Cherry blossoms bloom herald the spring

    The appearance of cherry blossoms marks the arrival of spring in Japan, sending revelers of all ages outdoors to enjoy wine and picnic lunches under flowery pink canopies in the nation’s parks and orchards. One cannot delay cherry blossom viewing, or “hanami,” because the cherry blossom is like life: beautiful and tragically fleeting. In Seattle,… Continue reading

  • You know the author, Neil G-A-I-M-A-N. Guyman? Gayman?

    If you like to talk about books with your friends, you’ve probably discovered how many fantastic authors have puzzling, exotic names that it’s unclear how to pronounce. I have discovered in myself an almost superstitious preoccupation with the correct pronunciation of author names. The more I love the author, the more compelled I feel to… Continue reading

  • The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton

    Hamilton’s best-known title is Hangover Square, but I think that the recently re-printed The Slaves of Solitude may be a better introduction to his genius to most readers, with its more measured, benevolent view of human folly and its sympathetic heroine — the sober, bewildered Miss Roach. Having fled the bombings, Roach returns from London each night to a boarding house in a quiet suburb where she… Continue reading

  • Science On Tap – Brains and Brew in Seattle

     Brains and Brew – a perfect combination in this city of microbrewers and techies.  I am a huge fan of science writing in the vein of Stephen J. Gould, Carl Sagan and E. O. Wilson.  The only drawback I’ve ever found to science books is the lack of immediacy.  It takes years for a scientist… Continue reading

  • Flash Contest: Win Tickets to Marjane Satrapi!

    Shelf Talk has two tickets to An Evening with Marjane Satrapi at The Moore Theatre, this coming Monday, April 14, @ 7:30 PM. Marjane Satrapi is a critically acclaimed writer and comic artist who is best known for her film Persepolis, nominated for a 2007 Academy Award for Best Animated Film. Satrapi does an autobiographical talk… Continue reading

  • Remembering Kurt Vonnegut

    It’s been almost a year since Kurt Vonnegut died, but I’ve been thinking about him a lot. I recently read the final book he published during his lifetime, A Man Without a Country. It’s a concise collection of biographical essays that feel like they were written by your cantankerous, but highly intelligent and funny, old uncle.… Continue reading

  • Turn It Up!: Cambodian Cassette Archives

    Unless you were living in Phnom Penh in the 1960s, you’ve probably never heard anything quite like Cambodian Cassette Archives: Khmer Folk & Pop Music, Vol. 1  (Various Artists, 2004) before. Painstakingly compiled from over 150 cassettes found in the Asian branch of the Oakland Public Library (by folks at Seattle’s own Sublime Frequencies label), this album… Continue reading

  • The Arrival: power without words

    The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, is the wordless story of a man who leaves his home and emigrates to a new country. So simple, so universal, but the reader wonders: is it history? Science fiction? Fantasy? Fable? What are these strange machines and bizarre creatures? How will the man survive in this weird new world,… Continue reading

  • Tesla in the air!

    Every so often, someone will approach me at the library and ask for information about Nikola Tesla, often in the kind of knowing way that people ask about Bigfoot or aliens, rather than a scientist and inventor. Occasionally they’ll bend close and add in hushed tones that they want the straight dope about his death… Continue reading