Fiction
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Teen Pride Graphic Novels
Here are some fantastic new stories to enjoy during Pride, all lushly illustrated. MS = middle school In Balazs Lorinczi’s book A Bite of Pepper, a skateboarding vampire falls for a human artist whose attraction to her might be enough to make her commit to turning this human into a vampire and becoming immortal herself. Dan in Green Gables, by Ray Terciero, follows a queer teen in… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Historical
One of the goals of Book Bingo is to have as many entry points as possible for readers, and the “Historical” category is a great example. An alternate history speculative fiction? Check! A biography of a historical figure? Perfect! A Regency romance? That works! If you’re looking for somewhere to start, try one of these,… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Honorable Mentions
Every year, dozens of excellent books that are nominated for major book awards every year, but don’t quite make it over the finish line. Just because a book didn’t win doesn’t mean it isn’t worth your time. Celebrate these also-rans and runners-up, and check off a Book Bingo square, with books that were nominated, longlisted… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – June 2026
We’re adding ten new Peak Picks in June! In fiction, from Lisa See comes the story of three Chinese women whose unexpected friendship helps them survive and, despite the odds, thrive, in the turmoil of post-Civil War Los Angeles in Daughters of the Sun and Moon; Paul Tremblay delivers a genre-bending near-future tech nightmare that… Continue reading
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Ready, Set, Book Bingo 2026
Happy Book Bingo Day! Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the 12th annual Book Bingo launches with a beautiful board of 24 reading challenges that invites adults to read adventurously all summer and to connect with friends, family, and neighbors around books and reading. Because we’re once again partnering with Seattle Arts and Lectures (SAL) and King County Library System (KCLS), the… Continue reading
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The Pitt Readalikes
“The Pitt” season 2 recently wrapped and I already miss the characters and the unfolding drama. If you also miss the high stakes, mission-driven ER environment of The Pitt, as well as the interpersonal dynamics between the cast members, here are some books to read while we wait for another season: The Hospital: Life, Death,… Continue reading
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Adult Fiction for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month and with it, we welcome the opportunity to highlight recent novels and stories by authors of Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian heritage. If you want to keep it local, check out Mike Curato’s Gaysians, a graphic novel that follows the friendship and adventures of… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup, May 2026
Can you feel it? Summer reading season is right around the corner! As you plan vacations and staycations, long weekends or surprise rainy days inside, here are some new fiction releases to take along. 5/5: The Calamity Club by Kathryn StockettIn 1933 Mississippi, an orphan and two women fallen on hard times band together with… Continue reading
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Stories about Mental Health for Teens
Mental health – the proper care and maintenance of your emotional state – seems more important than ever. Here are some new novels showing teens finding their way through challenging times. Amelia Diane Coombs’ book All Alone with You follows loner Eloise as she works her way back from a depressive episode that cost her some friends. Now she helps out at a… Continue reading
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May and June 2026 Author and Community Events
The Seattle Public Library’s May and June calendar is blooming with author and community programs. Find more book-related events, including a variety of book and writing programs, in our Books and Authors calendar. All Library events are free and open to the public. Many of these events are supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and… Continue reading
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Complex Characters and Epistolary Novels: More Books Like The Correspondent
I don’t know about you, but I did not see the popularity of the epistolary debut The Correspondent by Virginia Evans coming. First novels, let alone novels written entirely in letters, are not necessarily burning up the bestseller lists these days. Book trends can follow predictable arcs at times, so it can be refreshing when a book or… 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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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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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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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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April and May 2026 Author and Community Events at the Library
Author and community programs are blooming at the Library this spring, from an evening with famed audiobook narrator Julia Whelan to One Book, One Coast programs that reframe and retell the history of Japanese American incarceration. All Library events are free and open to the public. Many of these events are supported by The Seattle… Continue reading