Fiction
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Soothing
Book Bingo is a great time to be intentional about reading books you may have been putting off or exploring new titles that may become new favorites. If you are at the point in your Book Bingo journey where you have been reading many exciting and interesting books yet need a moment to catch your… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Horror
Summer beach reads don’t always have to be light. Sometimes, a horror novel can be just as fun. Horror novels have the power to pull you in and make your heart race; they can make you laugh, grimace, see the world in a new way, or all of the above. If you’re still working on… Continue reading
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Bands, Beats, and Books
Sunburns, poor acoustics, craning to see around someone’s too high lawn chair – outdoor concert season in the PNW is a unique slice of summer. With our place in music history secured thanks to early grunge, various venues across Seattle offering live music year-round, and with summer concerts taking our musical enjoyment to an 11, it’s hard not to have bands on… Continue reading
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Women Beyond the Verge of Collapse
Women are collapsing right and left on the covers of novels. I was first drawn to the trend by the humorous image on the cover of Emily Nemen’s Clutch, wherein a smartly-dressed woman is lying prone, immobile. If you love a women-pushing-forty-behaving-badly romp or you dig novels with rom-com wittiness minus the tropes, this despairing friend group… Continue reading
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13 Not-to-Miss Author Programs at the Library in Fall 2026
Get out your calendar! The Seattle Public Library has an incredible lineup of book-related events and author talks this fall, from the kickoff of the Jaipur Literature Festival Seattle to Seattle Reads events featuring “True Biz” author Sara Nović to an evening with Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize award-winning author of “John of John.” All Library events… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Myth & Legend
Whether you’re looking for a companion read to Chrisopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation of The Odyssey or filling in the Myth & Legend square on your Book Bingo card, this curated selection of recommendations has something for everyone. Dan Jones’ Queer Heroes of Myth and Legend: a Celebration of Gay Gods, Sapphic Saints, and Queerness Through the Ages Hidden in the margins of history books, classical literature,… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Hard-to-Love Protagonist
When it comes to challenging protagonists, I adore an angry, unhinged woman with an ax to grind – sometimes literally! If you support women’s wrongs, these four titles will leave you cackling, wincing in horror, or perhaps wondering, “Good for her?” Please enjoy these hard-to-love heroines for your book bingo square. Best Offer Wins by… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Outer Space
We hear from readers all the time that they read to escape, and what can be a bigger escape than an out-of-this world read? From nonfiction exploring the universe to science fiction on an interstellar ship, the Book Bingo Outer Space category lets you expand your reading to another dimension. Adina, the protagonist of Marie-Helene… Continue reading
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Fire Season: Writings on a Burning World
With the Spokane fires raging, Spain and France experiencing unprecedented wildfires, and Seattle smoke season upon us, it’s hard not to think about the new reality of summer wildfires and smoke. Reading can help us make sense of the world around us, and for better or worse, there’s no shortage of titles for all ages… Continue reading
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Freedom, flintlocks, and fantasy!
This year our nation reached a milestone anniversary – 250 years since we declared our independence, an act of defiance against one of the most powerful nations of the day. As we reflect on the courage, vision, and determination required to engage in a conflict against an empire for a future uncertain, one might start… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Unplug
This year’s Book Bingo Unplug category can certainly be used for a physical book read distraction-free, as the board says, but since we like to make categories as broad as possible, here are some other ideas for books that play with the “unplugged” theme: hands-on hobbies, off-the-grid living, and fostering in-person connection and attention. One… Continue reading
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7 Summer Book Bingo Recommendations
Book Bingo season is a time to reconnect with reading for joy and discovery. To help readers across King County find great picks for their Book Bingo board, the owners of West Seattle’s Paper Boat Booksellers join a Seattle Public Library Reader Services librarian with suggestions for three bingo categories. Learn about Book Bingo and get… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: HEA/HFN
‘Happily Ever After’ or ‘Happy For Now’, HEA/HFN, might make you think of romance, but it doesn’t always have to be. It can be the calm at the end of a horror book, a biography where a person details finding contentment, or even the end of a dystopian novel where the big bad has been… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Women’s Sports
I’ve become an avid women’s sports fan over the past few years. I dedicate most of my time and interest to women’s soccer, but I’m proud to call myself a casual WNBA and PWHL fan, too. I’m super excited that women’s sports is a Book Bingo category this year! Part of what hooks me is the storylines and personalities… Continue reading
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Adventure Romance for Summer
Summer is the perfect time to go into the great outdoors in pursuit of treasure (and romance)! As with all genres, there are many possible sub-genres to be had here; adventure romance can be modern, historical, set in a desert, a jungle, or on the sea! What matters is the journey. Let’s set the scene with movies! Romancing the Stone is a classic romantic comedy from… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: PNW Black, Indigenous, or POC Author
Every year readers request Local Authors of Pacific Northwest as a general category, because reading about this place we call home can be so inspiring. But let’s be honest—not all local authors get the same attention and broad readership as others, and this is especially the case for authors of color. Here are some PNW Black, Indigenous, or POC titles to try: Red Paint:… Continue reading
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Listen Up: Looking at Seattle’s Love of E-Audiobooks
Have you become an e-audiobook convert in recent years? Perhaps you’ve discovered the appeal of full-cast recordings, the satisfaction of making your way through a book while walking or weeding, or the joy of being read to by Meryl Streep. If so, you’re in good company. The Seattle Public Library’s e-audiobook checkouts have more than… Continue reading
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Book Bingo NW 2026: Queer/Trans Voices
We love reading books by queer and trans voices all year round, but here are some to finish out Pride Month and count towards your Book Bingo reading goals! Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar is a meditative, slyly comic novel about a poet and recovering addict, Cyrus Shams, who ruminates on grief, sacrifice, and art in the… Continue reading