Fiction

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Let’s Get Graphic

    Is there anything better in life than lounging outside on a sunny day reading a great graphic novel? What if we throw in some goth music and some particularly dark graphic novels? Now we’re cooking, my dark-sided friends! So step outside into the sunshine, put on your headphones and check out these surefire graphic novel… Continue reading

  • Murder at the Olympic Games

    I foolishly tried to resist getting caught up in the fervor, but it’s no use: once again my attention has been totally dominated by the Olympic Games. Such is the case for many of our patrons if the small talk at our service desk is any indication. There’s also been a run on all of our books about the Games,… Continue reading

  • Summer Reading: Reviews from Rainier Beach Readers

    Identity: Your Passport to Success by Stedman Graham It’s Chicken Soup for the Soul meets a motivational roadmap. The concepts are all familiar but presented in a compelling way. ~Arleen House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer This futuristic sci-fi novel will enthrall audiences of most ages. Matt, the young clone of the wealthiest, most… Continue reading

  • Crime: The I’s Have It.

    As I set out to read my way through my alphabet of crime, I was a little worried about the letter ‘I,’ but it turned out to be quite a little Anglo-French treasure trove. Here are three great authors in our mystery “I’s,” each with their own distinct voice. Graham Ison is one of the many… Continue reading

  • Summer Reading: Reviews from Beacon Hill Readers

    The World in Half by Christina Henriquez A young woman searches for her Panamanian father. Raised by her American mother, she has thought she was the result of an affair. Heartbreak/triumph, self-discovery, bi-culturalism — Very good!      ~ Suzanne Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín A deceptively subtle book, masterfully describing the inner life of a young Irish woman… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Reviews from Ballard readers

    Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks When fiction and nonfiction merge, the outcome is Caleb’s Crossing. A wonderful, historic piece – perfect for a vacation on Cape Cod. ~ Lori Unterzakhn by Leela Corman A heartbreaking and beautifully-drawn graphic novel chronicling the lives of two twin sisters growing up in New York City’s lower East-side circa 1910.… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Filling up your e-reader for vacation

    If I sound unbearably giddy during this week’s column know that I haven’t won the lottery, I’m just going on vacation! I love vacations not so much for swimming in the ocean or stomach-churning rides at an amusement park or camping near some beautiful vista with all of nature’s majesty. No, I love going on… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Reviews from readers at our Southwest branch

    Feed by Mira Grant Loved it!!! Couldn’t put it down. The zombies are here to stay. Bloggers saved the day and are here to stay also. A sci-fi with drama and action. ~ Trudy The Half-stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda E. Brunstetter This book really brings together an odd assortment of characters. You are… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: What to read when you’re not watching Game of Thrones

    Since he joined the Night’s Watch, Jon Snow hasn’t had much time to read, what with all the other things keeping him busy at the Wall, like fighting ice zombies and protecting Sam and wondering what his pet direwolf is up to. And now that Jon has been captured by Wildlings, there’s even less time… Continue reading

  • Are You Tough Enough? Derek Raymond’s Dare.

    Among crime readers, there are certain qualities that serve as points on our criminal compass. For example, authors who put a scalpel to the subtle psychological underpinnings of crime contrast with those for whom swift action on every page is essential. Another scale lies between whodunnits with a humorous or “cozy” feel, and those on the darker, grittier… Continue reading

  • A Dream of Summer

    A Dream of Summer, because we are all dreaming of summer… Here we are in the heady rush of summer, where busy summer plans are making themselves felt regardless of the on-again, off-again weather. In the midst of all the hurry, I find myself longing for quiet dreaming reads – the ones that speak of… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: School’s out, your education begins

    Now that summer has finally arrived and school is out,  I feel it is my duty to offer up some great science fiction reads to recent graduates. These are the kinds of books that speak to the confusion and contradictions of being a young adult cast into the “real world” and faced with the options… Continue reading

  • H is for Gar Anthony Haywood

    Talking with fans of detective fiction, you tend to hear the same authors come up a lot, so it is a real pleasure to introduce readers to great crime novelists who are less well known, such as Gar Anthony Haywood. Hawyood’a Fear of the Dark won a Shamus Award in 1989 for best first private eye novel, introducing… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Suggestions from readers in Greenwood

    On the Edge: My Story by Richard Hammond Regarding the jet engine car that crashed and nearly killed him, RH and his wife, Mindy, recount the process of healing and recovering. Well-written, an excellent read. ~ Shay Original Sin by Beth McMullen Quite enjoyed. Captures very well the unworldliness of being a mother and simultaneously… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Queering reality

    If it turns out that the mopey weather keep you from going out to the Pride celebrations going on this weekend in Seattle, don’t feel like you still can’t celebrate! You can still have a great time by curling up with one of these superb science fiction and fantasy books that feature some equally ace… Continue reading

  • Crime: Imagining Jack the Ripper

    Whitechapel, London, 1888 Would Sherlock Holmes identify Jack the Ripper using his astute powers of deduction? Arthur Conan Doyle never put Holmes on the Whitechapel set, but Lyndsay Faye pits the pipe-smoking, cognitively-advanced detective against the Ripper with disastrous results in her novel Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Sad birds sing the sweetest songs

    I am very pleased to announce that mystery, thriller and science fiction wizard Kate Wilhelm will be joining us at the Library at the end of the month for a reading! If you’ve never read Kate Wilhelm before you are most assuredly missing out. From her short stories to her novels, Wilhelm has a way… Continue reading

  • Crime: Stealing Mona Lisa

    You think someone would notice if the Mona Lisa (or La Gioconda, as I now like to call her) disappeared from a wall in the Louvre. But in 1911, the painting was gone an entire day before anyone reported it stolen. Guards actually did notice it was gone, but assumed it had been taken by… Continue reading