Fiction

  • Nightstand Reading: Artist Margaret Chodos-Irvine dives into teen lit this summer

    Editor’s note: We love Margaret Chodos-Irvine’s vivid mixed-media prints and innovative linocuts, which can be found in award-winning children’s books such as the charming Ella Sarah Gets Dressed (a 2004 Caldecott Honor Book) and Buzz (where her collages seem to move across the pages), and in the posters, brochures and book bags that celebrate reading… Continue reading

  • Author Crush: Tom Robbins

    I am not sure when I first started reading Tom Robbins, but I’m guessing it was some time in the ’80s, and I know it was when I picked up at a used bookstore a copy of his early work, Still Life with Woodpecker. The title intrigued me, and then the plot itself, such as… Continue reading

  • Suburban sleuths

    Not all private detectives smoke pipes, carry arms and drive little red sports cars. Some suburban moms and dads solve murders before and after carpooling in vans and oversize station wagons. Authors Jeffrey Cohen, Susan Isaacs, Valerie Wolzien and Jon Katz are four authors have created suburban sleuths.  Jeffrey Cohen writes humorous mysteries set in New… Continue reading

  • Los santos de Agua Mansa, California de Alex Espinoza

    Our library serves people speaking many different languages. Here is one of them. La Botanica Oshún es el lugar al que acude la gente de Agua Mansa en busca de amuletos, hierbas y velas para calmar sus dolores, para combatir maleficios y embrujos. Este es el hogar de Perla Portillo, el lugar donde ella aprendió… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: Southwest, Northgate and Northeast readers offer suggestions

    Book recommendations are rolling in from all over Seattle as part of the Library’s Adult Summer Reading Program. Readers at the Southwest Branch recommend: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris I did not want to put this book down. It was so hard to stop reading it and get on with a… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reading: Author Garth Stein and a special guest

    When we asked Garth Stein to share his nightstand reading, the Seattle author of The Art of Racing in the Rain sent us a photo of a rather intriguing tower of books in his to-read pile. Here are his comments on the next four books he’ll be reading: Bonk by Mary Roach It’s got a great… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: High Point, Capitol Hill and Montlake readers offer their suggestions.

    This week we find journeys through space, time and the inner mind, in our ongong series that highlights what Seattlites are reading this Summer. We’d love to hear what you’re reading, too! Sign up for the Adult Summer Reading Program and share your recommendations with other book lovers around town. Readers on Capitol Hill recommend: After Dark… Continue reading

  • More Librarians in Fact & Fiction

    Sensible shoes.  Hair in a bun.  Glasses perched on the tip of a nose.  Tweed suits.  Do you recognize the occupation?  Shhhhh!  Whisper the answer!  You’re in the library!  Yes, librarians have been battling this stereotype for years.  Thankfully, books are helping us change our image. While some books work subtly to show librarians in… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: Delridge, Madrona and South Park readers share a few suggestions

    Espionage, werewolves, Ivy League and the Ivory Coast — aaah, summer reading! Take a look at the varied reading happening around town, with a sampling of titles recommended by Seattle readers. We’d love to hear what you’re reading, too! Sign up for the Adult Summer Reading Program and share your recommendations with other book lovers around… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: Green Lake and International District reader suggestions

    Want to share what you’re reading? Enter the Adult Summer Reading Program at any branch (or downtown at the Central Library), write one or two sentences about three books you’ve read. You’ll be entered in a weekly drawing to win a book bag (one winner per week at each location; lots of chances to win!).… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: West Seattle and Southwest reader suggestions

    In Seattle, the term “beach reads” is generally used figuratively (if not a little wistfully) for books more generally read on decks, in parks, on busses, but not on our pebbled shores. In West Seattle, however, beach reading actually happens on a beach! Here is some of what readers at our West Seattle and Southwest branches… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: Fremont and Queen Anne reader suggestions

    Want to share what you’re reading? Enter the Adult Summer Reading Program at any branch (or downtown at the Central Library), write one or two sentences about three books you’ve read. You’ll be entered in a weekly drawing to win a book bag (one winner per week at each location; lots of chances to win!).… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: Wallingford and Ballard readers offer suggestions

    How do you find what to read next? Most of us count on personal recommendations from friends and neighbors (and, of course, librarians!). As part of the Adult Summer Reading Program, readers throughout Seattle are writing super short “reviews” of what they’ve been reading. Readers in Wallingford recommend: The Sanctuary Sparrow by Ellis Peters A Brother… Continue reading

  • Book review: Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready

    When former con artist Ciara Griffin gets a job as a marketing intern at a dying radio station, she’ll do anything to stop a corporate takeover—even if that means exposing the DJs’ undead status in an effort to boost ratings. Wicked Game is a good story with a strong, engaging plot and interesting approachable characters. … Continue reading

  • Metro Reads 2: What are you reading on the bus?

    Do you notice what people are reading? At a coffee shop? At the dentist’s office? On the bus? We notice — and not just because we work at a library. Sometimes we notice because we want a good book to read; sometimes we get excited because we read and loved that same book. Most of… Continue reading

  • In space, no one can hear you read…

    So, there you are bobbing along weightlessly — another dull evening orbiting Earth. How do you pass the time? Well, if you’re on the International Space Station, you do have some entertainment options! Thanks to a Freedom of Information request, NASA recently released a list of all the books, movies, and music currently on the… Continue reading

  • An Ode to Almost Summer — and author Marisa de los Santos

    It’s almost summer. Enjoy the smell of fresh grass clippings, the taste of iced tea with lemon and mint, the feel of a lazy doze in a hammock and the pleasure of a duo of charming, literate, feel-good novels by author Marisa de los Santos. The author’s first novel, Love Walked In, describes the warm… Continue reading

  • Parlez-vous French Fiction?

    I’m not sure why – I’ve never been much of a Francophile – but I’ve been reading a lot of French authors lately. In English, of course – my high school French is pretty rusty. Fortunately, all the titles below are in translation, so you can enjoy them even if you don’t speak a word of French. Though I bet… Continue reading