Nonfiction
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Why We Read: 6 Books Explore the Pull of the Page
Many of us start the new year with a resolution to read more. We hear that it’s good for us, helps us unplug, opens our mind and gives us space to escape our daily stresses. But what else does reading provide, and what are its perils? These recent memoirs and books about reading explore this question… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – January 2026
It’s a new year, and a time for reinvention. In addition to a host of “new year, new you” self improvement books, January has plenty of histories, memoir and other noteworthy nonfiction to consider. Take the next step in the Love Language revolution and discover how to personalize love so you really feel it in The… Continue reading
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6 Books That Take Place in One Day
Stories with compressed timelines of 24 hours, with some flashbacks thrown in, take center stage here to showcase just how much one day can really make a difference. “One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America” by Gene Weingarten starts with the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist choosing dates out of a hat. He… Continue reading
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What Seattle Read in 2025: The Library’s Most Popular Checkouts
It’s always fascinating to compile The Seattle Public Library’s top checkouts for the year to get a sense of what’s been on the minds of Seattle’s readers. In 2025, they turned closer to home and explored local voices — perhaps not surprising given the state of national dialogue. Several of our most checked-out print books… Continue reading
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2025 Staff Faves: Adult Nonfiction
Each year we ask our staff across the library for their favorite books published in the current year. Featured below are some of the nonfiction books that multiple staff loved! Find the full list of staff faves in our catalog: Seattle Staff Faves 2025: Nonfiction. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by… Continue reading
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The Year’s “Best Of:” for Both the Dilettante and the Obsessive
Do you have a stack of magazines waiting to be read? Are bookmarked articles haunting you? Do you wish someone would just tell you the best ones that you should definitely read? Well you’re in luck – this is your reminder to explore the best in essays, articles, and short stories with annual compilations. Put… Continue reading
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5 Fiction and Nonfiction Books that Dive Into AI
If representations of AI in fiction are starting to feel eerily plausible to you, you’re not alone! AI suddenly seems to be everywhere — in your phone, in your browser, offering tech support and an uncanny form of virtual friendship. How did this happen, where is it headed and what will it mean for humanity?… Continue reading
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Book Buzz: 2026 Global Reading Challenge Books
Across Seattle, fourth and fifth graders are getting excited about books — specifically, eight books that range from a story about a 10-year-old sock detective to a graphic novel about an all-girls, hijab-wearing basketball team. This year’s Global Reading Challenge books have been selected! The Global Reading Challenge is a 31-year-old reading incentive program that’s… Continue reading
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Eve L. Ewing, Author of “Original Sins,” Presents the Bullitt Lecture on December 4
If you’ve wondered about the roots of inequality in our educational system, Eve L. Ewing has answers for you. Ewing — bestselling author, cultural organizer and Marvel comics writer – will visit Seattle on Thursday, Dec. 4 to present the 2025 Bullitt Lecture in American History about her new book “Original Sins: The (Mis)education of… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – November 2025
Welcome to November’s list of notable nonfiction! The fall publishing season wraps up with dozens of new titles to consider, including some memoirs and self care guides from your favorite entertainers. History, poetry and some exciting new cookbooks round out the month’s picks. Here we go! “Rocktober” may be over, but November has a host… Continue reading
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Fall Cooking
There’s no better season than autumn to share food with friends and family. Here are some of fall’s most anticipated and unique books for cooks and bakers. Samin Nosrat, the bestselling author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, shares 125 meticulously tested, flavor-forward, soul-nourishing recipes that bring joy and a sense of communion in Good Things while Alison Roman… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – October 2025
The fall publishing season is in full swing! An amazing array of biographies and memoirs are being released, along with riveting histories, analyses of current events, guides for self-improvement and more. Looking for cooking? Fear not – there’s such a bounty of cookbooks that it will be in its own forthcoming post. And don’t forget… Continue reading
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Why Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Tessa Hulls Loves the Library
“I am an artist, writer and adventurer, and the library is one of my favorite places in the world,” said Tessa Hulls while at the International District-Chinatown Branch recently. You might know Tessa as the (sometimes) Seattle-based author and illustrator of the graphic memoir, “Feeding Ghosts,” which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Memoir/Autobiography earlier… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – September 2025
The fall publishing season starts….now! Celebrity biographies (and poetry!), memoir, self care and cookbooks feature heavily this September. In biography and memoir, Charlie Sheen presents how he defied the odds after descending into “a vortex of extracurricular activities” in The Book of Sheen; TLC’s Sister Wives star Christine Brown Woolley pens a memoir about finding… Continue reading
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Why Old Trees Matter: A Conversation with Lynda Mapes
As August draws to a close, our summer book club series with KUOW is wrapping up with a topic relevant to any northwesterner: the connections between trees, salmon, and Indigenous knowledge. On Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 6:30 p.m., Lynda Mapes will be at the Central Library auditorium to talk about her recent book, “The Trees… Continue reading
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‘My One Happy Place’: The Library That Saved a Life
When Elsa Sjunneson was a teenager, she regularly visited the Central Library. She picked up holds, browsed the stacks, and talked about books with Reader Services librarians David Wright and Misha Stone. In some ways, these were fairly normal interactions between a librarian and patron. After all, helping patrons find books they love is part… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – August 2025
The last, lazy days of summer are the perfect time to check out some of August’s most notable nonfiction. In science, Bill McKibben embraces solar power as the last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization in Here Comes the Sun while Peter Brannen reveals how carbon dioxide made our world in… Continue reading
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Fruit Book Revue
It’s an open secret that Seattle’s summer is the sunny antithesis of our rainy reputation. Talked about less is the amazing fruit that appears in farmer’s markets, co-ops, and along random sidewalks during the summer months. While there’s probably nothing better than eating a perfectly ripe fruit raw and unadorned, eventually, one wants pie. Or cake.… Continue reading