Nonfiction

  • October Takeover: Fall Foods!

    ~posted by Selby G. One of the best things about the fall is eating. It is the harvest season but the cold weather also makes us want warm comforting food. Hot soups, filling casseroles and baked goods galore are what the fall is all about. Here are some cookbooks to help you eat your way… Continue reading

  • October Takeover: Books About Bodies

    ~posted by Selby G. “It is difficult to put words to the smell of decomposing human. It is dense and cloying, sweet but not flower-sweet. Halfway between rotting fruit and rotting meat.” ― Mary Roach, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers With a description like that it is not difficult to understand why most living… Continue reading

  • October Takeover: Dracula Part Two

    ~ posted by Lindsay S. Picture it: Transylvania 1431; a child is born that will inexorably change the course of history. Okay, that might be a flagrant exaggeration, but not if you live in Hungary or are a superfan of vampires and vampire fiction, especially the latter. The child I’m referring to is, of course,… Continue reading

  • A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

    ~ posted by Ann G. Sadly, this post is NOT going to be about pretty pictures or images.  It is about data visualization—WAIT, DON’T STOP READING!  They can be fun!  Whenever you see an infographic (which is one small subset of the many types of data visualizations), like this one about what happens to your body… Continue reading

  • October Takeover: Harry Potter Nostalgia

    ~posted by Selby G. Nothing screams fall for me like Harry Potter. The music, characters, scenery, the entire vibe of the books and movies epitomize what I think Halloween, and Fall, should be like. For the last couple of years my husband and I have the tradition to watch the Harry Potter movies again when… Continue reading

  • October Takeover: DIY Ghost Tours: Guidebooks for your Local Ghosts

    ~posted by Blythe S. Have you ever wondered who is haunting your neighborhood? Ghost have purportedly taken up residence in a number of bars, theaters, restaurants, stores, parks and other places in Seattle–enough to create entire guidebooks on the subject. During October a number of worthy ghost tours are offered to guide you through dark,… Continue reading

  • You Know You Love Data…

    ~ posted by Ann G. Or, if you don’t now, we can help you become the best kind of data geek!  Even if all you do is read news articles, in print or online, you need discerning data skills, to know what to believe.  Data is also behind many of the cool apps we use… Continue reading

  • October Takeover: Crafting for the Apocalypse

    ~posted by Carrie M. So, it’s finally happened: the world as we know it has ended. That’s right, it’s the apocalypse, and you have found yourself as one of the few lucky survivors. Congratulations! But does living in dystopian future without all the conveniences of the past really mean that you have to give up… Continue reading

  • October Takeover: Morbid Museums

    ~posted by Selby G.  Haunted Houses may be tradition at this time of year, but there are places that will make your skin crawl (and teach you a thing or two) all year long. Medical Museums are institutions to educate the public about medicine and health, although entertainment and a dose of gore help bring in… Continue reading

  • October Takeover: Oh, the Trebuchets of Fall!

    ~posted by Jenny C.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed, dear readers, but generally speaking the Shelftalk blog is a pretty diverse place. On any given day, you might find a post about Banned Books, or Seattle History, or even Bananas. It’s a veritable cornucopia of themes, and that’s lovely, but some of our staff writers… Continue reading

  • I am now a Dog Owner and Lover

    ~posted by Marion In 2012, 34.5% of U.S. households owned 36,117,000 cats and 36.5% owned 43,346,000 dogs. These figures come from the American Veterinary Medical Association. That’s a lot of us with Felis catuses and domesticated canids. As of this summer, I joined the latter group after my family adopted two rescue dogs; coming to… Continue reading

  • Celebrity Biographies for Fall

    This is a bountiful fall for celebrity biographies and memoirs! Here are some of the most anticipated titles to look for in the coming months. Continue reading

  • A New Way to Read Biographies

    ~posted by Di Z. In The Infinite Wait and Other Stories, Julia Wertz recounts the time she was diagnosed with lupus and was not able to read novels, one of her favorite pastimes. Wertz’s condition gave her intense headaches and the inability to concentrate, resulting in her trying without success to finish the same paragraph for… Continue reading

  • Going Bananas!

    ~ posted by Ann G. In order to celebrate tonight’s food fest at the Central Library, with exhibitors and speakers to encourage us learn about and appreciate our food even more than we already do, let’s consider one of the most ubiquitous foods around: the banana. According to Chiquita Bananas, the average American eats 27… Continue reading

  • Come See What’s Cooking…

    There are all kinds of literacy—cultural literacy, health literacy, financial literacy—and this month we celebrate food literacy.  Which is, as defined by Nourish, “Understanding the story of our food from farm to table, and back to the soil.” And, as with any type of literacy, the way to raise literate adults is to start with… Continue reading

  • Hamilton and Hip-Hop

    ~posted by Karen D. I did not do well in my high school history class.  As a matter of fact I received a failing mark. Since then, however, I’ve had a lot of fun reading my own selection of books about history.  Some of these books have grabbed and kept my interest throughout the reading… Continue reading

  • Series for Nonfiction readers

    ~posted by Frank Think series are for fiction readers only? Think again. Check out the diverse offerings from these five nonfiction series. Food52, founded by Amanda Hesser, former food editor for The New York Times Magazine, brings together the best recipes from amateur cooks and voted on by top chefs. • The Food52 Cookbook (James Beard Publication of the… Continue reading

  • Amazing and Disgusting Creatures @ Your Library

    ~posted by Kristin E. and Claire S.  Zombie insects, farting snakes, and predators that swallow their prey whole — this summer, why not explore some of the world’s most fascinating (and disgusting) creatures with your kids? “Eww” and “ahh” with these children’s nonfiction books that appeal to fact finders and reluctant readers alike! Zombie Makers:… Continue reading