Nonfiction

  • Water, Bugs, and Trout

    As the warmer weather sets in, my mind increasingly shifts to the creatures who haunt local streams and lakes.  I used to do a lot of bait fishing, but a number of years ago I converted to the ranks of those who lash the water with artificial flies.  There’s a big difference.  For a delightful… Continue reading

  • Seattle’s Food Critics Can Really Write: A Homemade Life and Hungry Monkey

    I just read two fantastic cooking memoirs by Seattle food critics that had me pawing through my pantry and looking at my city anew. The first was Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes From My Kitchen Table.  Wizenberg, the author of the popular food blog Orangette (where she shared recipes and family stories… Continue reading

  • Staff Favorites: Starbucks and Animal Ignorance

    Looking for a summer read? Here are two suggestions from librarians at our Fremont Branch and downtown at the Central Library:  How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else by Michael Gates Gill This goes down like a Mocha Frappuccino on a chilly day. Gill grew up in… Continue reading

  • Vegetables at the White House: Tradition or travesty?

    As Librarians we are often called upon to decide a debate. Here is a timely one: Some people are upset that the Obamas planted a garden on the White House grounds, but isn’t it true that the White House used to have a fully functional farm, with livestock and crops, and they’re just reviving this… Continue reading

  • Creative Composting: What to do with those food scraps!

    Now that the growing season is in full swing and new city rules require us to keep food scraps out of the garbage can, do you find yourself with an overflowing yard waste bin each week? If so, perhaps you’ve wondered how hard it would be to convert some of that vegetable matter into lovely… Continue reading

  • Why I love Virginia Woolf

    It’s not because of the plot, nor is it the characters.  It’s the language.  (If you like action-driven page turners, you probably won’t like Woolf.)  Virginia Woolf, along with James Joyce, was one of the pioneers of early Modernism and stream-of-consciousness writing style.  When I first read her novels in college, I fell in love… Continue reading

  • A poem by one of Seattle’s many poets

    For several years, the Northeast branch has offered a Poetry Contest during April for National Poetry Month. 288 kids, teens and adults participated this year and the Awards Ceremony was held on Tuesday, May 19.  The youngest poet was four years old and the oldest was 84 – it’s quite a multigenerational program! Please visit… Continue reading

  • Staff Favorites: On the Bum, On the Road, Sitting on a Dock in the Bay

    Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell Orwell ekes out a living, as Barbara Ehrenreich did in Nickel and Dimed, the disparity being that Orwell manages to survive several days deprived of food while residing in the most uninhabitable living spaces imaginable. Orwell recounts his experiences in Paris, where he lands a… Continue reading

  • Family Name

    Full of a child’s curiosity, Macky Alston looked around and wondered why how it could be that he and some of his African American schoolmates shared the same last name.  That he, his father and grandfather would have the same name was, certainly, understandable.  And, maybe, following them into the ministry was perhaps, something the… Continue reading

  • Viewing History through a New Lens

    Viewing History through a New Lens I love reading books that help me see history from a fresh angle.  Of course, the narrative has to be interesting, gripping and well-written (no dry textbooks, please).  These days, there are so many great nonfiction history books that fit the bill.  Here are some of my favorites: A… Continue reading

  • Seattle’s Coming Out Party

    According to Paul Dorpat, Seattle’s iconic historian, in the introduction of the wonderful new book by Alan Stein and Paula Becker, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific-Exposition A Timeline History (published by Historylink),  Seattle caught a lucky break back in 1907 when Jamestown, Virginia claimed that year for their tercentenary celebration. The event Seattle had planned to celebrate the 10 year… Continue reading

  • Wikipedia and more

    I’m not a computer geek, but I can’t help but be fascinated by the ever-growing, ever-changing participatory online culture in which we now live.  I would call it Web 2.0, but someone who is computer savvier than me would probably point out that Web 2.0 has already been replaced by something newer. One example of… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reading: Amy Stewart on plant books, and planting books.

    Most authors who write about plants are only of interest to the green thumbed, but Amy Stewart’s books are for everyone. Her latest – Wicked Plants: The Weed that killed Lincoln’s mother, & other botanical attrocities – might even save your life, or your pets’. Amy will be appearing around the area next week, including an evening… Continue reading

  • Staff Favorites: Nonfiction books get thumbs-up from our librarians

    Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett Early in this absorbing memoir, Mark Oliver Everett states: “Thanks to my ridiculous, sometimes tragic, and always unsteady upbringing, I was giventhe gift of bone-crushing insecurity.” If, like me, you appreciate the simple honesty of that statement, then read this book. The author is better known… Continue reading

  • Yarn Anyone?

    Maybe you have a relative who is a fanatical knitter or a friend who always has a ball of yarn in his or her knapsack? Or, am I describing you?! For more on this passion, let me share some info with you. Just like so many other crafts, there are web sites and blogs all… Continue reading

  • Olmsted’s Landscape Architecture

    Just as soon as the weather warms up a bit, we will all be out in our wonderful parks jogging, taking our four-legged friend for a stroll, visiting with a friend from out East, or rowing happily in some much loved boat.  The backbone design for Seattle Parks was done by one of the premier… Continue reading

  • Imagining The Garden

    Imagine a garden wherein an eye does fly from a leaf’s invitation into a petal’s inspiration. Whether you prefer painting a garden or gardening with an artistic eye is not Spring the perfect time to begin such imaginings?  “To create a little flower is the labour of ages,” said William Blake.  Before you begin your… Continue reading

  • Yokes and Chains

    “I am so sorry. “ These very powerful words have the ability to transform a  relationship.  When an apology is offered sincerely, the opportunity for healing and forgiveness may begin. Most of our lives have been touched by offering or receiving a heartfelt, courageous  apology.  But what good can it do to apologize for something you did not do? Michael Lienau… Continue reading