Authors & Books

  • The Vampire List, Part 2: Urban vamps

    If you’re looking for vampires, the best place to find them is in the library. I’m serious. Even the undead like to read. You can also check the bank, the grocery store, the gas station, and, considering current gas prices, probably even catching a ride on a Metro bus. The point is, in the parallel… Continue reading

  • Destination Venice

    If your interest is piqued by ancient cities with mazes of streets and canals, of hidden plots and secrets, then you must like reading about Venice. The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt begins on January 29. 1996 the day the Fenice Opera is destroyed by fire. Berendt’s citizen interviews reveal the intricacies of… Continue reading

  • The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares

    This haunting novella – sort of an ethereal counterpart to Wells’ Island of Doctor Moreau, inspired in part by the author’s fascination with Louise Brooks, The Invention of Morel is the curious fable of a man lost on an island where he falls in love with the beautiful Faustine, who seems not to know he exists. It is small… Continue reading

  • Shelf Talk(s) with Cory Doctorow, pt. 2

    Librarians like Cory Doctorow a lot, not least of all because we both tend to think that information wants to be free, and we both get a kick out of giving books away. However, if you want his actual analog pen-and-ink signature on his latest book – Little Brother – Cory will be appearing at the library’s… Continue reading

  • Shelf Talk(s) with Cory Doctorow, pt. 1

    Cory Doctorow is coming to Seattle this weekend, on tour to promote his latest book – Little Brother – a smart dystopic thriller aimed at young adults, but with something to say to everyone. (Comparisons are odious, but if Gene Shalit were here he might say 1984 meets Catcher in the Rye. I’d add in Eric Frank Russell’s Wasp.) He’ll… Continue reading

  • Cheese Festival at the Market — and some cheese in fiction

    This weekend is the fourth annual Pike Place Market Cheese Festival, where you can learn how to make cheese at home, taste artisanal cheeses from all around the world and listen to cheese experts extol the virtues of cheese in all its stinky, delicious variety. I hope you have a good time. I won’t be… Continue reading

  • The Vampire List, Part 1: Love Bites

    So you want to read a vampire story. Your interest is understandable — they are compelling. But before you begin this journey, I warn you, once you start on this path, there’s no turning back. There are legends of a cure of course, but really, once a vampire groupie, always a vampire groupie. What’s worse… Continue reading

  • A Chicago-based wizard turns hard-boiled detective in The Dresden Files

    The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher chronicles the adventures of Harry Dresden, the world’s only wizard-for-hire, as he investigates crimes with a magical twist and saves the city of Chicago from assorted minions of evil, including vampires, demons and fiendish goats. While some of the basics mechanics of this series aren’t new — magical… Continue reading

  • Fairy tales for grown ups

    Some stories we love hearing over and over again. Folktales told worldwide over the centuries have amazing similarities of theme, style and even in presentation. Some of the most dramatic fairy tales capture our hearts and imaginations even today. Sometimes authors re-imagine than old story from another perspective. At times authors prefer to write new… Continue reading

  • Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress

    Since the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, numerous authors have engaged in profoundly depicting the passage of Chinese history. Among a great number of novels, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie definitely deserves to be mentioned. Originally written in French, this novel tells the story of two teenage boys who… Continue reading

  • Found in the stacks: Women who boat & cook!

    Wandering through the closed stacks at Central, I stumbled across a classic in the maritime genre – a book that could be considered timeless: The Woman’s Guide to Boating & Cooking! Let’s dive deep into the wonderful world of yachting courtesy of Lael Morgan:  A recipe for Rock Lobster-Langouste begins:                “ Kill Lobster “                        … Continue reading

  • Who was Shakespeare?

    While the academic world is solidly behind William Shakespeare of Stratford, such notables as Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Derek Jacobi, Walt Whitman and Orson Welles have questioned whether he could have written the works credited to him. Among those who suspect that Shakespeare of Stratford was not the author of the plays and sonnets, the candidates… Continue reading

  • Books for new moms

    New moms barely have time to bathe or eat. How could they possibly have time to read?! They make the time, that’s how — during their children’s naps, while nursing or as they wait in line at the doctor’s or the grocery store. Reading other moms’ stories, whether fact or fiction, can ease the isolation… Continue reading

  • Seattle Reads author … in Seattle!

    Dinaw Mengestu, author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, is in town (see the schedule for his five Library visits and two other appearances) — and that in itself is a beautiful thing. Lots of cities now have community reads or “One Book” projects to bring people together for  discussions and events centered around a book. But… Continue reading

  • Read a Movie, See a Book

    “See what it is invisible, and you will see what to write. That’s how Bobby used to put it. It was the invisible people he wanted to live with. The ones that we walk past every day, the ones we sometimes become. The ones in books who live only in someone’s mind’s eye.” A Love… Continue reading

  • Book critics pick their favorites for Spring 2008

    I’m number 134 on the Library hold list for Beginner’s Greek by James Collins — but I’m not worried. Not only does the Library have 52 copies, I know I’m in good company with 174 other Seattle readers (of which I am confident the 133 ahead of me are all super fast readers), as well… Continue reading

  • Expecting Adam by Martha Beck

    Is it possible that the true account of two Harvard academicians parenting a Downs Syndrome child could be funny? How about hysterically funny? Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic by Martha Beck is a charming mixture of sophisticated humor, satire (mostly targeted at Harvard), self deprecation and spirituality including visions and out… Continue reading

  • Unleash your inner librarian!

    What are the odds? The brand spanking new Library of Congress subject heading for “Public Libraries – California – anecdotes’” is getting quite a workout. In the past six months we have seen the publication of two humorous memoirs by librarians in the Los Angeles area: Don Borchert’s Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas… Continue reading