Authors & Books
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New Fiction Roundup, May 2025
Summer is nearly here, so queue up your vacation (and everyday) reading with some excellent new May releases. 5/6: All the Mothers by Domenica Ruta Single mom Sandy discovers that her daughter has a half-sibling – and the other mother is actually pretty great? What can family look like? (general fiction) 5/6: Home of the… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup, May 2025
Summer is nearly here, so queue up your vacation (and everyday) reading with some excellent new May releases. 5/6: All the Mothers by Domenica Ruta Single mom Sandy discovers that her daughter has a half-sibling – and the other mother is actually pretty great? What can family look like? (general fiction) 5/6: Home of the… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – May 2025
Welcome to May! In addition to this month’s Peak Picks, there are a lot of excellent new nonfiction books to consider. In biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain; Christopher Clarey examines the influence of Rafael Nadal… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – May 2025
We’re adding ten new Peak Picks in May! In fiction, Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive in The Emperor of Gladness; Christina Li’s adult debut reveals the secrets that lie in wait in the crumbling mansion of a former Hollywood starlet,… Continue reading
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Eight Stories From Two Years of Books Unbanned
Almost exactly two years ago, on April 27, 2023, The Seattle Public Library took action against censorship and for the freedom to read. We joined Brooklyn Public Library in launching a Books Unbanned program that offers a free card to our digital collection of e-books and e-audiobooks to young people ages 13 to 26 from… Continue reading
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May 2025 Author Events: Ada Limón, “Empire of AI,” and More
We have some amazing events at the Library in May, from a talk with New Yorker editor Michael Lo about his fascinating history of Chinese immigration to a just-added event with author Karen Hao about “Empire of AI,” her behind-the-scenes story of what went wrong at OpenAI. All Library events are free and open to… Continue reading
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9 Cookbooks for Spring Meal Inspiration
When the seasons start to shift, I begin to crave a change in the recipes I’ve been making for several months, a little inspiration to get some new flavors in the cooking rotation. If you’re also looking for a little spark and something new, check out the books below. Some titles have fairly long waits,… Continue reading
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National Park Week 2025
April 19 to April 27 is National Park Week, a time to celebrate our national parks! At a moment when we’re seeing drastic changes to national park funding and staffing, there’s no better time to appreciate the robustness and diversity of our national park system. Find a park and plan a visit, make a playlist… Continue reading
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Celebrate National Poetry Month and Seattle Reads 2025 With These Books
For only the second time in the history of Seattle Reads, the library’s citywide book club, a book of poetry has been selected. “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World,” an anthology edited and introduced by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, features 50 American poets observing and reflecting on their place in the natural world,… Continue reading
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Arab American Heritage Month
There have been some amazing Arab and Arab American books out lately, so just in time for Arab American Heritage month, here are some books and authors to explore: Omar El Akkad’s One Day, We Will All Have Been Against This is already one of the buzziest books of the year. Portland area Arab Canadian… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup, April 2025
Springtime is here, the flowers are popping, and the books are blooming! Read on for fiction arriving this month. 4/1: The Family Recipe by Carolyn Huynh Vietnamese sandwich restaurant founder Duc Tran has rewritten his will: if his five children want their inheritance, they’ll have to meet his wishes. His four daughters must take on… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – April 2025
Happy April! There’s a lot of outstanding nonfiction to consider this month. In self-care, Gretchen Rubin distills her key insights into simple truths for living with greater satisfaction, clarity, and happiness in Secrets of Adulthood while Melinda Gates draws from previously untold stories to offer a new perspective on encountering transitions in The Next Day.… Continue reading
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Building Literacy and Reading Joy for 30 years: the Global Reading Challenge
On Wednesday, April 2, after 60 tense minutes of competition in front of a cheering crowd in the Central Library auditorium, The Library Lynx team from Queen Anne Elementary won the title of 2025 Global Reading Challenge city champion. Wearing orange headbands and purple T-shirts, the seven fourth and fifth graders competed against 10 other… Continue reading
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What Seattle Read in the First Three Months of 2025
Are you curious what books Seattle readers have turned to in a year that’s already been very eventful? See for yourself in our list of top Library checkouts for the first three months of 2025. As usual, the most popular print book checkouts are from the Library’s very popular no-holds, no-wait Peak Picks collection (which… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – April 2025
We’re adding eleven new Peak Picks in April! In fiction, Katie Kitamura returns with an exhilarating, destabilizing Möbius strip of a novel that asks whether we ever really know the people we love in Audition; Jon Hickey debuts with a gripping literary debut about tribal power and corruption, family, and facing the ghosts of the past in Big… Continue reading
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Women’s Health Resources: Menopause
With government health care information becoming spotty at best, or altogether missing at worst, especially as it relates to women’s health and individuals who are LGBTQIA+, it can feel overwhelming to try to find accurate medical information without making an appointment with your doctor, just to ask questions. Though staff are not medical professionals and… Continue reading
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10 Not-to-Miss Author and Community Events for Spring 2025
The Library’s spring calendar is blooming with inspiring events, from an April 14 talk with Shamichael Hallman, author of “Meet Me at the Library,” to a May 7 discussion with Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of “The Sympathizer,” about his much-anticipated new book. All Library events are free and open to the public, but… Continue reading
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Historical Fiction for Women’s History Month
Though nonfiction is a great way to learn about the past, historical fiction can also open readers’ eyes to the settings, lessons, and experiences of those who came before us. To celebrate Women’s History Month, here are some recent historical fiction titles celebrating women’s stories across time. In Harlem Rhapsody, Victoria Christopher Murray highlights Jessie Redmon… Continue reading