Fiction

  • And The Seattle Public Library’s Most Popular Book in 2023 Was …

    Now that we’ve turned the page on another year, it’s intriguing to look back and see which titles captured the interest of Seattle’s readers in 2023. Below are The Seattle Public Library’s top 10 checkouts in adult fiction and nonfiction (both print and e-books) and e-audiobooks for the year. How do these titles stack up… Continue reading

  • New Teen Fiction for 2024

    New Teen Fiction for 2024

    Looking for the newest stories? Here are some brand new teen titles to start the New Year, with annotations adapted from the catalog. (Created December 2023.) In Arushi Avachat’s novel, Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment, high school senior Arya must navigate fraught family dynamics, the fallout of her two best friends breaking up, and a tense… Continue reading

  • New Fiction Roundup, January 2024

    As 2024 begins, January hopefully kicks off another year of excellent fiction to dig into. 1/9: Cold Victory by Karl Marlantes In 1947 Finland, what begins as a friendly challenge – a secret cross-country ski race between an American and a Soviet military attaché – turns life-and-death when the race becomes public and freighted with… Continue reading

  • More Middle Grade Fiction for Adults

    More Middle Grade Fiction for Adults

    Earlier this year, I shared some middle grade fiction books that I believe can (and should!) be enjoyed by adults, too. Since then, I’ve discovered more great titles. If you are looking for well written and compelling stories, don’t miss out on these reads based on where we shelve them in the library! Hummingbird by… Continue reading

  • Thrills and Chills for Winter Movie Nights

    Thrills and Chills for Winter Movie Nights

    When the sun goes down at 4pm and the weather report says ten solid days of rain, there is nothing I like more than a hot cup of tea, a blanket, a cat on my lap…and watching something scary. For horror fans, there is nothing better. Like listening to moody music when you’re feeling down,… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2023: Adult Fiction

    Every year we ask our staff across the system for their favorite books published in a given year. Enjoy this variety of fiction staff favorites from 2023, with descriptions by our very own library staff! Chain-gang All-stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah “In this book about a not too distant future, where the prison system has… Continue reading

  • More Manga Now Available Through Hoopla!

    Manga lovers rejoice! Hoopla has expanded its offerings and now includes many titles from Kodansha. This includes Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, and some of my personal favorites: Continue reading

  • New fiction roundup, December 2023

    Shorter days, longer nights, but still time to be enticed by a new title! A range of general fiction, romance, mystery, and more await your discovery. 12/5: All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow Sunday Forrester, who is autistic, lives a happy, well-ordered life with her strong-willed teenage daughter, Dolly. When charming new neighbors move… Continue reading

  • Fictive Clubs, pt. 1: Killer Clubs

    During my perusals of the online stacks at the library, I’ve noticed there are a lot of books that have to do with clubs of one sort or another. While book clubs might be the most common, there are other, far deadlier fictive clubs.  Here’s a highlight of some killer clubs. In The Dead Girls… Continue reading

  • Characters with Real World Problems – No Matter the Genre

    Rich and royal characters are a mainstay in literature. We do like to know what it is like to have it all. To live in opulence and navigate the world with ease is something we are told to aspire to, so culturally we gravitate to depictions of wealth and plentitude. Plus, we also love learning… Continue reading

  • Native American Heritage Month Book Highlights

    In honor of November as Native American Heritage Month, check out these recent fiction and nonfiction titles for adults, or dig deeper with longer lists of Native American Fiction and Native American Nonfiction. Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah (fiction) We are made of the stories we tell, and that are told about… Continue reading

  • Cozy Fantasy for the Long Dark

    As we settle in and prepare for the Long Dark in Seattle, grab a mug of your favorite tea, your coziest blanket, and cuddle up with these low stakes, high comfort fantasy reads. Regional author and audio book narrator extraordinaire Travis Baldree made an unexpected splash in the fantasy market with his first novel Legends… Continue reading

  • (Steam)Punk’s Not Dead

    Remember steampunk, that intriguing genre of “What If…,” featuring fantastic steam-powered machines, airships, clever sartorial uses of brass, and goggles, all set against a Victorian backdrop? What about its close speculative subgenre cousin, gaslamp fantasy? With the recent release of Jim Butcher’s The Olympian Affair, the second book in his steampunk Cinder Spire series, it’s… Continue reading

  • New fiction roundup, November 2023

    The days are short, the nights are long … curl up with a thriller, a romance, or some thought provoking general fiction. 11/1: The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen This first in a new series from the Rizzoli & Isles author finds retired spy Maggie Bird turning to her book club of former spies to… Continue reading

  • Indigenous Fiction and Nonfiction for Teens

    To honor Native American Heritage Month, here are some of the newest titles by Indigenous authors of North America. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley Working at a summer job that brings her to the local tribal heritage museum, Perry learns of the Warrior Girl, an ancestor of her people whose bones and knives are… Continue reading

  • YA and Adult Book Pairings

    If my own tastes in reading are any indication, there’s less of a divide between those who read young adult and adult books than some might think. As a former Teen Services Librarian and current Adult Services Librarian, my reading is split about 50/50 between teen and adult books. Like macaroni and cheese, wine and… Continue reading

  • A Peek at Peak Picks – late October to December

    19 titles are joining Peak Picks through the end of 2023! In adult fiction, National Book Award winner Alice McDermott provides a riveting account of women’s lives on the margins of the Vietnam War in Absolution; Jonathan Evison delivers a poignant story about a 102-year-old nursing home resident seeking love and redemption in Again and… Continue reading

  • Three on a Theme: Cozy Horror

    ‘Tis the season for terrifying tales! But do they all have to be terrifying? Could they also be cozy? Yes, they absolutely can be cozy! What constitutes a “cozy” horror story is highly subjective, but some common examples that folks reference are The Addams Family, Over the Garden Wall, Scary Stories to Tell in the… Continue reading