Fiction
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Ready, Set, Read! The 8 Great Books of the 2022 Global Reading Challenge
All over Seattle, fourth and fifth graders are forming teams and starting to turn pages for the 2022 Global Reading Challenge, which launched earlier in November with the announcement of this year’s books. Now in its 27th year, the Global Reading Challenge is a reading incentive collaboration between the Library and Seattle Public Schools. Fourth… Continue reading
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Books for the Young Hockey Fan
It seems everyone in Seattle has hockey fever right now – even the kids. Here’s everything you need to capture the interest of even the youngest hockey fans. Ice Clash, by Emma Carlson Berne. Their losses started when their new coach replaced 12-year-old Louise with his own son, refusing to accept that the team’s true… Continue reading
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Talking Romance (and Sci-Fi and Speculative Fiction) with Librarian Misha Stone
At the Emerald City Writers’ Conference in October, the Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America (GSRWA) named our very own Adult Services Librarian Misha Stone their Librarian of the Year, citing Misha’s commitment to promoting the romance genre and uplifting traditionally marginalized voices. Misha has been a librarian in the Seattle area since graduating from… Continue reading
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Cozy Mysteries of the Magical Variety
In the wake of Halloween, All Saint’s Eve, Samhain, and Dia De Los Muertos, there’s quite a bit of magic lingering in the air. The leaves have turned, the weather is harsher, and the nights are chilling. Many peoples view this time of year as the time to honor their ancestors as the veil between… Continue reading
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Library Explainer: A Peek at Picking Peak Picks
Editor’s note: This is a new, occasional series that looks behind the scenes at the Library to explain something readers want to know about. Have a burning Library question? Email communications@spl.org. If you’ve visited one of our neighborhood libraries in the past few years, you’ve likely noticed a display of Peak Picks books and stopped… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup – November 2021
11/2: All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M Morris Ellice Littlejohn, the sole Black lawyer at a high powered corporate law firm, finds her boss (and secret lover) dead in his office. When she’s unexpectedly promoted to his position, something feels off, and the more she digs into corporate politics the more her own secrets… Continue reading
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Fall Into Reading: Beyond Halloween
The leaves are crunching beneath our boot heels, the sweaters are coming out of the corners of our closets, and cozying up with a book goes along with this season like a warm fire and fuzzy socks! Fall into the season with these reads celebrating all the various festivities the season has to offer! The… Continue reading
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Witchy Reads
Fiction has been awfully witchy this year, with strong showings across historical fiction, romance, and general fiction. For your reading pleasure, an incomplete list: HISTORICAL FICTION Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen In 1615 Germany, 74-year-old Katharina Kepler is accused of witchcraft, an accusation she shrugs off until it starts to… Continue reading
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Horror Comes Home
Alright, it’s spooky season people! Horror has a long tradition of scary houses and liminal spaces, and this year’s horror novels feature a great slate of haunted properties: from a former plantation in the American South to a condo in Chicago and cabin in Colorado, from an ancestral home in an historic England-like country to… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup – October 2021
October’s fiction release calendar finds plenty of new horror, from the slightly creepy to the gory; new titles by big names, such as Jonathan Franzen and Amor Towles; a debut from an astronaut; a posthumous release by a master of spy fiction; and much much more. 10/5: The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman In… Continue reading
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50 Ways to Find Romance at your Local Library
No, not that kind of romance, silly! Not that we don’t know some wonderful couples who first met at the public library, but we’re not recommending our libraries as pick up spots: that would be creepy. However, every week dozens of new fresh romance novels arrive on our shelves, ready to be taken home by… Continue reading
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Fall into a Cozy Mystery, 2021
As the weather turns and the rains begin, I love nothing better than to curl up with a good book. Cozy mysteries are a genre I’ve recently discovered, only to lament that I hadn’t started reading them sooner! Don’t let the pun-filled titles deter you from this warm, light, and friendly genre, which is often… Continue reading
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Watch and Read: Sweet Tooth
Those of us who have watched Sweet Tooth know that it’s a show that’s easy to love. The series takes place after an apocalyptic event called “The Great Crumble,” which kills off much of Earth’s human population due to a virus. Babies born in its wake develop certain animal characteristics. Gus, the main protagonist, resembles… Continue reading
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The End of Men
Not really! But this plot premise is popping up in recent fiction, usually as a virus that only targets men and leads to their widespread demise as the world collectively panics. Is now the best time to read about rampant viruses? Maybe not. But if you want to distract yourself from our current viral situation… Continue reading
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Watch & Read: Ozark
Ozark is one of those shows that is just pure madness – it snakes in on itself in perpetual chaos. No breaks, no ease, just edge of your seat shenanigans the whole time. And I can’t get enough! While we wait for the next season, here are a few items in our collection that will… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup – September 2021
After a hiatus, we resume our monthly rundown of new fiction, with an exciting slate of September titles including new work from Anthony Doerr, Colson Whitehead, Sally Rooney, Ruth Ozeki, and many more. 9/7: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney – Two friends, one a famous novelist and the other an editorial assistant,… Continue reading
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#BookBingoNW2021: Mystery and Crime under 250 pages
As Summer Book Bingo 2021 comes down to the wire (deadline: Sept. 7), you may be looking to maximize your remaining reading time. To that end, here are a selection of mysteries that clock in under 250 pages, for rapid reading. Feeling more leisurely? Check out our longer list of suggested mystery/crime novels. Continue reading
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#BookBingoNW2021 Sports
Still struggling to find the right book for your Sports Book Bingo square? Never fear, your intrepid Seattle Public Library sports librarian has some suggestions for you, whether you’re a diehard sports writing fan, or have never picked up a book about sports before in your life. Confession time: despite serving as the Library’s sports… Continue reading