Fiction

  • Nightstand Reading: Eric Liu

    Editor’s note: Whether he’s interviewing Daniel Schorr at Town Hall, inspiring leadership or talking about patriotism, local author Eric Liu manages to get us thinking—and to get the conversation going. In The True Patriot, a book written in the pamphleteering style of Thomas Paine, Liu and co-author Nick Hanauer offer a lively challenge to look… Continue reading

  • Reading those censored books

    Every year, the American Library Association puts out a list of the most challenged books of the previous year, plus a distressingly thick catalog of banned and challenged books. This article at The Onion made me think about all the various banned books that most of us really never read (or read for the wrong… Continue reading

  • Celebrating the freedom to read for over two millennia

    This month and next all over Seattle (and all over the country), libraries will be putting up displays and posters and hosting events in honor of Banned Books Week (Sept 27 – Oct 4). The annual event, started in 1982 by the American Library Association, is a celebration of your freedom to read, and an important reminder that… Continue reading

  • Oliver Sacks walked my dog this morning

    Oliver Sacks has been hanging out on my iPod for a few months. I actually forgot he was there until this morning when I was looking through my podcasts and found his presentation at the Central Library. At one hour and one minute, that’s about the right length for a walk with my hound, Owen.… Continue reading

  • Neil Gaiman fans vote for ‘Neverwhere’

    The last time HarperCollins posted a free Gaiman book, American Gods was the people’s choice and it was a hands-down success. This time they’ve made Neverwhere the 30-days or bust book! The novel will be available to read for 30 days, then expires. Until then, though, freeeeee! (You just need Adobe Digital Editions, which you… Continue reading

  • Spending the afternoon in a Japanese Garden

    Seattle is a city of garden aficionados, so it is fitting that we have one of the best Japanese gardens outside of Japan. With sweeping vistas and decades-old plantings tended with exquisite care, the Seattle Japanese Garden is a spot of meditative beauty. It is also host to a variety of festive events. If you… Continue reading

  • Opening new worlds: Mysteries in translation

    For those of us who love mystery novels, the quest for the next exciting detective or, better yet, the next series, is endlessly diverting. As it happens, this is a wonderful age for us, with the advent of many new absolutely top-notch works and series from abroad, best-sellers in their own countries, being released here… Continue reading

  • Central District and High Point reader suggestions

    Readers from the Douglass-Truth Branch and the High Point Branch offer some of their favorite books from this summer. Here are suggestions for some late-summer memoirs, a medical thriller set in Seattle, poetry and novels. Readers in Douglass-Truth’s Adult Summer Reading Program suggest: Shame on It All by Zane A captivating story of three sisters showing the true meaning of… Continue reading

  • Book review: Dog Days by John Levitt

    After Mason is attacked by a giant magical spider, he realizes things around San Francisco are even weirder than normal. Since he used to be a supernatural enforcer, his threshold for “weird” is a little higher than the average jazz musician’s. In an effort to get to the bottom of what’s going wrong in his… Continue reading

  • Fantastic librarians, or librarian fantasies?

    In a recent post, I enthused about a few of my favorite fictional librarians, and invited others to share their favorites. The suggestions that followed were many and varied, ranging from Public Librarian Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, to Henry DeTamble from Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife, to Garth Nix’s Lirael, who is given a job… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: Ballard, Broadview, Mobile and University reader suggestions

    Looking for a book for these last few weeks of summer? Here are 12 suggestions from Library users from Mobile Services and the Ballard, Broadview and University branches: Mobile Services’ readers suggest: Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton He tells all of us how we can really help save the world by… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reading: Artist Margaret Chodos-Irvine dives into teen lit this summer

    Editor’s note: We love Margaret Chodos-Irvine’s vivid mixed-media prints and innovative linocuts, which can be found in award-winning children’s books such as the charming Ella Sarah Gets Dressed (a 2004 Caldecott Honor Book) and Buzz (where her collages seem to move across the pages), and in the posters, brochures and book bags that celebrate reading… Continue reading

  • Author Crush: Tom Robbins

    I am not sure when I first started reading Tom Robbins, but I’m guessing it was some time in the ’80s, and I know it was when I picked up at a used bookstore a copy of his early work, Still Life with Woodpecker. The title intrigued me, and then the plot itself, such as… Continue reading

  • Suburban sleuths

    Not all private detectives smoke pipes, carry arms and drive little red sports cars. Some suburban moms and dads solve murders before and after carpooling in vans and oversize station wagons. Authors Jeffrey Cohen, Susan Isaacs, Valerie Wolzien and Jon Katz are four authors have created suburban sleuths.  Jeffrey Cohen writes humorous mysteries set in New… Continue reading

  • Los santos de Agua Mansa, California de Alex Espinoza

    Our library serves people speaking many different languages. Here is one of them. La Botanica Oshún es el lugar al que acude la gente de Agua Mansa en busca de amuletos, hierbas y velas para calmar sus dolores, para combatir maleficios y embrujos. Este es el hogar de Perla Portillo, el lugar donde ella aprendió… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: Southwest, Northgate and Northeast readers offer suggestions

    Book recommendations are rolling in from all over Seattle as part of the Library’s Adult Summer Reading Program. Readers at the Southwest Branch recommend: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris I did not want to put this book down. It was so hard to stop reading it and get on with a… Continue reading

  • Nightstand Reading: Author Garth Stein and a special guest

    When we asked Garth Stein to share his nightstand reading, the Seattle author of The Art of Racing in the Rain sent us a photo of a rather intriguing tower of books in his to-read pile. Here are his comments on the next four books he’ll be reading: Bonk by Mary Roach It’s got a great… Continue reading

  • Summer Reads: High Point, Capitol Hill and Montlake readers offer their suggestions.

    This week we find journeys through space, time and the inner mind, in our ongong series that highlights what Seattlites are reading this Summer. We’d love to hear what you’re reading, too! Sign up for the Adult Summer Reading Program and share your recommendations with other book lovers around town. Readers on Capitol Hill recommend: After Dark… Continue reading