BOOKS

  • All in the Boat

    By Di Z. Eddie Huang is a brash, early-30s restaurateur and TV personality who’s been making waves in pop culture for the last half decade, which in today’s world seems like a lifetime. Those who have followed Huang can instantly recognize his quasi New York accent which he acquired from years of listening to Biggie and… Continue reading

  • Begin the Poem

    ~posted by Library Staff Let’s get down to business, the business of beginning to enter the poem. It will cost you, you know, time and more time that you can imagine.  But, if you allow yourself the journey, if you permit the path to form then may you, traveler, travel on, On Poetry. There is… Continue reading

  • Kids Agree: Books are no longer cool

                     ~ Posted by David W. To many it came as a shock. Just as conventional wisdom chorused that in our increasingly plugged-in society print books were destined to get left behind, a series of studies and articles from such sources as Nielsen, Publishing Technology, Hewlett Packard, The Pew Research Center,… Continue reading

  • Found in a Book

    Posted by Erin M. Recently, the Greenwood Branch of the Seattle Public Library displayed a remarkable collection of bookmarks in their front window, an assortment of tickets, photos, bumper stickers, stamps, playing cards, feathers, postcards, really anything that could fit easily between two pages. Individually, these objects aren’t terribly interesting or important, but when brought… Continue reading

  • Caffeine: The World’s Favorite Drug

    Posted by Selby Whether you slam an energy drink in the afternoon or start your day with a cup of joe, most Americans consume some amount of caffeine during the day, and we love it. Recently, author Murray Carpenter took a good long look at a drug many of us use daily without thinking about it. In his… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: the Baddest Bad Boys

    One of the great romantic themes is the redemption romance, or how someone who has been very, very good saves someone who has been very, very bad, all through the power of true love. In Regency romances, this was the “reformation of a rake” story. In paranormal romance, a vampire has been the hero of… Continue reading

  • What to read while you wait for Morrissey’s Autobiography

    I want the one I can’t have, and it’s driving me mad. . . No doubt countless American fans of Morrissey are singing those lyrics to Penguin Books right now. The publisher released the singer’s autobiography last Thursday under its Classics imprint. . . in the UK only. It went straight to number 1 on… Continue reading

  • Struck By Lightning!

    Were you mesmerized by the recent news story about the motorcyclist who survived a lightning strike on I-5 during our severe weather last week? His hair was singed and an ear blackened, but other than being a little dazed, he lived to tell the tale. Although the odds of being struck by lightning in the… Continue reading

  • Strange History

    One hot July day a woman walks out of her house and starts dancing. She dances for hours and then days. Soon other people become infected with the dancing plague and before long hundreds are uncontrollably dancing in the streets. Sounds like a great science fiction story, right? Well it actually happened in Strasburg, Germany… Continue reading

  • An Evening with Jamison Green at the Capitol Hill Library!

    On Thursday, August 1st at 6:30 p.m., come join us at the Capitol Hill Branch of the Seattle Public Library for a reading and discussion with author, educator, and transgender advocate, Jamison Green.  Mr. Green has spent over 25 years working for transgender civil rights, health, and social safety. Starting with a grass-roots support group… Continue reading

  • Toilet Reads: Fascinating Nonfiction about the Necessary Acts

     The human body is fascinating. But sometimes what is more fascinating is what we do with what comes out of the human body. The book Life of Pee, by Sally Magnusson, is a testament to some of the strange and ingenious things we have done with urine. We have used it to dye our hair,… Continue reading

  • A Tale of Two Burgs

    In July of 1863, 150 years ago, Blue still fought Gray and the fate of a nation was hanging in the balance. Two great battles ensued simultaneously, one to control the western nation and one as an invasion of the north. At Vicksburg, Mississippi, a great siege was in progress under the command of General… Continue reading

  • Do you speak dog?

    Do you have dog friends? You know, the ones that didn’t have kids, they had dogs instead? Yep, I’m one of those.  We don’t mean to drive you crazy with our stories about how smart, funny and devoted our dogs are or how recalcitrant, devious, and amusing they can be. Those of us owned by… Continue reading

  • Five for the Fourth and Fifth Graders

    Did you know that we have book lists for kids in our catalog? And that our children’s librarians have been hard at work, revamping them? No? Well today we’ll take a look at Broadview Librarian Louisa’s list: Books for Fourth and Fifth Graders. Here are her top five picks from the list and some insight into why… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Romance, with a little rocket fuel

    Sometimes I like my romances with a touch of rocket fuel. To put it another way, I like science fiction romance, or SFR. I’ve loved it since the original Captain Kirk chased his first alien around the Enterprise way back when, and my tastes probably aren’t going to change any time soon, or on any… Continue reading

  • Go-to read-aloud picture books

    One thing I have learned as a parent is that every family has its own sense of humor. I have also learned that some children’s books you looked forward to reading to your own children aren’t always as awesome as you remembered them. Continue reading

  • Happy Birthday Akira Kurosawa!

    While Akira Kurosawa’s status as the greatest director of all time is debatable, we’re all agreed that Seven Samurai is the best movie ever made, right? Good, I’m glad we got that all squared away. Akira Kurosawa was born 103 years ago today. A few short months later, in August of 1910, the University Branch… Continue reading

  • Make Stuff and Be Happy

    Ok, so there are a lot of us out there who are creative and could use a couple of extra bucks in our pockets, am I right? It struck me as time for a brief how-to to help bridge that gap between the makers and the market. Here are some outlets to investigate, and some… Continue reading