BOOKS

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Fantasy to tickle your brain

    Fantasy isn’t just about epic quests or magical kingdoms or ancient races of mythic creatures. It’s also about using fantastical elements to illustrate larger themes of the human experience or as a metaphor for real world issues or philosophies. So while there are plenty of epic fantasies that do tickle the brain, they often overshadow… Continue reading

  • Individuals

    While explaining diversity to the class, a teacher says, “We are all individuals,” which prompts one student to proclaim, “I’m not!” A funny joke, but it’s also an apt depiction of “different.” Manuals on identifying and coping with human differences are factually and practically useful, but sometimes hearing about someone’s life helps a reader more… Continue reading

  • Think about stuff

    I was tidying the shelves in the Living Room at Central Library when I ran across a book called Tattoos: I Ink Therefore I Am. I read through the chapter titles: “How to Read a Tattoo, and Other Perilous Quests,” “Tattoo You,” “To Ink or Not to Ink,” “The Vice of the Tough Tattoo.” Other… Continue reading

  • Chinese writer Mo Yan wins 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature

    Chinese writer Mo Yan was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature on October 11, 2012. Born to a peasant family in 1955, Mo grew up in Gaomi, Shandong Province. He joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1976 and published his first novel in 1981 while he was serving in the army. Many of his… Continue reading

  • Book Banning Lives!

    Librarians, almost universally, are hostile to the idea of denying access to information. Every year, we honor the survival of literature against the onslaught of book banners and information suppressors with displays and programming to call the community’s attention to the fight. There is even a week set aside to memorialize what we regard as… Continue reading

  • Don’t forget to eat your veggies!

    Have you ever wondered what this whole ‘vegan’ movement is about? These days there’s an abundance of animal-free products on grocery shelves. Restaurants specializing in meatless and dairy-free cuisine are gaining popularity in many cities. People adopt a vegan way of eating for many different reasons. Some are concerned about how animals are treated on… Continue reading

  • LGBT Pride

    June is here, which means LGBT Pride Parades are taking to the streets of major cities, including ours: the Seattle Pride Parade and Seattle Pride Fest take place on the weekend of June 23-24! Names like Ellen, Harvey, Elton, Dan, and Wanda will float about, rekindling our knowledge of famous gays and lesbians throughout our… Continue reading

  • The Phantom Tollbooth at 51

    One of my favorite books of all time, The Phantom Tollbooth, the novel by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer, celebrates its 51st birthday this year. It is fitting that I am writing to mark its 51st birthday, rather than its 50th because the book itself is a celebration of the unusual in the… Continue reading

  • The Rules We Live By

    Society is constantly telling us how we should behave: behavior is enforced through rules and laws, schools and teachers have certain expectations, and religious leaders preach about conduct based on sacred texts. Most often, we learn how to behave through our parents and families. We are raised for the better part of our years by… Continue reading

  • Beautiful in the Mouth: On the Reading and Writing of Poetry

     What is a poem on a page but a Field of Light and Shadow where For Love of Common of Words, A Radiant Curve catches 19 Varieties of Gazelle gazing into Darkening Water becoming Human Dark with Sugar going Heart First into the Forest Meaning a Cloud, Torn Awake is coming to be torch song… Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: Adventure Writing

    In this column we regularly highlight a Your Next 5 Books submission that we find interesting, funny, unique, or useful to other readers. Submit Your Next 5 Books entry now, or stop by and see us in person, and maybe you could see your (anonymous) reading habits on Shelf Talk! Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: Characters in the Modern World

    In this column we regularly highlight a Your Next 5 Books submission that we find interesting, funny, unique, or useful to other readers. Submit Your Next 5 Books entry now, or stop by and see us in person, and maybe you could see your (anonymous) reading habits on Shelf Talk! Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: A column of our favorite reader’s advisory questions

    In this column we regularly highlight a Your Next 5 Books submission that we find interesting, funny, unique, or useful to other readers. Submit Your Next 5 Books entry now, or stop by and see us in person, and maybe you could see your (anonymous) reading habits on Shelf Talk! Continue reading

  • Winter’s Bone Author—Live, at Capitol Hill!

    Posted on October 1, 2011 by library staff The Capitol Hill Branch proudly welcomes Winter’s Bone author Daniel Woodrell  for a reading on Monday, October 10th at 6:30 p.m.  Described by reviewers as “the most overlooked great novelist in America” and a “backcountry Shakespeare,”  Woodrell writes in a style he calls “country noir.” His works have… Continue reading

  • Paperback Readers

    Although not nearly as famous as Paul McCartney’s “scrambled eggs” dream that resulted in the iconic “Yesterday,” the birth of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is equally interesting. Being the 1960s, George Harrison was really into the I Ching at the time (see also: Pattie Boyd and LSD). He vowed to write a song by… Continue reading

  • In honor of Joanna Russ

    In honor of the recent passing of author and critic Joanna Russ, I thought I would put together a short list of just a few of my favorite feminist science fiction and fantasy stories. For those of you who are not familiar with her work, Joanna Russ was one of the most ferocious and fearless… Continue reading

  • Books by People You’ve Probably Never Heard of, Part III

    It’s hard out there for young writers. The only houses that will house them are small, indie enterprises full of energy but lacking funds, and readers are scared by untested virtue. Be scared no longer sovereign readers! I will test your books for poison. Eat up! Richard Yates by Tao Lin What’s in a name?… Continue reading

  • Books by People You’ve Probably Never Heard of, Part I

    It’s hard out there for young writers. The only houses that will house them are small, indie enterprises full of energy but lacking funds, and readers are scared by untested virtue. Be scared no longer sovereign readers! I will test your books for poison. Eat up! The Really Funny Thing About Apathy by Chelsea Martin… Continue reading