David W.

  • Bulosan at 75: Contemporary Filipino/Filipinx Memoirs

    Bulosan at 75: Contemporary Filipino/Filipinx Memoirs

    Carlos Bulosan’s fictionalized memoir America is in the Heart was published 75 years ago this month. The passionate and incendiary account captures the brutality and casual cruelty meted out to Filipino migrants in America, persecution that would continue as the poet and labor organizer was subsequently blacklisted and targeted by the FBI. By the time… Continue reading

  • Read Something: Gripping

    Read Something: Gripping

    “If it’s not gripping you, you’re reading the wrong book.”   – Nick Hornby This week we Read Something gripping. What makes a book gripping is in the eye of the beholder. Some readers are gripped by a fast-paced covert-ops thriller with a high body count; others would use gripping to describe a well-realized, vivid work… Continue reading

  • 21 Irish Novels for the 21st Century

    21 Irish Novels for the 21st Century

    Let’s just get this out of the way: this St. Patrick’s Day list of 21 Irish Novels for the 21st Century is absurdly incomplete. Where are Colm Tóibín, Emma Donoghue, Roddy Doyle or William Trevor? There’s no Anne Enright, or John Boyne, or John Banville or his alter-ego Benjamin Black; no Tana French or Ken Bruen… Continue reading

  • The Irresistible Lure of Russian Literature

    Recently, a curious thing happened in the Library’s beloved Peak Picks collection (still very much available at a curbside location near you, by the way); we featured a not unscholarly explication 19th Century Russian literature. Admittedly, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, in which four Russians give a master class on writing, reading, and… Continue reading

  • Mardi Gras on my mind

    Mardi Gras on my mind

    Do you know what it means, to miss New Orleans? As another Mardi Gras rolls around – it’s tomorrow, in case you’ve forgotten – this question is especially poignant for NOLA expats, as well as anyone who holds the Crescent City dear to their heart. Tonight, I’ll be making jambalaya and gumbo, and baking up… Continue reading

  • Read Something Amorous

    Read Something Amorous

    Maybe it’s Bridgerton, or the promise of Spring; Valentine’s Day, or the promise of vaccination day, but more and more readers these days are discovering the wondrous and diverse world of romance fiction. Ever one of the most popular genres around, last year saw rising numbers of romance readers, with more expected in the year… Continue reading

  • Read Something Public Domain

    Read Something Public Domain

    Just what is the ‘public domain’ and why do you need to know about it? It’s appeal can be summed up in just two words: it’s FREE! The second card we’ve drawn in our ongoing #ReadSomething series is public domain, so let’s tell you a little bit about what that is, and how the public… Continue reading

  • Read Something Gifted

    What was your favorite book you received as a gift this year? I’m assuming you got at least a few, but if somehow that didn’t happen then what was your favorite bookish gift; you know what I mean, all those non-book gifts that folks just love to give to readers. I’ll begin: mine was Read… Continue reading

  • America’s forgotten white supremacist coup d’état

    The questions we get at the library are a barometer of what is on our collective minds, so it comes as no surprise that this week people have been asking us just what is a ‘coup’? The word ‘coup’ is a French word meaning ‘strike’ or ‘blow,’ and when combined with ‘état,’ or ‘state,’ we… Continue reading

  • Let’s bring back ghost stories for Xmas

    The night has come for ghosties and ghoulies to peer from the flickering shadows, while we gather round the firelight to tell tales of terror and grue! No, not Hallowe’en: Christmas Eve! A century and more ago, this was the night to share scary stories: “And not only do the ghosts themselves always walk on… Continue reading

  • Plant Bulbs and Dream of Summer

    Last week I was in the garden, drenched with rain, digging in the mud with rapidly freezing fingers, and feeling suddenly hopeful. I was planting allium bulbs, and thinking about when, months from now, they would bloom. The Summer days would be long, the weather would be warm, and perhaps we’d have friends over to… Continue reading

  • Listen to these Indigenous voices

    The publishing world – and audiobook publishing in particular – is growing more diverse, and there are now many recorded books both created and voiced by Indigenous, First Nations and American Indian authors and narrators. Here are some outstanding listens for you to try: Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message, read by Chief… Continue reading

  • Elections Can Be Funny

    Sometimes you just have to laugh, no? Check out these comic novels that revolve around elections, from our literary elections list.  Amanda Wakes Up, by Alisyn Camerota. Amanda Gallo hits the big time when she lands a news anchor job with the FAIR network, only to find their decidedly unfair election coverage is wreaking havoc… Continue reading

  • Chill Out With These Election Thrillers

    Chill Out With These Election Thrillers

    Is it over yet? It may seem counterintuitive amid election suspense to dip into a white-knuckle political thriller, but for many of us a great thriller is just the catharsis we need. From our list of literary elections, here are some riveting reads. Black Swan Rising, by Lisa Brackmann.Investigating the background of the man who… Continue reading

  • Classic Literary Elections

    Packed with high stakes and inherent drama, it is little surprise that elections figure in many great novels. Drawn from our latest list of literary elections, here are excerpts from a few of our favorites classic fictional campaigns. The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens. “There was a moment of awful suspense as the procession waited… Continue reading

  • 13 Tales for 13 Nights of Halloween

    13 Tales for 13 Nights of Halloween

    It’s that time of year again: time to gather round for a bone-chilling storytime. I’m so sad not to be joining you all at Lotties’ Lounge, Tippe & Drague, Floating Bridge, The Palace Theatre, Capitol Cider, The Pine Box, or any of the other wonderful venues where we’ve done ‘Ales from the Crypt over the… Continue reading

  • The Haunted Podcasts of Autumn

    The Haunted Podcasts of Autumn

    Well, we’ve definitely turned the corner into the spookiest time of year. No, I don’t mean election season: I’m talking about the lead up to Hallowe’en. This time last year – and for the past five years – I’d be stepping out into the chill winds of Autumn to go read haunting ‘Ales from the… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2020: A SAL Author (past or upcoming)

    You may be pleasantly surprised by just how many options there are to read a Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) author. SAL has been bringing writers to Seattle for over thirty years (here is the complete list), so there are literally hundreds of options. Or check out this amazing list of SAL Speaker titles available… Continue reading