David W.

  • BOOKTOBERFEST 2017 IS HERE!

    That familiar chill in the air, those reddish tints starting to appear in the leaves, that playful note of pumpkin spice latte asserting itself amidst the less seasonal scents of marijuana and Axe body spray on city streets: it can only mean one thing. Another Booktoberfest has arrived! Each October, dazed and confused from the flurry of… Continue reading

  • The Vietnam War: Essential Accounts

    There is no single story of the Vietnam War. In our second of four lists commemorating the premiere of Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s ten part documentary series on the Vietnam War, we feature twenty-five memoirs and personal accounts of the War and its aftermath, representing a wide array of experiences and voices. Here are some highlights. Continue reading

  • The Vietnam War: Essential History

    As our city and our nation tunes in to the premiere presentation of Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s ten part documentary series on the Vietnam War, interest is spiking in books and films that explore the War and the era from all angles. In the first of a four part series featuring lists including one hundred… Continue reading

  • New Fiction Roundup – September 2017

    Eagerly awaited novels by local favorites Nancy Pearl and Jamie Ford, together with novels by Celeste Ng and National Book Award Winners James McBride and Jesmyn Ward are just a taste of the great fictional offerings in store this month. Continue reading

  • Page to Screen: Never mind The Dark Tower – here comes IT!

    Okay, so the new film adaptation of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series wasn’t quite what we’d hoped for. Many fans of the books feel the film entirely missed the mark, while newcomers to King’s elaborate mythos wonder what all the fuss was about. As a film sequel seems unlikely and it may be some time… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Reread a Book You Read in School

    Although we are hard pressed to think of a single drawback to Book Bingo, it is true that for some readers it calls forth unwelcome memories of required reading. Yet the popularity of bingo and similar reading challenges and groups suggests that something appeals to us about being stretched beyond our habitual reading appetites. Might those same… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Collection of Essays or Short Stories.

    Maybe you already love reading essays or short stories. Perfect: this Summer Book Bingo square is a freebie. But let’s assume this square gives you some pause. Maybe the term “essay” reminds you of those horrible things you were supposed to write in school, or “short stories” calls to mind unappetizing literary dissections in Language… Continue reading

  • Gifts of Empathy, Outrage, and Perspective

    When people talk about the value they derive from reading, they will often mention how it widens their perspective, allowing them to partake of the lives, thoughts and experiences of others. As Joyce Carol Oates puts it, “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin.” Some studies have supported the popular view… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Read a Book Recommended by a Librarian

    This one should be easy: it is kind of why we’re here. People think we present our Summer Book Bingo each year as a way to encourage readers over the Summer, adding variety and sense of play to your reading list, and that’s certainly true. But we have an ulterior motive: we want to give… Continue reading

  • Page to Screen: My Cousin Rachel.

    It was my idea, after all. Lately as we’ve seen readers and filmgoers gobbling up great twisty psychological suspense such as Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, I kept thinking they should make a fresh version Daphne Du Maurier’s classic tale of the devious anti-heroine known as My Cousin Rachel. Sixty-five years after its original… Continue reading

  • Thrilling Tales, All Summer Long.

    For over a decade, every other Monday at noon listeners have flocked to Thrilling Tales, the Library’s story time for grownups, spending their lunch hour rapt in suspenseful narratives. Janice Leadingham, a local bookseller said in a recent article in City Arts: “Especially for impatient people, it’s good because it slows things down a bit. For one hour, you can… Continue reading

  • Beyond The Handmaid’s Tale: Feminist Dystopia & Utopia

    We always love it when worthwhile, interesting books are adapted to film or TV, as it invariably means that a multitude of readers will be drawn to the source. As sales figures and waiting lists and libraries attest, this has been quite a year for Margaret Atwood’s landmark 1985 dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale, owing largely to… Continue reading

  • Inside the Story: Immersive and Personal Journalism

    Memoir tends to be subjective, while journalistic writing aims at objective treatment of a topic. Then there are those books that combine these strengths, exploring a topic of interest from within, either through the eyes of someone whose experience gives them a revealing perspective, or a journalist who immerses themselves in the world they’re writing about. In both cases, the… Continue reading

  • 20 Essential Seattle Books, Part 5 – Tales of the City

    Arriving at our fifth and final post suggesting twenty essential Seattle books, after posts highlighting history, race, place, and Northwest classics, we finish with a handful of novels evocative of our city and its culture. There are several good mystery series set in Seattle, but when a fictional detective has been on our rain-soaked streets for three decades his casebook offers real perspective.… Continue reading

  • 20 Essential Seattle Books, Part 4: Northwest Classics

    For the fourth of our posts suggesting twenty essential books for Seattleites, having focused on history, race and place, we now attempt to suggest some writers whose work best characterizes our “regional literature.” In previous posts we’ve already mentioned Richard Hugo and Sherman Alexie, both of whose works certainly belong on this post. Here are some more Northwest… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s DRY POWDER: Beyond the Theater

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents DRY POWDER by Sarah Burgess from March 17 – April 15, 2017. Set in the top echelons of today’s morally-compromised financial sector, this dark comedy explores the uneasy relationship between being good and doing well. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of books, CDs and films to enhance your experience of the show: Seattle… Continue reading

  • This Valentine’s Day, Use Your Words!

    What truly says “I love you” to your Valentine? A fancy dinner out? Good luck getting a table, or avoiding romantic indigestion as you navigate the desperate crush of other romance seekers. A box of chocolates? Hardly original, and not exactly helpful with our New Year’s resolutions. Do diamonds speak louder than words? Nope – not even close:  … Continue reading

  • 20 Essential Seattle Books, Part 3: Place

    Next in our ongoing series of 20 books that capture the essence of Seattle, we look at a variety of titles that capture a sense of our city and its environs. Whether you’re new in town, just passing through, or you’ve lived here all your life, these titles will enhance your awareness of and appreciation for the misty… Continue reading