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2025 Staff Faves: Teen Books
Every year, we ask staff members around the library system what their favorite reads published this year were. 2025 is no different, and we have a stellar lineup of fiction and graphic novels. Graphic novels first: Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi began in 2024, but volumes 3 through 5 were published this year. The… Continue reading
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The Year’s “Best Of:” for Both the Dilettante and the Obsessive
Do you have a stack of magazines waiting to be read? Are bookmarked articles haunting you? Do you wish someone would just tell you the best ones that you should definitely read? Well you’re in luck – this is your reminder to explore the best in essays, articles, and short stories with annual compilations. Put… Continue reading
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5 Fiction and Nonfiction Books that Dive Into AI
If representations of AI in fiction are starting to feel eerily plausible to you, you’re not alone! AI suddenly seems to be everywhere — in your phone, in your browser, offering tech support and an uncanny form of virtual friendship. How did this happen, where is it headed and what will it mean for humanity?… Continue reading
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Indigenous Stories for Teens
November is National Native American Heritage Month, and one way we celebrate is through the sharing of stories by and about Native Americans. Whether or not you are Native American, these new titles for teens make for fantastic stories. Gary Robinson’s book Billy Buckhorn and the Book of Spells launches a series about a Cherokee… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – November 2025
Welcome to November’s list of notable nonfiction! The fall publishing season wraps up with dozens of new titles to consider, including some memoirs and self care guides from your favorite entertainers. History, poetry and some exciting new cookbooks round out the month’s picks. Here we go! “Rocktober” may be over, but November has a host… Continue reading
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Dark and Disturbing: 8 Horror Novels by Women
In the tradition of local award-winning author Sadie Hartmann’s newest release, “Feral and Hysterical: Mother Horror’s Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark and Disturbing Fiction by Women,” Hartmann and SPL Reader Services librarian Genesee Rickel share two lists featuring chilling tales written by women. As in the book, these lists are curated to work in conversation… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – November 2025
We’re adding ten new Peak Picks in November – including some late October releases! In fiction, Marisa Kashino’s debut follows Margo, a desperate buyer on the edge in an insanely competitive housing market in Best Offer Wins, a darkly humorous exploration of class, ambition, and the modern housing crisis; Oynkian Braithwaite, author of the smash hit My… Continue reading
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Washington Horror Novelists
Spooky stories abound this season, including four recent books by Washington authors. Whether set locally or farther afield, enjoy this scary, atmospheric reads. The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel CañasPlague has broken out in 1765 Mexico, and Alba Díaz has fled with her family to a remote village near the silver mine owned by… Continue reading
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Get Cozy with a Cat Book
It’s officially fall, when the weather gets colder and nothing sounds better than cuddling up with a book and a cat. Here are some cozy cat books to enjoy this season, ideally to be read with a purring cat companion. Cat’s People by Tanya Guerrero Cat, a stray cat living on the streets of New… Continue reading
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Fall Cooking
There’s no better season than autumn to share food with friends and family. Here are some of fall’s most anticipated and unique books for cooks and bakers. Samin Nosrat, the bestselling author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, shares 125 meticulously tested, flavor-forward, soul-nourishing recipes that bring joy and a sense of communion in Good Things while Alison Roman… Continue reading
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The Romances of Baseball
We love our sports teams when they’re doing well, but that may turn to love/hate when they’re not, as disappointment and frustrations swell during losses. The ups and downs of a good romance novel can be just as emotionally fraught as an MLB season: the initial swell of attraction/love (winning streaks!), the pitfalls of actually… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup, October 2025
October finds lots of mystery, horror, and fantasy releases as we dip deeper into Fall. 10/7: All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles Zeb Wyckham, family outcast, nonetheless travels to a relative’s Gothic mansion, where he finds himself unwillingly part of an inheritance scheme. Forming a dubious alliance with his former lover, Zeb digs into… Continue reading
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4 Dark Academia Novels to Read This Fall
As daylight hours wane, the transition to fall is the perfect time to get absorbed in a novel that matches the energy of an eerie evening walk. The literary subgenre of dark academia explores themes of power and deceit, using the shadow of the ivory tower to set the tone for murders, hauntings and speculative… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – October 2025
We’re adding ten new Peak Picks in October! In fiction, Anna North astonishes with the tale of Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist who is called to investigate a body found in a bog in Northwest England – but this body is unlike any she’s ever seen – in Bog Queen; Daniel H. Wilson draws on his… Continue reading
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Middle Grade Fiction that Adults & Kids Will Love
Will I ever outgrow my love for middle grade novels? I think not. And I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to, either! There’s something magical about middle grade novels. They depict the thrills and pains and stumbles that come along with growing up and discovering ourselves. They can tell stories of lives… Continue reading
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New Fiction Roundup, September 2025
September is back to school season, and whether that is literal for you or more figuratively just a time to return to more bookish pastimes, there are great new releases in September to check out. 9/2: To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage Steph Harper, member of the Cherokee Nation, has one goal: to… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – September 2025
The fall publishing season starts….now! Celebrity biographies (and poetry!), memoir, self care and cookbooks feature heavily this September. In biography and memoir, Charlie Sheen presents how he defied the odds after descending into “a vortex of extracurricular activities” in The Book of Sheen; TLC’s Sister Wives star Christine Brown Woolley pens a memoir about finding… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – September 2025
We’re adding eleven new Peak Picks in September! In nonfiction, Elizabeth Gilbert, who taught millions of readers to live authentically (Eat, Pray, Love) and creatively (Big Magic), shows how to break free with her first nonfiction book in a decade, All the Way to the River; Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Greenblatt explores the dangerous times and fatal genius… Continue reading