Misha S.
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Science Fiction Fridays: What is Other Realms Reading?
If you want to join a science fiction and fantasy book group or just read along, here is a list of what the Central Library’s Other Realms book group will be reading in 2014: Continue reading
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Fall Book Group Reads: Misha’s picks
Here are some of my favorite reads from 2013 that I think would be fantastic for book group discussion. Continue reading
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Fall books and some author events to get excited about
So while not all of these are technically coming out in the fall (a couple are already out), these are some of the books that will be generating buzz in the months to come. I read Marisha Pessl’s Night Film a couple of months ago and have been telling patrons about it ever since, even though… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Graduation Day
Graduation is a major rite of passage whether it be from high school or college. These films capture the momentous occasion and the sometimes confusing, anticlimatic aftermath of such life transitions. Dazed and Confused (1993): Richard Linklater’s cult classic film follows a group of high school students on the last day of school as they… Continue reading
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Do you like speculative fiction? Check out Seattle’s own Clarion West!
The Clarion West Writer’s Workshop is a gem of the Seattle literary world. They hold workshops throughout the year and a fantastic, crowd-funded write-a-thon for writers around the world. Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Gritty Brits
As Sinéad O’Connor sang in the ’90s, “England’s not the mythical land of Madame George and roses,” but the seductive pull of Downton Abbey and its celebration of wealth and landed gentry may have given us rose-colored glasses about merry old England. These films remind us that the United Kingdom is diverse, gritty and much more interesting than… Continue reading
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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
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Your Next 5 Books: Science fiction, satire and fantasy
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
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Your Next 5 Books: Traveling to Thailand
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
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Science Fiction Fridays: More love and triangles
Jared recently wrote about some science fiction novels with love triangles at their core. I just read two books in a recent teen series that features a great, complex love triangle while telling a compelling story of survival: Amy Kathleen Ryan’s Sky Chasers novels, Glow and Spark. Glow sets up the series beautifully, with complex characters, suspense… Continue reading
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Five novels our librarians suggest for holiday gifts
Three Northwest authors just happen to have written some of the hottest new books of the season, but we’re also including a British novel (with a Northwest connection!) and an Australian novelist for some international flair. Blasphemy by Sherman Alexie Alexie, one of Seattle’s most enigmatic and daring writers, combines 15 previous and 15 new… Continue reading
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Science Fiction Fridays: To never sleep again
What if you never needed to sleep? What if you were hyper-intelligent and used your every waking hour better and more efficiently than those who did need sleep? If you were Sleepless, would the Sleepers appreciate or fear you? Nancy Kress’ powerful novel Beggars in Spain asks these questions and more while creating memorable characters… Continue reading
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Where It’s At: New books by local authors
This fall brings a particulary good bumper crop of new books by local authors. There must be something in the air/water/mountains/evergreens/coffee to generate this much awesomeness in one place. Here are some new and upcoming releases to kickstart your fall with some Pacific Northwest flavor: Blasphemy: New and Selected Short Stories by Sherman Alexie Sherman Alexie… Continue reading
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Science Fiction Fridays: Bujold the rabble rouser
Rebels and rascals are rife in fiction and this is especially true in science fiction. Science fiction readers like to see evil being fought in all of its forms and want to follow bold, brash heroes who stand up against tyranny and plain idiocy, too. I wrote in an earlier Shelf Talk post on how I… Continue reading
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Beyond Lyle the Crocodile: The truly awesome Bernard Waber
Some children’s authors get to be well known for one book, character or series of books, and their other books get sidelined. Sometimes it’s because their other books didn’t have the same cultural impact or just aren’t as good. But in other cases, some really great books get ignored and forgotten. This is certainly true in the… Continue reading
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Hot Topic: Bullying
There has been a lot of buzz in the media about the Motion Picture Association’s decision to give the new documentary, “Bully,” an R-rating, preventing teens from seeing the film. Many filmmakers, parents, and even politicians have been challenging the rating decision, lobbying to make “Bully” PG-13 and therefore available to a wider audience. The Weinstein… Continue reading
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Jon Agee: Deadpan humor for all ages
As any parent knows, children’s books aren’t just for children. There are some books that grow more tedious with every reread, and there are others that continue to delight and surprise both parent and child. Jon Agee is one of those children’s authors and illustrators that has a dry, caustic wit running through every book… Continue reading
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Science Fiction Fridays: I’ve got a bad case of the Bujolds!
I confess that readers have been telling me for years to try Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. But the covers are so awful (sorry, Baen, but it’s true!) and the phrase often used to describe the series, “military sci-fi,” did nothing to sway me. Then, for a class, I decided to give Bujold a try and read Cordelia’s Honor, an… Continue reading