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  • So, You Wanna Join a Cult? A Primer.

    So, You Wanna Join a Cult? A Primer.

    Cult stories seem to be having a bit of a moment in our cultural consciousness (go figure), usually the weirder the better. From the ancient Greek Mysteries to Charles Manson to Midsommar, humanity’s cultural landscape is littered with cults. They equally fascinate and repel, highlighting how our deepest longings to belong can so easily be… Continue reading

  • Whimsigoth – Three Variations on an Aesthetic

    Whimsigoth – Three Variations on an Aesthetic

    The final core we three wish to leave you with this year is the effervescent, highly mutable, slightly dark, yet utterly magical core of whimsigoth. May these suggestions spark warm fizzes of delight amidst the deep dark grey of winter. Meranda: My first taste of whimsigoth came from The Addams Family. The dark aesthetics, the… Continue reading

  • Depth Year Skills: Stitching Across Time

    Depth Year Skills: Stitching Across Time

    One of the things I love most about working in a library is the immediate access to books and other media that help me learn how to do things. The O’Reilly Database is a fantastic place to find scientific, technical, and computer skills resources, like the Canva Cookbook, which can teach me how to make… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo NW 2024: Fantastical

    To mark off your “Fantastical” Book Bingo NW 2024 square, let yourself be swept away to the realms of gods and monsters, magic and intrigue with the following titles, where everything is not quite as it seems… Godkiller by Hannah Kaner is an engrossing quest fantasy with unlikely friendships and found family set in a… Continue reading

  • Cottagecore – Three Variations on an Aesthetic

    Cottagecore – Three Variations on an Aesthetic

    What do you envision when you hear the term “cottagecore”? Perhaps its lush country gardens, fresh baked bread, and dreamy cotton clothes. Or maybe just a simple back-to-nature aesthetic that is wistful and romantic. Here are three takes from three library staff on Cottagecore to fuel your inspiration. Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore has lush… Continue reading

  • Living in the Time of Drought(s)

    With the 8th hottest winter on record since 1895, the Washington State Department of Ecology declared a state-wide drought this week. Though there are limited exceptions for Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett metro areas, thoughtful consideration of your household’s water consumption can only help our local water ecologies. Below are some resources to help you consider… Continue reading

  • Found in the Stacks: Subversive Stitches

    I recently completed my first ever cross-stitch: a bookmark with a Stephen King quote surrounded by moths and floral elements. It was a stunning red thread design on black cloth. I was immediately ready to take on a new project and headed into the book stacks at Central Library for inspiration. I scanned the shelves… Continue reading

  • Cozy Fantasy for the Long Dark

    As we settle in and prepare for the Long Dark in Seattle, grab a mug of your favorite tea, your coziest blanket, and cuddle up with these low stakes, high comfort fantasy reads. Regional author and audio book narrator extraordinaire Travis Baldree made an unexpected splash in the fantasy market with his first novel Legends… Continue reading

  • In the Deep Dark Woods

    Growing up with the woods at my back in Central Oregon, forests have always been closest to the sublime for me. Forests hold beauty, magic, mystery, and little bit of terror – there is nothing quite so eerie as the silence of the woods on a snowy winter’s day. Since moving to Seattle, with its… Continue reading

  • Murder: What’s Age Got to Do With It?

    The beginning of autumn always makes me want to curl up with a good book and a steaming mug of tea and nothing is cozier to me than a cozy mystery. With protagonists ranging from “your average 30 something whose life has been upended and must return home” to (usually) “single women who inherit mysterious… Continue reading

  • The Art of Protest

    With things heating up in labor movements, the increase of book bans, and continued infringements on the rights of BIPOC and queer people across the country, the art of protest is more important than ever. And by art of protest, I mean not just the act of protesting, but the literal art that people make… Continue reading