The Irish writer whom we hadn't heard of until writing this, Anne Enright, is in town flogging her fourth book, The Gathering, a Booker Prize winner. (Which reminds us that Eavan Boland is visiting this March 3.) Her book, says the NY Times:...inhabits the restless, angry consciousness of Veronica Hegarty, one of a dozen children of a “vague” mother — a “piece of benign human meat, sitting in a room” — and a mannerly,......

A friend just emailed Seattlest, gushing with glee that our season's passes to the Summit (Alpental, really) grant us 5 free days of skiing at Crystal Mountain. We'd already written about how the ownership of the Summit by Boyne Mountain (who also owns Crystal Mt.) might be a good thing for mountain bikers. So it sounded like it was already working out for those of us that go mostly to Alpental (due to sheer proximity,......

From time to time we residents of this unique/Northwestern/American city develop blindspots into which it's difficult to see. Jonathan Raban has made a good go of assisting us in these situations --sometimes just by nudging the mirror a little-- so we contacted him hoping he could help with a little perspective on our viaduct dilemma. He doesn't disappoint. Discussed are the Viaduct, the waterfront, South Lake Union, Aurora Ave North, the Tube, traffic, money, legacies,......