No worries, the Seattle literary scene is still keeping things lively this week; history lessons served up with a twist, the YouTube phenomenon that can actually save lives, and a little glimpse into Ernest Hemingway’s messy love life. We’ve got quite the week waiting for all of you! more ›

SARAH VOWELL, JOY!: as if we couldn't love Okies from Muskogee any more, author and social commentator Sarah Vowell is in fact, from Muskogee, Oklahoma. We can hardly contain our excitement in between the releases of her tremendously engaging books, and her latest, Unfamiliar Fishes’, is no different. This one tackles the colonial history of Hawaii and looks to be delightful. She's so charming and fun to see speak as well, so try to catch her tonight at Town Hall. more ›

The Unfamiliar Fishes of Sarah Vowell's new book about Hawaii are not mahi mahi, mano (sharks), or even the infamous humuhumunukunukuapua'a. Rather, the strange creatures swarming Hawaii's beautiful coasts are people—specifically, missionaries from New England—and Vowell visits Town Hall on Monday night to talk about their influence on Hawaiian culture. more ›

'CAUSE SARAH VOWELL'S INCREDIBLE: Much-loved favorite author, humorist, journalist, and sometimes Pixar character Sarah Vowell will be in town tonight to read from her latest novel, The Wordy Shipmates. For anyone who has yet to have read Vowell's work, we promise this will be an excellent opportunity to get acquainted not only with her latest, but as well with Vowell herself. To ensure a seat or standing spot we highly recommend getting there early--there's definitely a reason why this book has been on the bestseller's list for practically forever. more ›

WORDY SHIPMATES: Sarah Vowell's finally here to read from her book about the thought-life of Puritans such as John Winthrop, Anne Hutchinson, and Roger Williams. She's "not interested in the whole person," says Vowell in a recent interview with Seattlest Editor MvB. Take Roger Williams: "I'm mostly interested in what he thought about religion, government, community, Indians and how much Roger Williams was getting on his nerves. I don't really give a hoot what he had for breakfast or how he felt about his mom." This is one reading we feel more than comfortable recommending! more ›

This American Life-r Sarah Vowell has written a new book, The Wordy Shipmates, which is the most readable history of New England Puritan thought you're likely to come across in your lifetime. It's a bit like reading the journal of a grad student who's doing their thesis on Puritan rhetoric--with all the marginal asides and musings left poignantly in. We emailed her a few questions, and she wrote back, double-spacing after periods, which extra space we edited out to save on pixels. If you have better questions, super-genius, she's in town on Monday, October 13, at Town Hall. Hie thee hence, why doncha. more ›

Bumbershoot 2005 hosted the inaugural People Talking and Singing show, where 2,800 festival attendees packed McCaw Hall to see Dave Eggers, Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), Mike Doughty, Sarah Vowell, and Death Cab for Cutie, all the while raising $18K for 826 Seattle, the youth writing center in Greenwood. Last year's event, also at Bumbershoot, was hosted by Daily Show Resident Expert™ John Hodgman and singer Jonathan Coulton. Eggers, Handler, Gibbard, and Vowell were back for more, along with Decemberist Colin Meloy, Smoosh, and Stephin Merritt. All together, the benefit raised another $10K. more ›

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. more ›

Tonight's episode of This American Life is "What I Learned from TV," compiled from live performances on their tour of the same name. Pieces by David Rakoff, Sarah Vowell, and Dan Savage will be included. Seattlest went on March 7, when the live show hit the Paramount, and we can confirm that the Rakoff and Savage stories are solid. (We're also happy that Alexa Junge's piece, about her experiences as a female TV scriptwriter,... more ›

This is Tom Landry, the greatest coach the Dallas Cowboys ever had.
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To have been at McCaw Hall Friday night, is to have been truly blessed. It was a night filled with smiles, laughter and bottomless admiration – not only for the performers, but also for the people behind the scenes for whom this night was meant to benefit. It was a night which, at one point, brought a couple tears to our eyes. But we’re sensitive like that. more ›

So, there's that big, crowded festival-thingy going on this weekend and we could recommend a bunch of stuff to hit there, but ah, we're far too lazy to do that. Here's the schedule - make yourself happy. No one's looking. more ›

1) Mercir (EMP Sky Church) - We started the day with some electro indie rock. With moody vocals, usually more atmospheric than lyrical, this three piece uses guitars, keyboards and a latop computer to create a rich wall of sound. more ›

Okay, okay, we know that this year’s Bumbershoot lineup will leave you wondering what year it is, since we wouldn’t really call most of the acts especially current or relevant, but there are some things worth checking out. more ›

In case you haven't quite had your fill of Death Cab for Cutie cameos (the O.C.) or interviews (we talked to British Sea Power yesterday) recently, guitarist Christopher Walla interviews writer and NPR great Sarah Vowell at Salon.com today. Vowell's book "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" apparently had quite an effect on Walla and led him to purchase multiple copies for friends and family and, eventually, brought about this interview. more ›