There's so much going on this week! Get excited--then put your scarf on and stop by some of the lit events in Seattle this week... more ›

Today is jam packed with stuff to do. There is Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis talking about their new book. Or there's the new play at the Seattle Repertory Theater. Or you could see what's going on with Arts Crush. more ›

Detergent, surveillance cameras, saving the elderly from burning buildings and more in this morning's headlines. Oh, and that drama at the Everett School Board meeting where the cops showed up. more ›

This week we have some racey stuff (per usual), some meaningful stories, and damn good entertainment. Check out Seattle this week! more ›

This week we have some discussion of fish, some history on feathers, and some farming talk (even in the smallest of apartments). No one can say that we don’t offer you variety—enjoy your week in Seattle Lit events! more ›

A: Evil people. And you're not evil, are you? more ›

We've got a lot of action this week in Seattle's Lit World; everything from the stories of ballet dancers and drug addicts, to reading with rock stars and oceans filled with rubber ducks. Better try hitting them all this week. more ›

Are you a teensy bit ashamed of the overdue library book fines that have incrementally accrued over the months and thus managed to worm their way into your guilty conscience? If you’re too embarrassed to go into your local branch of the Seattle Public Library wearing a scarlet “O” to pay your fines, you can now clear your account from the comfort of your own home with the SPL’s new online payment system. (In fact, you can only pay your overdue fines if they’ve piled up to be worth at least $1.) more ›

Two weeks into the new year, Seattle Public Library (SPL) is proving it's changing with the times. Last week, it was announced that SPL is offering free mp3 downloads to library card holders through Freegal. This week, SPL announced that it is now on Twitter @SPLBuzz more ›

Dust off your library cards! For users like myself who rarely ever use their public library cards, Seattle Public Library is providing some incentive to do so. Earlier this week, the library announced that it now offers free mp3 downloads courtesy of Freegal, an online database of Sony music songs. The digital music files are DRM-free, never expire, and work on all mp3-compatible devices. more ›

You know what sunny and 76 degrees is? Perfect outdoor reading weather, that’s what. Good thing the Friends of the Seattle Public Library are hosting a flash mob reading party at Westlake Center on Friday at noon, just in time for you to escape your cubicle for a glorious it’s-almost-the-weekend lunch break. The group is hoping Seattleites will band together with their favorite books to demonstrate their love of reading and of our fair city’s public libraries. So pick a slab of zig-zaggy concrete and get reading. And maybe get a hint of a tan while you’re at it. more ›

It looks as though two of our local culture curators are heading to D.C. for federal jobs. Yesterday, Seattle city librarian Susan Hildreth confirmed that she has been nominated to be the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. (She's not going anywhere yet - the Senate must confirm Hildreth's nomination.) In related news, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs director Michael Killoren will be leaving Seattle next month to serve as the new director of Local Arts Agencies and Challenge America Fast Track. The position is part of the larger National Endowment for the Arts federal agency in Washington, D.C. more ›

Literary darling Sara Gruen will likely bask in the glow of praise in perpetuity for her 2006 novel Water for Elephants—a story so saturated with rich characters both human and animal that readers grew quite besotted with Gruen’s fanciful imagination. It’s a theme she runs with in her newest book, Ape House—and while it’s received mixed reviews since its Sept. 7 release, the book is already a New York Times best seller. This go around, Gruen introduces us to the fictional world of the Great Ape Language Lab, where reporter John Thigpen is writing about the work of one Dr. Isabel Duncan, who is researching communication with bonobos (a relative of the chimpanzee) before the lab is bombed and the bonobos are, well, bonobo-napped, and forced to star in a sleazy reality show. Zaniness—and an increasingly hard-to-keep-track-of cast of characters—ensues. Perhaps Gruen will be able to help us keep things straight when she stops by the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library this evening for a reading, previously shortlisted on today's Can't Miss It. more ›

Let you library love shine as today kicks off the beginning of National Library Week. So if you haven't been to the library in awhile to pay your respects, this week is the perfect--if not best--time to do just that. And who knows, maybe your favorite librarian will be in such a good mood they'll waive those late fees for you. Maybe. more ›

This Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., the Seattle Children's Health Fair will teach kids how to stay safe and healthy through a variety of fun activities. The hands-on event hopes to encourage children to develop positive opinions about healthcare and hospitals. Finger casting, operating room tours and a wheel chair obstacle course are just a few of the fun things you’ll find. Bring along your fuzzy friends for a check-up at the teddy bear clinic or visit the Tooth Fairy for oral health tips. Life jacket, helmet and booster fittings will also be available as well as safety resources for parents and guardians. 10:00 a.m. // Seattle Children’s Hospital, 4800 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105 // Tickets: Free more ›

SHOW YOUR LIBRARY LOVE: The Seattle Public Library will be hosting a Citywide Conversation tonight at the Northgate Library Branch and they encourage the community to come out and "use their creativity in considering new models, services and potentially new roles for the Library." Support your local library and come be a part of the future because ain't nothin' better than free books! more ›

Mayor Nickels’ 2010 city budget is on the table before the city council, and within it is a $2.6 million proposed decrease in the Seattle Public Library budget for next year - approximately 5% in cuts. Twenty-one library branches will see their operating hours reduced in 2010, and expect a repeat of this year’s week-long library systemwide closure to trim expenses even further. more ›

A man was assaulted in the U District when he refused to give a group of assailants his pizza. more ›

ONE WORLD, TWELVE FINALISTS: Central Cinema will be featuring some of the twelve best short films submitted to the 2009 Manhattan Shorts Festival tonight--the first night of the three-day event. Manhattan's goal is to show the finalists in venues on every continent, uniting audiences around the world, for this one week only. We must admit that they have a point when they ask, "For up-and-coming filmmakers, what greater test for your film is there than to be judged in cinemas by a global audience?" So go join in on the judging fun, and let your inner-critic shine. more ›

Back where we come from, there's places known as "cooling centers". These are public buildings that are air-conditioned in the event of a deadly heatwave such as the one in which we currently find ourselves embroiled. We remember our afternoon cartoons being interrupted by ticker-style warnings about the heat and the elderly and cooling centers for those without A/C in the home. Libraries were the foremost among the list of these cooling centers. more ›

Exactly 20 years ago today, Diane Wei Liang said goodbye to the love of her young life forever. Almost. The preternatural calm over Weiming Lake at Beijing University, patiently awaiting the arrival of army tanks, would have been the perfect setting for two would-be revolutionaries to end their romance that was never-to-be. "Weiming Lake was as peaceful as ever," Liang writes in her memoirs of the heady days of 1989. more ›

"Dewey readout" by Bill Bowdish, from the Seattlest Flickr pool more ›

First of all, let Seattlest be clear up front: we have almost zero respect for Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. Poorly written, dumb story line, not worth our time. Harry Potter, on the other hand, we loved. A group of opinionated kids at the Seattle Public Library debated the merits of the two series yesterday, and here's the video. Attention, kids: read a lot, frequently, and continue to hone your debate skills--they'll serve you in good stead in MySpace chat rooms for the rest of your lives. more ›

"wt [10]" by Patrick Wright, from the Seattlest Flickr pool more ›

To mark the centennial of Theodore Roethke’s birth, poets Linda Bierds, Andrew Feld, Richard Kenney, Colleen McElroy, Heather McHugh, and Pimone Triplett are gathering to read and talk about Roethke, who inspires that kind of devotion, whether you knew him personally or not. The Washington Center for the Book, Poetry Society of America, and University of Washington Creative Writing Program are throwing the party at the Seattle Public Library, in the Microsoft Auditorium. It's this Wednesday, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and it's free. more ›

ALL INCLUSIVE: Knowledge is power. Bone up on making your website design more accessible to every PC, Mac, and Blackberry by taking this course, sponsored by Refresh Seattle. Consultant Wendy Chisholm will speak and everyone will head over to the Red Door for snacks afterward. more ›

Ten years ago, during the height of the dot-com boom, Seattleites voted to spend almost $200 million to update all of the libraries in our system and to add four new neighborhood branches to it. This week, the Libraries for All Initiative comes to an official close and we thought that, in honor of such a magnificent and useful achievement, we’d allow ourselves the oddity of crushing—for this week only—on an inanimate object: Seattle Public Libraries. We are a bunch of writers who dearly love our books, after all. more ›

Seattlest's childhood summers were for three things: camping, sleeping late, and reading. The latter was the most pervasive. We borrowed stacks of ambitiously thick books at a time from the Lake Hills library--a bike ride through the greenbelt away--and we'd burrow somewhere comfortable to read for long hours. We inhaled books, goldfish crackers, and pina colada-flavored slurpees from the corner store during those summers like there was no tomorrow, because back then, it was almost like there really wasn't. At least, there wasn't a tomorrow we needed to concern ourselves terribly with--as long as we had a good book waiting. more ›

JUG BAND IDOL: Starting today, Greg Vandy of KEXP's The Roadhouse will hold live auditions for a new jug band. Without a harsh Brit, we're not sure what to expect, but we know it's unmissable. more ›

FULL PUPPET NUDITY: You might have noticed that big banner on the side of the Paramount advertising puppet cleavage Avenue Q. Well, tonight is opening night, so if you haven't gotten your tickets for this ever-so-brief run of the Tony Award-winning show, now's your time. Seattlest will be there tonight for the kick-off, but then it's up to you to get out and see those puppets sing and swear all over the place. more ›