Season’s Readings: The Gift of Books Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa … December is a time of celebration, and in many traditions, that celebration takes the form of gift-giving. As a book-lover, I most admire the Icelandic Jolabokaflod tradition — roughly translated as “Christmas book flood” — where books are given as gifts on Dec. … Read more
Preparing for winter weather? Add Whatcom County Library System’s Community Resources for Help, Support and Relief to your seasonal toolkit. The online database at wcls.org/community-resources is a go-to source for help in the event of emergencies or other difficult situations. Click on a category to see a searchable table of resources with contacts and other information. Current … Read more
Alix Prior is the new manager of the Ferndale Library. She succeeds Sarah Koehler who retired earlier this summer after 25 years with the Whatcom County Library System. As manager of the 15,000-square-foot, city-owned library building, Prior works with a team of 24 staff members to deliver library services to the Ferndale community. “Alix’s professional … Read more
WCLS’s fourth annual Read & Share features Bellingham author Clyde W. Ford’s award-winning memoir, Think Black. It is a vivid portrayal of the intersection between technology and race and the tension between a trailblazing father and rebellious son. Borrow the book or eAudiobook from the library. Then register for Oct. 8-Nov. 10 online author events, including … Read more
Gone to the Woods I came away from this book in awe of the hard things this amazing author experienced in his young life and how he used them to fuel a career that provided some tremendous books for kids who loved survival stories.
The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James Sunny just received a new heart during open heart surgery and she is ready to be a new, better version of herself. But, when Quinn moves in next door, Sunny starts feeling things she’s never felt before. Best LGBTQIA+ book I have ever read!
52 Ways to Nature: Washington: Your Seasonal Guide to a Wilder Year by Lauren Braden Now that the Fourth of July has come and gone, signaling summer has finally arrived to Whatcom County, it’s time to make adventure plans to make the most of each precious weekend. Seattle-based travel writer Lauren Braden’s “52 Ways to … Read more
The Family Chao by Lan Samatha Chang Lan Samantha Chang’s latest novel, “The Family Chao,” centers around a murder, but it’s less of a whodunit than a psychological study of complicated family relationships. The plot is similar to “The Brothers Karamazov,” but you need not be a scholar of 19th-century Russian literature to appreciate this … Read more
Everything Left to Remember: My Mother, Our Memories, and A Journey Through the Rocky Mountains by Steph Jagger Bainbridge Island author Steph Jagger follows up her memoir “Unbound” with “Everything Left to Remember: My Mother, Our Memories, and a Journey Through the Rocky Mountains,” a heart-wrenching yet hopeful recounting of a mother-daughter road trip taken … Read more
UPDATE AUGUST 1, 2022: Telephone service to library branches has been restored. Find your branch phone number here: https://www.wcls.org/about-wcls/ UPDATE THURSDAY, JULY 21: Whatcom County Library System Provides Notice of Data Event UPDATE THURSDAY, JULY 14: Access to Digital Resources has been restored. Patrons can access digital resources at https://www.wcls.org/digital-content/ UPDATE FRIDAY, JULY 1: Printers may … Read more