Book Buzz: No Two Persons

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister Some people mark summer by road trips and barbecues. Book lovers track the season by the pages we’ve read. Like Jenga pieces, we pull hardbacks from our teetering “to be read” piles, scan media for trending titles, and turn to library and bookstore staff for the next great book … Read more

Libraries are cooling stations

A heat advisory has been issued for parts of Western Washington, including Whatcom County, through Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. All WCLS libraries are equipped with air conditioning and can be useful as a cooling station for community members. Please exercise caution and spread the word to any neighbors who might need to cool down. Find … Read more

Whatcom READS announces Oct. 15 submission deadline for annual writing challenge

Whatcom Reads logo

Whatcom READS invites writers of all ages and experience levels to submit original work for its annual writing challenge, Whatcom WRITES. This year’s prompt is legacies, which is inspired by Whatcom READS 2024 featured title, Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe. Submission deadline is Oct. 15. To … Read more

Book Buzz: The Least of Us

Book cover shows a street in a small town.

The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth by Sam Quinones The Least of Us takes us into the lives of people involved with and impacted by fentanyl and super-meth.  Sam Quinones, a former award-winning investigative reporter and now author, has extensive contacts in Mexico and … Read more

Book Buzz: Cascadia Field Guide

The cover of Cascadia Field Guide is tan with images of flora and fauna.

Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry edited by Elizabeth Bradfield, CMarie Fuhrman and Dereky Sheffield The collection Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry is a love story masquerading as a field guide. In the book, 14 artists and more than 100 poets and writers express their devotion to the bioregion through black-and-white illustrations, place-inspired poetry … Read more

Book Buzz: Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City

The yellow cover of Jane Wong's memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, features a multi-colored hermit crab with family photos inset in the outline.

Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City: A Memoir by Jane Wong Some memoirists paint the past with soft edges, intentionally or perhaps subconsciously smoothing out the rough bits and lingering fondly on the pleasant ones.  Not Jane Wong.  She lays it all out there, presenting a vivid, heart-wrenching, pull-no-punches exploration of her life (so far).  Like the Bruce … Read more

Friends of the Blaine, Ferndale and South Whatcom libraries present free jazz series

Image shows the Whatcom Grooves poster illustration of a person playing a saxophone against a deep blue background. Copy announces the jazz series.

Celebrate summer, jazz and libraries at three free concerts hosted by Friends of South Whatcom, Ferndale and Blaine libraries in support of the Whatcom County Library System. At each event, neighbors will gather for a joyous hour of live music and to discover what’s new at local libraries. Reservations are encouraged at wcls.org/jazz.   The three … Read more

Book Buzz: Monsters

Cover of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer I have been waiting to read Claire Dederer’s “Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma” since approximately 7:50 p.m. June 22, 2017. So, when it arrived at libraries and bookstores April 25, 2023, I was ready. And oh, my, was it worth the wait. “Monsters” tackles a complicated question — can … Read more