The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka It takes a minute to dive below the surface of Julie Otsuka’s third novel, “The Swimmers,” because its style and point of view, told initially from the first person omniscient, is disorienting. We know we’re in a pool, underground, where many people come to swim laps. Collectively, the swimmers are … Read more
111 Places in Seattle That You Must Not Miss by Harriet Baskas February and March can be challenging months here in the Pacific Northwest. Snow is on the ground as I write this, the temperature is freezing and it will be dark in a few hours. It’s a time when PNWers fantasize about trips to … Read more
Whatcom READS season is in full swing, and now that you’ve had a chance to read Jess Walter’s novel “The Cold Millions,” you can dig deeper by availing yourself of library materials from public libraries and local higher-ed institutions. The Whatcom READS website links to a lengthy list of titles exploring topics mentioned in the … Read more
You Are Not Broken: Stop “Should-ing” All Over your Sex Life by KJ Casperson Nestled between articles on China’s approach to COVID-19, Ukraine’s cyber-defense program and needle exchanges in New York City, the Dec. 3, 2022, edition of The Economist included a piece titled, “The wounds of silence.” The author compared modern discomfort about talking … Read more
Better Than We Found It: Conversations to Help Save the World by Frederick and Porsche Joseph Intended as an introduction to topics of the day for a teen audience, adult readers of “Better Than We Found It: Conversations to Help Save the World” by Frederick and Porsche Joseph will appreciate this inspired examination of society’s … Read more
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
Soccernomics: Why European Men and American Women Win and Billionaire Owners Are Destined to Lose by Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanski Fans of the “beautiful game” who are finding it hard to ethically rationalize watching the World Cup this go-around may take interest in the 2022 World Cup Edition of Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanski’s … Read more
A Little Bit of Land by Jessica Gigot Jessica Gigot did not grow up on a farm, nor did she set out to become a farmer. Nevertheless, today Gigot owns Harmony Fields, a sustainable sheep farm in Bow known for its farmstead cheese. Gigot retraces her meandering path, from farm intern to horticulture Ph.D. candidate … Read more
The Waters Are Rising: Stories of Inspiration and Hope from the Sumas, Washington Flood of November 2021 by Carl Crouse Early on the morning of Nov. 15, 2021, all roads in and out of Sumas closed as the Nooksack River overflowed its banks in Everson and the water headed north toward Sumas. At 10:30 a.m., … Read more
On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu This year’s Washington State Book Award winner for fiction is E. Lily Yu’s astonishing novel “On Fragile Waves,” about two Afghan children whose family flees their war-torn home only to face an uncertain future in Australia. Yu weaves poetry, folklore and simple, direct dialogue into a mesmerizing story … Read more