All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey by Teresa Wong When she was a kid, Teresa Wong quit Chinese lessons to watch Saturday morningcartoons. She had no idea how her choice would ripple into the future. As an adult, shelooks back on a childhood spent translating for her immigrant parents and wonders: islanguage to … Read more
TRANSCRIPT Claire McElroy and Wes Weddell tell us about a new addition to the Whatcom READS author visit: MUSIC inspired by the book, performed by local musicians and organized by the Bushwick Book Club of Seattle! Bushwick Book Club musicians who will be performing their musical interpretations of No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister on … Read more
Whatcom County Library System staff are hosting 11 public listening sessions in February and March at county library branches and online to review the library system’s budget. The meetings are open to all community members. Following multiple years of significant and sustained inflation coupled with increasing demand for library services, WCLS began accessing reserve funds … Read more
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa “The Cat Who Saved Books,” a translated work by author Sosuke Natsukawa, uses magical realism to reflect on the role of literature for the greater good of society. Natsukawa deftly blends realism and the fantastical to create an endearing story about finding new meaning in life after … Read more
Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II by Elyse Graham Mention the word “spy” and most people picture an action hero, not a professor combing through dusty archives. Yet that is exactly who extracted the intelligence necessary for the Allies to win World War II: librarians and … Read more
The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon In the face of struggle it sometimes feels like the odds are insurmountable and that we cannot make an impact on our own. But the people in The Small and … Read more
The Heart of Winter by Jonathan Evison Abe and Ruth Winter, the couple at the center of Bainbridge Island author Jonathan Evison’s new novel, “The Heart of Winter,” are a quintessential “opposites attract” love story. And yet, against all odds, their 70-year marriage does succeed — due to stubbornness as much as love and devotion … Read more
Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) seeks a Whatcom County resident who loves libraries to fill a partial term on the WCLS Board of Trustees. This term will expire Jan. 31, 2028. The application deadline is Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. Library trustees’ responsibilities include: Candidates should live in Whatcom County, outside the city limits of Bellingham. Those with … Read more
Horse by Geraldine Brooks For an Australian who lives in Massachusetts, author Geraldine Brooks has a remarkable ability to chronicle the American South, as she did with her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, “March.” “March” tells the story of “Little Women” from the point of view of the March girls’ father who joins the Union army … Read more
James by Percival Everett (reviewed by Mary Kinser, collection development librarian)A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages: The World Through Medieval Eyes by Anthony Bale (reviewed by Emma Radosevich, collection development librarian)The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera (reviewed by Paul Fullner, Everson and Sumas branch manager)Held by Anne Michaels (reviewed by Mary Vermillion, community relations … Read more