You may be pleasantly surprised by just how many options there are to read a Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) author. SAL has been bringing writers to Seattle for over thirty years (here is the complete list), so there are literally hundreds of options. Or check out this amazing list of SAL Speaker titles available for immediate download from your library.
Here are some past SAL speakers who not only have books available for in our catalog, but – for all of you who miss attending literary events – whose podcast appearances at the Library can also be enjoyed right away:
Lindy West. From Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, to her latest, The Witches are Coming, local author, comedian and activist Lindy West pulls no punches in her refreshingly candid takes on American culture; she makes you laugh, and makes you think. West appeared at our library with Luvvie Ajayi in 2016, and with Scaachi Koul in 2017.
Award-winning Pacific Northwest poet Richard Kenney‘s latest collection Terminator: Poems 2008 – 2018 is available for download, or you can hear him reading from his 2008 library visit. Kenney’s formally ambitious poetry employs intricate and playful verse to comment on science, politics, love, and language.
Crowds flocked to see Viet Nguyen when he spoke at the library in 2017, reading from his story collection The Refugees, which is available for download, together with his provocative multi-award-winning novel The Sympathizer.
It wasn’t until 2016 when Colson Whitehead made his standing room only appearance at the Library, reading from his Pulitzer- and National Book Award-winning novel The Underground Railroad, though we’ve been hooked on his moving, thought-provoking novels since The Intuitionist, back in 2000. Right now feels like a good time to read his zombie novel, Zone One, or perhaps The Noble Hustle, his non-fiction book about poker, beef jerky, and death.
Okay so yes, there’s kind of a long waiting list in Ijeoma Oluo‘s popular anti-racist eBook So You Want To Talk About Race, but the audiobook, with a powerful narration by Banhi Turpin – is available right away as one of our always available titles. You can also enjoy her library visits, in a 2017 screening the documentary Oh, I Get It, and in conversation with Nicole Chung in 2018.
Our central library had only been open a couple of years when the great Isabel Allende paid us a visit in 2006, reading from her novel Ines of My Soul, and what a wonderful day it was! Allende was our featured author for that year’s Seattle Reads program, in which we featured several of her many books, in English and Spanish.
For even more suggestions, check out our booklist!
For more ideas for books to meet your Summer Book Bingo challenge, follow our Shelf Talk #BookBingoNW2020 series or check the hashtag #BookBingoNW2020 on social media. Book bingo is presented in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures.
~ Posted by David W.
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