Don’t be afraid of the dark: Thrilling Tales just for you!

For several years now, audiences have been flocking to our twice monthly lunch hour program Thrilling Tales: A Storytime for Grownups, and every so often someone tells us they wish there were an evening version of these readings. Well, it’s finally happening!

Staring on June 18, we’ll be sharing some of our favorite suspenseful tales in monthly readings at the Central Library. We’re calling it Thrilling Tales After Dark. Written by a variety of master storytellers such as Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson and Truman Capote, the stories range from wondrous to eerie to truly terrifying, and are drawn from the early years of Thrilling Tales. All readings run from 7-8 p.m., at the Central Library’s Microsoft Auditorium, finishing in just under an hour, and they are free. Take a look at what’s coming up:

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#BookBingoNW2018: Author (or character) with a disability

Something special is happening in Seattle July 1 through the 6th: The USA Special Olympic Games! “More than 4,000 athletes and coaches representing 50 state Programs and the District of Columbia, along with the support of tens of thousands of volunteers and spectators, will compete in 14 Olympic-type team and individual sports.” –from Special Olympics USA.

Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver

It’s also in it’s 50th year! Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 5.7 million athletes and Unified partners in 172 countries. With the support of more than 1 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and over 108,000 games and competitions throughout the year.  In the United States, over 700 thousand athletes and Unified partners from 52 state Programs participate in sports offered at the national, regional, state, local and area levels. From Traditional (athletes with intellectual disabilities) to Unified Sports (athletes with and without disabilities competing together), Special Olympics offers activities every day of every year for people to get involved locally to globally. –from Special Olympics USA

In honor of that event Book Bingo this year features a square for an author or character that has a disability. Here are a few title suggestions to complete that bingo square:

Intriguing East Asian Fiction

Did you hear the announcement earlier this year, that the National Book Foundation will be adding a new award for the first time in 36 years, honoring works in translation? With that news, it’s a good time to continue highlighting some interesting international fiction published in 2017-18, this time from East Asia – Japan, Korea and China.

New Fiction Roundup – May 2018

5/1: The Abbot’s Tale by Conn Iggulden – In this gripping historical novel, Iggulden intertwines the story of Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury (later Saint Dunstan) with the story of seven tenth-century kings who struggled to unite the disparate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into one unified England. For fans of Bernard Cornwell.

Le Guin, Allende, Bradbury & More, This Spring at Thrilling Tales!

This Spring Thrilling Tales, the library’s popular story time for grown ups, is branching out with new monthly evening events in addition to our regular lunch hour gatherings. Now in its 15th year, the program celebrates the joy of story with live readings of compelling, intriguing, wondrous and suspenseful stories. Here’s what’s coming up in the months ahead.