Nightstand Reads with Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry, shares some books she’s loving. Garmus will be appearing in conversation with Nancy Pearl at the Central Library at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23.

Set in 1960s California, Bonnie Garmus’ blockbuster debut novel follows Elizabeth Zott, a scientist whose career is shaped by the idea that a woman’s place is in the home, and unexpectedly finds herself in a starring role hosting America’s most beloved TV cooking show.

I just finished reading Kate Zernike’s excellent (and infuriating!) The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science. It follows the career of Nancy Hopkins, a brilliant scientist and cancer researcher who endured decades of sexism before joining with other women at MIT to make the bias against women both seen and heard.

Shortlisted for the Booker and a novel that moved me like no other, Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These.

I really enjoyed Maame by Jessica George, a funny and sad tale of youth, racism, and family expectation.

Introducing Higo! New Central Exhibition

Higo 10 Cents Store, owned by the Murakami family and a social hub in Seattle’s Japantown, has a long and fascinating community and family history. Meet Me at Higo welcomes younger generations to connect with and explore what it means to be Japanese American. Today, Higo 10 Cents Store (or Higo Variety Store) is KOBO at Higo and is still located at 604 South Jackson in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.

The growing Murakami family visits Seattle’s Volunteer Park, 1923. Murakami Family Collection, Wing Luke Museum

From February 1st through March 26th, the Central Library Gallery is hosting Meet Me at Higo, a traveling exhibition by the Wing Luke Museum. Visitors will immerse themselves in archival photographs, journals and letters from the Murakami family—the original proprietors—as well as goods such as ceramics, toys, and textiles sold there through the 20^th century until it closed its doors in the early 2000s when Masa, the last surviving member of the Murakami family, retired.

Matsuyo Murakami stands in the doorway of the store on South Weller Street, circa 1912. Murakami Family Collection, Wing Luke Museum

Founded before 1910 (dates are variously given as 1907 and 1909 depending on the source), Higo 10 Cents Store, which was later renamed Higo Variety Store, became a center for Japanese Americans who came to the Pacific Northwest to as migrant works in the railroad, agriculture, and fishing industries. The Japanese population grew into a neighborhood called Nihonmachi (Japantown or J-Town), a hub of culture and community located in the International District-Chinatown, less than a mile from the Central Library. At Nihonmachi’s heart was Higo, a central point of connection for the community, providing imported and local goods that local residents relied on to make their homes feel familiar and comfortable as well as a place for people to meet and connect.

Poetry, Pictures, Architecture and Orcas: January 2023 Events and Author Readings

Courtesy Rodion Kutsaiev with Unsplash

Want something to look forward to after the holidays? The Seattle Public Library’s author programs and community events in January 2023 include a Lunar New Year celebration, the Seattle Times’ annual Pictures of the Year event, and author events highlighting Lynda Mapes’ award-winning book about orcas and a picture book about Pacific Science Center architect Minoru Yamasaki.

Many of these events require registration. Find information and registration through the event links below or at spl.org/Calendar. All Library events are free and open to the public.

December 2022 Events: Authors, Art, Holly, a Concert and More

Photo courtesy of Alex Padurariu, Unsplash

Brrr! Get cozy with The Seattle Public Library in December with engaging author programs, an art exhibit, a concert, fun events at the South Park Branch, a monthly movie and more.

Many of these events require registration. Find information and registration at event links or spl.org/Calendar. All Library events are free and open to the public.

Year of Wonder art by Kellie Kawahara-Niimi

Artist Exhibition 2022: First Thursday Artist Reception, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 1, Central Library (Level 8 Gallery). Join us today for a reception celebrating the opening of an exhibition of local artists who collaborated with the Library in 2022 to highlight programs such as the Year of Wonder and Summer of Learning. The exhibition is on view until Jan. 15, 2023.

Megan Asaka Discusses “Seattle from the Margins.” from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 3, Central Library (Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium). Seattle Times columnist Naomi Ishisaka will lead a discussion of Megan Asaka’s new book “Seattle from the Margins: Exclusion, Erasure, and the Making of a Pacific Coast City,” which recognizes the marginalized communities who made Seattle what it is today.

 

Holly Days: Creating holiday décor out of invasive plants. From 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 6, South Park Branch. Join community naturalist Nicolasa Hernandez in creating beautiful wreaths, garlands, and sprays using invasive plants. Basic materials provided. Please bring any special items to add a personal touch. For teens and adults, this workshop will be offered in English and Spanish.

Explore Seattle from the Margins with historian Megan Asaka

View Seattle’s history from a new vantage point, that of the migrant workers who built the city with a discussion between Megan Asaka, author of Seattle From the Margins: Migrant labor History in 19th and 20th Centuries, and Seattle Times columnist Naomi Ishisaka, at 2:30pm on December 3rd at the Central Library.

The eagerly anticipated Peak Pick, Seattle from the Margins: Migrant Labor History in 19th & 20th Centuries by Megan Asaka is on library shelves now!

Seattle from the Margins examines the intersection of race and class in historical migrant communities that worked in the Pacific Northwest and built Seattle in the 19th and 20th centuries. Migrant workers are people whose lives are transient as they follow seasonal or temporary work, such as farming, logging, and fishing, all of which were—and still are—major contributors to Western Washington’s economy. Asaka was partially inspired by her own family’s history and weaves together the complex lives of displaced Coast Salish Indigenous peoples and immigrants from Japan and China; and how their communities intermingled. Seattle became a “stopping place” where people would gather as the work shifted up and down the Puget Sound, up into Alaska, and down into Oregon, but also became a place where migrants found solidarity and built communities and families together.