Upcoming Author Events

Andre Acimen, David Treuer, Clifford Thompson, Julie Pham, cartoonist T Edward Bak, and a love fest for romance readers are among the featured author events coming your way.

The free programs listed below are held at a variety of locations in November (Central Library, Montlake Branch Library, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute); please check our online Author and Books Events calendar for complete details on these featured November events and more.

André Aciman with Dave Wheeler
Find Me
Monday, November 4, 7 p.m.
Central Library, Microsoft Auditorium
Join us to hear novelist André Aciman, the author of the worldwide bestseller Call Me by Your Name, discuss his new book, which revisits the complex and beguiling characters from Call Me by Your Name decades after their first meeting. He will appear in conversation with Dave Wheeler of Shelf Awareness.

The A. Scott Bullitt Lecture in American History presents David Treuer
“The Past Isn’t Past: Native History as American History”
Thursday, November 7, at 7 p.m.
Central Library
Anthropologist David Treuer, author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present (finalist for the 2019 National Book Award), struggled with popular depictions of Native American history (including the bestselling Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee), many of which seemed to conclude that his culture was a relic of the past. Treuer has spent his career dissecting narratives around Native American life and will talk about what he’s learned. Josh Reid, professor at the University of Washington, will join Treuer on stage.

Book picks from the author of ‘Growing Up Gorilla’

Clare Hodgson Meeker’s new nonfiction picture book, Growing Up Gorilla: How a Zoo Baby Brought Her Family Together, is a  heartwarming true story about a baby gorilla at the Woodland Park Zoo. When a mother gorilla walks away from her newborn, the staff at the zoo finds innovative ways for mother and baby (Yola) to build a relationship. It’s a charmer of a book, with fun facts and solid research behind it. We asked Clare, a Washington author, to share some books starring animals — and, delightfully, some of her selections are for adults, and some for kids. Here are Clare’s recommendations:

Nightstand Reads with author Sara Donati

Where the Light Enters is the latest from Sara Donati, a bestselling author known for her riveting and well-researched historical novels. We asked her to share her own reading list with us:

I read a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction out of personal interest and professional necessity. My novels are deeply researched, so I spend a lot of time reading medical texts and government reports written before 1890.  But I also read contemporary and historical fiction of all stripes, from noir crime to romance to short story collections. Ancient Rome, modern-day Detroit, Victorian England, WWII China are all welcome.

If I continue thinking about a book long after I’ve finished it, I consider it time well spent. Here are some of my recent discoveries.

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger
by Rebecca Traister
There is a lot to be angry about. Traister’s book came out just after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified, and it reminded me that women’s anger, once focused, is hugely powerful. It has launched movements and revolutions that have changed the world for the better.

Naomi Shihab Nye shares her Nightstand Reads

Internationally beloved poet Naomi Shihab Nye, who is coming to Seattle September 19 for a SAL event, shares a mix of her recent favorites in fiction, memoir, nonfiction and poetry.

Nye is the author and/or editor of more than 30 volumes, including  19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East (a finalist for the National Book Award), A Maze Me: Poems for Girls, and You & Yours. Her latest book for adults, The Tiny Journalist, is a collection inspired by seven-year-old Janna Tamimi, the “Youngest Journalist in Palestine,” who captured videos of anti-occupation protests with her mother’s smartphone.

Thanks to Naomi Shihab Nye for sharing her recommendations!

Bestselling Fiction in the Pacific Northwest

Comparing what’s popular and in-demand in the Northwest with national bestsellers can be an interesting look into local readers’ preferences. Each week, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association shares the bestselling titles from independent bookstores in our area. Compare that list with the national bestseller lists from New York Times, Publishers Weekly and USA Today and you’ll see  some overlap — and quite a bit of difference.

Here are the top 15 hardcover fiction titles in the Pacific Northwest from last week:

1.  Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (a Peak Pick)
2.  The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (a Peak Pick)
3.  City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (a Peak Pick)
4.  Circe by Madeline Miller (a former Peak Pick)
5.  On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (a Peak Pick)
6.  Normal People by Sally Rooney (a Peak Pick)
7.  The New Girl by Daniel Silva
8.  Deep River by Karl Marlantes (Seattle author!)
9.  Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
10. Exhalation Ted Chiang (Seattle author! And a Peak Pick)
11. Knife by Jo Nesbø
12. The Guest Book by Sarah Blake
13. Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
14. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson (a Peak Pick)
15. The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister (Seattle author!
And a Peak Pick)