Explore and Discover

Fractured fairy tales: re-inventing imagined worlds

Posted on February 14, 2017 at 6:00 am

By Rachel Edmondson It’s that time of year again when thoughts turn to true love and finding happily-ever-after. Most of the time, life is not a fairy tale. Unless, of course, you’re reading the original fairy tales, which are darker and more gruesome than the Disneyesque versions. Sometimes real life feels a bit too similar […]

Battling the winter blahs

Posted on February 10, 2017 at 6:00 am

By Susan Goertz As we face another month of chilly winter weather, I find it a challenge to get myself outside. I am a nature lover and a fairly active person, but you will rarely see me in the gym. I want to exercise under open skies while gentle breezes drift over my skin. Which […]

My long-standing relationship with coffee (and 10,000 coffee stands)

Posted on February 7, 2017 at 6:00 am

By Amanda Flanery “Love is in the air and it smells like coffee.” —Unknown How many of you, by a show of empty cups/mugs, have a stack of coffee stand cards in your vehicle or wallet? Do you also think the best time for coffee is right now? And in a few minutes from now? […]

It’s the bee’s knees: learning about urban beekeeping

Posted on January 31, 2017 at 6:00 am

By David Wyatt “The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.” ― Henry David Thoreau In the midst of February is probably not when most of us would be thinking of bees. However, it is an excellent time to plan for spring and think happy thoughts of the warmer seasons ahead. As part […]

Q&A with romance novelists: Asa Maria Bradley, Katee Robert, and Rebecca Zanetti

Posted on January 24, 2017 at 6:00 am

By Erin Dodge My inner fangirl starts jumping up and down every time I find out that an author is coming to the library to give a reading or discuss writing. So you can imagine the backflips (my inner fangirl is much more flexible than I am) when I heard that three amazing authors are […]

New year, new stitch: cross-stitching with attitude

Posted on January 17, 2017 at 6:00 am

By Stefani Miller Looking for something new try in 2017? Consider cross-stitch. Cross-stitch—a once neglected art form (some may argue)—is making a serious comeback with new patterns and a healthy dose of attitude. Out with the elaborate garden scenes. In with sugar skulls and humorous, snarky sayings. In other words, this is definitely not yo […]

Cult films and why we love, hate them

Posted on January 10, 2017 at 6:00 am

By Melanie Boerner You know you have one—the movie you can quote on the fly (and for some of us, from beginning to end). Or you may have one movie that, when mentioned, you cringe because you loathe it. These are the movies we’ve watched dozens (100s?) of times—whether we like them or not. […]

Reluctant readers, the right books, and Minecraft

Posted on January 3, 2017 at 6:00 am

By Gwendolyn Haley Do you have a kid who is a reluctant reader? When kids complain that reading is boring, they are probably just reading the wrong book. . . for them. Reluctant readers often will try books about things that they already love. If you have a Minecrafter in your house, you may have checked […]

Broadway Court Estates Book Club (when the library comes to you)

Posted on December 27, 2016 at 6:00 am

By Erin Dodge Meet Charline and Margy (standing) and Suzanne, Jean, and Winnie (seated)—about half of the Broadway Court Estates Book Club (busy schedules and winter colds prevented others from making it). I was invited come along to their December meeting by Margy, Public Services Specialist at Spokane Valley Library and facilitator of the group […]

Twas the night before… at the library

Posted on December 20, 2016 at 6:00 am

By Jane Baker ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the library The patrons had left with all the books they could carry; Computer screens were blank and turned off for the night, The book drops emptied, ready for first light; The library was silent, but if you were really still Echos of storytime […]