Librarians talk about staff picks for the best books of 2021. We also chat about books we're looking forward to reading in 2022 and the value of reading broadly.

Hear interviews with authors Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone, and E.J. Koh. El-Mohtar and Gladston chat about their spy novella, This Is How You Lose the Time War. Koh discusses her memoir, The Magical Language of Others. Each author talks about how letter writing can act as a form of time travel. We also share some of our other favorite epistolary works.

Hear interviews with authors Monica West and Brittany Ackerman. West talks about Revival Season, a story about a Black evangelical family and a crisis of faith. Ackerman chats about The Brittanys, a novel about teen friends growing up in Florida. We also discuss our picks for books set where we were born.

Hear Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck, in conversation with Marcus Harrison Green of the South Seattle Emerald moderates.

Explore the future through the lens of science and fiction. We chat with scientist Kelly Weinersmith about the nonfiction book Soonish. Then, we talk to Sarah Pinsker, author of the science fiction novel, We Are Satellites.

Hear Thrity Umrigar, author of The Secrets Between Us in conversation with Nalini Iyer, Professor of English at Seattle University. This feed drop episode contains audio from a live webcast event.

Syed Masood, author of The Bad Muslim Discount, in conversation with Shahina Piyarali. This feed drop is an audio recording of a live webcast event.

Hear interviews with authors: Emily St. John Mandel (The Glass Hotel, Station Eleven) and Kira Jane Buxton (Hollow Kingdom) We chat about revisiting Station Eleven during the pandemic and writing nonhuman characters. Librarians Emily and Britta also have a conversation about rereading old favorites.    

Authors Rachel Lynn Solomon and Gabrielle Korn join us as guests to chat about their new books. Rachel talks about her adult debut The Ex Talk, a romantic comedy set at a Seattle public radio station. In the book, Shay and Dominic fake a past relationship as a pretense for the podcast they host together. Then, Gabrielle talks about her memoir Everybody (Else) Is Perfect. The book shares her experiences working in women's media, recovering from an eating disorder, street harassment, queer...

We interview Jenny Odell, the author of How to Do Nothing and chat about reading in 2021. We talk about new books we're excited to read and discuss our personal reading goals. We also reveal this year's library reading challenge categories. Then, Jenny Odell shares how persuasive design keeps our attention in digital spaces. She talks about connecting offline, reflecting on values, and redefining productivity.

Librarians share the best books of the year. In this episode, we're joined by KCLS staff members Vicki Huggins and Rachel Adams. We also chat about how reading was different in 2020, whether or not we met our reading goals, and more.

We talk with Sarah Gailey, author of Upright Women Wanted.  Then, Emily chats with two friends about Tana French's new novel.

Cristina Henríquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans, joins us for a conversation about immigrant experiences, writing a novel with multiple voices to avoid the "single story," research for writing historical fiction, and the National Book Awards judging process.

In this bonus listen, we're sharing a recording of a live event. Emily talked to super librarian Nancy Pearl about her new book, The Writer's Library, what she learned talking to writers about their reading lives, her pandemic reads, and more. 

In this bonus listen, we're sharing a recording of a live event. Enjoy a conversation between Terese Marie Mailhot, author of Heart Berries, and writer and educator Sara Ortiz. 

We're talking about books about nature and books about journeys. We chat with Nancy Blakey, author of By the Shore, about the benefits of spending time in nature and some of her favorite Pacific Northwest outdoor experiences. Then, we hear from cartoonist, Seattle Public Library employee, and Washington State Book Award finalist Susanna Ryan, author of Seattle Walk Report, about some of her favorite journeys through Seattle and the best way to start your own walking journey. 

In this bonus listen, we're sharing a recording of a live event. Enjoy a conversation about political engagement with U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, author of Use the Power You Have. Jayapal was joined in conversation by former Seattle City Councilmember and author of the book Becoming a Citizen Activist, Nick Licata.

In this bonus listen, we're sharing a recording of a live event. Seattle writer Molly Wizenberg joined us for a discussion of her new memoir, The Fixed Stars. Katrina Carrasco, author of The Best Bad Things, moderated the conversation. They discussed queer identity, favorite LGBTQ+ writers, and more.

On this episode of the Desk Set, we're talking diverse and inclusive romance. If you're working on this year's 10 to Try reading challenge, all the books we mention count as books recommended by KCLS Staff. Adult Services librarian Jennifer Fairchild joins us to talk to bestselling author and romance superstar Jasmine Guillory about her new book, Party of Two, and then we talk about diversity in romance more generally, including some of our favorite authors.

This special episode of The Desk Set is a feed drop recording of a live webcast we shared in celebration of Juneteenth. Author Ijeoma Oluo (So You Want to Talk About Race) spoke with her brother Ahamefule Oluo, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, writer, and stand-up comedian. They discussed Black joy, liberation, and creativity.

In this mini-episode, we're talking about reading in the new year! We share our personal reading goals, discuss this year's 10 to Try challenge, and talk about 2020 titles we're looking forward to reading. We also announce that the podcast is going on a hiatus - we'll be back with new episodes this summer.

Librarians share their picks for the best books of 2019. Hear KCLS staff talk about the titles they loved the most, including adult fiction and nonfiction, teen reads, and children's books.

Three authors share their perspective on the rise of Instagram poetry, the challenge of finding poetry you love, and the unique power of the medium. First we talk with Joy McCullough, author of Blood Water Paint, a historical novel in verse for teens. Next we chat with Washington State Book Award Winner Tara Hardy, author of the collection My, My, My, My, My. Finally, we talk to Laura Da', Hugo House's Poet in Residence and author of Instruments of the True Measure.

We interview author Angie Kim about her novel Miracle Creek, a mystery and legal thriller that's centered on a family of Korean immigrants and a single mother accused of murder. Then we chat with Jo Anderson Cavinta, KCLS's diversity services coordinator, about the programs and services that KCLS offers for immigrants, refugees, and new arrivals.