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Wash Your Hands Thoroughly and Often
Call me paranoid, or perhaps just realistic, but I think it is pretty clear that the end is always near. It could be an earthquake, catastrophic climate change, an asteroid or, what the heck, even a...
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Did You Know? (Olympics Edition)
The first record of the Olympic Games dates back to 776 BC! The three original events were running, wrestling and chariot racing. I found this information on page 33 in the book Understanding Greek...
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On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods
It isn’t hard to picture flooding on our side of the Cascades. Just wait until November if you have any doubts. But if you want evidence of flooding on a truly massive scale, you actually need to head...
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What’s on Ron’s Bookshelf?
Today we answer that age-old question, “What’s on Ron’s Bookshelf?” Some people take too much food at a meal because their eyes are bigger than their stomach. I check out far more books than I can...
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Timber!
With the Thanksgiving meal just barely digested, many peoples’ thoughts turn to the mega holiday of Christmas. Some battle the hordes on Black Friday to try to find a deal. Others brave the rain and...
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EBooks at the Everett Public Library
EBooks are a relatively new thing in the history of written stuff. Sure, there were clay tablets, papyrus scrolls, and hand-copied books for eons back in the mists of time, but even mass-produced...
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Back in Black
I think it is safe to say that every great story needs a great villain. If there isn’t someone in opposition, obstacles become way too easy for the protagonist to overcome and the story can get deadly...
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Timothy Egan and Nancy Pearl at the Library!
I hope you know that you’re invited to a free public literary event with Timothy Egan and Nancy Pearl on Saturday, April 6th at 7 PM at the Everett Performing Arts Center. This should be a great...
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Spring Gardening (Well Weeding Actually…)
With our good weather lately, lots of us are outside and many are gardening. At my house you could just call it weeding because I think we have more weeds than plants. For all the gardeners who are...
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Grilled Salmon and DEET
Demonstrating advanced trail food preparation When my husband and I moved here from Chicago, I thought that I was finally coming into my element. Mountains, ocean – all the things the Midwest couldn’t...
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Way Down South
There is no denying that we are heading into the height of the summer season. It is true that we generally get off easily compared with many localities when it comes to high temperatures. Sadly that...
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Not Just a Pretty Face
Like a literary magpie, I am drawn to pretty, shiny, exciting things. I often enter the library without a clue about what I want to read. I wander and browse until something jumps out at me – a cool...
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Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
Who would want to read a book about the alimentary canal? Wait, the author is Mary Roach? Who wouldn’t want to read it? After all, eating is one of my favorite activities, and I don’t think I’m the...
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Stargazer
Somewhere along the line I forgot about outer space. Like many kids who grew up in an urban area, experiencing the beauty of the night’s sky meant driving into the city, passing under an oddly-orange...
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Did You Know? (Tree Edition)
That “fog-drip” can account for ten or more inches of precipitation a year and up to 35% of a forest’s annual water supply in the northwest. I found this fact on page 67 in the book Trees & Forests...
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Did You Know? (Bear Edition)
When bears hibernate, they can awaken quickly and are able to react efficiently when they do? I found this information on page 49 in the book Grizzly Bears by Jack Ballard. A hibernating bear’s...
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Did You Know? (Migration Edition)
That Anna’s hummingbirds don’t migrate? I found this information on page 12 of the book Hummingbirds: A Celebration of Nature’s Most Dazzling Creatures by Ben Sonder, where he writes about them being...
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Command and Control
Is it possible to be nostalgic about the threat of global thermonuclear war? I found myself asking that rather odd question recently as I read Command and Control by Eric Schlosser. From the cover art...
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The Quest
With the holiday season already far in the rear-view mirror, and the joys of summer still months off, I’m deep into winter escapist reading. This season I seem to be drawn to books about people on...
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Did You Know? (Rabies Edition)
You almost certainly can’t get rabies from a squirrel? Squirrels can get rabies but there has never been a documented case of squirrel to human transmission. I found this information on page 130 in the...
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