Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 3d

Our pick of the week is "There is Happiness" by National Book Award nominee, Brad Watson.

He opens each story with a line that won't let you go, like the opening bars of a beautiful melody, words becoming music.

Faulkner and Flannery would have appreciated the cut of his jib.

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Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 4d

“It was just the prelude… Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people too.”

Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 6d

Q: What literary genre does the book “Second Chance Convenience Store” fall under?

A: Healing fiction.

The New York Times calls healing fiction “cozy, feel-good novels that have long been popular in Japan and Korea and are now catching on in translation around the world.”

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 10d

Our pick of the week is “The El” by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr..

Get a feel for one day in the life of Chicago’s gangland circa 1979.

The story is relayed from multiple points of view.

The dialogue snaps, crackles, and pops.

It's an absolutely explosive novel.

We can't praise it enough.

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Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 11d

“Good Fortune,” the new flick with Keanu Reeves, is a remake of “Wings of Desire.”

“City of Angels,” with Nick Cage, is also a remake of “Wings of Desire.”

Why not just watch “Wings of Desire” instead?

We own it and the sequel “Faraway, So Close.”

Good watching.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAz...

WINGS OF DESIRE (4K RESTORATION) | Official UK trailer [HD] In Cinemas 24 JUNE

YouTube video by Curzon

www.youtube.com

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 12d

You may know Cheryl Strayed as the Author of “Wild.”

We know Cheryl Strayed as the advice columnist, Sugar.

Her collection of essays, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” is kind, compassionate, wise, and thoughtful.

This book could change your life’s trajectory.

Recommended x 2!

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Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 13d

What’s a squirrel’s favorite tv channel?
Nutflix, LOL.

Believe it or not, October is Squirrel Awareness and Appreciation Month.

Oh, we appreciate the squirrel…with a nice Chianti.

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 17d

One of our favorite books ends with the line:
“and that, dear reader, is how I came to work at the library.”

It’s from “The Night Bookmobile” by Audrey Niffenegger.

Stories can be magic and this is no exception—weird, cool, funny--such a wild ride.

Recommended for book nerds everywhere.

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 18d

Today is “National Pancake Day.”

We celebrate the writer, not the breakfast food.

Breece Dexter John Pancake gave us 12 short stories.

At 19 years of age, he wrote “If I have to be an American (and I do) I don’t want to be sold short on my own country.”

Dang.

themillions.com/2017/06/amer...

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 19d

Today is Michael Madsen’s birth anniversary.

He was an actor's actor.

He was a writer's writer, too (poetry, prose, and fiction).

He co-authored cartography and geography textbooks!

His photographs have appeared in galleries throughout the world.

MM was truly a renaissance man.

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 20d

“It is from his grandmother that Henry learns that punctuation can be a weapon. With a comma you can hurt someone.” ― Howard Jacobson, The Making of Henry

Happy #nationalpunctuationday!

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 24d

Our pick of the week is a musical compact disc.

Players include Lady Day, Prez, and various orchestras.

Their version of “A Sailboat in Moonlight” is smoother than silk.

10/10.

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 25d

Most birds migrate at night using the stars to guide them.

Please extinguish your outdoor lights this evening.

Oregon's lights out campaign helps reduce the light pollution that drowns out the stars.

Do your part and help keep birds aloft on their journey.

Safe travels, little birdies.

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Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 26d

If you dont like my music, get your own cab.

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Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 26d

Horrorshow.

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Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 26d

Ain't but two things in Texas.

That would be Hap & Leonard.

H & L are the hilarious, endearing, trouble-finding, butt-kicking buddies created by Joe Lansdale in 1990.

The latest book, “Hatchet Girls,” opens with the boys fighting a 400 lb. pig that is high on drugs.

What could possibly go wrong?

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · 27d

Last weekend, we were in NYC and saw “Waiting for Godot” with Bill and Ted at the Hudson Theater.
.
Yes, the most excellent adventurous Bill and Ted.

And, in case you’re wondering, they said Go-Dot!

It's a wild time to be alive.

www.npr.org/2025/09/17/n...

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter go on a new excellent adventure: 'Waiting for Godot'

In one of the most buzzed-about productions of the Broadway season, former Bill & Ted actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter unite once again in "Waiting for Godot."

www.npr.org

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · Sep 12

World Chocolate Milkshake Day is celebrated annually on September 12th.

This is how we observe:

Tall glass.
Vanilla ice cream.
Chocolate sauce.
Malted milk.

Blend and serve with an stainless steel cup thingie.

(May be topped with whip cream).

Stay frosty, peeps!

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · Sep 11

Excerpt from Seaside Fire & Rescue Facebook:

Today, we pause to remember those we lost 24 years ago.

September 11, 2001 is a day that lives forever in our nation’s memory.

We remember the 343 firefighters, the 2,977 people who lost their lives, and the survivors battling 9/11-related illnesses.

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · Sep 10

On this day in 1921, silent film actor, Fatty Arbuckle, was arrested for a variety of heinous crimes.

This is as good a time as any to read Jerry Stahl’s accounting of the deed in “I, Fatty.”

(spoiler: Arbuckle was railroaded on the murder charge).

We think this is Stahl's best book!

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Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · Sep 10

you cant find clotted cream in the usa.

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · Sep 9

We recently acquired all three volumes of Joachim Trier’s “Oslo Trilogy” on dvd.

Reprise (2006)
Oslo, August 31st (2011)
The Worst Person in the World (2021)

Anders Danielsen Lie appears in all three and reminds us of a young, talented Bobby DeNiro.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Y6...

Joachim Trier’s Oslo Trilogy

YouTube video by Ali-Khan

www.youtube.com

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · Sep 6

Our pick of the week is “The Great American Retro Road Trip: A Celebration of Roadside Americana” by Rolando Pujol.

We can never get enough of old signs, vernacular architecture, and roadside attractions.

As the youngs say…this book is too cool for school!

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Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · Sep 5

Jimi Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire at Monterey was seen by many as a bridge too far.

He wasted a perfectly good Stratocaster (with a whammy-bar).

Even Ravi Shankar said,

“That was too much for me. In our culture we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God.”

Seaside Public Library @seasidelibrary.bsky.social · Sep 4

That's a flex!

Such a beautiful ride...

Looks like our 1975 Dodge Coronet (but without the rust).

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