Fiction

• “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt | Release date: May 3, 2023 | Told from the perspective of an octopus, the imaginative novel was inspired by a real-life Seattle Aquarium cephalopod.
• “Stories of Your Life and Others” by Ted Chiang | Release date: July 5, 2002 | Former Microsoft worker Chiang rose to fame when a sci-fi novella from this collection became the hit flick “Arrival.”

For the family

• “When You Trap a Tiger” by Tae Keller | Release date: May 2, 2023 | The award-winning middle grade novel involves magical tigers from Korean folk tales and a family’s secret history.
• “Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea” by Ben Clanton | Release date: Oct. 4, 2016 | Kids will be charmed by the friendship between a narwhal and a no-nonsense jellyfish, which has become a series of endearing tales.

Expand your worldview

• “Ten Tomatoes That Changes the World” by William Alexander | Release date: June 7, 2022 | Bainbridge’s nonfiction writer tells a veggie tale that squeezes in conquistadors, mega-greenhouses, and the Mafia.
• “Beyond Guilt Trips” by Anu Taranath | Release date: June 7, 2019 | Is it possible to be mindful and be a tourist when there’s so much global inequality? A UW professor unpacks the issue.

Personal stories

• “Red Paint” by Sasha LaPointe | Release date: March 8, 2022 | The Coast Salish poet influenced by PNW punk rock explores themes of ancestral connections in a candid memoir.
• “Nothing Good Can Come From This” by Kristi Coulter | Release date: Aug. 7, 2018 | In this book of essays, the Seattle author discusses new sobriety with heart and humor.

• Opening Night: “Becoming Dr. Ruth” | Tuesday, Jan. 16 | 7:30 p.m. | Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah | Pay what you can | The play explores the fascinating life of the famous sex therapist, who fled Nazi Germany, was a sharpshooter during the war, and struggled as a single mom in the US.

• Armoire x SIFF “Mean Girls” Pre-Party | Wednesday, Jan. 17 | 5:30-7 p.m. | The Sound Hotel Seattle Belltown, 2120 Fourth Ave., Seattle | Free | Okay, you can sit with us — enjoy cocktails and snacks courtesy of fashion rental company Armoire before the movie at SIFF Cinema Downtown.
• History Café: Seattle Sports and Urban Progress | Wednesday, Jan. 17 | 6:30-8 p.m. | MOHAI, 860 Terry Ave. N., Seattle | Free | Author Shaun Scott for a discusses his new book “Heartbreak City” that’s about how our team obsessions have united and divided us.

• Epic STEM Challenge Fly-Off | Thursday, Jan. 18 | 4:30-7:30 p.m. | Museum of Flight, 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle | $20 | Teams of middle and high school students will be tasked with creating a small electric aircraft to fly through various gates.
• Sugar Cookie Decorating Class | Thursday, Jan. 18 | 6-8 p.m. | Ancestry Cellars Woodinville, 13590 NE Village Square Dr., Woodinville | $55 | Learn the basics from piping practice to perfecting dough and icing — buy a bottle to pair with your treats, because wine not.

• “Welcome To Night Vale” | Friday, Jan. 19, | 7 p.m. | Neptune Theatre, 1303 NE 45th St., Seattle | $37.50 | The longtime fictional podcast sensation brings its paranormal hijinks to the stage.

• Are you 18-44 and experiencing hair thinning?
• Do you lead a plant-based lifestyle?
• Experiencing signs of peri- and post-menopause?

• A Ballard coffee + brunch favorite needs a little help. The owner of Watson’s Counter recently posted a letter on Instagram explaining the shop’s financial challenges in moving to a new location. Ways locals can show support range from becoming a regular to spreading the word to friends.

• A large portion of South Lake Union’s Urban Triangle Park will be closed through mid-March to install a new playground. When it’s done, look for a slides, climbing ropes, and artwork that shows lighted names of fictional destinations in literature and pop culture.

• Pacific Place mall is under new management. Toronto-based real estate company Aviso Young has taken over all retail operations from Madison Marquette at the sprawling, downtown shopping center. The company said it wanted to revive the struggling Pacific Place as a “vibrant community hub.” (Puget Sound Business Journal)

• Who is... totally a smartie, Ken? Queen Anne resident Martha Bath will be making her third visit to “Jeopardy!” on Thursday, Jan. 18 for the Second Chance Tournament. Bath won $30,800 on “Jeopardy!” in 2022 and first appeared on the daytime version of the show way back in 1972. (Seattle Times)

• Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo — Third Eye Blind will bring their “Semi-Charmed Life” to WAMU Theater next summer with fellow pop-rockers YellowCard. Tickets for the June 13 Summer Gods Tour date are on sale now.

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