The Crocodile: What They Are Reading Right Meow

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz show is Friday, but until then we thought we’d check in with the cast of characters at The Crocodile. From the history of hip hop to the book that sold six times as many ebooks than print (can you guess which one and why?), take a look at what the Crocodile staff is reading!

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Brian, bartender

Nicole, server

The Roald Dahl Adventure Begins

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Portrait of Roald Dahl with two dogsSeptember 13th is the birthdate of the WWII British fighter pilot-turned-beloved-children’s-author Roald Dahl.  The author of some of the world’s most popular children’s novels (such as Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) bid farewell to his readers in 1990, but his imagination is still awake in his fanciful and bizarre stories. It seems everybody knows Dahl… or at least knows about him.

Until this month, I’d never read a word of a Dahl book.  I saw Gene Wilder’s crazy eyes in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory before I started Kindergarten. I remember turning the dial on the T.V. to change the channel back and forth because Wilder’s Wonka and his minions were creeping me out big time, but I wanted to know what horrible end Charlie might meet. I watched James and the Giant Peach in elementary school and thought the animation style was new and neat. Jump to college in 2005, and my teen dream Johnny Depp was starring in Tim Burton’s take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so of course I attended the midnight showing at the theater.  Freddy Highman’s Charlie was sincere, and Depp’s Wonka seemed weirdly adolescent. Then, post-college, the delightful Wes Anderson stop-motion adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox made its way into my canon of film favorites. Read more

Following in Carnegie’s Footsteps, One Little Free Library at a Time

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My awesome Mom, Sue Garvin, recently installed a new book-based feature in her backyard and I asked her to write about it in the hopes that some Bushwick members would be inspired to build their own.

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish born man from a poor family who immigrated to America with his parents in 1848. He became one of the richest men of his time through investments in the steel industry, railroad sleeping cars, bridges and oil derricks. In 1889, he wrote “The Gospel of Wealth” wherein he urged the wealthy to use their money to improve society. He took on many philanthropic projects, but the one still thriving today is his establishment of public libraries. All in all, he funded 2,510 libraries in 47 states, and countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Forty-Three Carnegie libraries were built in Washington State alone. Thirty-two of these buildings still stand and 14 are libraries to this day. Locally, you can find Carnegie libraries are in Columbia City, Fremont, Green Lake, Queen Anne, First Hill and West Seattle. Read more

The Bushwick Book Club Seattle Blog

Book Preview: Read These Books If You Want to Be Cool

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Calling all Bushwick Readers: now is the time to stock your bookshelves with some of the books we plan on reading during the upcoming months.

Ready… Set… READ! Read more

Bookshelf Report: The Titanic Won’t Build Itself

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The Bookshelf Report is an ongoing series where we ask 5 questions and share 5 pictures of a bookshelf  belonging to a Bushwick reader. Today’s bookshelf comes from Amy Levenson. She is one of the organizers behind Moveable Type’s: Literary Mixer, a fun social event for book enthusiasts. The next mixer is on October 23rd at The Vermillion Art Gallery.

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What’s your favorite book on the shelf?

I’m very sentimental about books, so it’s nearly impossible for me to pick just 1 favorite. How about 3?

I have a copy of Taschen’s The Pedro Almodovar Archives, which I received as a gift. I’m a big Almodovar fan, and this edition is beautifully laid out with great content. This book rarely leaves my coffee table because I can flip to any page and be completely happy.

The Alien Vault has a special place in my heart because it was a huge labor of love to get it published. If you’re a fan, it has some really great stuff like Ridley Scott’s storyboards and some of H.R. Giger’s early concept designs.

Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee is another one of my favorites. After I read it for the first time it took me a while to pick up another book. There’s nothing quite like the terror of human nature. Read more

Concert of a Lifetime: New Kids on the Block Part II

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Previously on the Bushwick blog, Kerry dazzled us with Part I of her V.I.P. New Kids on the Block concert experience. There she described the pre-concert activities including detailed descriptions of the hugging style of each New Kid. Now, in Part II, the show is about to start.

 

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Boyz II Men descend the stage (photo by Morgen Schuler)

Two video screens came alive and reviewed all of Boyz II Men’s credentials. A laundry list of mega hits and awards flashed across the screens reminding us how huge these guys once were. Judging from the screams emanating from the crowed, no one had forgotten a single bullet point on their neatly harmonized resume. When the video stopped, the stage lights came up and Boyz II Men magically appeared at the back of the stage. The screams from the crowd were nonstop as they started singing “On Bended Knee” with velvety smoothness. As they sang, they slowly moved down the path to the intimate main stage right in front of us. Their journey from back stage to front felt like it took hours because I was holding my breath in anticipation of seeing them up close. When they arrived right in front of me and started singing “Water Runs Dry,” I may have teared up a bit. Read more