Seattle Staff Faves 2025: Nonfiction
Each year we ask our staff across the library system for their favorite books published in the current year. Enjoy this variety of nonfiction staff favorites, with annotations by staff members or as noted. (created November 2025)
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Beyond the Lesbian Vampire: Reclaiming the Violent Lesbian in Contemporary Queer Horror by Sam Tabet
A study of the rebirth and subversion of the violent lesbian trope in queer horror. (Publisher description)
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It Rhymes With Takei
In a moving, emotional graphic memoir, the Star Trek actor, activist and social media star shares his personal journey from a closeted youth in the 1950s to coming out at 68, revealing how love, fear and activism shaped his identity. (NoveList)
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: Available
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Sick Houses
Using film, television, and literature to explain why we are drawn to haunted and haunting places, Sick Houses is a must read for anyone who has ever looked at a house and sensed there might be something unsettling going on inside. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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When It All Burns
Anthropologist Thomas debuts with an essential meditation on fire's role on a warming planet. The central narrative recounts his six-month tenure as a member of the Los Padres Hotshots, an elite federal fire-fighting crew ... Narrative nonfiction doesn't get better than this. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Ginseng Roots
Bestselling Eisner Award winner Thompson offers an introspective examination of his childhood in rural Wisconsin, exploring his family's experiences working in the ginseng industry, a demanding yet humble line of work that profoundly shaped his upbringing. Beyond the book's memoir aspects, Thompson also delves into the global history of ginseng, exploring its significance in Chinese culture and its economic role in shaping rural American communities. (Library Journal)
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: All copies in use
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Deciding to See
More beautifully written observations of humanity aboard King County Metro. - Becky
Format: Book
Availability: In-library use only at this time
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Sweet Farm!
Yeh's fun, personality-filled confections represent a unique culinary melding of her Jewish/Chinese heritage with her husband's Midwestern farmland roots. Yeh proves a fearless, out-of-the-box baker with a breezy voice. Home cooks who are looking to get creative should check this out. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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