Listen to recordings of past Seattle Reads author talks, book discussions and other community events from our annual “one city, one book” program.
2019 Seattle Reads presents Thi Bui
Thi Bui will discuss "The Best We Could Do." The evening will also feature a staged reading from the book, adapted by Susan Lieu and directed by Kathy Hsieh, in partnership with Book-It Repertory Theatre. Recorded on April 13, 2019.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 39.09MB] [Play time: 1 hr 25 min]
2018 Seattle Reads: 'Homegoing:' A conversation with Yaa Gyasi
Celebrate 20 years of Seattle Reads with featured author, Yaa Gyasi!
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 32.23MB] [Play time: 1 hr 10 min]
2017 Seattle Reads - Main Event with Angela Flournoy
Listen in to our 2017 Seattle Reads - Main Event as Angela Flournoy reads from "The Turner House" and takes audience questions. Northwest Tap Connection and the African-American Writers Alliance perform dance and poetry inspired by the novel. -- Love, sacrifice, pride, and unlikely inheritances; "The Turner House" is a compelling consideration of the price we pay for our dreams, and the ways in which our families bring us home. Recorded on May 11, 2017.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 28.07MB] [Play time: 1 hr 01 min]
2017 Seattle Reads: Meet Angela Flournoy at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
Join the conversation about this year's Seattle Reads selection, "The Turner House," at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. Author Angela Flournoy will be in conversation with visual artist Inye Wokoma that is moderated by Vivian Phillips. Recorded on May 10, 2017.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 25.55MB] [Play time: 0 hr 55 min]
2016 Seattle Reads - Main Event with Karen Joy Fowler
Listen in to our 2016 Seattle Reads - Main Event, as Book-It Repertory Theatre presents staged readings from “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.” Karen Joy Fowler joins adapter, director, and cast for a post-performance discussion. -- Fowler’s smart, funny, heartbreaking novel is about a middle-class American family, ordinary in every way except one: Fern, being raised by psychologist parents, is a chimp. Rosemary, the narrator, knows Fern as her sister. Then something happens and Fern disappears from the family. The novel explores memory, family life, childhood, child rearing, and what it means to be human. -- 2016 Seattle Reads “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves,” is a project designed to deepen engagement in literature through reading and discussion. Recorded on May 21, 2016.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 36.34MB] [Play time: 01 hr 19 min]
2015 Seattle Reads - Peter Heller with Book-It Repertory Theatre present: The Painter
Book-It Repertory Theatre presents staged readings from 'The Painter' and author Peter Heller joins adapter Bryan Birch, director David Quicksall and cast for post-performance discussion. -- 'The Painter' recounts the story of famous artist Jim Stegner, as he struggles to manage the dark impulses within himself. He lives peacefully in rural Colorado, spending his days painting and fly fishing, until he encounters a brutal act of violence that rips his quiet life wide open. Recorded on May 16, 2015.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 39.14MB] [Play time: 1 hr 25 min]
2014 Seattle Reads “For All of Us, One Today”: Meet Author Richard Blanco
Come meet Richard Blanco and join in a discussion with the writer and other readers about Blanco's memoir, "For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey." Recorded on April 29, 2014.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 32.59MB] [Play time: 1 hr 11 min]
2014 Seattle Reads “For All of Us, One Today”: Poetry Reading by Richard Blanco
Join us for an evening of poetry with Richard Blanco, author of "For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey." Blanco reads a selection of poems from his body of work. Recorded on April 28, 2014.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 38.15MB] [Play time: 1 hr 23 min]
2014 Seattle Reads “For All of Us, One Today”: Main Event with Richard Blanco
Book-It Repertory Theatre presents staged readings from "For All Of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey." Author Richard Blanco joins the director and cast for post-performance discussion. Recorded on April 26, 2014.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 39.71MB] [Play time: 1 hr 26 min]
2013 Seattle Reads 'Stories for Boys': Meet Author Gregory Martin
The Washington Center for the Book at The Seattle Public Library invites everyone to take part in Seattle Reads "Stories for Boys," a project designed to deepen engagement in literature through reading and discussion. -- Martin's quirky, heart-wrenching memoir looks at family secrets, truth and reconciliation, acceptance and forgiveness. As Martin struggles to come to terms with revelations of his father's homosexuality following an attempted suicide, he relates humorous stories about parenting two young sons mixed with memories of his own happy childhood with the father he thought he knew.
Listen to Audio (mp3) [file size: 30.18MB] [Play time: 01 hr 05 min]