For the seventh consecutive year, the Seattle Public Library and Seattle Arts & Lectures have teamed up to help readers spice up their TBR lists with Summer Book Bingo, a 25-square downloadable bingo card (this year’s woodland creature-adorned design comes courtesy of local illustrator Tessa Hulls) representing different categories of books, like “climate fiction,” “Black joy,” “made you laugh,” and “activism or social justice.” Those who fill out a full line (a “bingo”) or the whole sheet (a “blackout”) through September 7 can submit their card (either in person at a local library branch, via email, or via social media with the hashtag #BookBingoNW2021) for the chance to win prizes. To help you get started, we’ve listed some suggestions for the fourth row of the card (which, if completed, could score you a gift certificate to a local indie bookstore). If the book you’re eyeing has a long hold line at your local branch, try your luck at your nearest bookseller.
BIPOC FOOD WRITING
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke
While studying abroad in Italy, actress Tembi Locke fell for a Sicilian chef named Saro, who introduced her to a new world of food. Their romance came with no shortage of challenges: Saro’s family did not approve of their son marrying a Black American woman, and once they reconciled, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that led to his death in 2016, leaving Tembi to raise their adopted daughter Zoella on her own. Locke recounts these and other major life events in her debut memoir, which is being adapted into a Netflix series starring Zoe Saldana.
