finally got around to reading Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book. and I’ve somehow managed to finish it on the last day of August, and on the final day in our home before moving out. what a gem!

“The heart of the review is emotion, the stirrings of the soul, receptiveness to the life-changing power of art…” @newyorker.com www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Federal agents showed up northeast of Lake Cushman to check identification of crew members fighting Washington's largest active wildfire.

For PW, I wrote about the persistent gender gap in fictional animal characters—a pattern I noticed while analyzing 100s of picture books with @puddingviz.bsky.social. It's a more interesting (and pervasive) problem than I first thought. #kidlit #booksky 🔗: www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

the fam saw my @seattletimes.com beach reads piece and took notes for our trip 😍 from the library to boot!!!

“What are music or books if not ways / to trap us in rumors? The freedom of fine / cages!” yalereview.org/article/rita...

next piece is up for @seattletimes.com — it’s all about Seahawks football and why the Legion of Boom era is so special! www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...

“The Franchise: Seattle Seahawks: A Curated History of the Legion of Boom Era,” by Seattle writer Michael-Shawn Dugar, collects stories from the team's LOB days.

new @seattletimes.com piece up! I chatted with Peter Ames Carlin about his new book on Springsteen and the making of “Born to Run.” you could listen to the album…or read the book (out from @doubledaybooks.bsky.social 8/5)! www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...

Ken Jennings spoke with us to discuss writing over 1000 Kennections puzzles, interacting with the community of solvers and growing up in a games household.

next up for @seattletimes.com: Ken Jennings! I spoke to the one and only Jeopardy host/champion about his daily puzzle diet and how it feels to run a puzzle named after yourself (to be clear: Ken told me he doesn't like the name 'Kennections'). Happy puzzling!! www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...

First Water Mirror Echo review is in! “Chang persuasively argues that Lee’s presence on screen helped shape the idea of what it means to be Asian in America. This definitive account cements Chang as a preeminent chronicler of Asian American history.” On sale 9/23. Preorder now! watermirrorecho.net

Hot take alert: "I think the books that people read on light rails aren't actually what they're reading." Elliott Bay Book Company's Sofia Brekkan calls y'all out on today's episode of Meet Me Here from @kuow.org 👀

we stand by our original statement ☝️😌

this is one of my crowning achievements thank you @riverheadbooks.bsky.social (also, read the new Patricia Lockwood this September it will make your brain hurt in the best ways!!)

My latest piece for @seattletimes.com is up today! This time, I wrote about some books to take to the beach (woohoo paperbacks!) and escape from whatever it is we're trying to escape from these days. Happy summer reading! www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...

The WNBA is adding three new teams: Cleveland will join in 2028, Detroit begins play in 2029 and Philadelphia will be added to the roster in 2030. This will bring the league to a record 18 teams. https://n.pr/44h8HMo

picked up a copy of this new Clint Eastwood book and did a double take 🤯🤯

inspired use of the space between quotes! www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/s...

As a journalist who writes often about aviation safety, my first reaction to Nathan Fielder’s ‘The Rehearsal’ was skepticism. But then I started talking to experts in the field.

"The King Features summer reading list is an insult to journalists who care about the truth, to authors who are looking to get any coverage they can, to book critics & anyone who works on putting books out into the world. More importantly, it’s an insult to readers." --me lithub.com/you-see-gene...

Want to know what you should read this summer? Ask a bookseller. Ask a writer. Ask a librarian. Ask a living, breathing human being. Hell, ask me! It's been a while since I've done one of these, so let's do it: one like = one summer reading book rec.

very special words about the bookstore from Moira in the @seattletimes.com! we will have loads and loads of copies next week :) @moiraverse.bsky.social @duttonbooks.bsky.social

Happy to see Seattle cartoonist Tessa Hulls win the Pulitzer for her great graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts. And local novelist Stacey Levine was shortlisted for her fantastic novel Mice 1961. A very good day for Seattle literature!

Last night a number of small presses including @twolinespress.bsky.social and @openletterbooks.bsky.social received this insane letter. Please read small press books, recommend them, buy them, request from your library. The continuation of these publishers is vital!

Settle back into baseball season with these five books about a minor league team, managers, a legendary player and more.

my first piece for @seattletimes.com! I wrote about some baseball books to mark the return of the season here in Mariners territory -> www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...

What follows if we imagine rivers as having lives, deaths––& even rights? I wrote this essay about water & hope; imagining rivers “otherwise”; nature’s rights; grammars of animacy; & how our fate flows with that of rivers—& always has. It’s from Is A River Alive? www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

“I do not want any human thoughts to soil my aquarium.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

“When reached for comment, an Amazon spokesperson said the timing was a coincidence, writing, ‘The overlap was unintentional. The dates for our sale were set this year to accommodate additional participating countries.’ Booksellers are skeptical.”

I needed to write about something that’s giving me hope, so I wrote about Independent Bookstore Day which is this Saturday. lithub.com/something-go...

So excited to officially launch @kuow.org's new arts and culture podcast, Meet Me Here! I'm co-hosting with Jeannie Yandel and Dyer Oxley to cover the best arts, pop culture and literary happenings in Seattle. Help us make it extra special by telling us where we can find you 👇

this is a momentous moment, folks!

we love @ballastbookco.bsky.social!!! go visit they are so cool!!! one of the pnw’s finest shops www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

incredible conversation between @thelincoln.bsky.social and @vauhinivara.bsky.social…just this had made me think about art and AI differently. now onto reading the book! open.substack.com/pub/counterc...

In a 2015 piece for The New Yorker, Kathryn Shultz opened a whole lot of eyes to a potential disaster lurking beneath the pristine landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Now, @emmapattee.bsky.social has taken that a step further and imagined the devastation that would follow the Big One.

Never change, Google AI Overview, never change. 🙏

In ‘Is a River Alive?’ (Norton, May), Robert Macfarlane makes a heartfelt case for treating rivers as living, rights-bearing beings.

my favorite part of this @literaryhub.bsky.social article on the books in White Lotus is the attention to detail on a local bookstore bookmark level🤯

this interview is incredible www.npr.org/2025/03/13/n...

I was asked to comment on the most pressing issue of the day (New Yorker copyeditorial style)!

“…the very least I can do sitting here in my nice safe home in rural Oregon where I don't have to worry about my neighborhood getting flattened or my bloodline getting wiped off the face of the earth is not give up on someone else's behalf.” www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

this is a book review thread!! here's what I've been reviewing for PW -- I'm on the sports/science and pop culture desk. this thread starts with reviews published in 2025. links to all my past reviews live on my website: fletcherzachary.weebly.com/book-reviews... let's turn some pages!!

so much fun to host @catbohannon.bsky.social and @katiecampbell.bsky.social at the store last week! both the adult and YA versions of EVE are compelling, important reads. put that book in the hands of someone you know and they will come away a little different in the best way. also, we had cake!!!

huge, huge Tuesday folks. new books out, a little sun in Seattle, new Vulfpeck album: youtu.be/8bLinctYcno?...

Don't miss today's conversation with Omar El Akkad, about a book I'll surely be thinking alongside for a long time. A map, a guide, a thinking through & a breakup letter with the American dream. Audio📻🔥: tinhouse.com/podcast/omar... @aaknopf.bsky.social @canongate.co.uk @textpublishing.bsky.social

hello, bluesky! i'm a freelance journalist. i spend most of my time writing book reviews, interviewing authors, and working on reported pieces. here's my website with all the stuff I've worked on and other things I care about: fletcherzachary.weebly.com drop me a line anytime! :)