Collins Library has done it again: The University of Puget Sound library is home to yet another wonderful exhibit of book-based art, this time by Tacoma letterpress artist Jessica Spring in a kind of “Greatest Hits” compilation of her work over the last decade. Called “Circus Libris,” it truly is a circus of books: books leaping over horses, tumbling in pyramids and generally doing the kinds of tricks you don’t expect from paper and ink.

In six vertical and five horizontal glass cases the books highlight Spring’s eternal inventiveness and skill in print arts. They range over various forms, subjects and styles, but one thing sings through – the ability of handmade books to transform even mundane ideas into works of art.

Read more »

Tacoma’s a hotbed for the print arts, and there’s nothing to show it quite like the annual Wayzgoose at King’s Books. The Wayzgoose – a medieval term for the annual feast given by a master printer for his employees – is now in its 8^th year and humming as much as ever, with a festival involving local artists, giant steamroller prints and, new this year, a mobile print truck, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. this Sunday.

Here’s a disclaimer: My daughter’s actually one of the participants this year, selling her hand-made fashion-based cards. But I see that as a symbol …

Read more »

It’s hard to believe King’s Books has only been in Tacoma for 12 years. The independent new-and-used bookstore on St. Helens Avenue downtown seems like an institution that’s been around forever, hosting community events from art festivals to Shakespeare, offering a home to Scrabble geeks and book fans, and of course selling a huge range of cheap books. But the bookstore is turning 12 this April with a paper-themed birthday party to match: the Wayz and Means Letterpress Film Festival this Sunday.

The festival’s also a fundraiser for the store’s annual letterpress get-together, the Wayzgoose, held this year …

Read more »

The South Sound has a lot of big-time stuff – a volcano, a wildlife refuge, museums for cars, glass and art, our state’s own history museum and even a major golf tournament coming up. What we don’t have yet? A guide book. Which is something three local artists have just begun to fix. Writer Ken Miller and artists Chris Sharp and Sean Alexander are collaborating on the South Sound Users Guide, which has just launched on kickstarter.com, and already has 15 per cent of its budget pledged by 46 backers.

“I’m excited about the book, in part because it helps identify our region as a special part of the world,” said Miller by email. “Everything we write about will be unique and local.” Read more »

Popular romance author Jayne Ann Krentz will be giving a free writing workshop and signing books this Saturday at the Lakewood Pierce County Library, offering tips on how to get work published. Her latest book in the Dark Legacy series, “Copper Beach,” will be available at the event.

Krentz, the author of 50 New York Times bestsellers, writes under three different pen names: Jayne Anne Krentz (her married name) for contemporary romantic suspense, Amanda Quick for historical romantic suspense, and Jayne Castle (her birth name) for futuristic/paranormal romantic suspense such as the Looking Glass Trilogy.

The Seattle-based writer …

Read more »

Best-selling author Sara Gruen (“Riding Lessons,” “Water for Elephants,” “Ape House”) will speak Nov. 6 at Pierce College Puyallup to kick off its 2010-11 Pierce Presents series of artists and speakers.

One of the most widely-read of recent American novels, “Water for Elephants” tells the sometimes-harrowing tale of a circus hand who finds a niche working with a mistreated elephant named Rosie. Soon to be a film starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, “Water for Elephants” was a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. Gruen’s fourth novel “Ape House” also deals with …

Read more »

Scottish author Pen Farthing and a furry four-footed transplant from Afghanistan drew a full house Wednesday night at the Moore Library in Tacoma’s South End.

Farthing wrote the recently published, “One Dog at a Time: Saving the Strays of Afghanistan.” It’s a nonfiction work relating how he wound up rescuing stray dogs in Afghanistan when he was stationed there as a sergeant with the Royal Marines. The rescue effort has since evolved into a nonprofit group called Nowzad.

One of the dogs Nowzad helped save, Oso, was at the event. So were her owners Phil and Lena Bourrillion of Puyallup. Phil, an active-duty sergeant in the US Army befriended Oso when she was a pup in Afghanistan last year. Aided by Nowzad and countless volunteers, Phil and Lena arranged for Oso’s rescue and trip to Puyallup. You can read about it here.

Oso is one laidback lassie. As Phil talked about Oso’s journey, the dog sat quietly and lolled on the carpeted floor. Later, she gently nudged her way through the rows of listeners who eagerly stroked her soft coat and patted her head.

Read more »