Strong women, coal, and a Tibetan lama at Third Place Books this week

Fiction about a Suffragist, a ballerina, and a former foster kid. Non-fiction about Badass reporter Julie Blacklow, the history of coal in Seattle, and Buddhism from a Seattle-born Tibetan lama - all at Third Place Books this week.

Town Center, Lake Forest Park, intersection of Bothell and Ballinger Way.

Monday, February 3 at 7pm
Jessica Ribera
The Almost Dancer

Climbing canyon walls in Texas, young Jessica dreams of becoming a real ballerina. Hours, auditions, and bloody toes later, she finds herself dancing professionally as a trainee of the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Then one moment on stage sends her spinning. A memoir rich with vulnerability, humor, and an insider view of the ballet world, The Almost Dancer unpacks the effects of ambition, faith, education, and trauma on artistic life.

Wednesday, February 5 at 7pm
Kathryn Kayne
Bound In Flame

Letty Lang is a suffragist of the most fearless kind, with a bullwhip, big plans, and ancient power she doesn't understand. Will a fast horse and a stubborn man derail her dreams?

Thursday, February 6 at 7pm
Avikrita Vajra Sakya Rinpoche
Wake Up to What Matters: A Guide to Tibetan Buddhism for the Next Generation

This unique and fresh presentation of Tibetan Buddhism provides a tool kit for how to be a twenty-first-century Buddhist.. These teachings go straight to the heart of why a person should bother with a spiritual path in the age of cell phones and shopping malls. Avikrita Vajra Sakya Rinpoche is a twenty-six-year-old Tibetan lama, born in Seattle and now residing in a monastery in the Himalayan foothills.

Friday, February 7 at 6pm
Jennifer Longo
What I Carry

Growing up in foster care, Muir has lived in many houses. And if she's learned one thing, it is to pack light. Carry only what fits in a suitcase. Toothbrush? Yes. Socks? Yes. Emotional attachment to friends? foster families? a boyfriend? Nope! Muir has just one year left before she ages out of the system. One year before she's free. One year to avoid anything—or anyone—that could get in her way. Then she meets Francine. And Kira. And Sean. And everything changes.

Saturday, February 8 at 6pm
Julie Blacklow
Fearless: The Diary of a Badass Reporter

Julie Blacklow is an Emmy-award winning journalist with more than 40 years in the television news business. Among the first generation of women in television news in the United States, she encountered the entire spectrum of humanity, from movie stars to murderers to regular people overcoming everyday obstacles. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Blacklow migrated to the other Washington in her early twenties and settled in Seattle, making a career with KING-TV. Hers is a life writ large, a roller-coaster ride, with a remarkable number of highs and terrifying lows.

Sunday, February 9 at 6pm
John M. Goodfellow
Seattle’s Coal Legacy 

In the 1880s, Seattle became a major coal port in the United States. Because of coal, Seattle became a center for skilled engineers, machinists, and miners, differentiating itself from other lumber towns on Puget Sound. Seattle’s Coal Legacy is the story of a frontier town going through an industrial revolution in its own time. The skills and knowledge developed during the coal era—engineering, finance, transportation, and manufacturing—made Seattle the major city it is today.