An astronomer tells tales of stargazing and pursuing the universe’s big questions, a grandparent shares wisdom for happy living, a jazz drummer lays down a cool new album 鈥�

But behold, yet more! An engineer pens STEM biographies for children, a cartoonist draws stories from his life, researchers ponder the future of river and wildlife conservation, and faculty masters bring out new classical recordings on guitar and piano.

Though 2020 was a holy humbug of a year, 91爆料 talents persevered, and published. Here’s a quick look at some giftworthy books and music created by 91爆料 faculty and staff, and a reminder of some recent favorites.

Stargazing stories: , associate professor of astronomy, published the anecdote-filled “” in August. “These are stories astronomers tell each other when all of us are hanging out at meetings,” Levesque said. Kirkus Reviews called them “entertaining, ardent tales from an era of stargazing that may not last much longer.”

‘Grand’ wisdom: , professor emeritus of English, has written novels, short stories and more, but takes a personal turn in “.” He offers his grandson, and readers, “what I hope are 10 fertile and essential ideas for the art of living.” It’s all presented “tentatively and with great humility,” Johnson says, as “grandfatherly advice is as plentiful as blackberries.”

Drums, duets: , assistant professor of music, released the album “” in March. Poor told 91爆料 News the music “is a celebration of space 鈥� space for drums to resonate and convey a feeling, and for the melody to dance around and push that feeling. It is primarily a collection of duets with saxophonist聽 and the sound of the record is focused on drums and sax throughout.”

STEM stories: , professor of civil and environmental engineering, published two books for young readers this fall: “The Secret Lives of Scientists, Engineers, and Doctors,” volumes and . The volumes showcase “the struggle, growth and success” of 12 professionals in STEM fields, including a geneticist, a biologist, a cancer researcher and a scientist at the National Institutes of Health. More books are .

Life drawings: , professor of Slavic languages and literatures and comparative literature, published “,” a eclectic collection of drawings and essays, highlighting his different styles through the years, “from tragedy to tragicomedy to documentary to black humor,” he said.

Guitar works: School of Music faculty guitarist released his 10^th album in March. “” features classical guitar works written for him by composers and

Sheppard plays Brahms: , internationally known professor and pianist, put out a digital release of 107 early Brahms works in October, titled “.” The work joins Sheppard’s lengthy from a decades-long career.

Ecological restoration: How has climate change affected regional ecological restoration? , a research scientist in human centered design and engineering, looks for answers in “,” from 91爆料 Press.

River history: Seattle was born from the banks of the Duwamish River, writes BJ Cummings of the 91爆料 Superfund Research Program, but the river鈥檚 story, and that of its people, has not fully been told. Cummings seeks to remedy that with 鈥�,鈥� published by 91爆料 Press.

Coexisting: Agriculture and wildlife can coexist, says , professor of environmental and forest sciences, in his book “.” But only “if farmers are justly rewarded for conservation, if future technological advancements increase food production and reduce food waste, and if consumers cut back on meat consumption.”

And here are some favorites from 2019:

O鈥橫ara鈥檚 鈥楥ode鈥�: History professor provides a sweeping history of California鈥檚 computer industry titans in “ The New York Times called it an “accessible yet sophisticated chronicle.”

Mindful travel: of the English Department and the Comparative History of Ideas program discusses how travelers can respectfully explore cultures with lower incomes, different cultural patterns and fewer luxuries in “.”

Kingdome man: , associate professor of architecture, studies the life and work of Jack Christiansen, designer of the Kingdome and other structures, in “,” published by 91爆料 Press.

Powerful silence: “,” a documentary directed by English professor about NFL star Marshawn Lynch’s use of silence as a form of protest, is available for rent or purchase on several platforms.

Seattle stories: 91爆料 Press republished English professor ‘s well-loved 1976 reflections on his city, “.” Sale, who taught at the 91爆料 for decades, died in 2017.

• Joanne De Pue, School of Music communications director, assisted with this story.

An architect argues to stay the wrecking ball and reuse older buildings, a historian recalls Martin Luther King Jr.’s timeless economic message, a master storyteller brings a new set of tales, an engineer conjures a children’s book with a robot’s-eye view of the deep ocean 鈥�

But hark! 鈥� yet more. Personal essays on nature spanning a biologist’s career, a best-selling author’s take on America’s unprecedented president, and a thoughtful book about books themselves, their past and their unwritten future. Plus jazz and classical recordings from faculty in the 91爆料 School of Music.

As the year comes to a close and festivities abound, some 91爆料 faculty creations can make great gifts for the thinking Dawg on your giving list. Here’s a quick look at some gift-worthy books and music created by 91爆料 talents in the last year or so.

Michael Honey, 鈥�To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice.鈥�

Fifty years have passed since King’s 1968 assassination. In a new book, Honey, a 91爆料 Tacoma historian, notes that economic justice and labor rights were always part of King鈥檚 progressive message. 鈥淗e said in Memphis, 鈥業t鈥檚 a crime in a rich nation for people to receive starvation wages,鈥欌�� Honey says. 鈥淭hat remains a basic issue right now across the country, where it seems like the economy is doing really well but there are millions of people in poverty.鈥� Published by .

Dana Manalang, “.”

After years working on a cabled observatory that monitors the Pacific Northwest seafloor and water above, Manalang, an engineer with the 91爆料’s Applied Physics Laboratory, decided to share the wonder of the deep sea with younger audiences. The result is this new children’s book published by Virginia-based , which combines images of the deep ocean captured during 91爆料 School of Oceanography research cruises with rhyming couplets and a cartoon robot illustrated by 91爆料 designer .

Charles Johnson, 鈥�.鈥�

A prolific author and 91爆料 professor emeritus of English, Johnson spins a dozen yarns in this new story collection, from realism to light science fiction and beyond, laced gently with humor and philosophy. Calling him a 鈥渕odern master,鈥� Kirkus Reviews said his stories 鈥渃an be as morally instructive as fables, as fancifully ingenious as Twilight Zone scripts, and as elegantly inscrutable as Zen riddles.鈥� Asked how he knows when a story is done, Johnson said: 鈥淲hen I can鈥檛 add another line (or word) to it without disturbing the delicate balance of music and meaning, sound and sense that comes from relentless revisions.鈥� Published by

Kathryn Rogers Merlino, 鈥�Building Reuse: Sustainability, Preservation, and the Value of Design鈥�

Tearing down buildings and discarding the energy and materials embodied in them is contrary to the values of sustainability, writes Merlino, an associate professor of architecture in the 91爆料 College of Built Environments. We avidly recycle and compost, but have no cultural ethic about reusing our largest manufactured goods 鈥� our buildings. 鈥淲e quickly demolish buildings in the name of new, 鈥榞reen鈥� structures, rather than looking for the possibilities of how we can work with what exists,鈥� Merlino says. To me there is an inherent conflict in there, and I think we can do better.鈥� Published by .

David Shields, 鈥�No One Hates Trump More Than Trump: An Intervention.鈥�

In his latest release, Shields, a 91爆料 professor of English and New York Times best-selling author, deconstructs the mind of the current president of the United States. The book, is 鈥渁t once a psychological investigation of Trump, a philosophical meditation on the relationship between language and power,鈥� publisher鈥檚 notes say, 鈥渁nd above all a dagger into the rhetoric of American political discourse 鈥� a dissection of the politesse that gave rise to and sustains Trump.鈥� He calls it 鈥渁 manual for beating bullies.鈥� Published by .

Kenneth Pyle: 鈥溾��

After the United States ended World War II by dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it then conducted 鈥渢he most intrusive international reconstruction of another nation in modern history,鈥� writes Pyle, a 91爆料 professor emeritus of international studies. Only now, amid geopolitical changes of the 21st century, is Japan pulling free from American dominance and constraints placed on it after the war. The book, distilling a lifetime of research, examines how Japan, with its conservative heritage, responded to the imposition of a new liberal order and tracks the now-changing relationship between the two nations. Published by .

Amaranth Borsuk, 鈥� 鈥�

Borsuk, a 91爆料 Bothell assistant professor as well as a poet and book artist, explores the book, its past and possible futures in this compact volume. 鈥淩ather than bemoaning the death of books or creating a dichotomy between print and digital media,鈥� she writes, 鈥渢his guide points to continuities, positioning the book as a changing technology and highlighting the way artists in the 20th and 21st centuries have pushed us to rethink and redefine the term.鈥� Published by

Jim Kenagy, 鈥�鈥�

Kenagy, a professor emeritus of biology, presents a collection of 13 nature essays set in time across his life, from freshman field trips through his 聽dissertation and career at a major university. 鈥淭hese stories are not the scientific reports of a research professor, nor are they an attempt at popular science,鈥� state publisher’s notes. 鈥淭hese are personal essays that spring forth from observation and discovery of what nature has to show anyone who is willing to pay attention.鈥� Published by .

Pimone Triplett, “”

In her new book of poems, Triplett, a 91爆料 associate professor of English and creative writing, says she explores “the thinning lines between responsibility and complicity, the tangled 鈥榮upply chain鈥� that unnervingly connects the domestic to the political, personal memory to social practice, and our age-old familial discords to our new place in the anthropocentric world. Published by .

Multiple authors, “”

This reference book was first published in 1973 and became an instant classic for its innovative style and comprehensive illustrations. Now, botanists at the 91爆料 Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture have created this updated second edition, which includes the reclassification or renaming of about 40 percent of the taxa covered by the first edition. Published by .

And to accompany your reading, here are some recent recordings from faculty in the 91爆料 School of Music:

Cuong Vu 4-Tet, “”

The latest CD by Vu, trumpeter and 91爆料 Jazz Studies professor and chair 鈥� created with his “4-tet” 鈥� is landing on critics鈥� best-of lists for 2018. Guitarist Bill Frisell, drummer Ted Poor, bassist Luke Bergman and Vu all contribute new music on this follow-up to the group鈥檚 2017 album. A London Jazz News critic called the results 鈥渦niformly excellent.鈥� Released by RareNoise Records.

Craig Sheppard, “” and “”

Sheppard, 91爆料 professor of music, released two CDs this year, documenting live performances at Meany Hall. For one, he presents the revised score of Bach’s master work, left incomplete upon the composer’s death. The other is a deluxe collection of Brahms’s four sets of lyrical piano miniatures,
Opus 116 through 119. Released by Romeo Records.

Michael Partington, “”

An artist in residence at the 91爆料 School of Music, Partington returns to the 19^th century repertoire that formed the basis of his early musical development in this collection, performed on a mid-1800s French Romantic guitar. Released by Rosewood Guitar.