Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Café, 8310 Greenwood Ave. N., is celebrating its third anniversary all day on Saturday, Dec. 22, with music, stories, poetry, treats, a raffle, and free books for kids.

Raffle prizes include a KOBO e-reader, Couth Buzzard Gift Cards, and a photo session with professional photographer Holly Feral.

The celebration lasts from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Several neighborhood coffee shops are featured in Tacoma artist Marsha Glazière’s new book of paintings, photos and words describing 120 coffee spots with character in and around Puget Sound.

“Eclectic Coffee Spots” features Greenwood’s Green Bean Coffeehouse and Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Café, Phinney-Ballard’s Café Bambino,  Lighthouse Roasters in South Phinney/Upper Fremont, and the former Cowgirls Espresso in Greenwood.

Santoro’s Books, 7405 Greenwood Ave. N., is celebrating its 8th annual Holiday Party from 6-9 tonight with food, wine, and cookbook author Jess Thomson, who will autograph her new cookbook “Dishing Up Washington.” Nibble on food made from some of the book’s recipes.

Party-goers will receive $5 off any purchase over $25, and a free bag of Chukar Cherries with every purchase over $75.

Greenwood’s nonprofit writing and tutoring center 826 Seattle has published the third edition of its popular “What to Read in the Rain.”

The 2013 edition will officially launch on Saturday, Dec. 8, with a free party from 1-3 p.m. at 8414 Greenwood Ave. N at 1 p.m.

What to Read in the Rain can be found at bedsides in hotels across the city, where rain-delayed travelers can read poetry and fiction written by students from 826 Seattle and beloved professional authors. Highlights include Yonase Geleta’s “How to Sleep with a Triceratops in Your Room”, Chelsea Cain’s “For Your Safety” (which provides tips for surviving the dangers of Pacific Northwest travel), and Tom Robbins’ “Advice To Aspiring Writers.” It is also available from the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Company.

826 Seattle, housed within the whimsical Greenwood Space Travel Supply Company, is a nonprofit writing and tutoring center dedicated to helping youth ages six to 18. With over 400 active volunteers, 826 Seattle is committed to helping young people acquire the skills they need to write well throughout their lives. 826 Seattle helps more than 2,000 students every year and has served over 13,000 students since it opened in 2005.

The What to Read in the Rain celebration will feature Northwest-inspired snacks and readings from Chelsea Cain, Peter Mountford, Jared Leising and 826 Seattle students. It runs 1-3 pm and is a free event.

Earlier this month we told you about 3-year-old Jesse, who wanted to collect books for children to read at Aurora Commons, a neighborhood gathering place for everyone, especially those who live in temporary housing and motels along Aurora Avenue.

Neighbors were asked to drop off books on her family’s porch. Well, Jesse’s mom, Jamie Clausen, tells me that Jesse finished her book drive with a total of 238 books. Way to go, Jesse!

Phinneywood-area author Mike Attebery has just published his fourth book, “Bloody Pulp.” Locally, it is available at Santoro’s Books in Phinney Ridge.

“Two shots on a snowy Seattle street, and a once-bestselling mystery writer lies dead. When rookie detective Brick Ransom is assigned to the case, the trail quickly leads to an up-and-coming hard-boiled mystery writer, his publisher, and a number of Seattle notables. It seems the publishing business really is murder. But who did it? And why? And when the murders keep happening, who will be next?”

Attebery previous books are “Seattle On Ice,” “Billionaires, Bullets, Exploding Monkeys” and”On/Off: A Jekyll and Hyde Story.”

Phinney Ridge resident Jamie Clausen tells us her 3-year-old daughter is collecting children’s books to donate to Aurora Commons, an informal community center open to all at 8914 Aurora Ave. N.

Here’s her message:

Hi Everyone. This is Jesse Ballnik. My mom is letting me use her Facebook account to send out this note to all our friends about my book drive. I live in Phinney Ridge which means that some of my neighbors live along Aurora Avenue in temporary housing, motels or out on the streets. Many of them are families with kids. They are not all as lucky as I am to have lots of great books to read at home. Luckily our friend Lisa and her friends have a coffee shop & community center in our neighborhood called Aurora Commons that they can spend time in and they have a story time for kids on Tuesdays. I wanted to make sure that they had lots of good books at their story time and for kids who just come to hang out so my mom is helping me to do a book drive. I am looking through my own books to find used books for children that are in good shape and am asking my friends to do the same. If you have any books to donate, please drop them off at my house at 751 N 75th Street in Seattle. I am going to bring what I collect to the community dinner on November 21st and am hoping to collect at least 20 books by then!

Jamie has set out a bin on their covered porch for people to drop off books any time.

Last week we told you about a Little Free Library that popped up in Phinney Ridge, half a block from Ken’s Market on North 73rd St. It was the first one we noticed in the neighborhood, but we heard from readers about several more.

This is “Dr. Dieter’s Memorial Library” in the 500 block of North 81st Street.

This purple box is in the 300 block of North 83rd St.

And this one is on the corner of North 82nd Street and Greenwood Avenue North.

It’s on the same corner as the painted mailbox giving away free poems.

Phinney Ridge resident A-P Hurd has co-authored a new book about sustainability and the economy called “The Carbon Efficient City.” Her co-author is her father, Al Hurd. It is published by University of Washington Press.

The book discusses how to get more investment flowing to sustainable programs to solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions without hurting the economy.

A-P Hurd is a vice-president at Touchstone, a commercial real estate developer in Seattle, and a Fellow in the College of Built Environments at the UW, where she teaches development economics.

She will be at Santoro’s Books, 7405 Greenwood Ave. N., from 6-8 p.m. next Thursday, Sept. 27, for an informal book launch party.

Don’t forget that all Seattle Public Library branches will be closed next week, from Aug. 27-Sept. 3, due to budget cuts.

Most library services will be unavailable during the one-week closure.

• Materials will not be due and no fines will be charged.
• Book drops will be closed.
• Access to the online catalog will be limited. You’ll be able to search the catalog and check your library account, but you won’t be able to place any holds.
• No meetings or events will be held at any library branch.
• Email a librarian or chat with a librarian will not be available.

Library patrons will still have access to online databases such as Britannica Online, Mango Languages, and Consumer Reports; as well as more than 34,000 items in the digital collection, including e-books and audiobooks, song titles and downloadable movie titles.

This is an early reminder that all Seattle Public Library branches will be closed from Aug. 27-Sept. 3 for a furlough, to help the system save $613,00 due to budget cuts.

SPL’s 620 employees won’t be paid that week. That week was chosen because it’s in the summer when school is not in session and library use is generally lighter.

Most Library services will be unavailable during the one-week closure.

• Materials will not be due and no fines will be charged.
• Book drops will be closed.
• Access to the online catalog will be limited. You’ll be able to search the catalog and check your library account, but you won’t be able to place any holds.
• No meetings or events will be held at any library branch.
• Email a librarian or chat with a librarian will not be available.

Library patrons will still have access to online databases such as Britannica Online, Mango Languages, and Consumer Reports; as well as more than 34,000 items in the digital collection, including e-books and audiobooks, song titles and downloadable movie titles.

A new thrift book store has quietly opened in the heart of Greenwood, at 8536 Greenwood Ave. N., where Balderdash Books was until it closed in May.

Co-owner Trudy Mercer tells us Dann’s 50¢ Books is having its “soft” opening as they are still getting organized, and she and her husband, Dann, plan to have a grand opening later.

We plan for the majority of the books, at least 80%, to be fifty cents. They will be complemented by a selection of books priced slightly higher. Dann views the bookstore as a “book recycling center,” thus the concept of Greenworld Book Recycling. Dann’s 50¢ Books does not buy books as most traditional used bookstores do. We accept donations of unwanted books. By keeping books and transactions as simple and inexpensive as possible, we will keep the stock constantly replenished, keep the books in circulation, and keep the prices low.