Need a mid-day break? The Seattle Public Library offers "Thrilling Tales: A Storytime for Grown Ups" where you can laugh, gasp and shudder to live readings from 12:05 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. on select Mondays of the month at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636.

Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Parking is available in the Central Library garage at the regular rates. Brown bag lunches and knitting are welcome. Doors open at 11:40 a.m. Stories start at 12:05 p.m. and are finished no later than 12:50 p.m.

This month's stories will include:

12:05 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4- "The Businessmen" by Michael Zuroy. Tired of dodging bullets, gangsters Oscar and Jerome decide to retire from the rackets and go legit making toys for the kiddies, only to learn that the toy business can be murder.
 

12:05 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18- "Bless This House" by Christianna Brand. When Joseph and his pregnant young bride Marilyn showed up on her doorstep that cold rainy night, their plight seemed eerily familiar to Mrs. Vaughan. Yet no angels foretold this dark nativity.