Noe Valley Voice October 2011
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More Books to Read

Good Books on the Shelf

By Susan Higgins, Adult Services Librarian,
and Catherine Starr, Children’s Librarian


This month we’re featuring an assortment of good books you may have missed. For adults, the list contains fiction and nonfiction appealing to many tastes and interests. These are titles that had been in high demand at the Noe Valley Library but are now easier to find on the shelves.

If you have children, take a look at our list of classics not to be missed. Perhaps you’ll see some titles that they have never read or they’d love to read again.

 

Adult Fiction

¥ A 5-year-old boy describes life in a room with his kidnapped mother in the suspenseful novel Room by Emma Donoghue.

¥ Jonathan Franzen looks at contemporary marriage through the lives of a Minnesota couple and their two children in Freedom.

¥ The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman was described by Publishers Weekly as Jane Austen “updated for the dot-com era.”

¥ 2010 National Book Award for Fiction winner Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon takes place at a backwoods racetrack in 1970s West Virginia.

¥ An old desk connects the stories of three people from different countries in Great Houseby Nicole Krauss, author of the international bestseller The History of Love.

¥ A couple dies just minutes after their wedding and their families struggle with their grief and relationships in Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman.

¥ David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet is a historical novel about the Dutch East India Company’s activities in Nagasaki, Japan, in the late 18th century.

¥ Chances are you know someone addicted to Swedish writer Stieg Larsson’s “millennium” trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire,and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

 

Adult Nonfiction

¥ The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis is the riveting account of the 2008 financial crisis.

¥ Financial wiz Suze Orman presents advice for people of all ages in The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream.

¥ Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys is the latest cookbook by Chez Panisse chef and New York Times contributor David Tanis.

¥ Must You Go? My Life with Harold Pinter by biographer Antonia Fraser is an insightful portrait of her marriage to the Nobel Prize– winning playwright.

¥ In her prose poem I Love a Broad Margin to My Life, California author Maxine Hong Kingston reflects on aging and spiritualism.

¥ Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair discusses the rise of New Labour, the war on terror, and his views on world leaders in his memoir A Journey: My Political Life.

¥ Art critic Martin Gayford writes about the seven months he spent as the subject of a painting in Man with a Blue Scarf: On ­Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud.

 

Picture Stories for Children

¥ In Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag, a little old man sets out to find a cat for his wife and comes home with more than enough feline darlings. In no time the fur starts flying.

¥ A very talented dentist, who happens to be a mouse, risks his life to help a fox with a toothache in Doctor De Soto by New Yorker cartoonist William Steig.

¥ In The Story of Babar by French writer Jean de Brunhoff, an orphaned baby elephant goes to live in the city but in time returns to the forest, where he is crowned King of the Elephants.

¥ Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day—by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz—shows how a boy who wakes up with gum in his hair makes it through a most maddening day.

 

For Older Children

¥ Ursula K. Le Guin’s Catwings series follows the adventures of four kittens born with wings who escape the dirty, dangerous city to live in the countryside. Illustrations by S.D. Schindler. Ages 7-10.

¥ With its main character living in an upside-down house, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald provides parents with comical, effective remedies for such common children’s conditions as answer-back-ism, never-want-to-go-to-bed-itis, and picky-eater syndrome. Ages 8-12.

¥ The Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace follows two girls who become such close friends that others come to think of them as one person: Betsy-Tacy. One day, they arrive home to a wonderful surprise: a new friend named Tib. Ages 8-12.

¥ In Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, a swan named Louis is far from his wilderness home when he determines to communicate by playing a trumpet. Friendship, love, and fortune ensue. Ages 9-12.

¥ In E. Nesbit’s classic Five Children and It, Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother discover an ancient Sand-Fairy who grants the children one wish a day. Soon the fivesome see the troubles that wishes can cause. Ages 9-13.

 

LIBRARY EVENTS

 

Self-Discovery Through Art

Lauren Owenmark leads a workshop in “Self-Exploration Through Creativity: An Introduction to SoulCollage.” Using images from magazines and other sources, participants create a deck of cards shedding light on life’s questions. Space is limited, so sign up in advance at the library or by calling 355-5707. Saturday, Oct. 22, 3 to 5 p.m.

 

One City One Book

Packing for MarsThe Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach is San Francisco’s 2011 “One City One Book” selection. Roach explores many of the “weird” aspects of space travel, such as the impact of zero gravity on eating, mating, and hygiene. Come share your impressions of the book at a Packing for Mars discussion on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

 

Book Clubs at the Branch

The Great Books Discussion Group meets on Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. The Noe Valley Book Discussion Group happens Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

 

CHILDREN’S EVENTS

The Mysterious Thaumatrope

Enjoy stories of magic and mystery, and create an old-fashioned thaumatrope at a family story time in partnership with the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s Houdini exhibit. For ages 4 to 7 and accompanying adults. Saturday, Oct. 1. 10:15 to 10: 45 a.m.

 

Pajama Story Time

Come wearing your jammies and join record-breaking fun when you read Laura Dewdney’s Llama Llama Red Pajama along with other kids around the world. Also hear rhymes, songs, and stories led by Noe Valley’s children’s librarian, who will be wearing pajamas too! Ages 5 and younger. Thursday, Oct. 6. 10:15 to 10:45 a.m.

 

Board Game Bonanza

Come for a fun afternoon of board games. Play against your friends. Bring your favorite game to share! Ages 6 to 10. Thursday, Oct. 13. 3:30 to 5 p.m.

 

Toddler Tales and Preschool Films

Toddler Tales is a half-hour of stories, finger plays, rhymes, music, and movement, aimed at kids 18 to 36 months, held Tuesdays, Oct. 4, 11, and 25, from 10:15 to 10:45 a.m. and from 11 to 11:30 a.m. On the third Tuesday, Oct. 18, the library will show films based on favorite picture books, for ages 3 to 5 years. Times are 10:15 a.m. and 11 a.m.

 

All events take place at the Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Library, 451 Jersey St. For information, call 415-355-5707 or go to www.sfpl.org.

 


BRANCH HOURS

Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Branch Library

451 Jersey St., 355-5707

Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
1-5

10-9
1-9
10-6
1-6
10-6


Eureka Valley–Harvey Milk Branch Library

1 José Sarria Ct. (3555 16th St.), 355-5616

Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat

12-6
10-9
12-9
10-6
1-6
1-6


Glen Park Branch Library

2825 Diamond St., 355-2858


Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat

10-6
10-6
12-8
1-7
1-6
1-6

Mission Branch Library

300 Bartlett St., 355-2800

Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
1-5
1-9
10-9
10-9
10-6
1-6
10-6