More Books to Read

This month's new books list, provided by librarians Roberta Greifer, Lea Rude, and Carol Small, features Akhil Sharma's tragicomedy of politics in India, a hiker's guide to California's native lands, and A Bed Full of Cats in the children's section. To check out a book's availability, call 695-5095, or visit the Noe ValleySally Brunn Library at 451 Jersey Street, just off Castro. Besides books, the branch offers magazines, CDs, videos, a sunny (or rainy) outside deck, a computer with Internet access, and the archives of the Noe Valley Voice. Hours are Tuesdays, 10 to 9; Wednesdays, 1 to 9; Thursdays, 10 to 6; Fridays, 1 to 6; and Saturdays, 10 to 6.
Adult Fiction
2 Sarah Smith, the author of two New York Times Notable Books, has created a mystery full of intrigue, passion, and witchcraft in A Citizen of the Country, a story set in the Roman catacombs of French Flanders.
2 A corrupt official in contemporary India struggles to protect himself and his family from political betrayal in the powerful tragicomedy An Obedient Father, by Akhil Sharma.
2 In Martin Bauman, or, A Sure Thing, acclaimed author David Leavitt spins an erotic, funny, and honest tale while exploring the life of a successful yet tormented young writer in 1980s New York.
2 The Abyssinian Chronicles is a powerful and illuminating story of post-colonial Africa and the troubled coming-of-age of a Ugandan man, by the young African writer Moses Isegawa, who has been compared to Salman Rushdie and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Adult Nonfiction
2 In her memoir Extra Virgin, Annie Hawes tells how she moved to the Italian Riviera after a chance encounter with a dilapidated, yet irresistible farmhouse.
2 The eminent British scientist Jane Plant, Ph.D., offers women a well-researched guide in Your Life in Your Hands: Understanding, Preventing, and Overcoming Breast Cancer.
2 Doris Grumbach's new literary memoir, The Pleasure of Their Company, is studded with recollections of such writers as Carson McCullers, Thomas Merton, and Virginia Woolf.
2 Nancy Salcedo provides detailed information about 105 hikes in A Hiker's Guide to California Native Places: Interpretive Trails, Reconstructed Villages, Rock-Art Sites, and the Indigenous Cultures They Evoke.
Annotations by Lea Rude
Librarian, Noe Valley Branch
Children's Fiction
2 At first the main character is heartbroken when she doesn't win the trip to Hawaii, but with the creative help of her sister Faye, all ends happily in Aloha, Dolores, by Barbara Samuels. Ages 4 to 6.
2 Lee is distressed when his beloved cat Flora disappears for several weeks, but he finds out she had a very good reason in A Bed Full of Cats, an easy reader written and illustrated by Holly Keller. Ages 5 to 7.
2 Chato really knows how to throw a good party in the barrio--except sometimes he forgets to invite the guest of honor--but it all works out well for Chato and the Party Animals, by Gary Soto, with illustrations by Susan Guevara. Ages 6 to 8.
2 Carmen Teresa enjoys stories and traditional foods provided by members of her extended family, and collects recipes in a special new book, in Salsa Stories, by Lulu Delacre. Ages 9 and up.
2 David Almond, in his thought-provoking novel Kit's Wilderness, describes a year in the life of a 13-year-old boy who hears whispers from the past, deals with the death of his grandfather, and makes friends with the school bully (who is also an artist). Ages 10 and up.
Children's Nonfiction
2 In Here We All Are, children's author and illustrator Tomie dePaola describes the period in his life which included his tap-dance lessons, the birth of his baby sister, the development of his artistic talent, and a little bit of getting in trouble. Ages 5 to 8.
2 Author Judith St. George and illustrator David Small teamed up to produce So You Want to Be President? a distinctive look at presidents and our nation's history. (The illustrator was awarded the Caldecott Medal for this book.) Ages 7 and up.
2 In Pocket Pets, Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein, and Laura Silverstein Nunn provide useful information on well-known pets, such as hamsters, gerbils, and rabbits, as well as some less well-known, such as chinchillas and flying squirrels. Ages 7 and up.
Annotations by Carol Small
Children's Librarian, Noe Valley Branch
Preschool Story Time
2 Children ages 3 to 5 will hear gripping tales at the library's preschool story time, 10 a.m., Tuesdays, March 6, 13, and 27.
Films
2 Preschoolers 3 to 5 can watch films such as The Caterpillar and the Polliwog, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Pete's a Pizza at 10 and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 20.
Lapsits
2 Come and enjoy stories, songs, and fingerplays with your baby or toddler at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, March 7, 14, 21, and 28.
Noe Novelists
2 Noe Valley fiction writers Cara Black (Murder in Belleville), Ruthanne Lum McCunn (The Moon Pearl), and Heather Drohan (False Alarm) read from their work on Saturday, March 3, at 2 p.m.