In November of 2014 FOPAL implemented the following rules to be followed during the period of the 12-book limit rule. These rules still stand and will continue to be enforced. We ask all shoppers to honor the following rules:

1. EARLY IN THE SALE, each customer may select up to twelve (12) books, sets of books, or other items. They must be purchased and taken outside of the sale room. Customers may then return to the waiting line (if any) and re-enter the sale as often as they like. Note: The FOPAL Sale Manager will announce when this limit is lifted.
2. Adult shoppers may bring in no more than ONE GROCERY-SIZED BAG or ONE GREEN FOPAL BAG.
3. For safety's sake, NO boxes, large backpacks, carriages, or strollers will be allowed. Bags and other large items must not block access to shelves - they are a tripping hazard.
4. Do not take books away from their sections to review them. If you remove a book to look at it, please replace it neatly on the shelf. Covering, hoarding, and/or stashing books are not allowed. Keep your books with you; abandoned books will be re-shelved.
5. Avoid crowding, pushing, verbal disagreements, and aggressive interactions with other shoppers, staff, or volunteers.
6. SCANNER/CELL PHONE USAGE- some customers have voiced their concerns about the use of scanners. Although some book sales do not permit their use, FOPAL permits them with the expectation that all customers will act in a manner that is respectful to other patrons, volunteers, and staff. If you are using a dedicated scanner, please be mindful of the area and other customers around you. If you are not using a scanner, please keep in mind that those who do are also customers.

Our goal is to make our book sales as pleasant and rewarding as possible, for as many customers as possible. We are grateful for the support of most of our shoppers in honoring these rules. We ask for the commitment of our "business clients" in considering the rights of all of our customers and observing our rules.

Many thanks to all of you -FOPAL Book Sale Committee

If you cannot attend the book sale, please drop by the Friends Bookstore located inside the Mitchell Park Library, Downtown Library, and Rinconada Library, and open during library hours. They are restocked regularly with a unique selection of books for all ages and interests.

 
Suggestions?

August Sale Highlights

Donations were especially strong since the last sale, and considering we had a backlog from July, our shelves are sagging under the weight of all the books. This means a super selection for buyers; this will be a great sale! The Philosophy section is jammed with great books in all categories, as a result of a generous donation from the Patrick Connell Suppes estate. You’ll likely find more books from the Suppes donation throughout other sections as well. Sharing the same aisle, the featured subjects in the Whale of a Sale special section is an unusual collection of books on whales, marine animals, whaling history and sea adventures. Also, featured this month is a collection of 8mm movies, the projector to show them with, plus a screen! All you need a bulb and you’re ready to have a retro movie night. Our Framed Art Manager features a variety of new pieces, all priced to sell. The Games & Puzzles section has almost all new stock this month with several more collectible games being offered from FOPAL's archives.

 
From FOPAL's Archives

Unearthed from FOPAL's High-Value storeroom/Archives for this month's sale is a special collection of 8mm movies plus the projector to show them with. Grab the folding screen from Ephemera and you're all set for the show. All are priced individually or as a bundle. As a continued result of a reviewing of many valuable Puzzles & Games sitting in FOPAL's High-Value storeroom/Archives last month, we are offering another Collectable Puzzles & Games special filling one bay in the Games & Puzzles area, near the exit door. These are in used or nearly new condition with lookup sheets attached highlighting the current Amazon/E-Bay asking prices. FOPAL's Collectable Puzzles & Games special selections are priced at 50% of what's online, with prices ranging $10 to $60. A must see for all FOPAL's serious board game and puzzle collectors.

 
Philosophy

"Thanks to the generous donation of the family of Stanford professor of philosophy Patrick Suppes the Philosophy section in August is a Suppes Special. We have increased the section from two to three bookcases. The left case is all from professor Suppes while the middle case adds to our collection on specific philosophers and the right case adds to our collection on philosophical issues. This is a unique opportunity to see books from the library of a Stanford professor of philosophy." -Nigel Jones

 
Religion

"Scripture has several sets or partial sets. Six volumes of The New Interpreter's Bible. 12 volumes of Jimmy Swaggart Bible Commentary. Nine volumes Communicator's Commentary. Special on 19 volumes of leather bound Modern Reader's Bible - $19.

"Two volumes of Troeltsch's Social Teaching of the Christian Churches. Thomas Romer's Invention of God. Ruck's Apples of Apollo. AND MUCH MORE." -Nancy Cohen

 
Vintage Children's Books

"We are combing through a large collection of children's books spanning a century, 1880s to 1990s. You will find them in the Children's Room on the red carts and on the shelves in the pony corner. Even more are in the children's section of the Bargain Room. Look for the old favorites like Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and Bobbsey Twins as well as some interesting single volumes." -Nancy Cohen

With Nancy's assistance we have some shelf preview photos for the Vintage Children's Books special.

 
European Languages

"This month, we have some very nice books in Spanish, mostly fiction, including about 10 from Alfaguara, and some books in Polish (one by Mrozek, and lots of Hemingway and Faulkner)." -Susan Strain

 
Movies/Entertainment

"The Movies/Entertainment section is in the north/west corner of the book room. It is always easy to find because the African Queen is hanging overhead.

"We have a large number of books on media and media studies this month. Besides the usual shelf of books, we have several on display on the top of the smaller bookcase. Additionally there are several interesting titles in film analysis and criticism.

"Featured titles include:
Moments that Made the Movies by David Thompson
Theatres in Los Angles
Cinema Treasures
Eye Witness by Robert Spiers Benjamin

"In the section you will find (roughly from left to right as you face the African Queen):
Small bookcase: modern culture, film writing, craft and movie business, TV, guides,
Tall Bookcase: radio, "films of" books, signed books, large format, foreign film, Hollywood and film history, film commentary and theory, director’s corner, choice biographies/memoirs
Smaller bookcase: Paperbacks, film tie-ins and scripts, and media and media studies." -Dick Grote

 
Science Fiction and Fantasy

"In Science Fiction and Fantasy, we have a couple of the Hugo Award novel finalists (too late to vote, but plenty of time to read them before the awards on August 19.) Also a huge collection of the "Forgotten Realms" D&D books. In the Graphic Novels section there's a lot of manga after a long dry spell, plus a good selection of Marvel and DC superhero books." -Rich McAllister

 
Children's Room

"Our Non-fiction section has many Star Wars books, including some unusual ones and many like new. The Activities area is well stocked with board games galore, crafts materials, a box of Barbie dolls, and plenty of puzzles. The Beginning Readers shelves are overflowing. And our Religion section has lots of books for the Jewish High Holidays, just around the corner." -Children's Room Volunteers

 
Teen Reviews by Jeff Wang

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

In the second book of the Percy Jackson series, Percy Jackson's school year was again interrupted, this time by giants who threw giant cannonballs at him. After being saved by his friend Annabeth from his previous adventures and by his classmate Tyson who turned out to be a Cyclops that was his half-brother, Percy finds out that Camp Half- Blood is in danger. What's worse, his best friend Grover is missing, and likely captured by a ancient monster, waiting to consume him. Not given the quest to save Camp Half-Blood, Percy and his friends sneak out in an attempt to save the camp on their own. Will Percy succeed in saving the camp from ruin, and also save Grover from being eaten?

Big Nate: in a class by himself by Lincoln Peirce

Nate Wright is your typical middle school troublemaker, always making life hard for the teachers. But he has plenty of problems of his own, including a social studies teacher that dislikes him, an annoying older sister, friends that make fun of him, and much more. But one day, he receives a fortune cookie containing the note "today you will surpass all others", and he decides to fulfill the prediction, causing hilarious events to happen for the entire school day.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

The City of Ember resides in a world filled with darkness, and the lights that kept it alive, have begun to flicker. Lina and Doon, are twelve year old who were assigned each other’s dream job on on assignment day: so, in secret, they switched jobs. However, the state of the city seemed to grow worse, and when Lina and Doon finds a mysterious piece of paper,inside a box owned by Lina's grandmother's grandfather, a former mayor, they begin to discover the truth of the city of Ember, and also, more importantly, how to save their people.

 
Music

"Visit the Music section for books on a wide variety of musical topics in the genres of classical, rock, jazz, American music and dance.

"New this month - Sing for Your Life; The Inner Game of Music; Steinway & Sons; Who's Who in Rock Video; Runnin' with the Devil; Thirty Frames Per Second: The Visionary Art of the Music Video; America Dancing: From the CakeWalk to the Moon Walk; The Furtwangler Record; The Voice that Challenged a Nation; Spoons.

"Also browse our wide selection of sheet music neatly sorted by instruments including violin, piano, trumpet and guitar." -Charlotte Epstein

 
Judaica

"Browse the Judaica section for books on the Jewish religion, Kabbalah, Jewish history, the Holocaust, memoirs, Israel, Jewish Women, the Jewish American Experience and other related subjects.

"New this month - Written Out of History; From Krakow to Krypton - Jews and Comic Books; Queer Jews; Yiddishland; Who were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From; A Daughter of Two Mothers; The Liberators; Victory over Death; The Jews of Sing Sing; Safe Passage; Klezmer: Jewish Music from Old World to Our World.

"Most fiction with Jewish themes will be found in Modern Literature, Classics, or Current Fiction. Books entirely in Hebrew are shelved in the European Languages section." -Charlotte Epstein

 
Sets

"New arrivals in Sets for August include: Great Men and Famous Women, 8 volumes, 1894, $50; The Book of the Thousand and One Night, 15 volumes, 1901, copy 366 of 500, $95; The Works of Gustave Flaubert, eight volumes, 1904, $36; Cambridge History of Literature, 15 volumes, 1933, $30. We also have the illustrated 3-volume set Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, 1934 for $20; and G. B. Shaw's four-volume Music in London, for $10.

"We have quite a range of older individual volumes typically pre-1940 novels selected for their content and decorative qualities. There are some very good candidates for book arts this month.

"Don't forget, a set counts as only one book when you are buying within the 12-book limit." -Nigel Jones

 
History

"With the current atmosphere of conspiracies and fake news we think that our special on perhaps the most alleged conspiratorial event of the Twentieth Century, the John F. Kennedy assassination, is very timely. This month the History section has an extensive collection of books on this topic. Also timely is a small but excellent selection of books on the Japanese-American internment during World War II including Morning Glory, Evening Shadow by Yamoto Ichihashi. (We hope you saw the recent production at Theatre Works on this topic, Hold These Truths.)

"Completing our specials for this month is a collector's donation of books on Albert Schweitzer. It covers most aspects of his life and his philosophy of life. Last but not least--BUY AMERICAN!! We are overflowing with U.S. History books covering the earliest days of our nation up to the present era. Become more informed about our past and help us reduce our inventory!" -Suzanne Little and Irina Cross

 
Art

"Recent book donations included a wonderful collection of instructional books on watercolor painting and drawing. In addition, FOPAL has a bountiful collection of books on the great master's drawings. Artists include Goya, Da Vinci, Hogarth, Munch, Michelangelo and Durer.

"FOPAL experienced such a significant increase in book donations and the art sections in the main room are filled to the maximum.

"As a final note, we consistently reduce the price of art books for each sale. The real value of art books are very much higher than FOPAL's pricing. Especially on collector art books. So keep looking for those great deals." -Andrea Lozano

 
Modern Literature and Classics

"Set of Dickens titles, 20 of the 21 in the set. Price is reduced to $35.00. Lots of new Classics in slipcases. Most are very nice.

"About 35 new donations of the African Writers Series.  The series has been published by Heinemann since 1962 and has ensured an international voice to young writers including China Achebe, Steve Biko, Nadine Gordimer and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. Sold separately at usually $1.00 each. On Classics side." -Laverne Bornschlegel