News from the Library, by E-mail and RSS

If you have ever given the Library your e-mail address, like this newsletter editor did when he signed up for a Palo Alto Library card, you have probably noticed that they are sending you one to a few e-mails per month since the start of the pandemic.

The Library would like you to know that they're celebrating Norooz this Saturday afternoon over in the Art Center next to Rinconada Library. Also Women's History Month with several events this month and other resources. You can read about these on their blog to which you can subscribe if you have got an RSS reader.

And if like yr hmbl newsletter editor you have not been paying attention and are wondering what is open and how much the Library has a Current Library Services page.

 
Spring Forward This Sale Weekend!

Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday, which means you'll want to be sure to move your clock forward by one hour on Saturday night. Otherwise, you'll arrive at our Sunday sale an hour late! Incidentally, the correct term is daylight saving time, not daylight savings time. If you had it wrong, don't feel bad. More people Google the incorrect phrase than the correct one!

 
What's Special for March!

The TV, Movies & Entertainment, Music and Sets sections for March are providing books for this month's special area sale. These sections received more than the usual donations and as a result, each created a special for the "Specials Bays" just to your right as you then the Main Room. A super big THANK YOU to section managers George, Felix, Bobby & Khulan for creating these specials for FOPAL! March at FOPAL is the month to shop and buy books from this Special Section Sale!

Also, for this weekend's sale look for a special from our Psychology & Self-Help section in the Main Room, in the assigned Psychology & Self-Help bays. The Psychology & Self-Help section manager has been working to process hundreds of books that were donated recently.

The March FOPAL sale is also going to be a big one for Drama. The section received a sizeable; donation which resulted in a Drama section makeover. Also offered this month is a dozen or so nearly new musical programs. Look for even more Drama books in the Bargain Room given the abundance of books received in February; the Bargain Room Drama shelves are FULL!

 
Important Sale Note!

Beginning with the April 2023 sale, FOPAL will no longer accept Venmo payments. We will continue to accept cash, checks, credit cards, PayPal & Apple Pay, with a $5 minimum charge.

 
Drama

In Drama we have a complete set of the 1956 Yale Shakespeare in perfect condition for the 'bargain basement' price of $40. That's only a dollar a book for these lovely little blue volumes of the bard's work.

-Jenny Munro

 
Music

Additional titles featured on the Main Room specials shelf. Look for titles on the late greats Tupac Shakur and David Crosby. Also a large format book of photos from Rolling Stone Magazine.

-George Chaltas

 
Poetry

For those who March to a different drum,
Here's a taste of things to come.
Trips can March to different beats
From Chaucer's folks to Sixties streets.
Voyages of love may find
The poet of a different mind.
Gunn and Sappho's rhymes are fleeting.
Journeys end in lovers meeting.

See pictures of the poetry section at fopalbooks.com.

-Mandy MacCalla

 
Recent Fiction

In Recent Fiction check out our new shelf of Light Reads. When you need a good, not-too-stressful book to enjoy on a rainy day, or any other time, we have a great selection.

-Jenny Munro

 
The West

Come to The West section. It covers everything west of the Mississippi River with books from and about many states and people. There are many items about Palo Alto and Stanford as well as a large section of items on San Francisco. The gold rush and San Francisco earthquake are also covered. In addition, there are many western novels.

-Ed Walker

 
Home & Crafts

For March, the Home section showcases fashion and beauty, including Bobbi Brown's guides, plus accessories and skin care. There's also fashion editor, Anna Wintour's biography, fashion designers, and costume design. In addition you'll find etiquette titles, as well as home organizing and spring cleaning. Shelves also include multiple books on interior design, including kitchen and bath, as well as building and remodeling, all at low prices.

This month the Crafts shelves feature good buys on floral crafts for your spring planning. Other shelves reveal how-to books on ceramics, book design, and jewelry-making, plus sewing, crochet, knitting, and needlepoint.

Photos can be found at www.fopalbooks.com.

-Virginia Perry

 
Antiques & Collections

Among the offerings this March priced for less than online sellers: Christies's catalogs, including Marilyn Monroe; Hillary Rodham Clinton's White House history; antique toys, teddy bears, and nesting dolls; silver and jewelry; furniture and rugs; and classic firearms.

You'll also find an overflow of Antiques & Collections, as well as several Home & Crafts titles on a Mixed Red Cart. This month features reduced prices for antique coin collecting, plus interior design, home improvement, and a myriad of how-to repair guides.

Photos can be found at www.fopalbooks.com.

-Virginia Perry

 
Computers

A sudden influx of computer science donations caused the "Software Engineering & Algorithms" shelf to spread out and invade its neighbor shelf. Look for two versions of the Dragon book, A Pattern Language of Distributed Computing, and other esoterica.

-David Cortesi

 
Children's Room

We're featuring holiday books this month for St. Patrick's Day, Passover, and Easter.

Look in our School-age Fiction section for like-new fantasy books by Rick Riordan, and for loads of the very best of the early chapter books: Geronimo Stilton, Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, etc. Non-fiction has a boxed set of Horrible Histories and a boxed set of Lego books. In the Activities section you'll find costumes for Superman and a couple of construction workers, lots of board games, and plenty of math and science workbooks. Our graphic novels shelves and table will be filled to capacity. The Picture Books section features many Little Golden Books and books in the Curious George, Franklin, Berenstain Bears, and Olivia series. Richard Scarry books and several delightful gift-condition paperback and hardcover books for beginning readers round out the offerings. Finally, an entire shelf in our Giftable Picture Books bookcase is filled with large Llama Llama books--not to be missed!

-Carolyn Davidson

 
Children's Vintage

There is a bonanza of interesting books in the older kids' section this month. Several books from the Wizard of Oz series from Reilly & Lee (1950s), several Freddy the Pig books by Walter Brooks, and some nice vintage Dr. Dolittles. History fans will enjoy an abundance of Landmark and You Were There books, many with dust jackets. Little kids have the usual array, including two(!) early copies of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss. Shelf pictures are available at www.fopalbooks.com for a taste of what's available.

-Lisa Heitman

 
Medicine

Our Medicine shelves are brimming with bargains this month. In addition to a fine collection of Internal Medicine texts and Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics, we have many reference books in pharmacology, including A Psychotherapist's Guide to Pharmacology and The Handbook of Psychotropic Drugs.

The Song of the Cell (2022) by the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies explains how the song is beautifully complex, like a baroque fugue, or chaotic like the effect of cancer. In The First Cell (2019) a world class oncologist examines the current state of cancer and its effect on individuals...including herself.

Standout history books include A History of Immunology, A History of Psychiatry, and a lavishly illustrated A History of Surgery with art and literature throughout the ages. In Dr. Henry Kaplan and the Story of Hodgkin's Disease, this cancer of lymph tissue was formerly a death sentence for young adults. Today most are cured due mainly to the efforts of this Stanford radiation oncologist. Another medical triumph!

-Pam Parke

 
Judaica

Browse the Judaica section for books on the Jewish religion and culture including editions of the Torah and other basic texts, Kabbalah, Jewish history, the Holocaust, memoirs, Israel, Jewish Women, the Jewish American Experience and other related subjects.

New this month - The Mossad Amazons - The Amazing Women in the Israeli Secret Service; Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure; The Jews' Secret Fleet: The Untold Story of North American Volunteers who Smashed the British Blockade; Judaism's Ten Best Ideas: A Brief Guide for Seekers; Typically Jewish; Saying Kaddish: How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead, and Mourn as a Jew.

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, Section manager for Judaica

 
Art

Special Sale this month is Russian/Soviet Union arts. Russian artists, Soviet Union posters etc.

Art section has set up an instagram account @fopalartbooks. Please follow us on instagram. We will share books from art section on the instagram.

-Fiona Wang

 
Curious Books

There is a lighthearted air to the Curious Books offerings this month. Wait out the wet weather with a smile whilst enjoying our engaging books.

Shelf photo at fopalbooks.com.

-Donya W.

 
Reference

This month the Reference section features the complete 10-volume Great Ideas Program, by Mortimer Adler, published by Encyclopedia Britannica, between 1959 and 1963. Condition varies between good and acceptable, in hardcover, with all bindings intact. Our price for the set is $30.

-Bruce Heflinger

 
Health

Health is 'marching' along with loads of new books this month. A revealing read is Bottle of Lies by Katherine Eban, which recounts the 'inside story' of the generic drug boom. Pick Your Poison by Morona Rossol has no book cover, but the inside text is full of information regarding the 'household' chemicals we all have in our homes, which can be detrimental to our health.

For 'lighter' reading, there is Shiatsu Therapy: Theory & Practice by Toru Namikoshi, many Yoga books, dozens of diet books, exercise guides, and yes, a cookbook: 500 15-Minute Low Sodium Recipes by Dick Logue. Stay healthy!

-Suzanne Cholko

 
Photography

Shelves full with many new releases! A great guide book on how to take photos of newborns, and a large format book of photos of Lady Di. Please take some time and browse through the Monograph shelves; there are many gems at very low prices.

-George Chaltas

 
Science Fiction and Fantasy

Science Fiction and Fantasy notable items are a facsimile edition of the script for the first Star Wars movie; a dozen attractive volumes from Stephen King; the first three of Alexei Panshin's Anthony Villiers adventures (sadly missing volume 4, The Universal Pantograph); and the first paperback edition of Ursula K. LeGuin's Always Coming Home in a boxed set with the cassette tape of related songs. Tolkien collectors, look for the red-leather slipcased one-volume Lord of the Rings and a set of the first Ballantine paperbacks, not first printing this time but in exceptionally fine shape.

-Rich McAllister

 
Comics

In Comics there's another batch of well-preserved comic magazines from the '80s, Marvel, DC, and Eclipse. Long runs — some complete — of Micronauts, Squadron Supreme, The Adventures of Superman, Airboy, and more. Also look for four fat volumes of The Walking Dead.

-Rich McAllister

 
Science and Technology

Our shelves are beginning to fill up again. See https://fopalbooks.com/ for shelf pictures.

-Edwin El-Kareh

 
Sheet Music

Some more came in this month. Mostly songs and piano. See shelf pictures at https://fopalbooks.com/.

-Edwin El-Kareh

 
History

Check out the History red cart for high value books, now marked down to $10 or less. There is a beautiful book on China, bound in brocade, and a 1950 overview of Korea with some nice tipped-in plates. The other History cart has a selection of books on conspiracies and controversies.

In the main History section there are several new books on Russian history. Other new additions are a large collection of books on the U.S. constitution and related political theories, and books on the late 20th century U.S. history.

-Lin McAllister

 
Donations

We have made it past Drop-off Donations 3.0 and have returned to accepting donations without the need to make an appointment.

HOWEVER....

We are closed for donations from Sunday March 5 through Sunday March 12 to prepare the Main Room for this weekend's sale. Please hold your donations until Monday March 13.

Please read our donation guidelines before you bring materials to us.

All that said, our normal hours for drop-off donations are Monday through Saturday, 3pm-5pm. (But not the week before the sale.)

 
Suggestions?

We're always eager to hear your suggestions for ways to improve our book sale. Please email us at suggestions@friendspaloaltolib.org.