Library News

The Library's Summer Reading Program theme this year is "Book A Trip", it is in its wrap-up phase and readers have read more than enough to get us to make a donation to Pupcycled, and readers can pick up their prizes at Children's, Mitchell Park, or Rinconada Library through August 31 while supplies last. More info on the Library's web site.

All branches will be closed on September 1 for the Labor Day holiday. Plan accordingly.

You could find out about these sorts of things in a slightly more timely manner by subscribing to the Library's mailing list. Like us, they send one or two messages per month, more usually one.

You can find out about other things they want you to know from the Palo Alto City Library Blogs page. Or you can subscribe to them with an RSS reader.

-Frank McConnell

 
SciFi & Comics

The Science Fiction and Fantasy section features a huge collection of the Bantam editions of the Doc Savage pulp novels by "Kenneth Robeson." Over 140 books in nice condition, missing being a complete set by one of the later omnibus volumes. Also look for a bunch of Martha Wells' "Murderbot" books, sets of Cixin Liu's "Three Body Problem" trilogy, a half-shelf of Terry Pratchett, and multiple books from Rebecca Yarrow, Brandon Sanderson, and N. K. Jemisin.

In Comics and Graphic Novels, find collections of classic newspaper strips like Pogo, Dick Tracy, and Li'l Abner, and a bunch of the Marvel "Essentials" reprint albums.

Shelf pictures on fopalbooks.com.

-Rich McAllister

 
Home & Crafts

With schools back in session soon, there'll be more time for Crafts and many of those Home maintenance and repair projects. Take a look and see what's available, as well as all the guides that are new in August.

This month in Fashion, try 1000 Dresses: The Fashion Design Resource, and at the other end of the spectrum, Street Style by Ted Polhemus. We have two fashion retrospectives: Fashion: From the 18th to the 20th Century, and The Look of the Century: Design Icons of the 20th Century. There are several beauty tips from Face Forward by Kevyn Aucoin to Great Hair: Elegant Styles for Every Occasion. Home decorating features Décors Barbares: The Enchanting Interiors of Nathalie Farman-Farma. If you want to start your own design business you'll want to buy Becoming an Interior Designer. Regional designs showcase Swedish Interiors, and the little book of Houses of the World. Also this month there is an array of concepts for kitchen and bath. Home building offers a two-volume collection of The Not So Big House titles. To get you started on all those home projects are multiple resources for home maintenance and repairs: Grandpa's 5001 Handyman Secrets, Lowe's Complete Home Improvement and Repair, and the Reader's Digest Practical Problem Solver, to name a few.

This month in Floral Arts we have Paradise Contained: Growing and Decorating with Flower Bulbs. Just in for relaxation is Bloom: A meditative Coloring Book for Cultivating a Calm Mind. New in Crafts to help plan for the fall, try Play with Your Pumpkins. In jewelry this month you'll find Build Your Own Wire Pendants, and also The New Encyclopedia of Jewelry-Making Techniques. In Fabric Arts you'll discover Outlander Knitting: The Official Book of 20 Knits Inspired by the Hit Series, and Loop-d-Loop: More Than 40 Novel Designs for Knitters. Sewing specialties include The American Dutchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking. In addition there are quilting, crochet, needlepoint, and embroidery resources to assist you with all your fabric projects.

eShelf photos can be found at https://fopalbooks.com/crafts.html.

-Virginia Perry

 
Antiques & Collections

In the month of August you'll find Mauchline Ware: A Collector's Guide, as well as Peranakan Chinese Porcelain. New in store is A Field Guide to American Houses. In addition you'll discover the Tell City Primer of Early American Home Decorating, and A Treasury of Early American Homes by Richard Pratt. Look for stamps and coins, jewelry, watches, and clocks, furniture and rugs, plus other antique guides for your collecting reference.

eShelf photo can be found at https://fopalbooks.com/crafts.html.

-Virginia Perry

 
Poetry

August, a symphony of heat and haze
Where summer's fervor continues its blaze.
In poetry circles, you can't beat the Beats,
So this month we've given them top row seats.
Black poets cover another top shelf,
With themes that range from the world to the self.
Blazing with fervor for writers of verse
Shop FOPAL's big sale; you could do much worse.

https://fopalbooks.com/poetry.html

-Mandy MacCalla

 
Religion

Find the box on bottom shelf filled with 12 volumes of Interpreter's Bible, 1955, priced at $32, less than half of online price. Also the following specials:

• Soren Kierkegaard, Training in Christianity
• Richard Rohr's new The Tears of Things
• St. Augustine, Faith Hope and Charity
• C.J. Jung, Answer to Job
• The Writings of John Greenwood and Henry Barrow 1581-1593
• Bhikkhu, Christianity and Buddhism
• Freeman, The Good Shepherd: Image, Meaning and Power
• Igor, The Immortal Mind

-Nancy Cohen

 
Sociology/Anthropology

For the upcoming sale, the Sociology/Anthropology section offers 446 books. The largest collection, as always, is in a sub-section on theory and methods (81 books), followed by a U.S. Self-Reflection sub-section (64), and Cultural Anthropology (60). One of the surprises of the August sale is the 1972 book, The Myth of Population Control: Family, Caste and Class in an Indian Village, by Mahmood Mamdani. The book discusses the first major field study of birth control in India, set in Khanna in Punjab, which failed at a cost of one million dollars to the Rockefeller Foundation and the Indian government. Mamdani criticizes the 'population problem' theorists and their assumptions about economic growth, particularly regarding rural population growth in the third world. Mamdani is an acclaimed academician and political commentator; he is also the father of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election. Another book featured by the Sociology/Anthropology section that I want to introduce is a 2024 book, The Message, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Message is a collection of commentaries on African ancestry and identity, political power and polarization, and a damning assessment of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Shelf pictures at <https://fopalbooks.com/social.html>.

-Natalia Koulinka

 
Children's Room

On the classics shelves in the School-age Fiction section, we have a beautiful pop-up edition of Gods and Heroes, large read-aloud editions of Little House in the Big Woods and Charlotte's Web (perfect for teachers to read in class), and also Watership Down, Peter Pan and Wendy, A Paddington Treasury, and Pippi Longstocking. Nearby, see all of our Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, both the first books in the series and some very recently published editions. We have some unique Harry Potter offerings this month: specially designed pop-up editions of the first two books in the series, and a beautifully illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. We also have a full early chapter books section, including many popular series. Finally, look in our award-winning authors section for lovely editions of Roald Dahl's books.

Our Giftable Better Hardbacks section includes quite a few Caldecott and Caldecott Honor winners, which you'll find on the award-winners display.

Yes, it's August--but think ahead to December! Peruse our Activity bins and shelves to make an early start on holiday shopping for ALL ages! You'll find a plethora of games, loads of puzzles, and some very special toys including a Melissa & Doug pizza oven, a PLAN Toys Build 'n' Spin, a LEGO Minecraft stop-motion movie set, and two brand-new costumes! In our crafts area, we have several sets of "professional" artist brushes and an electric Lite-Brite. Our graphic novels shelves are bursting with our largest selection ever; we also have several Harry Potter audio books on CDs, and some beautifully illustrated cookbooks. For the upcoming school year, we have a large collection of mathematics books, including contest prep workbooks and many sets of Beast Academy. There's a tangram classroom set, along with individual puzzles. And while you browse, be sure to check out the science kits.

-Carolyn Davidson

 
Children's Vintage

August is the dog days of summer and the perfect time to curl up with a good book by the pool or under a tree. Try out one of the 20 volumes of Classics to Grow On (everything from Aesop's Fables to A Tale of Two Cities to short stories by O. Henry) or read up on your favorite composer in a book by Opal Wheeler (this month: Franz Schubert, Sebastian Bach, Paganini, or American composer, Stephen Foster). We also have many books by Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins) including a signed first copy of his Hill of the Hawk. And if you like your reading in a set, try the 8-volume Picturesque Tale of Progress from the 1930s. Featured illustrators this month include Patricia Polacco (The Keeping Quilt), Virginia Burton (Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel), Arnold Lobel (Frog and Toad) and Garth Williams (Little House books, Charlotte's Web, and many books for younger readers). And following on past months' selections, we again have children's vintage games and puzzles including a Rand-McNally globe from the 1960s. See shelf pictures of all these treasures at www.fopalbooks.com.

-Lisa Heitman

 
Nature

Ever wondered how you could live off the land a little better, despite living in an area surrounded by concrete highways and AI billboards? This month, FOPAL has all the information you need to get started farmsteading, from raising chickens and rabbits to foraging edible fruits (it's blackberry season!). And just because they're not on the main shelf, don't overlook our oversized and coffee table books, with some amazing space photographs and vintage Audobon bird illustrations.

-Serena Bramble

 
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.

Special interest this month -

• Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins--and WWII Heroes
• Forever My Jerusalem: A personal account of the siege and surrender of Jerusalem's Old City in 1948
• Voices from the Yiddish: essays, memoirs, diaries
• By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream
• The Story of the Jews A 4,000-Year Adventure--A Graphic History Book
• Thou Shalt Innovate: How Israeli Ingenuity Repairs the 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.

Shelf photos at https://fopalbooks.com/judaica.html

-Charlotte Epstein, Judaica Section Manager

 
Romance

FOPAL now has a Romance section! Located near popular fiction, our Romance selection includes authors like Emily Henry, Ashley Herring Blake, Elin Hilderbrand, Danielle Steele, and Lyla Sage.

-Mal Meisels

 
Books on Books

Our new Books on Books section offers a diverse selection of texts for bibliophiles! Topics include bookbinding, illuminated manuscripts, graphic novels, and histories of bookstores and book collecting. Books on Books is located near the front entrance.

-Mal Meisels

 
Mitchell Park Store

The Mitchell Park Store is open seven days a week during library hours so if you can't make the sale every month we are a great shopping alternative. We stock the major sections of the Main Room but also have some of the smaller sections that you might overlook at the sale. We love to surprise our customers with unique books that they missed seeing at the monthly sale.

Our free standing bookcase features different genres on a rotating basis. This past month we have been featuring travel books so as to synchronize with the Library's Summer Reading Program travel theme. We are also currently winding down a display of the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin historical novels. If you hurry you may be able to find your missing volume of the twenty-one books in the series. Next up we are featuring the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. Recently Ms. Winspear announced that she has written the last book, number eighteen, of these historical mysteries. We have a selection of almost all of the volumes. Please check out both sides of the bookcase because each side has a different subject.

Our next featured display is Poetry. It will be a great selection so don't miss it!

The store is self-service and payment is on the honor system. Generally the store is staffed by one of our FOPAL volunteers during mid-afternoon. They are most happy to answer your questions and take suggestions. Payment is by cash, Zelle, or PayPal. (Cash preferred)

Rinconada and Downtown Stores are also open during library hours. Although they are smaller than MP each store has an interesting and changing selection of books for purchase.

-Suzanne Little, MP Manager

 
Self Help/Personal Growth

This month in Self Help/Personal Growth the shelves are full of great deals! There are four shelves of 'Popular on Amazon' books, including multiple copies of Designing Your Life. Some 'Popular on Amazon' books published in 2025 are on a nearby top shelf and include: The Prism (multiple copies), How to be Dateable; The Essential; and This is the Thing. If you're interested in workbooks, for you or your clients, there are six sets of workbooks with the books and 13 solo workbooks. Two fun card sets we have are: Byron Katie's Katieisms, and Emotional Barometer. If Narcissism is your specialty, you're in luck: We have 8+ books on the subject. Whatever your interest, we'll probably have something for you. Enjoy browsing,

-Marnie

 
History

August features African-American history, Immigrants, and Regional history, as well as the usual gamut of books from ancient Greece to the modern Middle East. There are also some older books for sale: the history may be dated, but some have beautiful color illustrations.

-Lin McAllister

 
Bargain Room

The Bargain Room is experiencing a remarkable fullness for a sale four weeks after the previous sale. Shelves are full, we're stashing recent arrivals for next month.

Looks like we're going to have 20 boxes of records out. Many classical and opera. Some popular music and some other sound. Most vinyl, some shellac. CDs will be somewhere less usual, not sure where yet but that's how many records there are. And yes there will also be a music pop up sale on Saturday outside the Main Room!

-Frank McConnell

 
Donations

We accept donations on Monday through Saturday from 3-5 pm in the Main Room. But we close to donations in the week before the sale so that we can prepare the Main Room for the sale, which means that we are closed for donations from Sunday August 3 through Sunday August 10. Please hold your donations until Monday August 11.

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

 
Suggestions?

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