Library News

The Library is celebrating Latine & Hispanic Heritage Month beginning September 15. More info on the Library's web site.

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

 
Home & Crafts

Will we see you in September? Look what's in store for you!

Little Book of Hermès: The Story of the Iconic Fashion House is one of several fashion designers you'll find this month. There are several beauty guides: Standard Cosmetology, Cindy Crawford's Basic Face, and Body & Beauty, to name a few. And don't forget The Complete Beauty Bible by Paula Begoun. Home decorating maven, Alexandra Stoddard, offers her advice in Feeling At Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want To Live. Regional designs include everything from Berlin Interiors to Kyoto Country Retreats. Home building offers Modern Carpentry, Building Green, and Green From the Ground Up: A Builder's Guide. Home maintenance includes How to Get Red Wine Out of a White Carpet. We also have several books on disaster preparedness.

This month in Floral Arts there are several titles on flower arranging, plus dried flowers and pressed flowers. New in Crafts are a couple of books on macramé, several books on jewelry-making, and many titles on creating your own greeting cards. We are loaded with new fabric arts resources: an entire shelf for knitting, as well as another shelf for quilting. In addition you'll find many resources for sewing, including Vogue Easy Sewing, plus crocheting, needlepoint, and embroidery 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 September you'll find multiple guides on pottery, ceramics, and porcelain, including the Dictionary of American Pottery Marks, and California Pottery: from Missions to Modernism. There are also titles on Mexican silver and jewelry. Don't miss Tartanware by Princess Ira Von Furstenberg. Look for coins, 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

September slips in
With a chance to guess this month's
Theme of Poetry.

https://fopalbooks.com/poetry.html

-Mandy MacCalla

 
Puzzles and Games

We have several new Pomegranate donations, both 500 and 1000 pieces. The curated fall puzzles are now out.

Also this month we have several mini-specials. All Wysocki puzzles are $4. We have a couple of gamer book sets bundled for purchase at 80% off Ebay--Warhammer CodeX and Steven S. Long Hero System books. We also have some always popular vintage D and D books.

-Vicky Evans

 
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 this month:

• This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation
• Chasing Portraits: A Great-Granddaughter's Quest for Her Lost Art Legacy
• The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492
• Image Before My Eyes: A Photographic History of Jewish Life in Poland, 1864-1939
• Lilith's Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural
• Bagels and Grits: A Jew on the Bayou
• Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America

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

 
Children's Room

Don't miss the September sale! Our sections are all Seriously Stuffed this month, with Big Beautiful Bargains!

Check out School-age Fiction for books to get children reading again after summer break. Gamers will be interested in our two like-new sets: The Game Knight, and the complete series of Trapped in a Video Game. Fans of the classics shouldn't miss the beautifully illustrated Collector's Edition of Stuart Little and several complete sets of the Narnia books by C. S. Lewis. Our early chapter books shelves offer a number of the most popular series. Finally, Rick Riordan is well represented--for example, with Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes and several like-new hardback copies of The Trials of Apollo.

In Non-fiction we have the first of the 2026 calendars, several graphic books, and some surprises on our display table. There's also a box of charming poster-size story books, wonderful for reading aloud to a classroom.

On the Giftables shelves and display racks you'll be tempted by an extraordinary selection of like-new, gift-quality hardback picture books. It may still be September, but it's not too soon to snap up some beautiful gifts for the holidays.

Under the front windows you'll find plentiful board, pop-up, and first-letters and -numbers books. Nearby, the Picture Books table and bins are packed this month. There's an overflowing bucket of Golden Books and Disney stories, and lots of series books including Curious George, Berenstain Bears, Mercer Mayer Critter books, Octonauts, Fancy Nancy, Maisy "First Experience" books, and Skippyjon Jones, to name a few. Eric Carle fans will find many of his books, small and large. Don't miss the collection of small, delightful hardback books by Olivier Dunrea, for example Gemma & Gus (Big Sister and Little Brother) and other characters. We have multiple copies of John Henry, by Julius Lester, and Stephen Kellogg's retold and illustrated stories including Paul Bunyan and Mike Fink. Finally, look for the box of poetry books by celebrated authors.

The World Languages shelves offer many books in Russian and French, and a neat collection of German board books. And as usual, the Asian Languages shelves and cart are stuffed.

Our Activity tables are stocked with mathematics and hands-on science books. The shelves are bursting with games--board games, card games, tabletop games--many in giftable condition. We also have loads of jigsaw puzzles, including many Ravensburgers. Once again, our graphic novels bookcase overflows onto a nearby table. Look for several series including, but hardly limited to, Phoebe and Her Unicorn, Big Nate, Amulet, Olympians, and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. Finally, a special this month: a mint-condition Waldorf wooden rocker board for only $20 ($165 from the manufacturer) that can be used as a balance board, a seesaw, a bridge, a slide, or even a rocking cradle. Exceptionally strong, it can hold even a 200-pound adult! Truly one of a kind.

For Beginning Readers we have an abundant supply of books including inexpensive sets for families or classrooms. There's a wide assortment of books on Parenting, including topics like being an adoptive parent, helping kids manage emotions, and tips for moms and dads of newborns. Look for photo and memory albums to commemorate the birth of a child. On the DVD shelves you'll find lots of Disney favorites and Toy Story collections.

-Carolyn Davidson

 
Children's Vintage

The children's vintage section is starting to have some regular sections that children's book lovers can truly look forward to! Our Instagram selection this month is Herb Caen's The Cable Car and the Dragon (and we have 3 copies!) Caen was a regular man-about-town columnist for the SF Chronicle for 50 years so he knew a little something about cable cars (and maybe dragons too :) Close-ups of this book are @friendsofthepaloaltolibrary on Instagram. Our featured illustrators this month are David Macaulay, 1991 Caldecott Medal Winner for his book Black and White, and known for books (like we have for sale) that explain the intricacies of architecture; Allen Say, 1994 Caldecott Medal Winner for his book Grandfather's Journey and other books that focus mainly on Japanese and Japanese-American characters and their stories; and Brian Wildsmith, 1962 winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal for his book ABC, known for his exuberant use of paint in a riot of color. For older kids, we have some classics! Three Roald Dahl books (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and The Magic Finger) and The Phantom Tollbooth, all in dust jackets. We also have a later printing of a first edition Anne of Green Gables.

-Lisa Heitman

 
European Languages

We still have most of the modern fiction in Spanish we received this summer in the Main Room. Few are ex-library, and all are in good condition. We also received a fair number of books in French and German, and a tiny book called 'Essential Foreign Chat-up Lines' (in the French subsection), and also lots of books in Norwegian.

-Susan Strain

 
Sociology/Anthropology

For the September sale, the Sociology/Anthropology section offers more books than ever--631. The increase is due to a significant expansion of the U.S.: Self-Reflection subsection (75 books) and the introduction of a new shelf featuring only large-format books (103 books). By the way, all books in this latter subsection are offered for $3.

As for the quality of the books, there are, as usual, quite a few famous classic works. Among them, I want to highlight two books: a seminal research on the formation of the English working class identity and consciousness, Making of the English Working Class (1963) by E.P. Thompson. In 2016, The Guardian ranked it #19 among the 100 best non-fiction books. Another classic is the foundational work by Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks (1952), in which he explores the impact of racism on the black psyche. One sign of the ongoing importance of Fanon's work is that, in 2019, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy included an article about the life and work of Frantz Fanon.

-Natalia Koulinka

 
Philosophy

2025 must be the year of the Great Philosophy Cleanout, we have had large donations for several months in a row and we have plenty of new arrivals. On the top shelf of the left bookcase we have a collection of 15 books by Dewey, 5 by Hilary Putnam, 9 by Wittgenstein and 19 by Kant (all repriced for this sale). For the first time we have in hardback Husserl's two volume set Logical Investigations.

The right hand bookcase is dedicated to all our new arrivals and books on philosophical topics.

Make sure to look in our Bargain Room for the books I could not find space for in the Main Room.

-Nigel Jones

 
Mitchell Park Library Store

If you are unable to attend this month's sale or don't find the book you are looking for, remember that you have shopping alternatives at the FOPAL stores in Mitchell Park, Rinconada, and the Downtown Libraries. Mitchell Park is significantly larger than the other stores so you will have more choices but each of the stores has a different collection of books. All the stores are open each day during library hours.

In addition to puzzles, games, CDs, DVDs and books from most of the major sections of the Main Room Mitchell Park also has a small selection of Children's books and DVDs as well as Parenting books. We also stock FOPAL book bags to carry your purchase home.

This month's special on our front kiosk is Poetry. We have some wonderful books that are selling briskly. Our volunteers restock these shelves every day except Sunday. This month on the back of the kiosk are Cooking books. This is in addition to the regular Cooking section.

Mitchell Park is pleased to announce that Cards are back in the store. In the past they were a very popular item but for various reasons we have not stocked them for the past few years. All of the cards are blank so that you can use them for any occasion with your own personal note. Given the price of cards in the stores today they are a real bargain. The cards are packaged in groups from one card to four cards and priced very reasonably usually $1.00 to $4.00 per package.

We look forward to seeing you at one of the library stores before the next monthly sale.

See more information about our in-library stores on our web site.

-Suzanne Little

 
Self Help/Personal Growth

What an abundance of books to browse! There are 5 shelves of 'Popular on Amazon' books - on the top shelf you'll find those books that have from 2 to 8 copies for sale. Check out the 4 shelves of 'New Arrivals'. If you're looking for a specific book it may be in those first two bays or I may have moved it to the appropriate sub-section that I created to make your 'book search' easy. My intention is to serve YOU, the reader and buyer. When pricing books I look for the best price I can offer you and organize the books as thoughtfully as I can. I love having used books find a new home! If you have any suggestions for my section, please leave a note with one of the Fopal staff. If you leave your name and contact number I'll get back to you.

Enjoy Yourself,

-Marnie

 
Vintage/Sets

The renamed Sets section is now Vintage/Sets with an emphasis on volumes 100 years or older. This month highlights the most collected encyclopedia of all, and a vast array of Baedekers!

The Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910-1911) is a 29-volume reference work. This edition of the encyclopedia contains 40,000 entries with articles written by the best-known scholars of the time. The 11th edition has retained considerable value as a time capsule of scientific and historical information, as well as scholarly attitudes of the era immediately preceding World War I. FOPAL has a complete 29-volume, red leather set (spines rubbed, edge wear) for $45.

Several Baedeker's from the late 1800s to the early 1900s adorn the Vintage shelves. These red leather guides, often referred to simply as "Baedekers" (a term sometimes used to refer to similar works from other publishers, or travel guides in general), contain, among other things, maps and introductions; information about routes and travel facilities; and descriptions of noteworthy buildings, sights, attractions and museums, written by contemporary specialists. Profusely illustrated throughout with colored maps, plans, and panoramas, these are timeless classics for travel buffs.

-John Schoppert

 
SF&F & Comics

We received a donation of an amazing collection of SF&F this month. So large, it's chased horror, vampires, alternate history, and game-related fiction completely off the shelves for this month to make room. Lots of new arrivals of books about SF, from academic criticism (Darko Suvin) through useful reference (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction) to goshwow fan fodder (I Am Not Spock). One shelf is nearly filled with "Best Of" single-author collections. There are 45 years of annual Nebula Award anthologies, a shorter run of Hugo winners, and some runs of "best of the year" volumes from Terry Carr and others. On the other side of the aisle are lots of Philip K. Dick, including a 5-volume collected stories set, and 12 volumes of collected Theodore Sturgeon stories.

In Comics, Graphic Novels, and Manga, unusual things are 16 volumes of the "Attack on Titan" series in the original Japanese and some 1970s-vintage war comics.

Shelf pictures at fopalbooks.com.

-Rich McAllister

 
Bargain Room

The Bargain Room has been having some noticeably full sections for a couple weeks now. Cooking, Classic Fiction, Drama, European Language, Nature, Science, Science Fiction, Sheet Music, Travel Guides, probably others.

Several boxes of magazines on the table up in the front of the room which had other ephemera last month. National Geographic and Time.

Puzzles & Games is in the same room but moved to shelves between Reference and Mystery Paperbacks to make room for more European Language.

Popular Science has overflowed not just to the metal shelves shared with hardcover fiction but also to the wooden shelves under the window.

Science Fiction ran out of room and the anthologies and shared world paperbacks are in boxes waiting for next month, along with at least 15 more boxes of paperbacks. (It takes 11 boxes to fill the SF&F paperback shelves.)

Not so many classical records this month but still enough to be the majority of what is out on records. Look for classical music on CD too, I think there will be at least a thousand items out.

-Frank McConnell

 
Music Pop-Up

All that classical music on CD in the Bargain Room? Look for more, and less usual, at the Music Pop-Up on Saturday! Also a variety of popular music!

-Frank McConnell

 
History

Over 800 books on a variety of historical topics, from the academic to the popular to the bizarre! This month we collections devoted to the lesser known European explorers, and incidents in Chicago history, as well as a lot of new arrivals in African-American history. If you're starting to look for holiday gifts, the red cart has a wide selection of large-format books on many subjects. See the pictures on the fopalbooks.com web site for more info!

-Lin McAllister

 
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 September 7 through Sunday September 14. Please hold your donations until Monday September 15.

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.