Library News

The Library's Summer Reading Program theme this year is "Oceans of Possibilities", it is in its wrap-up phase and readers have logged more than two million minutes of reading! 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 7 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

 
Quarter Comic Book Sale

Greetings Earthlet's!

I, Tharg, have come to you from the planet Quaxxan to bestow upon you the gift of Thrill Power!* What better way to bring you this gift than through selling you comic books for a mere 2 gold senines each (or one shiny quarter in your human currency). Yes, THE QUARTER COMIC BOOK SALE IS BACK! And we have more than 8000 comics, all for one quarter each!

Splundig vur Thrigg!

*(And to avoid the high tax rates of the Betelgeuse system.)

 
Poetry

August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is born.
From the harvest fill your plates
With goodies from the poet Yeats.
If you want some verse that cooks,
Try the top shelf Heritage Books.
You're sure to find good treats galore
At the FOPAL Poetry store.

https://fopalbooks.com/poetry.html

-Mandy MacCalla

 
Magazines

Our features for this month revolve around photography and food. There are some wonderful glossy issues of periodicals that have gorgeous photographs (look left and you'll see wonderful Photography books on offer) and for those of you (like me) remember food porn, then you'll love the collection of Gourmet magazines spanning decades on offer. You might also find helpful cooking and food tips with a full array of Cooks Illustrated. Come find something that, for a minimal amount of money, will give you great visual pleasure without having to scroll.

-Glen Sato

 
Home & Crafts

Can you believe it? We're approaching the end of summer and back to school! And boy oh boy, do we have books and more books for your reading, crafting, and home project enjoyment. Now that the kids will be back in the classroom, take the time for yourself for a calming, relaxing, or stimulating pleasure.

In August we have many books on jewelry making, including Metal Clay Jewelry and Metalworking 101 for Beaders. There are multiple books on papercraft, and a few colorful titles on birdhouse building. Get fancy with The Calligraphy Workbook, or creative with body art from Tiny Tattoos. You'll find beautiful knitting resources for kids and adults from Vogue and Kaffe. There are also several books on weaving, and a new collection of guides on quilting. Don't miss our crochet, needlepoint, cross-stitch, and sewing resources. You can create gorgeous flower arrangements with our floral arts books as well.

In Fashion, we showcase some interesting titles for men: Vanity, Vitality, and Virility, Manspace, and Nordstrom Guide to Men's Fashion. Not to be left out, our women's titles include: Dress Your Best, Slow Beauty, and Bobbi Brown's A Guide to a Lifetime of Beauty. There's also a cool book on shoes! For the designer in you, find splendid references on costume and fashion history. Look for a myriad of titles on home decorating, essays on the home, resources for maintenance and repair, in addition to home building and remodeling, including Tree Houses: Living a Dream. Not to be missed, search for regional and international designs, from San Francisco to France - and Italy. Bellissimo!

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

-Virginia Perry

 
Antiques & Collections

New in the month of August are The Book of Perfume, and Legends of the Silent Screen, plus many titles on silver, gold, glass, and ceramics. There's a precious book on Rocking Horses, as well as several books on toys and dolls. We have multiple titles on textiles and furniture, a Taschen's book on DecoDecorative Art 50's, and a study on Winchester rifles. Look for many resources on collecting, caring for, and repair of antiques to assist you with your passion.

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

-Virginia Perry

 
Sociology/Anthropology

For the upcoming book sale, the Sociology/Anthropology section will feature 581 books on anthropology, archaeology, and sociology, offering a fascinating journey through human history, culture, and society. Among the highlights is David Graeber and David Wengrow's The Dawn of Everything, a groundbreaking reinterpretation of humanity's past that challenges traditional ideas about the origins of civilization, inequality, and the state. Also featured is C. Wright Mills's The Power Elite, a classic work arguing that political, military, and corporate leaders form a closely connected elite that shapes major decisions in modern society. Readers interested in Africa may enjoy The Precarious Balance: State and Society in Africa, which explores the complex relationship between governments and communities across the continent. Its themes remain relevant today, as recent events involving migrants reaching the Spanish enclave of Ceuta highlight how political instability, economic inequality, and migration continue to connect Africa and Europe in profound ways.

 
Humor

It's another bumper month in the world of humor with five full shelves. On the top shelf we have 19 books of cartoons including 9 classics from the New Yorker. Lower down we have 25 books by Wodehouse (a record?), some of which are anthologies. Also we have a good selection of Monty Python and a dozen other examples of British humor. On this side of the pond our #1 American author with 9 novels is David Sedaris.

My favorite book of the month is Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire with around 100 "Prominent Cultural Figures" answering a set list of questions truthfully and/or dubiously and perhaps wittily.

-Nigel Jones

 
Children's Room

As the summer break is drawing to an end, teachers are preparing for school to begin. The Children's Room is a fantastic resource for teachers--thousands of books from preschool age through teens, and at prices anyone can afford: from 50 cents to just a few dollars (and teachers get a discount!). If your teacher friends are starting a classroom library, or adding to one, the Children's Room is the place they should begin.

Our School-age Fiction shelves are packed. Several stand-outs include like-new award-winning boxed collections of Roald Dahl titles (3 sets), Judy Blume titles (2 sets), and a set of Beverly Cleary. We are loaded with gift-quality special editions of Harry Potter books, beautifully illustrated. They were originally priced at $40 to $55; our price is only $10. In the sci-fi and fantasy section, check out the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, and a great middle school read-alone or--for younger readers--read-aloud series, The Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland, featuring all kinds of dragons. On the popular authors cart you'll find many Stuart Gibbs books from several different series, all New York Times best-sellers. To the right of the teen section, there is a wonderful new series geared toward teen-age girls who like soccer: The Kicks, by World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan. If your girls are into soccer, they will love this series. Finally, in classics, we have a full-color two-book set of The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Complete Winnie the Pooh.

Our Activity section offers something for everyone, from toys and games to workbooks and math manipulatives. The toys include a Playmobil first responders set, a Thomas the Tank Engine train set, and bags of Lego sold by the pound! We think Magnatiles are some of the best toys ever, and we have a huge collection of them. Plan a family game night with an assortment of games from our overstuffed shelves. Once again, our graphic novels bookcase has spilled over onto a table--look for several series including Big Nate and Tintin. Nearby, you'll spot books for gamers, including lots on Minecraft. Looking ahead, choose books of experiments to inspire science fair projects, or find workbooks for a quick review of math or language arts skills. And don't miss our pristine coloring books and kids' cookbooks--items to use now or to store for gift-giving later.

The Beginning Readers shelves offer lots of good books including very inexpensive sets for early readers. And, once again, a huge assortment of Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie books.

Look in the Parenting corner for a great selection of books to help you navigate the years from infancy through teens.

On the Giftable Picture Books shelves you'll find an abundance of brand new Treasury of Curious George books (13 copies!), and a large selection of Madeline books.

Under the front windows we offer some beautiful pop-up books in great condition that would make lovely gifts, in addition to lots of board books for the youngest readers.

Our shelves and carts are packed this month more than ever. Don't Miss This Sale!

-Carolyn Davidson

 
Children's Vintage

Children's Vintage is spotlighting six women illustrators this month: Nancy Tafuri (Caldecott Honor winner for her book Have You Seen My Duckling, Kate Greenaway (best known for Under the Window and her delicate watercolor aesthetics), Virginia Burton (Mike Mulligan, The Little House), Emily Arnold McCully (winner of several Bank Street Best Book awards), Beatrix Potter (of course!), and Mary Blair (renowned cartoonist known for shaping the mid-century Disney style). We have several of the award winning books on display this month to add to your collection.

Moving on to books for older kids, among all the other treasures, look for a boxed and gilded gift copy of The Hobbit and a stated second printing of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. The world language section doesn't disappoint with a Mary Poppins book in Spanish and The Little Prince in the original French as well as others. And the toys and games section just keeps exploding with possibilities! This month look for vintage model car kits as well as metal car replicas, a beautiful doll and plaid doll steamer trunk, and many games, the most unique being an animated Jumanji.

See all this and more at https://fopalbooks.com

And for more children's vintage books, check us out on eBay at https://www.ebay.com/str/friendsofthepaloaltolibrary

-Chloe

 
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 -

• To the End of the eEarth : a History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico
• The Only Jew in The Room: Searching for Understanding in An Arab Islamic College
• The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival and Hope on Israel's Borderlands
• Essays on Ethics
by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
• Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel
• The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance (Political Imagination)
• On Repentance And Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World
• Here All Along: A Reintroduction to Judaism
• Entering the High Holy Days: A Complete Guide to the History, Prayers and Themes
• American JewBu - Jews, Buddhists, and Religious Change
• The Five Books of Moses by Robert Alter

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

 
Self-Help/Personal Growth

A Featured Subsection this month is CREATIVITY, found on the top shelf, third Bay. There are so many fun ideas of how to freely express yourself, including a Creativity Kit by Julia Cameron, along with some of her popular books. So let your imagination soar! Some Featured Books are: Designing Your Life and Workbook; 10 Steps to Happiness; The Love Project; Decolonizing Trauma Work; Ikigai-Japanese Secret to a Long & Happy Life. There are some great deals in the 'Marked Down' section of some previously featured books. For those who like to keep personal growth simple and fun, check out several Card Decks including: Relax and Cards Against Anxiety. There are now TWO CD sets by Anthony Robbins, a popular motivational and self-help coach: The Time of Your Life and Lessons in Mastery. These are way below the price on his website and used books sites. Enjoy browsing and helping books find a new home while supporting Palo Alto Libraries!

Peace and Well-Being to All,

-Marnie

 
Cameras

Lots and lots of cameras this month! Take a trip through history with gear from every era: vintage film SLRs, later film point-and-shoots, Y2K digicams, DSLRs, and even a modern mirrorless camera. Don't miss the unique Polaroid Tektronix camera! Videographers, be sure to check out the camcorders and GoPro accessories.

-CAMelot

 
Mitchell Park Store

The Mitchell Park Store is featuring Home and Crafts this month. If you have read their newsletter submission you know that they have received many wonderful books. In fact, their "cup runneth over" and we are the beneficiary as they are sharing many of their terrific books with us.

In addition to activity books such as knitting, crocheting, and quilting we have a nice selection of adult coloring books. We even have a Faberge puzzle book! There are several excellent books on home repair and maintenance which no one really wants to buy but they certainly are helpful when needed. Best of all if you can do it yourself rather than calling a handyman you usually save quite a bit of money.

In our current heatwave it is hard to imagine sitting at home and knitting, sewing, or doing origami but when the cooler weather comes your will be happy that you visited the store especially if you were unable to attend our monthly sale. If you are not a "crafter" we have beautiful books on decorating particularly with Asian influences.

The Home and Craft selection is so great that instead of the special just occupying one side of our kiosk the books will be on both sides of the kiosk. By the way, I just recently remembered that Home and Crafts used to be called "Miscellaneous" in the Main Room. This sort of explains why Fashion and Beauty are included in this section.

A reminder that the Mitchell Park store is open during all library hours and staffed by volunteers every afternoon for several hours. They are most happy to help you with our books, CDs and DVDs. You can pay with cash, Zelle or PayPal. At MP we prefer cash but if you use Zelle or PayPal please put "MP" (for Mitchell Park) in your purchase description.

The Rinconada and Downtown libraries also have stores that are accessible all library hours. Although their collections are smaller they strive to have books that you will want to read.

Enjoy the sale and start your Holiday shopping this weekend!

-Suzanne Little

 
Philosophy

Another month rich in new philosophy books. In terms of philosophers we have six on Dewey, nine on Wittgenstein (including titles not seen before), four on Lander, and five on Nietzsche. The book of the month without any doubt is the hardback Oxford Handbook of The Philosophy of Consciousness. This is a high value book typically sold only online but being offered to our sale book buyers at a reduced price. It is on the far left of the top shelf on the right hand bookcase.

-Nigel Jones

 
Science Fiction and Fantasy

In Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Steampunk and Alternate History sections are back in their old home in the southwest corner of the aisle. I don't see signed copies of Neal Stephenson books often, but I've got a couple this month.

Shelf pictures at fopalbooks.com.

-Rich McAllister

 
History

FoPAL got a large donation of books on Russia and the Soviet Union recently. We also received large donations of books on Latin America and the Middle East. If you want some lighter reading, we also have a selection of books on exploration, as well as the histories of everyday objects.

In US history, in addition to the usual dead presidents, there is a selection of books on regional history, mainly New York, but also extensive works on the American South.

-Lin McAllister

 
Bargain Room

Sections in the Bargain Room with loads of books: Vinyl & CDs, Music Books, Sci-Fi, Children's, Art, Science, Mystery, Foreign Language, Reference, Business, Psych, Sex & Gender, Sheet Music, Magazines/Maps/Ephemera, Travel, Vintage, Computers, Health & Medicine, Home & Craft & Gardening. Not enough? Some folks are never happy!

-The Boogie Woogie Frugal Boy From Company B

 
Sheet Music

Significant donation of exceptional classical and acoustic guitar sheet music has arrived this month.

-Edwin El-Kareh

 
Donations

We accept donations on Monday through Friday from 3-5 pm in the Main Room, and on Saturday with extended hours from 1-5 pm. 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 2 through Sunday August 9. Please hold your donations until Monday August 10.

Please read our donation guidelines before you bring materials to us. Also look at that page if you need to bring us a donation larger than six boxes or outside our usual donation times, it has information on scheduling appointments and requesting a pickup.

In addition to books, vinyl, DVDs, CDs, toys, etc. We now accept the following types of donations:

• Cameras
• Tools
• Watches
• Clocks
• Typewriters

See our full list of accepted donations at fopal.org/donate.

 
A New Reading Group at Rinconada Library

Philosophy for Life is a friendly reading and discussion group that begins on August 16 at Rinconada Library. Together, we'll read accessible texts from different philosophical traditions, discuss the ideas and assumptions that shape our world, and explore big questions about how we live and what we value. The group is open to adults and young adults. No background in philosophy is required--just curiosity and a willingness to talk, listen, and learn from one another. We meet twice a month on Sundays. Our first book is Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life by American philosopher Emily A. Austin. Full information about the reading group, including the reading schedule and curriculum for each meeting, is available on the Library's website.

-Natalia & Lottie

 
Suggestions?

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