Library News

The Library has all sorts of things going on in May:

• For Mental Health Awareness Month, community and Library resources to support your mental health
• A celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month
• A celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month

In conjunction with AANHPI, the Library is hosting an author event, an in-person author talk with Zareen and Umair Khan, founders of Zareen's Restaurants, on Sunday May 17 from 3pm to 5pm, at Rinconada Library. You can find out more about that event from the Library's Events Calendar.

There may be signed copies of their book, Zareen's Pakistani Kitchen: Recipes From a Well-fed Childhood, available for sale at the event.

You can find out about these sorts of things in a slightly more timely manner from the Palo Alto City Library Blogs page. Or you can subscribe to them with an RSS reader.

You could find out about other things by subscribing to the Library's mailing list. Like us, they send one or two messages per month, more usually one.

There is also the Library's events calendar that has a lot besides when the Library is closed.

-Frank McConnell

 
Sociology/Anthropology

Sociology/Anthropology section will feature 594 books covering anthropology, archaeology, sociology, history, economics, and cultural studies. The collection includes both classic academic works and accessible nonfiction titles that explore modern society, inequality, technology, and community. Visitors will discover shelves filled with thought-provoking books on human cultures, social change, and global issues, along with works on archaeology, urban life, and American society. Whether you are a student, researcher, or curious reader, the sale offers an opportunity to browse a diverse collection at affordable prices.

Several featured books examine the meaning of work and economic life in contemporary America. Working in the Shadows by Gabriel Thompson explores the experiences of immigrant workers whose labor often remains invisible despite being essential to the economy. There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone focuses on working families struggling with housing insecurity and homelessness. Together, these books present powerful personal stories while raising important questions about inequality, dignity, and opportunity in modern society.

 
Home & Crafts

Sunday, May 10th is Mother's Day: honor your mother with a gift book on flower arranging, a relaxing coloring book, or titles on fashion trends and world home design. Here's a sampling of our offerings in the merry, merry month of May:

The Flower Recipe Book provides one hundred magical, sculptural, and seasonal arrangements to try. Sticky Fingers: DIY Duct Tape Projects says they're "Easy to Pick Up, Hard to Put Down." If Mom enjoys Fabric Arts, Nicky Epstein presents Fabulous Felted Bags: 15 Bags to Knit and Felt. There are also several resources for crochet and embroidery, and many additional titles for knitting; everything from sweaters and scarves to socks and baby knits. For heartier work, we also feature books on beading and mosaics, as well as tie-dye and batik. Look for The Reverse Coloring Book to give her soothing therapy, or The Art of Origami so she can craft special creations.

On the Beauty shelf, standouts for the mother-of-the-bride (and bride-to-be) are: Vera Wang on Weddings, a beautiful DK title, Style Your Perfect Wedding, and Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions. Here's one for the soon-to-be-bride: I Do But I Don't: Walking Down the Aisle Without Losing Your Mind. In Fashion design, your Mom will adore Jackie Style (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis), by Pamela Clarke Keogh, with an introduction by Valentino. Mom can redecorate with inspiration from Mary Emmerling's Quick Decorating, or Ideas, international interiors. She can pick up designer styles from near and far, from romantic Victorian, to the Wild West. Surprise Mom with your interest in building and remodeling, and to help you help her, discover titles on home organizing and tidying up.

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

-Virginia Perry

 
Antiques & Collections

This month, on the heels of the King of England's U.S. visit, we received an exquisite book, Royal Treasures: A Golden Jubilee Celebration. In addition, from the V & A Museum, we have An Introduction to Courtly Jewellery by Anna Somers Cocks. Then there's Nagual in the Garden: Fantastic Animals in Mexican Ceramics by Lenore Hoag Mulryan as well as Turkish Tile and Ceramic Art by Dr. Oktay Asianapa. You'll find books on grandfather clocks, dolls and doll houses, toys, furniture and maps, and a significant collection of guns and firearms. Don't miss these and other titles for your collecting reference.

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

-Virginia Perry

 
Poetry

May is blue and gold and green,
Not a trace of cloud is seen.
This month we feature life and times
Of those who entertain with rhymes;
Or other figures, fallen low:
Cesar Chavez? I don't think so!
And from the shelves of Bob Conquest
All of the poets he loved best.
So while you have some May time leisure
Come and find a special treasure.

https://fopalbooks.com/poetry.html

-Mandy MacCalla

 
Children's Room

Hooray for May! The end of the school year is rapidly approaching, and the Children's Room is crammed with books and activities to help kids of all ages stay engaged--playing and learning--all summer long! The upcoming season also brings the return of the Palo Alto Library's Summer Reading Program, an endeavor supported by FOPAL sales! When you shop in the Children's Room it's a win-win for your family and the libraries--so let's see what the Children's Room has "in store..."

In our Activity section, the big news is LEGO Bionicles--we have many "retired" sets and parts, as well as a "gazillion" Pokemon cards!! Our games and graphic novel shelves are overflowing--never have we ever had such an inventory--so come and shop for all ages! Be sure to visit our puzzles section featuring many Ravensburgers, and look for a special set of wooden blocks from F.A.O. Schwarz!

Planning a trip abroad, or perhaps yearning for the sound of home? The World Languages section has a large selection of books in French and German.

Our Non-Fiction shelves are filled--everyone is sure to find a topic of interest!

Our Fiction section extends a call to one and all: This is a banner month for Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans--we have books from the beginning of the series to the recent releases. Parents--keep your early readers busy this summer with a wide selection of early chapter books. We've shelved loads of them, including: The Bad Guys, The Boxcar Children, Captain Underpants, Dragon Masters, Magic Treehouse Merlin Missions, and Notebook of Doom. Thinking of getting some nice book sets as gifts? We have some beautiful sets including Narnia in hardback (originally $120 - our price $20), Little House on the Prairie, and sets from the award-winning authors Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume.

Beginning Readers will find loads of Mo Willems Elephant and Piggy books, as well as a big assortment of Dr Seuss books of all sizes.

In Picture Books, look for the shelf sign that will point you to the award winners. You'll find many other good books in boxes because we've run out of room on the shelves!

-Miriam Landesman

 
Children's Vintage

As always, Children's Vintage (tucked away in the SE corner of the children's room) is chockablock with great finds! This month we're highlighting children's illustrators Maurice Sendak and Paul Galdone. Sendak won the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are, and Galdone won the Caldecott in 1957 and 1958 for Anatole and Anatole and His Cat. Mr. Galdone also illustrated fairy tales like Puss in Boots, and we have both an English and a German version!

For bigger kids, we have an entire bookshelf of books written by Albert Payson Terhune, almost all of them in mylar-covered dust jackets; several Alfred Hitchcock Three Investigators books; white copy of The Wizard of Oz; and an entire Disney package consisting of a vintage Disneyland map, tray puzzle featuring Sleeping Beauty's castle and a boxed set of The Wonderful World of Disney storybooks. If you want something meatier (or at least heavier), you can find several bound copies of St Nicholas magazines from the mid-1800s or a 14-volume 1947 Childcraft Encyclopedia.

See shelf pictures at <https://fopalbooks.com/>.

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

-Lisa Heitman

 
Politics

This May, we have lots of exciting new books on the shelves in the Politics section of the main room.

There are books covering every corner of the globe, all the way from the Chinese economy to European global relations in the last 10 years. This month is super foreign relations based; with textbooks from Taiwan and Japan, talking about their respective places within the political system. All in all, this month has so much to offer here in the Politics section of the main room. Hope to see you there!

-Emma Chen

 
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 -

• Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor
• King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel
• Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky: The Journey Home
• My Second-Favorite Country
• Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History
• Yiddishlands: A Memoir
• Millennial Jewish Stars: Navigating Racial Antisemitism, Masculinity, and White Supremacy

 
Music Pop Up Sale

Our popular Music Pop Up Sale returns once again this Saturday with two months of new releases added to our comprehensive stock of LPs, CDs, DVDS, and cassettes.

-George Chaltas

 
Bargain Room

This month in the Bargain Room we have lots of: Fiction, Health, Medicine, Entertainment, Business, Children's Books, Music Books, Art, Biography, Politics, Nature, Cooking, Essays and Short Stories, Education, Psychology, Self Help, National Geographics, Sheet Music, CDs & Vinyl. Basically we have lots of lots of stuff.

-The Boogie Woogie Frugal Boy From Company B

 
Cameras

We have got a Pentax K-1000 and a beautiful Olympus XA3. Other cameras, flashes and lenses may make a special guest appearance.

-Sir Lens-A-Lot

 
Maps

Check out our Vintage maps and our waterproof maps. We have a Bicentennial California Coastal Bicycle, waterproof Grand Canyon and Galapagos Island maps. If we don't have the map that you want then it doesn't exist (on our shelves at least).

-Mapman Crothers

 
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 May 3 through Sunday May 10. Please hold your donations until Monday May 11.

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.

 
Suggestions?

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