-
Continue reading →: 20 Books for 2020
Books can distract us from reality, connect us to diverse stories, provide context for our current situation, and help us do something as complex as find a path through difficult times or as mundane as plan our next meal. Here are 20 books – some new, some old; some fiction,…
-
Continue reading →: Witchy BooksWitches pop up in all sorts of stories and settings, not just horror stories and fairy tales – from the halls of academia to Gilded Age New York, from ancient Greece to modern Salem, from literary fiction to fantasy, from scary to romantic to funny. This list is a mix…
-
Continue reading →: Book Club Sept. 15
Please join us via Zoom Tuesday, September 15 from 6:30-7:30pm to discuss our next Oakland-themed book selection, Flavors of Oakland by Elazar Sontag and Anya Ku. This cookbook – written by a pair of authors who were still in their teens at the time – profiles 20 Oakland residents and…
-
Continue reading →: Pandemic Reading
So, I’ve had this book list theme idea simmering for a while, dating back to the days when epidemics seemed to be things that happened in far-away places, like zika and ebola…And then the current pandemic made it seem too real to talk about plague fiction for a while. But,…
-
Continue reading →: Book Club Update
Heads up: We’ve decided to move our discussion of Melanie Gideon’s Wife 22, originally scheduled for July 14, to August 11 to give everyone a little more time to get a copy of the book now that Sidewalk Pickup of holds is available at select branches. (The ebook is also…
-
Continue reading →: Poems-in-Place: “I Remember” by LaLa
I Remember By LaLa So I thought you seemed familiar, I looked into your eyes and they looked so fascinating I really don’t know why, they drew me in and they haven’t let me go De-Ja-Vu, Did you ever say that to me before Impossible, I just met you, we…
-
Continue reading →: Poems-in-Place: “Repeat Performance” by Grace Marie Grafton
Repeat Performance By Grace Marie Grafton It isn’t a matter of starting on time, no apology needed. Personal grief must be respected when exhuming a body, careful handling of prevailing emotions as well as material parts. The few hairs, the bony eminences, the area around the eyes. Does any expression…
-
Continue reading →: Poems-in-Place: “Just Beyond” by Joanne Jagoda
Just Beyond By Joanne Jagoda I try to recall cousin Celia’s third husband you know…what’s-his-name or that actor from Breaking Bad but names elude me hover just beyond reach wily fugitives from my once impeccable memory they hang in that murky space I can no longer reach with alacrity sit…
-
Continue reading →: Poems-in-Place: “Juliet” by Mary Mackey
Today’s poem is by Mary Mackey, from her new collection The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dreams, which won the 2019 Eric Hoffer Award for the best book published by a small press. Juliet by Mary Mackey I was a green girl fourteen and fresh my breasts curled so tight in…
-
Continue reading →: Poems-in-Place: “Not as Sweet” by Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte
Not as Sweet By Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte This one is not as sweet As the one before it I was taken in by its good looks The rich green color The dark and perfect striping I thumped it Sniffed it Weighed it in my hand And then I took it…
Hello,
Welcome!
Established in 2008, the Friends of Montclair Library support the Montclair branch of the Oakland Public Library through fundraising, volunteering, advocacy and other services.
Let’s connect
Keep in touch!
Stay updated with library events and news by joining our newsletter.
