We’re looking forward to seeing you Tuesday, October 10 from 6:30-7:30pm for the next installment of our One Village, One Book Club, where we’ll discuss Sarah Gailey’s magical noir novel Magic for Liars – and pick our December book.
If you enjoyed Magic for Liars, check out our list of other books that layer magical worlds over the real one, or see this OPL list of books featuring magic schools, like Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On and Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Come to Montclair Baby Bounce Every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance, and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.
Wednesday, October 4, 2023 – 3:00–4:00pm
Día de los Muertos
Come and make sugar skulls (out of modeling clay) to decorate altars honoring ancestors during Día de los Muertos.
Thursday, October 5, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime
At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 – – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 – 6:30-7:30pm
One Village, One Book
Join us to discuss Sarah Gailey’s magical noirish murder mystery Magic for Liars as we continue to explore books set in Oakland.
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 – 2:00–3:30pm
Teen DJ Radio Hour
Want to learn how to DJ? Or just share music you’ve been listening to or making lately? Learn how to DJ, mix songs, talk about music, find new tunes, and share them with the world live over internet radio. No equipment needed – just bring a song in mind or share your own music if you make it!
Thursday, October 12, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Thursday, October 19, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Thursday, October 26, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Tuesday, September 5, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Come to Montclair Baby Bounce Every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance, and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Science In September
How does a hand move? Can a lemon light up a light? Join us for science exploration this September. Each session we’ll tackle a different topic. Come explore with us!
Thursday, September 7, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime
At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 – 11:45am-12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 – 6:30-7:30pm
One Village, One Book
Join us to discuss Leila Mottley’s Nightcrawling as we continue to explore books set in Oakland.
Wednesday, September 13, 2023 – 2:00-3:30pm
Teen DJ Radio Hour
Want to learn how to DJ? Or just share music you’ve been listening to or making lately? Learn how to DJ, mix songs, talk about music, find new tunes, and share them with the world live over internet radio. No equipment needed – just bring a song in mind or share your own music if you make it!
Wednesday, September 13, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Science In September
How does a hand move? Can a lemon light up a light? Join us for science exploration this September. Each session we’ll tackle a different topic. Come explore with us!
Thursday, September 14, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime
Tuesday, September 19, 2023 – 11:45am-12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Science In September
How does a hand move? Can a lemon light up a light? Join us for science exploration this September. Each session we’ll tackle a different topic. Come explore with us!
Thursday, September 21, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime
Tuesday, September 26, 2023 – 11:45am-12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Science In September
How does a hand move? Can a lemon light up a light? Join us for science exploration this September. Each session we’ll tackle a different topic. Come explore with us!
Thursday, September 28, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime
This September, OPL is exploring different STEM topics for kids, from how a hand moves to whether a lemon light up a light bulb. The Montclair sessions are Wednesdays at 3:00pm, and each session will tackle a different topic. – find all the Montclair dates and details here.
The library will be closed September 9 for Admissions Day, the day California became a state.
In honor of California’s birthday, here is a baker’s dozen of non-fiction books – paired with complementary novels – to enhance your understanding of the Golden State, from Central Valley farms to Silicon Valley tech companies. Of course, California’s too big – and contains multitudes – to pick just a few books that capture every facet of its history and all the peoples who are part of it. But these books each capture something about the ethos of California – its mystique, its beauties, its challenges. If you have other California books to recommend, we’d love to hear about them – please add them in the comments! And check out links to more California book lists at the end of this page.
Note: Unless otherwise noted, the quoted parts of book descriptions are provided by the publisher.
California: A History by Kevin Starr
“The Golden State’s premier historian, Kevin Starr, distills the entire sweep of California’s history into one splendid volume. From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, this is the story of a place at once quintessentially American and utterly unique. Arguing that America’s most populous state has always been blessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing human diversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe and triumph.”
Fiction pairing: Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
We Are the Land: A History of Native California by Damon B. Akins and William J. Bauer Jr.
“We Are the Land recounts the centrality of the Native presence from before European colonization through statehood-paying particularly close attention to the persistence and activism of California Indians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.” (publisher)
Fiction pairing: There There by Tommy Orange
California Fault: Searching for the Spirit of State Along the San Andreas by Thurston Clarke
“With wit, irony and a keen eye for observation, Clarke weaves together sociology, history, personality and seismology” as he journeys the length of the San Andreas fault which has literally and figuratively shaped California.
Fiction pairing: Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
Where I Was From by Joan Didion
Many California book lists justifiably include Didion’s iconic Slouching Toward Bethlehem, but in this slim volume, published in 2003, Didion examines not only her own life and family history in California, but also many of the forces that shaped California, from railroads to aerospace, and other authors who’ve gone before her.
Fiction pairing: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
On Gold Mountain: The One-hundred-year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family by Lisa See
This book “chronicles the experiences of a Chinese-American family in California, beginning with the immigration of the author’s great-great-grandfather in the late 1800s.”
Fiction pairing: How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang (with honorable mention to perennial California book list icon The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan)
The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California by Mark Arax
“The Dreamt Land weaves reportage, history and memoir” as Arax “treks from desert to delta, mountain to valley” exploring the water distribution system “straining to keep up with California’s relentless growth.”
Fiction pairing: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
La Nueva California: Latinos From Pioneers to Post-millennials by David Hayes-Bautista
“Spanning one hundred years, this complex, fascinating analysis suggests that the future of Latinos in California will be neither complete assimilation nor unyielding separatism. Instead, the development of a distinctive regional identity will be based on Latino definitions of what it means to be American.”
Fiction pairing: The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Although only a tiny portion of this book involves California, there is a good amount detail about Oakland, as Wilkerson “chronicles…the decades-long migration of Black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life” between 1915 and 1970.
Fiction pairing: Golden Poppies by Laila Ibrahim
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
“One of the first families to arrive [at the Manzanar internment camp] was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry.” Jeanne Wakatsuki, who was seven at the time, looks back on her family’s and community’s experiences in this powerful memoir.
Fiction pairing: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Alta California: From San Diego to San Francisco, A Journey on Foot to Rediscover the Golden State by Nick Neely
“Nick Neely chronicles his 650-mile trek on foot from San Diego to San Francisco, following the route” Gaspar de Portolá took in 1769.
Fiction pairing: The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling
The California Field Atlas by Obi Kaufmann
“This lavishly illustrated atlas takes readers off the beaten path and outside normal conceptions of California, revealing its myriad ecologies, topographies and histories in exquisite maps and trail paintings….the ultimate road trip companion and love letter to a place.”
Fiction pairing: Open Throat by Henry Hoke
King Sequoia: the Tree That Inspired a Nation, Created Our National Park System, and Changed the Way We Think About Nature by William C. Tweed
“From a towering tree, one of California’s preeminent naturalists unspools a history that echoes across generations and continents. Former park ranger William C. Tweed takes readers on a tour of the Big Trees” that symbolize the “embodiment of California’s superlative, almost unbelievable appeal.”
Fiction pairing: The Eve Tree by Rachel Devenish Ford
Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
“Anna Wiener’s memoir is a rare first-person glimpse into high-flying, reckless startup culture at a time of unchecked ambition, unregulated surveillance, wild fortune and accelerating political power” during the dot-com boom at the turn of the century.
Fiction pairing: The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest by Po Bronson
More to explore:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/us/california-reading-list.html
https://californiacrossroads.com/best-books-about-california/
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/california
https://bookriot.com/california-history-books/
Posted in Just for Fun | Tags: adults, booklist, california, fiction, history, holidays, non-fiction
Have you had a chance to check out the new window in the non-fiction section? Patron donations and FOML support helped fund this project to re-install a window that was part of the library’s original construction in 1930, but had been closed up sometime over the intervening years.
The new window is operable, bringing in light and fresh air – since the library doesn’t have air conditioning, the increased air circulation has been a help on hot days.
Big thanks to everyone who donated to this project, to the city project managers and workers who did the installation and to former Branch Manager Lynne Cutler, who dreamed up the idea of restoring the window. We think it looks great with the period-appropriate and energy-efficient lights that were another project funded by patron donations!
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Posted in News | Tags: building, donations, facilities, history, improvements
Our September book club selection is Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley, a former Oakland Youth Poet Laureate who wrote the manuscript for this debut novel the summer after she graduated from high school.
The book deals with some pretty heavy ripped-from-the-headlines topics – abuse, incarceration, police corruption, murder – but also, as Lou Fancher put it in an East Bay magazine article, “Nightcrawling is not all trauma and pain…It is also a richly complex love letter to Oakland and a profound tribute to Black youths and their joy, love, integrity, humanity, frailty, courage and more. It portrays full-spectrum Black life, and it matters.”
We’ll be discussing it at the library September 12 from 6:30-7:30pm – hope to see you there!
Join us Tuesday, August 8 from 6:30-7:30 at the library to discuss Listen, World!, a biography of Elsie Robinson, “the most influential newspaper columnist you’ve never heard of” – who got her big break at the Oakland Tribune. Does anyone out there remember Aunt Elsie’s column in the Tribune or the Aunt Elsie clubs?
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Posted in Events | Tags: biography, book club, journalist, oakland
Despite its storied history of fronting championship sports teams, the city of Oakland appears to be poised to lose its third, and final, professional team with the impending move of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas.
Authors Dave Newhouse and Andy Dolich offer some insights into the history and drama behind this saga when they discuss their timely new book, Goodbye, Oakland: Winning, Wanderlust, and a Sports Town’s Fight for Survival, on Wednesday, August 23, 6:30 pm at the Oakland Public Library’s Montclair Branch, 1687 Mountain Boulevard.
Newhouse was a long-time sportswriter and columnist with the Oakland Tribune, while Dolich was a former A’s marketing vice-president. A book signing will follow the talk with copies of the book available for purchase courtesy of A Great Good Place for Books. Admission is free. Call (510) 482-7810 for more information.
This event is sponsored by the Friends of Montclair Library – thanks for your donations that help us do what we do!
Friends of Montclair Library 