Shauna

image of fireplace, coffee cup and book by daBinsi

  Inspired by an old NPR story about the charming and cozy Icelandic custom of jolabokaflod (“Christmas book flood”), and by today’s chilly, wet weather–an atmosphere prime for curling up with a […]

Image of meteor shower by Heath Cajandig

Late tonight, after midnight and before dawn, you may have a chance to catch a “shooting star” or twenty; the Geminid meteor showers will be visible all over the country, […]

image of leaf in frozen water by Keith Howells

Many of our deepest motives come, not from an adult logic of how things work in the world, but out of something that is frozen from childhood.   This year’s […]

Thanksgiving in Contemporary Fiction

Thanksgiving is this week; we’re grateful for your support. We hope you find yourselves in friendly company, with plenty of your favorite foods, and well-stocked with good books to tide […]

postcard-image-of-wwI-era-parade-float-with-women-dressed-as-angels-and-boys-in-military-uniform

This Saturday, November 11, is the Veterans Day holiday in the U.S. Veterans Day is a day we honor all the men and women who have served in the military. […]

image of los angeles sunset by Sompop S, used under CC Attribution license

  It’s that time of year: those infamous Santa Anas are blowing in: hot, dry, contributing to the danger of wildfires.  Many of us in SoCal sense a psychological component […]

"Crime Scene Do Not Cross Tape by Tex Texin

  The titles below, on crime and forensics, are inspired by a story on Atlas Obscura about the detailed “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Deaths” created by Frances Glessner Lee, the […]

EAT!

This week’s post is presented by our guest host, Peg, a reference librarian at Central Library. My book group recently read M.F.K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf, a title […]

image-rock-and-roll-salute-guitar-amp-and-books

  We’re feeling a bit punny this week, September 24-30. Maybe you’re not up for banned books… how about a band book? You can always find plenty of controversy, challenge, […]

"Intellectual Freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause, or movement may be explored." Banned Books Week September 24-30, 2017

It’s Banned Books Week! An annual celebration of the power of the written word, Banned Books Week honors the idea that certain books can be difficult, thought-provoking, or offensive for […]