Image of two older people reading books on a park bench (image source: "Reading" by Zorilla, 2015, used courtesy of CC by 2.0 License) with text: "1990-2000"

  The Burden of Proof by Scott Turow, 1990 The unexpected suicide of his wife of 31 years impels Alejandro Stern, the accomplished, self-contained criminal defense lawyer who defended Rusty […]

PPL140: 1975-1989

  Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, 1975 Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Ragtime focuses on a representative cross-section of America in the era prior […]

Listen Up! Audiobooks

  Some narrators do such a great job that they really enhance the “reading” experience. If you listen to a lot of audiobooks and have favorite narrators, you can search […]

Photo of boy and staff reading books (Allendale Branch Library: Image Source: Pasadena Digital History--Pasadena Public Library collection) with text: "1960-1974"

The years from 1960-1974 were (famously) an era of social change, political turmoil, and generational conflict. Works published during these years addressed themes including race and racism; mental health institutionalization; […]

Image of painting "Compartment C Car" (1938) by Edward Hopper with text: "1940-1959"

  The Iceman Cometh [play] by Eugene O’Neill, 1946 The play is set in New York City in 1912 and chronicles the lives of a group of lonely denizens who […]

Celebrate World Book Day!

April is a very literary month. National Poetry Month is in April and so is National Library Week, and on April 23 it’s National Shakespeare Day, the same day that […]

A record store in the palm of your hands! See what you find on hoopla!

Those who grew up with record stores like Tower Records, Penny Lane Records, and many other smaller music shops will probably remember how fun it was to browse through the […]

Image of Painting: "Quentin Bell, Reading" by vanessa Bell, with text: "1930-1945"

From 1930-1945, the world saw a great deal of suffering and conflict. The Great Depression, which began with the Wall Street crash in October 1929, and the Dust Bowl, only […]

Portrait of Pierre Olin Reading, 1887 - Theo van Rysselberghe (painting of young man holding reading a book wearing a monocle) and art deco style graphics around text: "1915-1929"

Many big changes came along in the next 15 years in the US, and the world. The Great War, to be redubbed World War I after we survived a second […]

Image of painting "The Reader" (1910) by Harold Knight, and text: "1900-1914"

The following books were published between the dawn of the new century –the Progressive Era–and the outbreak of World War I. The list of bestsellers for each year comes from […]