LibraryThing Local

Gather with other fans of Shakespeare to read his works. This month, Titus Andronicus.

In the first of an unusual British cozy/ghost story mystery series by Nancy Atherton, American Lori Shepherd, suffering from depression caused by her recent divorce, her mother’s death, and an erratic income, receives notice of an inheritance of a Cotswold cottage from an “Aunt Dimity” whom Lori ... (more)thought was a fictional character in her mother’s bedtime stories. When Lori travels to England to meet the requirements of the will with the Boston lawyer who found her, she finds that she has inherited not just a lovely cottage but a ghost and a WWII mystery. Lori must now discover exactly who Aunt Dimity really was. Contact 510-881-7980 for information.

A monthly book club that will read the entire Bluford High series. We're continuing with Secrets in the Shadows by Anne Schraff. Check with your school and see if you can get extra credit for attending this club. You'll keep the books, so space is limited to 8. Grades 6 to 12 only. Register at the children’s ... (more)desk or by calling 881-7945. For more information ask for Shawna.

Snack Attack Book Club- GooseberryPark, by Cynthia Rylant Friday, Jan. 8th, 2010 – 3:45 PM, at Hayward Public Library, 835 C St. @ Mission Blvd., Hayward, CA 94541 A rollicking tale of a dog, a crab, and a bat’s adventures trying to save a squirrel & its babies from a winter storm & take care of ... (more)them when their parent disappears. PEANUTS GROUP- A fun book group for kids in Grades 3-4. Contact 510-881-7945 for info.

Books and Fresh Produce! Hayward Public Library Book Sale Sat, January 23rd, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Hayward Farmer’s Market-C Street & Watkins, Hayward, CA (2 blocks from Hayward BART) Friends of the Hayward Library book sales are held at the downtown Farmers Market on the second and fourth ... (more)Saturday of each month. In case of rain, the sale will be in front of the Main Library. Contact 510-881-7980 for info.

USA Multi-City tour for promotion of Shades of Grey. Reading/Q&A/Signing.

We will be discussing City of Thieves by David Benioff. During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying ... (more)with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible. Choose from two different meeting times and locations - noon at Peet’s Coffee & Tea or in the evening at the Main Library. Not able to attend meetings but want to discuss this book with others? Join GoodReads.com and participate in online discussions! For more information contact Sally.Thomas@hayward-ca.gov or call 510-881-7700.

Local author Suruchi Mohan will read from and talk about her new book Divine Music. Copies of her book will be available for purchase and the author will be signing them.

John Lescroart is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty previous novels, including A Plague of Secrets, Betrayal, The Suspect and The Hunt Club. Meet him and hear him discuss his new book, Treasure Hunt.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily ... (more)takes her younger sister's place. Read the book and talk about it with other teens. Open to ages 12-18. Copies of the book are available from the Weekes Branch Library.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily ... (more)takes her younger sister's place. Read the book and talk about it with other teens. Open to ages 12-18. Copies of the book are available from the Weekes Branch Library.

This month we will be discussing The Sharper Your Knife , the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn. Kathleen Flinn was a thirty-six-year-old middle manager trapped on the corporate ladder - until her boss eliminated her job. Instead of sulking, she took the opportunity to check out of the rat race for good ... (more)- cashing in her savings, moving to Paris, and landing a spot at the venerable Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry is the funny and inspiring account of her struggle in a stew of hot-tempered chefs, competitive classmates, her own inadequate French - and how she mastered the basics of French Cuisine. Contact 510-881-7980 for information.

John Lescroart is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty previous novels, including A Plague of Secrets, Betrayal, The Suspect and The Hunt Club. Meet him and hear him discuss his new book, Treasure Hunt.

This month we will discuss Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. Two swashbucklers attempt to restore a prince to his throne in this adventure tale.

Snack Attack Book Club- Pyrates: The Secret City, by Chris Archer Fri., Jan 22nd, 2010- 3:45 PM, at Hayward Public Library, 835 C St. @ Mission Blvd., Hayward, CA 94541 George may be related to Capt. Kidd, the famous Pirate. When he finds tunnels under his house, he & his friends search for treasure- ... (more)but they are not alone! POPCORN GROUP- A cool book group for kids in grades 4-5. Contact 510-881-7945 for info.

Snack Attack Book Club- Pyrates: The Secret City, by Chris Archer Fri., Jan 22nd, 2010- 3:45 PM, at Hayward Public Library, 835 C St. @ Mission Blvd., Hayward, CA 94541 George may be related to Capt. Kidd, the famous Pirate. When he finds tunnels under his house, he & his friends search for treasure- ... (more)but they are not alone! POPCORN GROUP- A cool book group for kids in grades 4-5. Contact 510-881-7945 for info.

Would you like to get started writing your memoirs? Local author, Rafaela Castro will discuss the art of memoir writing and read from her recent work. Ms. Castro’s published works include Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals, and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans and ... (more)Provocaciones, Letters from the Prettiest Girl in Arvin. She is currently working on a new novel set in the San Joaquin Valley. Space is limited. Please call 510-293-5366 to register. For more information, contact Melesha.owen@hayward-ca.gov or call 510-293-5329.

Introducing Weekes Branch Book Group! Join us for our first meeting. We will be discussing Laughing Without An Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad by Firoozeh Dumas. This book features a collection of anecdotes from different points in the author’s life: stories from her youth ... (more)in Iran mix with memories of her experiences as a wife, mother, and author. Dumas’ parents remain a big influence in her life, whether she’s dealing with her mother’s frequent and sometimes, in the case of one bright red comforter, unsightly gifts, or trying to understand her father and his brothers’ fixation on The Price Is Right. In one of the funniest chapters, Dumas recalls the time she and her kids decided to try to sell a potato shaped like a cross on eBay, hoping to make a whopping sixty grand. There’s such warmth to Dumas’ writing that it invites the reader to pull up a seat at her table and smile right along with her at the quirks of her family and Iranians and Americans in general. No registration is required. For more information, please contact Melesha Owen at melesha.owen@hayward-ca.gov or call 510-293-5239.

J.A. Jance’s mystery novel is the first in a series featuring Arizona small-town Sheriff Joanna Brady. Joanna, the mother of nine year old Jenny, has a good life with solid, honest and loving husband Andy, a local lawman running for Sheriff. When Andy is gunned down and left dying in the desert sun, ... (more)it’s Joanna whose determined efforts to clear Andy’s name, now linked to drug dealing and smuggling, ends up solving the murder and giving her a new career as a Sheriff. Call Heidi for further information at (510)881-7980.

Learn about the remarkable history of baseball's Negro leagues and the challenges and success of African-American baseball players. This richly illustrated exhibit will be a key feature of “Black History Month” at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in February 2010. The Library — in collaboration ... (more)with community partners — will present related programs and activities during the course of the five-week exhibit. An opening day reception will be held 2:00 p.m. – 4 p.m. in Rms. 225/229, 2nd Fl. Admission is FREE. Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience, a traveling exhibition for libraries, was organized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York, and the American Library Association Public Programs Office, Chicago. The traveling exhibition has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life. For more information, call (408) 808-2397. All library open hours King Library, Exhibition Area, 2nd Floor

Denise Michelle Harris, author of the novel Sweet Bye-Bye, continues her free writer’s workshop series. Details that help readers immerse themselves in a concrete sensory world of a writer’s own making are the lifeblood of good writing. Denise will lead workshop participants in exercises from The ... (more)Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing by Alice LaPlante, aimed at helping you to select details that will become the basic building blocks of your creative writing. This workshop will be based on Chapter 3: “Details, Details.” Workshop participants can complete the exercises before class, and, time permitting, will have the opportunity to share excerpts from their writing with other workshop participants. Bring your questions and get your creative juices going. Advance registration required - call 510-881-7980 to sign up. For more information, or to obtain the writing exercises, contact Sally.Thomas@hayward-ca.gov, 510-881-7700.

Denise Michelle Harris, author of the novel Sweet Bye-Bye, continues her free writer’s workshop series. Details that help readers immerse themselves in a concrete sensory world of a writer’s own making are the lifeblood of good writing. Denise will lead workshop participants in exercises from The ... (more)Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing by Alice LaPlante, aimed at helping you to select details that will become the basic building blocks of your creative writing. This workshop will be based on Chapter 3: “Details, Details.” Workshop participants can complete the exercises before class, and, time permitting, will have the opportunity to share excerpts from their writing with other workshop participants. Bring your questions and get your creative juices going. Advance registration required - call 510-881-7980 to sign up. For more information, or to obtain the writing exercises, contact Sally.Thomas@hayward-ca.gov, 510-881-7700.