Books set in Oakland, California?

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Books set in Oakland, California?

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1montclairlibrary
Feb 20, 2010, 3:32 pm

Hi there -- I'm working on a project for our branch of the Oakland Public Library, and I'm wondering if people can recommend some fiction books set in Oakland, or non-fiction books with particularly good descriptions of Oakland, like Ishmael Reed's "Blues City." I've Googled a bit but I'm not coming up with much. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

2staffordcastle
Edited: Feb 20, 2010, 3:53 pm

Have you tried looking at Common Knowledge for books set in Oakland? The field to look at is "Important Places."

3BlackSheepDances
Feb 20, 2010, 6:55 pm

Wasn't A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius set in Oakland or nearby? It's a true story but really well written. I'd have to verify the location.

4montclairlibrary
Feb 25, 2010, 3:16 am

Thanks for the tip on Common Knowledge! I got a list of books from CK to explore.

5jjmcgaffey
Mar 1, 2010, 1:08 am

Another source - I just discovered a (dormant) group called Oakland! and their first topic (of 2) discusses a lot of books set in Oakland.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/201#

6Esta1923
Jun 13, 2010, 5:57 pm

"Mistress of Spices" by Chitra Divacaruni