(Combined fiction and nonfiction list from various sources, in no particular order, compiled by E-Connect staff. Blurbs are from the publishers' advance PR materials.)
All the following titles are due to be issued in May 2005. In some cases, the library hasn't yet ordered the title. If you would like to ask that any of the not-yet-ordered titles be ordered, please use this link: http://marinet.lib.ca.us/acquire. Thanks!
Zorro by Isabel Allende
How little Diego de la Vega, a child of mixed parentage from 18th-century California, becomes the indomitable Zorro. Look for The Legend of Zorro, starring Antonio Banderas, in September 2005.
Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett
In his second case (after Bangkok 8), Royal Thai Police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep stumbles over a murdered CIA agent; what's worse, he's sweet on the main suspect.
Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
When she went off to college, Arlene promised to be good (no lying, no fornication), but there's that little issue of the corpse she left behind.
Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara
Teenaged runaway Liu encounters Japan's youth underground—snakes with earrings—and eventually faces a life-or-death decision. A best seller in Japan and winner of the Akutagawa Prize.
Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo
An evangelical Christian, a woman with a colonial past, and a crusading, multiracial Kenyan all have their reasons for joining Douglas Braithwaite as he flies supplies to the war-ravaged Sudan.
Hitler's Peace by Philip Kerr
Once again, Kerr reimagines history, this time proposing an alternative ending to World War II.
4th of July by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Home in Half Moon Bay while facing a charge of police brutality, Lt. Lindsay Boxer joins up with her Women's Murder Club friends to investigate a spate of killings.
Have a suggestion for a title that you think the library should purchase? You can offer your suggestion via the new form on the MARINet website at http://marinet.lib.ca.us/acquire.
At the Branches
How to Rebloom That Beautiful Orchid
Thursday April 14, 2005
12:00-1:00
Speaker – Glenn Smith
Master Gardener Glenn Smith will discuss the key cultural requirements necessary to bring about orchid blooming in a home environment. He’ll also demonstrate repotting; an intimidating step for most home growers. Attendees will receive take-home materials on orchid culture.
Glenn Smith has been successfully growing orchids for about 40 years. As a 15 year member of the Marin Orchid Society, he has served as President for 2 years, chaired various orchid show activities and now chairs the Community Education Committee. He has presented orchid talks and repotting demonstration workshops throughout the Bay Area at Sloat's Garden Centers, Sunnyside Nursery, Marin Art and Garden Center and various other venues. Glenn is also a Marin Master Gardener and Board member, and has co-chaired the MG training program for 2 years. He currently supervises the horticultural help desk for community residents at the Marin University of California Cooperative Extension Office and is employed part time as a Horticultural Technician by UC.
Russian Language Collection
Gala Opening
Friday April 15th
1:00 pm
The Civic Center Library and the Friends of the Civic Center Library are proud to host the gala opening of the Russian Collection on Friday April 15th at 1:00pm at the Civic Center Library. The Friends of the Civic Center Library recently purchased over $1000 worth of books written in Russian. The collection contains recent fiction, classics, biography and nonfiction titles. Food and drink will be provided.
Nick Barone Puppets
The Civic Center Friends of the Library present Nick Barone Puppets: Tales from the Enchanted Forest.
Wednesday, April 13th, 3:30-4:15pm
Ages 3 and older
Free.
Please call 415-507-4048 for more information.
The Dome Gallery
Images of teens and twentysomethings grace the Dome Gallery in Michael Goldberg’s photography exhibit, “Everybody’s Children,” a selection of casual portraits taken by Mr. Goldberg at a Petaluma coffee shop in the winter of 2004 - 2005. “Everybody’s Children” runs through May 31.
The Exhibit Case
Helen Canin returns her popular ceramic children’s storybook characters to the exhibit case in April to help us celebrate National Library Week.
Computer Tutorials
Explore the Internet.
Use electronic information resources available through the library for finding magazine and newspaper articles, books to match individual reading interests, business resources, and more.
Get help with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.
Access library information from the Web-based catalog.
Ask a reference librarian or call 507-4049 for more information.
E-Mail Basics
Join a hands-on class in setting up a free e-mail account, sending and receiving messages, and accessing e-mail. Space is limited to two people per class.
Ask a reference librarian or call 507-4049 for more information.
The Brown Bag Book Club
On Wednesday, April 27, 12 noon to 1 p.m., the Book Club will discuss Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama. New members are always welcome! For more information, call Becky or Livia at 499.6058 or e-mail to ldimare@co.marin.ca.us.
Railroads in our Backyards
Railroads in our Backyards will be the subject of a slide show to be presented at the Corte Madera Library on Tuesday, April 12th at 7:00 p.m. The slide show by Richard Torney features historic photos taken along the path of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad’s Electric Interurban Route from the 1870’s through the 1960’s. Photos of many of the same locations taken in 2003 are also included. Richard Torney is an amateur historian and railroad fan. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Marin History Museum. The program is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the Library at 924-6444.
How to Get the Most out of the Digital Library: A Tutorial for Homeschooling Parents
April 12, at 11 am
This class will cover how to take advantage of catalog features like advanced searching, emailing lists and using the bookcart, as well as an overview of databases useful for students.
The class is currently full, but call the reference desk for more information at (415) 924-6444.
P & T Puppet Theatre presents "Pirates! The Pie-Rats of Penn's Aunt"
Tuesday evening, April 12, at 7:00 pm
Meet Phil Frank
On Monday April 11 at 7:30 meet Phil Frank, creator of the comic strip Farley and author of numerous books including, Don't Parade on My Reign! and Fur and Loafing in Yosemite. Join Phil for a talk about the trials, tribulations and challenges of finding humor in the daily news. Copies of his books will be available for purchase.
Create a Beautiful Garden With Feng Shui
Wednesday, April 13 at 7:30, Master Gardener and Feng Shui Consultant, Terumi Leinow will discuss how to apply the principles of Feng Shui to garden design and show you how to create a magical garden. Learn the significance of plant shape and color, the most powerful location for water features and garden sculptures and more. This program is sponsored by the UCCE Marin Master Gardeners.
Pie-Rats of Penn's Aunt
P&T Puppet Theatre presents “The Pie-Rats of Penn’s Aunt,” a rollicking rodent musical, for children ages 3 ½ - 8, on Tuesday, April 12, at 11:00 a.m.
Book Club
The Fairfax Library Book Club meets the first Thursday of each month, 7-9 p.m. The next selections will be these Classics:
All books are available through the Fairfax Library. Click on the title for each book to access the library catalog for reviews of the book or to place a hold using your Marin County Free Library card. If you'd like to purchase your book, BookBeat in Fairfax offers our members a 15% discount.
Internet Tutoring
Free training with experienced computer professionals who will individualize the training to meet your skill level. Call 457-5629 to set up an appointment for a one-hour session.
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Next meeting Thursday, April 21, 7-9 p.m.
Meeting Room Gallery
Acrylic paintings by Rory Phoenix
Barbara Meislin Reading & Performance
Tiburon resident Barbara Meislin, author of No One Can Ever Steal Your Rainbow, will speak and sing at the Marin City Library on Monday, April 18, at 7 PM. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Marin City Library, For more information, call 332-6157.
P&T Puppets presents The Pie-rats of Penn's Aunt
April 14th, 11:00 am
The Pie-rats are coming! Enjoy this swashbuckling adventure! For children age 4 and over.
Celebremos el Dia de los Ninos - el dia de los Libros (Celebrate Children and Books!)
con un recital en espanol e ingles - con la presentacion de COLIBRI (a singalong celebration in both Spanish and English with Colibri)
Sabado 30 de abril, 11:00 am (Saturday, April 30th at 11:00 am)
Hermosas canciones para toda la familia
Take a hike!
Jane Huber, author of 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of San Francisco and creator of the Bay Area Hiker Web site (bahiker.com), shows slides and shares tips on some of the best spring hikes in Marin. Weds., April 13, 7pm. For more information, call 897-1142.
Intermediate Internet: Beyond the Basics Class
In this free two-hour class, volunteer Peter Haas teaches how to use email and manage bookmarks and gives Web addresses for helpful sites. Weds., April 12, 1:00-3:15pm. Please sign up in advance at the reference desk or by calling 897-1142.
Tax Assistance
AARP Tax Help Volunteers
Volunteers from AARP will be at the library every Monday and Thursday, 10am to 2pm, through April 14, to assist seniors and low-income workers with basic tax questions. No appointment is necessary. For more information, stop by the reference desk or call 897-1142.
Storytimes
The children's librarians present lapsit storytimes for ages 18 to 36 months (with an adult) every Tuesday and Weds. at 10am. Preschool storytimes for ages 3 to 6 are offered Weds. and Saturday at 11am. For more information, call the children's desk at 897-1143.
Teen Library Officers
Help the library improve services to teens! Anyone age 12 to 18 who lives or goes to school in Novato is welcome to participate in our teen group. The next meeting is Monday, April 18, 3:30-4:30pm.
P&T Puppets presents The Pie-rats of Penn's Aunt
National Library Week will be celebrated Thursday, April 14th at 6:30 for all ages at South Novato Library with P&T Puppets Pie-rats!
Celebremos el Dia de los Ninos - el dia de los Libros (Celebrate Children and Books!)
con un recital en espanol e ingles - con la presentacion de COLIBRI (a singalong celebration in both Spanish and English with Colibri)
Sabado 30 de abril, 2:00 pm (Saturday, April 30th at 11:00 am)
Hermosas canciones para toda la familia
Library Reading Club
The South Novato Library Reading Club will discuss Susan Vreeland’s The Forest Lover on Thursday, April 31 at 6:30pm.
Wildflowers are popping up everywhere in West Marin. An exhibit of wildflower paintings is on display at the Inverness Library.
April's bilingual storytime at the Point Reyes Station Library will be on the 14th at 6:30 p.m. and will feature From the Egg to Robin. All ages are welcome. Included in the program are refreshments, crafts and a copy of the book for your home library.
On display at the Point Reyes Station Library are photos taken by Celeste Woo and her husband John Kaufman during a recent trip to China. The display is titled "Reading in Yangshuo, China." Also on display are concrete sea creatures made by West Main School 6th, 7th and 8th grade students.
On display at the Stinson Beach Library is artwork created by couples who are local artists. The exhibits includes paintings, photographs and sculpture.
The Stinson Beach Library will host Stinson Beach poet, writer and publisher/founder of Jungle Garden Press, Marie Dern. She will read from her story "Muriel" and will talk about new writings. The program will be April 18 at 7:30 p.m. For more information contact Joan Hamerman Robbins (facilitator) 868-0835. This program is sponsored by the Bolinas-Stinson Beach Library Improvement Society.
Check out the library's newest e-resource, Digital Books! From the Digital Books site, you can download text & audio eBooks to your computer, and then transfer them to your PDA, cell phone, or MP3 player! All you need is your library card!
The collection includes 366 audio e-book titles and 619 text e-book titles (as of today), mostly best-sellers, and many with multiple copies. We have mysteries, romance, science fiction, thrillers, graphic novels, and tons of travel books. Listen to the latest John Grisham novel while you jog, or download a London travel guide to your PDA so you can take it with you in your pocket!
You "check out" the book for three weeks, and after that time the book automatically checks itself back in--no late fees!
The books are available in 3 formats:
eBooks in Adobe PDF (compatible with Mac & Windows)
eBooks in Mobipocket format (compatible with Windows only)
audio eBooks in Windows Media Format (compatible with Windows only--not compatible with the iPod)
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support.
The Marin County Free Library joins in this celebration and offers you special web links and programming for you during this celebratory week! Check out our National Library Week webpage for all the details!
