By Marcia Schneider New York City is spectacularly diverse, more so even than San Francisco. Its residents, many of whom appear to be recent arrivals from the farthest reaches of the U.S. and the world, represent multiple ethnicities, cultures and religions. Many of the city’s workers come from the equally diverse outlying boroughs of Queens, [...]

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By Mary Ellen Hannibal To reading and snacking add a nap and you have my perfect day.  Kate Moses, well-known around these parts for originating (with Camille Peri), Salon’s Mother’s Who Think feature, selections of which became a national bestseller, is just out with her new book, Cakewalk, “a memoir of sadness and sweets.” MEH: [...]

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By Byron Spooner Did you ever stare at a piece of Day-Glo pink colored paper for too long and temporarily burn out certain color receptors on your retina? You look up and for a few seconds, everything is colored the opposite of pink?  As psychedelic experiences go, it has a lot to recommend it; cheap, [...]

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By Marcia Schneider As a child of seven, my familiar life in the East Bay town of Orinda was abruptly changed when my father took on corporate wings and moved our family to the Midwest for six years, leaving behind childhood friends, a dearly beloved great aunt and assorted cousins. My father’s employer, not satisfied [...]

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Nope, didn’t take long for those Happy Days novels to jump the shark. Daily Treats are sweet finds from our Treat Avenue Donation Center. Hungry for more collectibles?  Find us at Amazon and AbeBooks.

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By Katie Sue Ambellan Say whatever you want about poetry-you can agree or disagree about it being “the art of the future,”  as former San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman says,  but you can’t deny that poetry still has pull. Poetry lovers packed the Koret Auditorium, Main Library for the Poets 11 Finale on May [...]

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By Michelle Jeffers “You know what the real Department of the Treasury is? The public libraries,” so said one of the attendees on Saturday at San Francisco Public Library’s first older adult resource fair. We appreciate the generous compliment. While he may have meant because we hold so many treasures in our collection, the library [...]

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By Mary Ellen Hannibal This year is the 40th anniversary of publication of Suzuki Roshi’s Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind, [PDF] and the San Francisco Zen Center has come up with a creative series to honor it.  Last week poet Brenda Hillman and scientist Healy Hamilton initiated a year-long calendar of talks among disparate “experts” on [...]

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By Byron Spooner I’m the last person who needs another book, yet I won one at the International Poetry Library of San Francisco’s Beat Poetry event at the North Beach Branch Library on the April 27th. Kim Mahler, founder of the Poetry Library (IPLSF) and Robert Carlson, North Beach Branch Librarian, were both in attendance. [...]

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Whenever we’re looking for a good read, our go-to source is SFPL librarian Rosie Merlin. In this guest post, she offers some amazing book lists and sources to find more. Read and enjoy: By Rosie Merlin Looking for a well-reviewed historical novel for your next book club selection? Then this might not be the post [...]

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