By Marcia Schneider Year after year, Shirley and Byron were the first buyers in line on the last day of the Friends of the Library’s annual Big Book Sale, when all the books are sold for a mere one dollar each. Their motivation? To purchase large quantities of quality hardcover fiction, which they used in [...]

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By Katie Sue Ambellan If you are going to the West side of San Francisco, check out the Ingleside Branch Library.  The new branch not only boasts a great collection in over four languages, a really cool blog, and an outdoor courtyard and garden, but the building itself makes it an awesome destination for San [...]

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A 220 page, 1986 guide for  modern computer users to guide their mouse through Tron. 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 Michelle Jeffers Nope we’re not banning books. But San Francisco Public Library is joining in Banned Books Week to call attention to the hundreds of challenges that public and school libraries receive every year for what some deem as objectionable material. As the American Library Association points out, there were 460 recorded attempts to [...]

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By Mary Ellen Hannibal Annie Dillard’s blurb for Carin Clevidence’s first novel captures it:  this is a book that reminds the reader what it is to surrender to a good read.  Dillard says it returns “literature to its roots in beauty,” and calls out Clevidence’s eye for “the loneliness of what is real.” MEH: Reading [...]

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By Marcia Schneider The hallmark of an excellent bookstore is capturing the flavor of the local community.  In addition to its spectacular natural beauty, the Mendocino coast,  from the breathtaking views of the ocean to the abundance of native plants and wildlife, hosts the lovely historical town of Mendocino, which includes a delightful independent bookstore. [...]

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By Katie Sue Ambellan Every fall I start to freak out just a little bit because it’s time for the 46th Annual Big Book Sale, September 22-26th! My freak out is a good thing-I start to get giddy and excited, then a little concerned and sometimes, I don’t know if I am completely prepared to [...]

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By Mary Ellen Hannibal What on earth are we looking for, I wonder, in the white male novelist?  If you have missed the twittering, check out Jody Piccoult and Jennifer Weiner’s irritation that only boys get the kind of praise lavished on Jonathan Franzen, whose new book is Freedom.  They are right and the numbers [...]

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By Katie Sue Ambellan We’ve written about the North Beach Library before.  The SFPL is attempting to build a beautiful, state of the art branch that will sit alongside an expanded and better park, and has overwhelming support from the community to do so.  Today, the Chronicle’s C.W. Nevius chimes in: There’s something sour and [...]

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By Marcia Schneider According to the official Scrabble website, this popular word game was invented during the Great Depression by an out of work architect. Today the game, more popular than ever, is played in 121 countries in 29 different languages. Millions of copies and versions have been sold, including an application for the iPad. [...]

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