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07/01/2019 - 11:58am

Once again, there is a new batch of California Midwinter Fair items on exhibit in the 2nd floor archival display case! The third installment of Ed Herny’s ephemera collection showcases beautifully illustrated postcards, postal history covers (envelopes) and letter sheets. (See if you can find the “Midwinter Fair” postal cancellation stamp on two of the covers (envelopes) – very rare!) This part of the display will be on exhibit unt...

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06/27/2019 - 9:42am

BOOKS

FICTION
Catherine Chung The tenth muse
Graeme Simsion The Rosie result

Historical Fiction
Elin Hilderbrand Summer of '69

Mystery, Suspense, Espionage & Intrigue
Barbara Bourland...

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06/20/2019 - 10:52am

BOOKS

FICTION
Dorothy Baker Young man with a horn
Mario Benedetti Springtime in a broken mirror
Daša Drndić EEG
Juliet Escoria Juliet the maniac
Daniel Gumbiner...

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06/20/2019 - 10:00am

If you enjoy mystery, but are also in the mood for a little history, peruse our selection of fiction that mixes both genres on the second floor. There’s mystery and history set in Ancient Rome, WWII Hiroshima, colonial Boston, and more. You can find this selection on the second floor at the end of the PA-PR column.    

Happy reading!

Forgotten Murder by Dolores Gordon-Smith Fic Gordon-Smith...

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06/19/2019 - 10:00am

If you’ve never tried an audiobook, consider celebrating Audiobook Month by checking one out today. A selection of fiction and non-fiction can be found by the water cooler on the second floor of the library. A sample is listed below as well. And, if you’re someone who prefers to go mobile, don’t forget you can check out a book through our eAudiobooks program (RBdigital).

Happy listening!

Lincoln in the Bardo...

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06/18/2019 - 9:47am

Periodic discounts on cultural events produced by community organizations and institutional partners are just one more perk of your Mechanics' Institute membership. August 1-6, Merola Opera Program presents the world premiere of If I Were You by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, opening at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Mechanics' Institute members may use the promo code MEROLA10 for 10% off tickets. For more information and to...

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06/14/2019 - 1:07pm

BOOKS

FICTION
Abi Andrews The word for woman is wilderness
Kristen Arnett Mostly dead things
Mona Awad Bunny
Sophie Mackintosh The water cure

Historical Fiction
Elizabe...

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06/10/2019 - 12:48pm

BOOKS

FICTION
Dorothy Baker Young man with a horn
Mario Benedetti Springtime in a broken mirror
Daša Drndić EEG
Juliet Escoria Juliet the maniac
Daniel Gumbiner...

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06/10/2019 - 10:00am

In the autumn of 1986 my mother called me. We typically spoke over the phone about once or twice a month during this time. During this call the subject quickly came around to the recent nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union. "Steven," my mother asked me, "what the hell happened at Chernobyl?" She asked me that question for a specific reason: my brother is the writer, but I am the historian. I studied Russian history for 2 years in the Ph.D. program at Columbia University before switching to it...

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06/01/2019 - 11:00am

James Tiptree, Jr. was the pseudonym of a woman named Alice Sheldon who wrote science fiction in the mid-20th century. She entered the field at a critical time in the development of the genre. Starting in the 19th century, the public school systems in the English speaking world greatly increased literacy, especially in the United States, and with that increase a demand for entertaining fiction. Publishers and writers took advantage of the popularity of exciting, sometimes lurid, stories for t...

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