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05/16/2017 - 11:22am

One of the great perks of working at a library is having random gems come across my desk in the course of the workday. A book, movie, or magazine that I would have never sought out will catch my eye and send me down a new rabbit hole or lead me to a new favorite author, photographer, director, magazine, etc.

Desert Oracle was one such random gem that came across my desk. It is a quarterly magazine published out of Joshua Tre...

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05/11/2017 - 11:40am

BOOKS

FICTION
C.D. Payne Frisco pigeon mambo

* * * * *

NONFICTION

Arts, Architecture & Crafts
John O'Brian (editor) Camera atomica 779.074 O132
Sandra S. Phillips (editor) Exposed: voyeurism, surveillance...

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05/04/2017 - 11:09am

BOOKS

FICTION
Fredrik Backman Beartown
William Christie A single spy
Brittany Newell Oola
Elizabeth Strout Anything is possible
Deepak Unnikrishnan...

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04/27/2017 - 11:41am

Hilton Als is a highly acclaimed theatre, art, and culture critic for The New Yorker. In 1997, he was awarded first prize in both Magazine Critique/Review and Magazine Arts and Entertainment by the New York Association of Black Journalists. He won a Guggenheim for creative writing in 2000. In 2003, he was honored with the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. His book White Girls was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2014. This year, he adds...

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04/27/2017 - 9:45am

BOOKS

FICTION
Sara Baume A line made by walking
Yasmine El Rashidi Chronicle of a last summer
John Daniel Gifted
Pajtim Statovci My cat Yugoslavia
Brian Van Reet...

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04/26/2017 - 10:22am

Myles recently put together a stellar display of PBS DVDs in support of local publicly-funded television programming. I’d like to add my two cents in the battle for non-commercial arts and sciences as well. As much as I love its grown-up programming (very much), my deepest connection with PBS comes from my abiding admiration for the late, great Fred Rogers (1928 – 2003).

As a child growing up in the television age, I...

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04/19/2017 - 3:10pm

BOOKS

FICTION
Julie Buntin Marlena
Omar El Akkad American war
David Samuel Levinson Tell me how this ends well
Alexander McCall Smith My Italian bulldozer
Michel Stone...

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04/17/2017 - 11:31am

This month, National Poetry Month, we celebrate poets and their work. Some might say that this craft is more difficult than longer forms of writing, such as novels and essays, because poetry usually has a shorter format and cadence.  The audio book selections for this month, which are displayed in the 2nd floor Library, feature well known poets whose work is music to the ears.

The Voices of Love...

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04/10/2017 - 12:15pm

Mechanics’ Library staff members are among those who value programming the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has provided for our local public television stations. As a reminder of the quality programming that has enriched our lives, we have a display on the 2nd floor of our favorites available on DVD from our collection.

Joel recommends:

California's Gold #144, Farallon Islands...

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