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04/10/2017 - 10:30am

Springtime in Paris

Don’t you wish you could be spending springtime in Paris?  I do!!  Unfortunately, the closest I can get to Paris this year will be through books and my imagination. Therefore, the current selection of Staff Picks will feature titles set in Paris. As Audrey Hepburn once said “Paris is always a good idea”, and it seems like the staff at the Mechanics’ Institute agrees with her because there are lots of great suggestions this month. Pick up a title or two from the 2nd floor display and...

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04/08/2017 - 4:50pm

Readers' Guide: Made in San Francisco

This month at the Mechanics' Institute Library we're featuring fiction set in beautiful San Francisco. Swing by the second floor of the library to check one of these great books (or all of them) out!

Bite Me by Christopher Moore
Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler...

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04/06/2017 - 9:48am

New Titles List for the Week of April 10

BOOKS

FICTION
Sebastian Barry Days without end
Erika Carter Lucky you
Ron Currie The one-eyed man
Eva Darrows Dead little mean girl
Sarah Dunn...

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04/04/2017 - 1:18pm

Truman Capote's quotes about writing

The novels, plays and short stories of writer and actor Truman Capote may be considered time-honored. Over twenty films and television shows have been adapted from his body of work. Many of us take joy in seeing the film Breakfast at Tiffany's or in reading In Cold Blood. It’s unfort...

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03/30/2017 - 4:49pm

Californiana – The Spanish Missions

A new display in Classroom A on the 3rd Floor

Between 1769 and 1833, in fulfillment of a decree by King Charles III of Spain, priests from the Franciscan order founded 21 missions in California to spread Christianity among the Native American population and to prevent a threatened territorial dispute between Spain and Russia.

The missions, beginning with Mission San Diego de Alcalá, were bui...

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03/30/2017 - 4:27pm

New Titles List for the Week of April 3

BOOKS

FICTION
Taylor Brown The river of kings
Canxue Frontier
John Freeman Gill The gargoyle hunters
Elnathan John Born on a Tuesday
Margarita Khemlin...

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03/27/2017 - 11:33am

Ten Books on the "Beautiful Game"

With the excitement of the Champions League, European title races, the start of the Major League Soccer season and World Cup qualifiers it's an exciting time of the year to be a soccer fan. So whether you're a diehard fan of the sport or are merely soccer curious (and want to see what most of the world is so excited about), here's a selection of 10 books about the "beautiful game".

Soccer in sun and shadow / Edua...

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03/23/2017 - 11:46am

Excavating the Basement: Industrial Expositions and World’s Fairs Special Collection

Large international exhibitions were popular during the Industrial Revolution and especially between 1850 and 1940. These Industrial Expositions and World’s Fairs showcased the achievements of nations and attracted large numbers of people to the city or region where the Exposition or World’s Fair was hosted.  They became the platform to display technological inventions such as the telephone, electricity, talking films, the escalator, the x-ray machine, t...

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03/23/2017 - 10:11am

New Titles List for the Week of March 27

BOOKS

FICTION
Rabih Alameddine The angel of history
Elif Batuman The idiot
Yasunari Kawabata Snow country
Hari Kunzru White tears
Elinor Lipman...

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03/17/2017 - 1:37pm

Top Ten Books to Get a Little Hygge in Your Life

In the midst of our stressed, overscheduled lives, and a tumultuous political climate, waltzes hygge. Hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) is a Danish term that can be roughly translated as cozy – a feeling of coziness, contentment, and warmth. Hygge can be an adjective too – a cozy party is a real hyggelig party, and my favorite wool sweater is definitely a hyggelig sweater. Denmark regularly tops the list for happiest country in the world, and many people are now wo...

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