The last two days have had some pretty great deals. Usually the deal of the day is some so-so book from an author you've kind-of think you've heard of. Not so since yesterday! Yesterday they had 25 great books for $1.99 and today they've got fourteen Kurt Vonnegut books for only $1.99! Of the one's available I'd highly recommend Timequake and Galapogos (though you can't really go wrong with any Vonnegut book).
Click the link at the top of the page to check them out!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Just Thought I'd Share
Was reading the latest issue of New York Review of Books and came across this picture...
It was actually in the middle of a pretty sad article about the new David Foster Wallace biography.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/dec/06/new-brilliant-start/?pagination=false
It was actually in the middle of a pretty sad article about the new David Foster Wallace biography.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/dec/06/new-brilliant-start/?pagination=false
Saturday, November 17, 2012
One City, One Book
Thanks to the participation of Lamorinda (Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda) in the "One City, One Book" program Dave Eggers will speaking at Veteran's Memorial Building on February 28th of 2013 (mark your calendars!). Lamorinda's book choice is Eggers' new book Hologram for the King. (Which, if you've seen it, takes hardback book to a whole other level. I think it's the world's first bullet proof book.)
I had a chance to see Eggers speak a couple years back and cannot recommend more that you go see him (tickets are free!). My only recommendation is that you read the book before you see him speak. Last time I saw him speak he kind-of gave away the ending to Zeitoun before I a chance to read it :(
In case you were wondering, Pleasant Hill has not revealed what the 2013 One City, One Book choice will be yet. The 2012 pick is The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be speaking anywhere anytime soon.
I had a chance to see Eggers speak a couple years back and cannot recommend more that you go see him (tickets are free!). My only recommendation is that you read the book before you see him speak. Last time I saw him speak he kind-of gave away the ending to Zeitoun before I a chance to read it :(
In case you were wondering, Pleasant Hill has not revealed what the 2013 One City, One Book choice will be yet. The 2012 pick is The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be speaking anywhere anytime soon.
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High Praise For Our Libraries!
via the CCC Library Facebook page
Contra Costa County Library Awarded 2012 National Medal for Museum and Library Service
WASHINGTON — (November 5, 2012) – The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced Contra Costa County Library as one of 10 recipients of this year's National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The nation's highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community, the National Medal celebrates institutions that make a difference for individuals, families and communities. The National Medal will be presented at a celebration in Washington, D.C. on November 14.
Contra Costa County Library is reshaping how residents access library services on the go. Snap & Go, a smart phone application, uses QR codes to give the Library a deeper reach into the community, putting library resources like ebooks and text-reference, literally, into the hands of commuters on buses and in transit stations. Library-a-Go-Go book lending machines bring library service to the people both in underserved locations and in spaces where people gather, like shopping malls. And Discover & Go, their latest innovation, allows libraries throughout Northern California to offer their cardholders access to downloadable free passes to local museums and a wide range of cultural institutions. By making this service available to other libraries, Contra Costa County Library is changing the way libraries do business with each other and helping library cardholders throughout the region be aware of and gain access to local culture.
for more: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10151247223612668
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Louis Zamperini on Sunday Morning
Spoiler Alert. It doesn't ruin the book by any means, but you may want to watch this AFTER you've read the book.
November Book of the Month: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
via goodreads.com
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.
The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.
Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.
In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.
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