New Book Release by Local Author

Local author Penny Warner has her latest book, How to Survive a Killer Seance, being released this Tuesday March 1st.

You can read an interview with Warner at http://pleasanthillbookclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-with-local-authors-penny.html

Here is a preview of her book and appearance dates:

Mixing fun and fund-raising seems the perfect job for Presley Parker, which is why she started her Killer Parties event-planning business. But her previous parties pale in comparison to a spooky séance and a creepy crime…

Presley’s newest gig is a séance party at San Jose’s famous Winchester Mystery House. Her client, Jonathan Ellington, plans to use the event to unveil his new “4-D” holographic technology, which will bring former owner Sarah Winchester “back from the dead.”

But the stunt backfires when a disembodied voice accuses Ellington of infidelity in front of his wife and business associates, and the techie who’s monitoring the holograph is found murdered. Suspicion falls on Ellington, but as Presley tries to get at the truth, she doesn’t need a Ouija board to tell her someone wants to scare her to death…



Mar 2 – 7:00 pm – M is for Mystery – San Mateo



Mar 3 – 3:00 pm – Orinda Books



Mar 10 – 7:00 pm – Rakestraw Books – Danville



Mar 12 – 1:00 pm – Barnes & Noble – Stonestown



Mar 12 – 4:00 pm – Barnes & Noble - Colma



Mar 16 – 4:00 pm – Towne Center Books – Pleasanton



Mar 17 – Noon - San Ramon Valley Newcomers - Danville



Mar 24-26 – Fri-Sun - Left Coast Crime Conference – Santa Fe, NM



Mar 31 – 7:00 pm – Bay Books – San Ramon



April 6 – 7:00 pm – Clayton Library – Clayton



April 28-30 – Fri-Sun - Malice Domestic Conference – Bethesda, MD



May 13 – Fri - 8:00 am – General Federation of Women’s Clubs – San Jose



Sept 16-17 – Sat-Sun - Central Coast Writers Conference – Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo

This Week in History Reading

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2011/02/23/thomas-jeffersons-books-found-washington-university-library/

This is kind of old news, but the above article talks about the recent find of 69 (other sources say 74) of Thomas Jefferson's books that were believed to be lost from his second library. His first library was donated to create the Library of Congress. Apparently after donating his first library he needed to cure his book fix and compiled another 3000 book library. Coolest part of this article is how Jefferson would mark his books.

http://www.rumsfeld.com/library/

For those who want to see deeper into the behind the scenes of the Iraq War this seems to be an incredible find. Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense for first several years of the war, has a new memoir out and had a website created to drum up interest. I've only begun to explore the library section, but it has thousands of declassified papers regarding the Iraq and Afghan wars. Great reading for history junkies.

Losing 'Focus'

Starting next month, the monthly Pleasant Hill Community Focus will no longer have book review contributions from the Pleasant Hill Book Club. But not to worry, they will start up again over the summer when your humble reviewer has a tad more free time.

Book of the Year Award 2010

After a very close vote...the winner of the 2010 Pleasant Hill Book Club Best Book of the Year Award goes to...

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!



The winner for Worst Book of the Year was Watership Down. Kind of sad that it has to be placed in such bad company, but it just goes to show how good a book year it was for the club for a book like Watership Down to be the worst.

Februay Book of the Month

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

One of the earliest Jewish religious volumes to be illuminated with images, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived centuries of purges and wars thanks to people of all faiths who risked their lives to safeguard it. Geraldine Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, has turned the intriguing but sparely detailed history of this precious volume into an emotionally rich, thrilling fictionalization that retraces its turbulent journey. In the hands of Hanna Heath, an impassioned rare-book expert restoring the manuscript in 1996 Sarajevo, it yields clues to its guardians and whereabouts: an insect wing, a wine stain, salt crystals, and a white hair. While readers experience crucial moments in the book's history through a series of fascinating, fleshed-out short stories, Hanna pursues its secrets scientifically, and finds that some interests will still risk everything in the name of protecting this treasure. A complex love story, thrilling mystery, vivid history lesson, and celebration of the enduring power of ideas, People of the Book will surely be hailed as one of the best of 2008. --Mari Malcolm

Book of the Year Award 2010

The process has begun and the ballots are ready...

Best Book of the Year
Hunger Games
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Worst Book of the Year
Room
Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse
Watership Down

All members agreed that trimming down the year's selection of books was very difficult. This was easily the best book year for the PHBC.

Tomorrow night the vote will commence and your champion and loser of the year will be announced!

Earth (The Book)

The review is now available at the Pleasant Hill Community Focus website...

http://ourcommunityfocus.com/view/full_story/11189078/article-Earth--The-Book--A-Visitor%E2%80%99s-Guide-to-the-Human-Race?instance=lead_story_left_column

check it out!

Hunger Games Trailer

There is no doubt these books would be made into movies.  The script for the movie was written by the author of the books, so there is some hope.

Shadow Divers Book Review

The book review for Shadow Divers is now available on the Pleasant Hill Community Focus website.

http://ourcommunityfocus.com/view/full_story/10807968/article-Shadow-Divers?instance=lead_story_left_column

check it out and give it a thumbs up!

while you're there check out some of the older reviews if you haven't before.

Attention Tributes!

Have you been wondering how you would fair in the arena? Well now you can find out. If you visit thehungergames.com you can play a game that will put your skills to the test. There are other interesting things on this site but this is the one that has occupied the majority of my time.

One piece of advice. Running blindly at you opponents won't get you very far apparently.

New Page Added

You may have noticed at the top of the blog that a new page has been added. Next to 'About' and 'Members' you will now see a link to our previous best and worst book choices of the year.

Speaking of which, stay tuned for our 2010 pick which will be announced in February which will be the 3rd anniversary of the Pleasant Hill Book Club.

The choices for best and worst book choice of the year are:

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Graham-Smith
Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin
Lamb by Christopher Moore
Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran-Foer
Watership Down by Richard Adams

Tough choices to say the least

Tis the Season...

Via http://richmondbookdrive.com/library

Because of your generosity, we have run into a wonderful problem: Leadership Public Schools – Richmond now has more books than its library can contain. Currently, the school’s library is in – no joke – a converted bathroom. Luckily, the school will be moving to a new campus outfitted with a library in the fall of 2012. In the interim, the Leadership Public Schools - Richmond needs your help accommodating all of the new books that are flowing in.

We are asking for donations to help the school rent a portable library building. We want to rent a California code-compliant structure that can serve as a library for $5,696.03. If you’re curious about that number, please see the cost breakdown below.

Your donation through PayPal will go directly into a special fund set up by Leadership Public Schools to support this critical project. Every dollar that you contribute will go directly towards the cost of bringing this library structure to campus. All of us at the Richmond Book Drive, the students and staff of LPS-Richmond, and the Richmond community want to thank you for your support of this cause. We are humbled by any help that you can provide.

Cost breakdown:
Rental costs: $275/month x 18 months = $4,950
Delivery fee: $120
Take away fee: $120
Total pre-tax: $5,190
Total with sales tax: $5,696.03

To donate please visit http://richmondbookdrive.com/library

Richmond Book Drive passes 10,000 books!

That's right! The Richmond Book Drive has passed the 10,000 mark for books donated to schools throughout the Richmond area. What started off as a book drive for 3 high schools and 1 middle school has now expanded to at least 8 schools including several elementary schools.

If you'd like to join this donation drive please visit richmondbookdrive.com.

Here is a KTVU piece on the book drive:
http://www.ktvu.com/video/26136882/index.html


and to see more press you can visit: richmondbookdrive.com/press

Thank you to all who have already donated!