News from the Library, by E-mail and RSS

If you have ever given the Library your e-mail address, like this newsletter editor did when he signed up for a Palo Alto Library card, you have probably noticed that they are sending you one to a few e-mails per month since the start of the pandemic.

The Library would like you to know that they can help you find books for your child's reading level, and that there will be plenty of kids around next week or so reviewing for their finals. You can read about these on their blog to which you can subscribe if you have got an RSS reader.

And if like yr hmbl newsletter editor you have not been paying attention and are wondering what is open and how much the Library has a Current Library Services page.

 
What's Special for February

The weeks of rain kept the donation volume down for a little bit this past January, but our donors took advantage of breaks in the wet weather and came through big time to bring us great books as usual. Among the highlights: we received two generous donations from three longtime Stanford professors. These massive libraries of books contained every conceivable category from Cookbooks to Russian, Chinese, and classic English lit as well as physics and ophthalmology all reflected in these recent donations.

There is a lot happening this weekend and we hope you'll find some time to spend at our sale. Black History Month has just begun and we're getting ready for Valentine's, and President's Days too. FOPAL has books to celebrate these holidays and more!

Check out the subsection on African American stories, lives, and authors in Biography and Memoirs as well as in Historical Fiction. Also don't miss seeing the successful collaboration that was created between Historical Fiction and DVDs, called "Read the book see the movie". You'll find a conversation-starting selection of books with their corresponding film located in Historical Fiction faced out and labeled in the Main Room. The Poetry section is brimming with new titles as we received several generous donations of expressive, rhythmic literary works this last month. The Cooking shelves are newly stocked in both the Main Room and Bargain Room. A super big THANK YOU to the Cooking section managers Salley W. & Michele K. for working together to process the tremendous number of books that came their way!

Ephemera made our specials list again for February as this section has moved to the "Specials" areas just to your right and left as you enter the Main Room. The Ephemera special shelves are full of historical pieces, periodicals, and more! Reminder- more FOPAL Ephemera and high-value books are offered for sale on FOPAL's E-bay site. Please check it out and please pass on the good word...FOPAL is finding good books good homes!

 
Ephemera

Did you miss the big High Value Ephemera sale we had in January? Good news--We are holding a special HALF-PRICE ephemera sale in the Main Room this weekend for the dozens of great items left over. Our cashiers will take 50% off of the marked price on all ephemera. These items are not the 25 cent ephemera we sold for many years on tables outside - they have online value and many are quite collectable. Come and browse! through the bins!

-Karen D.

 
Poetry

Won't you be our Valentine
And take some time to read a line
Of love poems from our topmost shelf
Whereon you'll find an ample wealth
Of samples of the oeuvre, and more.
They say all's fair in love and war.
We feature both for this month's sale,
Along with poets fresh and stale,
From Robert Frost to Rita Dove.
But heck, all poetry is love!

See pics of the Poetry shelves at www.fopalbooks.com.

-Mandy MacCalla

 
Photography

The Red Cart for the Photography section features delightful books from Life Magazine photographers at bargain prices. There are also several new monographs, and a manual about motion picture projection written in 1928.

-George Chaltas

 
Music

In the Music section look for new titles featuring James Taylor, Leonard Cohen, and extensive biography of Mozart's personal life.

-George Chaltas

 
Home & Crafts

For February, the Home bargain titles showcase fashion and beauty, including Bobbi Brown's Living Beauty and Pretty Power, plus new books on aging, accessories, and skin care. There's also Anna: The Biography of Anna Wintour, plus In My Shoes, Tamara Mellon's memoir, the co-founder of Jimmy Choo. In addition you'll find The New Emily Post's Etiquette and other titles on manners and entertaining concepts. Shelves also include interior design, as well as building and remodeling.

This month the Crafts shelves feature good buys on numerous floral design and decorating titles. Other shelves reveal how-to books on ceramics, weaving, and jewelry-making, plus needlepoint and multiple knitting titles. Perhaps a crafts project for your Valentine?

Photos can be found at www.fopalbooks.com.

-Virginia Perry

 
Antiques & Collections

Among the offerings this February priced for less than online sellers: teddy bears and nesting dolls; Royal Doulton Toby Jugs; silver, jewelry, coins, and stamps; furniture and rugs; and classic and modern firearms.

You'll find an overflow of Antiques & Collections, plus several Home & Crafts titles on a Mixed Red Cart. This month features reduced priced titles for antique coin collecting, plus home improvement, maintenance, and repair.

Photos can be found at www.fopalbooks.com.

-Virginia Perry

 
Children's Vintage

Children's Vintage has some interesting finds this month, starting with an especially nice section of Collectibles. Louisa May Alcott again shines with a copy of Little Women and one of Jo's Boys, both from the 1880s. We also have an early printing of Anne of Green Gables that would look nice in your home! Something unusual this time around are 5 "little big books." These measure approx 4"x5"x1.5" and include titles like The Life and Times of Shirley Temple and G-Man Allen, as well as others. Animal lovers will especially want to look for the books by Sam Campbell. We have a first edition The Seven Secrets of Somewhere Lake, signed by the author. And finally (but not only) there is a Yogi Berra baseball strategy book (sadly, not signed!) if you're waiting for spring training to start. You can see some of these choices in shelf pictures at www.fopalbooks.com, including the featured books for younger readers.

And if none of these sound appealing (and even if they do), you can always check out the vintage listings at our eBay store.

-Lisa Heitman

 
Health and Medicine

Medical textbooks galore in every medical and surgical specialty are available for your collection!

Other highlights include The Effect of Climate Change on Human Health, When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis, and The Medical Detective: John Snow and the Mystery of Cholera, a rare gem that thrills like fiction but is based on fact.

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic is a fascinating predictive book written in 2012, described by a reviewer as "the scariest book you'll read this year." So how true was that?... Talk about foresight!

Check out many other interesting reads including Why We Sleep... When Dogs Heal...The Digital Doctor...and Brain Matters: Adventures of a Brain Surgeon. For those considering a career in medicine, The Medical School Interview: Winning Strategies from Admissions Faculty, is a most helpful guide.

-Pam Parke

 
Sports

The Sports section this month has an exceptional collection of books for those who participate, as well as armchair enthusiasts.

For "home team" fans we have books about the 49ers, Stanford football, Stanford women’s basketball, and the Golden State Warriors, including memoirs by Tara Van Derveer, Steve Young and a "somewhat local" Tom Brady who writes about his fitness and training regime for peak performance “in sports and in life."

We received a donation of dozens of mountaineering & rock climbing books with historical and personal accounts of great climbs and tragic outcomes in the Himalaya (Everest, K2), the Alps, Yosemite's peaks, and others, as well as 12 volumes of "The American Alpine Journal" spanning 1974-2016 (sold separately).

Finally, we have "The Best American Sports Writing" anthologies, published annually, which feature the most entertaining and erudite articles on the topic of sports guaranteed to appeal to sports enthusiasts as well as fans of great writing. Our collection spans 1991-2016 (sold separately).

-Jeff MacDonell and Nancy Tillman

 
Children's Room

Look for the display of books for Black History Month in our Non-Fiction section--from biographies of the famous and not-so-famous, to the history of the civil rights movement. Also on display are books for Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day. Our Religion section features books for the Purim holiday, children's Bibles, and books on religions around the world, written for children. On the DVDs shelves there are lots of popular movies. Parenting has helpful titles for new parents and for parents of teens (and who couldn't use a little help with that!). The graphic novels shelves are once again overflowing: the Baby Mouse series is well represented, along with Dog Man and others. If you're a Minecraft aficionado, this is your chance--we have multiple boxes of guides, hacks, etc. Finally, along with many games and puzzles, the Activities section offers several elements of the OSMO system at rock-bottom prices, a double-sided wooden easel for children, a never-used light-weight plastic two-step stepstool for kids, and a ukelele!

-Carolyn Davidson

 
Judaica

Browse the Judaica section for books on the Jewish religion and culture including editions of the Torah and other basic texts, Kabbalah, Jewish history, the Holocaust, memoirs, Israel, Jewish Women, the Jewish American Experience and other related subjects.

New this month - The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter; Jews in America: A Cartoon History; Change Happens: Owning the Jewish Holidays in a Reconstructionist Tradition; The Ketuba: Jewish Marriage Contracts Through the Ages; The Escape Artist: the Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World; Just A Little Girl: Despair and Deliverance.

Most fiction with Jewish themes will be found in Classic & Modern Literature or Current Fiction. Books entirely in Hebrew are shelved in the European Languages section.

-Charlotte Epstein, Section manager for Judaica

 
Curious Books

February's Curious Books section includes some off-the-wall books, one written from the point of view of an extraterrestrial, as well as a variety of "secret information" revelations. We have our usual varied selection of inspirational and informative books as well, so come take a look!

Shelf picture available at www.fopalbooks.com.

-Donya W.

 
Art

Art section will have a special sale for Nouveau Art and Etching for February.

-Fiona Wang

 
Science (STEM)

Donations have increased this month. Additionally, the leftovers from the HV sale filled many shelves. Just about every book is priced at half the lowest Bookfinder price. Books that have been sitting around for a while have had their prices slashed. We are not yet quite back to our normal volume of books, but there are many more than last month. Shelf pictures are at www.fopalbooks.com.

-Edwin El-Kareh

 
Sheet Music

Donations have been very light this month. But, we still have a selection of titles for just about every instrument. Pictures of every piece of sheetmusic is on www.fopalbooks.com and organized by instrument. Find additional sheetmusic in the bargain room.

-Edwin El-Kareh

 
Self Help

Featured books are: Gene Keys; Fierce Self Compassion; Rejected Shamed and Blamed; Sorry, Sorry, Sorry; The Practice of Groundedness; Visual Thinking; Leaving the Ghost Light Burning; The Love Prescription; The Power of Attachment; The Power of Regret; How to Change Your Mind; Rewire Your Anxious Brain; Final Blow for Yellowface; How to Begin; Tiny Habits. There’s a chance to buy multiple copies (for a book club or practice group?) of Wherever You Go There You Are (popular on Amazon) or Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Workbook. I have 11 copies of each ($2/apiece or $20 for all 11- show this 'ad' at checkout). There's the typical large shelf on Addiction and two small sections (bottom shelf) on Trauma and Rape. Come on by and browse!

-Marnie

 
Puzzles & Games

Puzzles is featuring a big overstock and clearance sale this month. Dozens of puzzles from 100-1000 pieces are set in their own area and priced at $1 to $3. Check out the games, too, as most are also reduced in price to $2 to $5.

-Vicky Evans

 
Science Fiction and Fantasy

I never knew John Jacob Astor wrote a planetary adventure, but he did and we have a large-format edition of his A Journey in Other Worlds this month. Also a couple of the Library of America Philip K. Dick omnibus volumes, and two of Martha Wells' fun Murderbot books.

Shelf pictures at fopalbooks.com.

-Rich McAllister

 
Graphic Novels and Comics

There's a big file box of comics from the '80s and '90s. Mostly Marvel, some good runs of popular titles from that era like Punisher, Ghost Rider, and The 'Nam. All bagged, in nice condition. $1 each. A big deluxe slipcased 40-year Doonesbury retrospective wouldn't fit in the Comics section, look for it with the Fantasy boxed sets.

Shelf pictures at fopalbooks.com, under Science Fiction.

-Rich McAllister

 
History

This month History is again featuring African-American history: the section has biographies ranging from an early 1900s copy of Up From Slavery to a recent book on George Floyd, along with some uncommon books on figures from the 1960s. The general American History section has a book on George Washington's attempts to drain a literal swamp, along with a wide selection on various presidents. There's been an influx of books on Roman history, from early days to the end of the empire. The Middle East section has a good-sized collection of books on the Ottoman Empire as well as modern Turkey.

-Linda McAllister

 
Donations

We have made it past Drop-off Donations 3.0 and have returned to accepting donations without the need to make an appointment.

HOWEVER....

We are closed for donations from Sunday Febrary 5 through Sunday February 12 to prepare the Main Room for this weekend's sale. Please hold your donations until Monday February 13.

We will also be closed for donations on the President's Day holiday on Monday February 20.

Please read our donation guidelines before you bring materials to us.

All that said, our normal hours for drop-off donations are Monday through Saturday, 3pm-5pm. (But not the week before the sale.)

 
Suggestions?

We're always eager to hear your suggestions for ways to improve our book sale. Please email us at suggestions@friendspaloaltolib.org.