Events

Peggy Orenstein The author of Girls & Sex and Cinderella Ate My Daughter delivers her first ever collection of essays--funny, poignant, deeply personal and sharply observed pieces, drawn from three decades of writing, which trace girls' and women's progress (or lack thereof) in what Orenstein once called a "half-changed world."

"A beautiful, richly textured novel, ambitious and delicately crafted."-- Rabih Alameddine In this spellbinding novel, a young man journeys from California to Cairo to unravel centuries-old family secrets. Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father. One day, a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep, pulling […]

For Young Adults: Elizabeth Partridge Launch for Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam. Sunday, April 15, 2018 - 3:00pm

  To reserve your seat, purchase a copy of To Die But Once by calling the store (510) 704-8222 and speaking to one of our booksellers. During the months following Britain's declaration of war on Germany, Maisie Dobbs investigates the disappearance of a young apprentice working on a hush-hush government contract. As news of the plight of […]

  To reserve your seat, purchase a copy of Desert Gardens of Steve Martino in advance by speaking to one of our booksellers or ordering from our website. This survey of twenty-one gardens by Steve Martino, whose work blends colorful, man-made elements with native plants to reflect the sun-drenched beauty of the desert, is sure to inspire […]

  Grow What You Love is designed to be a simple guide to growing vegetables, herbs and more that will add to the flavor and variety of fresh produce choices throughout the year. Aimed at novice and experienced gardeners alike, it will be an image-driven, how-to adventure from an expert gardener and communicator with an enthusiasm […]

  Showing both the drama of familial intimacy and the ups and downs of the everyday, My Old Faithful introduces readers to a close-knit Chinese family. These ten interconnected short stories, which take place in China and the United States over a thirty-year period, merge to paint a nuanced portrait of family life, full of pain, […]

Georgeanne Brennan presents Windows on Provence: Musings on the Food, Wine, and Culture of the South of France, a book for travelers, for dreamers, for Francophiles, for lovers of Provencalcraft and cuisine, and for anyone who wants to be a part of something beautiful and special. To reserve your seat, purchase a copy of Windows on Provence by speaking to […]

  Wednesday, May 2, 2018 - 6:00pm Rebound is a coming-of-age novel written in verse about basketball, family, and staying true to yourself. The main character, Charlie Bell, is the future father of Jordan and Josh in The Crossover. Set in the 1980's, Rebound also features stunning illustrations by award-winning graphic novel artist Dawud Anyabwile that compliment Charlie's love of […]

"A splendid book that pinpoints the moment at the start of the twentieth century when exile in Europe turned deadly in a way that foretold the end of everything. It tells us the horror that occurred street by street, butchery by butchery--with gripping clarity and an admirable brevity."--Philip Roth Purchase a copy of Pogrom to reserve your […]

Mark Greenside Reads from (not quite) Mastering the Art of French Living, a sequel of sorts to I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do), about which the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "Imagine Larry David . . . spending a summer in a French village--against his will, of course--and you get some sense of what Mark Greenside goes through." Every year […]

An unprecedented photography practice that guides you to the creativity at your our fingertips, calling for nothing more than your vision and any camera, even the one embedded in your phone. "Zen Camera is to photographers what The Artist's Way is to writers. This master class in creativity deserves a place in your home."--Create with Joy To reserve […]

Jason Dewees Join Mrs. Dalloway's and the Mediterranean Garden Society for a talk and signing by Jason Dewee's on his just released book, Designing with Palms (photography by Caitlin Atkinson). In this comprehensive guide, Dewees shares the many ways palms can transform courtyards, gardens and landscapes. Detailing the most important species and highlighted by striking photography, Designing with Palms imparts […]

Ted Scheinman reads from Camp Austen: My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan. Thursday, May 24, 2018 - 7:30pm

  Twelve-year-old Lizzie is in trouble. She used to live a comfortable life with her loving father, but after the stock market crash of 1929 and his sudden death, she and her family now live in poverty. Lizzie is expected to help support the family, but she can't even cook without burning food. One day, […]

  To reserve your seat, purchase a copy of Foraged Art by speaking to a bookseller or ordering from our website. Thursday, June 14, 2018 - 7:30pm In the spirit of land artists like Andy Goldsworthy, the book is as much about discovery as it is about creation. Leaves shaped like lips might inspire a face; an […]

Join us for Irish soda bread as Thomas Lynch continues reading the whole of Ulysses. Chapter Nine up next.

Katharine Dion: Launch celebration for her debut novel, The Dependents, a wise and lyrical debut novel about a new widower confronting the truth about his long marriage. "A marvel of a novel. With great subtlety and tact, it evokes the love, devotion, and sadness that bind a grieving father to his troubled daughter. Its cumulative power comes from the depth […]

An experimental poem sequence inspired by a famous garden now in ruin. In Vigilance is No Orchard, Hazel White records her haunting romance with the Valentine Garden, created by landscape architect Isabelle Greene in the foothills of Santa Barbara, California. Jealous of its maker's power to affect a dynamic experience of space, White tries to make language […]

For Kids ages 4-8 Leslie Crawford Presents Sprig the Rescue Pig, inspired by the true story of a feisty swine who escapes a delivery truck and ends up at an animal sanctuary, this gently humorous tale introduces kids to an intelligent, inquisitive, and very appealing pig. "May Sprig help people to see what wonderful individuals pigs […]

Featuring Top Ten Lists and stunning photos of history-making moments, these comprehensive pro soccer collections catalog the greatest international players and the greatest Americans. These are the perfect books for young sports fans eager to kick off their soccer schooling. Ann Killion has covered American sports for more than a quarter century. An award-winning columnist […]

Jane Gregory's mystifying second collection begins with a "Knock knock," inviting the reader into a realm where "Everything is a pattern / of yesses and no." Within these pages we find Gregory constructing a multivalent world—ripe with struggle, prophecy, and, by the end, a resemblance of hope. Using her highly-tuned sensibility throughout, Gregory guides us through […]

Nimona meets Adventure Time in this full-color graphic novel as a singing skeleton continues to search for his origins alongside his gelatin monster sidekick! Sunday, July 29, 2018 - 3:00pm Rickety Stitch is a walking, talking, singing skeleton minstrel, the only animated skeleton in the dungeon who seems to have retained his soul. He has no idea who […]

Andrew Lawler presents The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, a sweeping account of America's oldest unsolved mystery, the people racing to unearth its answer, and the sobering truths--about race, gender, and immigration--exposed by the Lost Colony of Roanoke.  "A fascinating account of one of our country's great historical mysteries. Fast-paced […]

Thor Hanson Presents Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees, a natural and cultural history of the buzzing wee beasties that make the world go round.  "A wondrous, action-packed journey to discover the secret lives of bees, flowers, and the unconventional men and women who study them. This book really is the buzz about bees, and it's destined […]

Katie Henry Launch for Heretics Anonymous, her hilarious debut YA novel about a band of misfits who set out to challenge their strict Catholic school, one nun at a time. When Michael walks through the doors of Catholic school, things can't get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. […]

One boy's search for his father leads him to Puerto Rico in this moving middle grade novel, for fans of Ghost and See You in the Cosmos. Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat […]

Join us on first Fridays at 4:00pm to discuss our book of the month, enjoy snacks and make new friends. Each meeting will last one hour and end promptly at 5:00pm. Space is limited, so make your reservation on Eventbrite soon! For more information, contact Michael at (510) 981-6280.

Celebrating Ivy + Bean #11: One Big Happy Family. Ivy + Bean are back--and they're funnier than ever! Saturday, September 8, 2018 - 10:00am Meet author Annie Barrows and illustrator Sophie Blackall at a special launch celebration of the latest volume in the hit series. As One Big Happy Family begins, Ivy's worried. She's read a lot of books […]

Rebecca Clarren reads from her debut novel, Kickdown, a taut and moving novel of a family's struggle to sustain their land when fracking comes to the contemporary American West. "Deep, true, achingly pure, as stripped of glamour and pretense as the beautiful desolation it describes. With an unflinching eye for the unsettling political and environmental issues of […]

Rachel Neumann and Teen Subjects present I Am Home: Portraits of Immigrant Teenagers. To reserve your seat, please purchase a copy of I Am Home by speaking to a bookseller or ordering via our website. Meet the faces and voices behind the conversations around immigration. These portraits and stories of teenagers who are recent immigrants to the US […]

Eighteen-year-old Vera, eager to start college and escape the celebrity her family has endured since her twin's disappearance twelve years earlier, finds her world turned upside-down again when Ava returns. Ava's disappearance was the crack in the Rivers family glacier. I wish I could explain to you how we were before, but I can't, because […]

Daniel Mason reads from his magnificent new novel, The Winter Soldier, a sweeping, unforgettable love story of a young doctor and nurse at a remote field hospital in the First World War. Vienna, 1914. Lucius is a twenty-two-year-old medical student when World War I explodes across Europe. Enraptured by romantic tales of battlefield surgery, he enlists, expecting […]

Featuring queer librarians reading from their works: Gr Keer, CSU East Bay Andrew Demcak, Oakland Public Library Rebekah Eppley, Oakland Public Library