Category Archives: Books
Friends of Berkeley library resurrect beloved book sale
The last time the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library held a huge used book sale, hundreds of people lined up early in the morning to get first crack at rare and unusual books.
That was back in 1999.
In the ensuing 12 years, the Friends have sold used books at their two bookstores, one located on the first floor of the main library and the other at 2433 Channing near Telegraph. But the two stores don’t move inventory quite like a big sale, so the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library have decided to resurrect their once-much-beloved book sale.
It will take place Saturday May 14 from 10 to 4 pm in the community room on the third floor of the Main Library.
“In the past year, more book donations than ever have poured in, and it was these surplus donations that convinced the Friends to re-institute an annual sale — not yet as big as the “old” sale and with three big changes: everything will sell for 50 cents, the sale will be held inside the Library, and more than books will be sold — videos, phonograph records, maps, pamphlets, DVDs, CDs, and so on,” the Friends announced in a press release. “There’ll even be a whole section for vampire books!” … Continue reading »
Uncertain times for Berkeley City College literary journal
The current issue of Milvia Street, the literary magazine of Berkeley City College, features an eclectic mix of artists and writers.
There is a story by Hoa Tran, who fled with his family from Vietnam after the war and went on to get a PhD in forestry, one from Amy Rich, who used poetry to recover from drug addiction, and one from Cassandra Dallet, a former high-school dropout who has gone on to publish her work in numerous local journals.
The diversity of contributors to the journal is a reflection of the varied student body at the two-year college on Center Street.
“Most of it is student work, which doesn’t mean they are 18 to 20 years old,” said Sharon Coleman, a poet and the faculty advisor for the journal. “Students range from 16 years to 75 years old. Some have advanced degrees. Some have GEDs. But they are all very good writers.”
People will have a chance to hear excerpts from Milvia Street on Tuesday night when contributors read from their work at 7:30 pm at Moe’s Books on Telegraph. … Continue reading »
Michael Lewis on movies, books, and the financial crisis
Michael Lewis seems incapable of telling a lie.
In a freewheeling interview in front of a private banking group Wednesday night, the Berkeley writer confessed how he didn’t like the movie The Blind Side when he first saw it, how movie people would prefer that the author of a book adapted for the screen would just go away, and how the financial press actually did a good job reporting the 2008 crisis.
Lewis, who lives in Berkeley with his wife, … Continue reading »
Are plastics good or bad? An author explains
When Susan Freinkel decided to write a book about plastic, she vowed to spend an entire day not touching the stuff. The plan lasted about ten seconds. After she woke up, she walked into the bathroom to use the toilet. She suddenly realized the seat was plastic, which meant she couldn’t sit down. Freinkel quickly changed plans. Instead of not touching plastic for a day, she would write down all the plastic things she touched in a day. The list came to 195 objects.
In recent years, plastic has gotten a bad rap, with some good reason. No one is happy about the giant garbage patches in the world’s oceans, or the six-pack rings that regularly lodge around wild animals. Yet plastics have also helped revolutionize medical care and other industries. Freinkel, a San Francisco author, explored the complexity of plastic in her just-released book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story. She will be talking about her findings tonight at Books, Inc on Fourth Street in Berkeley at 7:00 pm.
In Plastic, Frienkel uses eight plastic objects – the comb, the chair, the Frisbee, the IV bag, the Bic lighter, the grocery bag, the soda bottle, and the credit card – to explain the incredible popularity of the material, its benefits, and its downsides. It’s an important, yet entertaining, look at the issue. … Continue reading »
John King talks cityscapes, including his Berkeley picks
John King, staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, is a skilled observer of the urban terrain. His new book, “Cityscapes: San Francisco and Its Buildings” (Heyday; $14.95), is drawn from his “Cityscapes” column in the Sunday paper and celebrates serendipitous juxtapositions of 50 of his favorite buildings. Berkeleyside caught up with King, who lives in Berkeley, and asked him about his perspectives — including on Berkeley buildings that speak to him.
Do you bump into a lot of … Continue reading »
Peter Howard, owner of Serendipity Books, dies
Peter Howard, the eccentric and brilliant owner of Serendipity Books, and a towering figure in the world of rare books, died at home on March 31.
A Giants season ticket-holder for more than 40 years, Howard died with the opening game of the season blaring on television – while the Giants were still beating the Dodgers.
“He died at the bottom of the sixth inning,” said one of his daughters, Kerry Dahm.
Howard’s death at 72 means that there will be changes at Serendipity Books on University Avenue, but the shape of those changes is still unclear.
There are a number of people interested in buying the store and/or the inventory, according to Dahm. For now, the store is still open.
“I doubt it will continue as it was,” said Dahm.
Howard died seven and a half months after the death of his wife Alison, 71, to whom he had been married for more than 50 years. The couple was able to have a 50th wedding anniversary party with close friends in June.
Howard is also survived by another daughter, Esme Howard, and a number of grandchildren.
A most unusual Haggadah on display in Berkeley
During World War II the man who drew the most piercing caricatures of Adolf Hitler was himself a Jew who had escaped from Nazi-dominated Europe.
Arthur Szyk, who was born in Poland in 1894 and who moved to the United States in 1941, drew international attention for his drawings that lampooned the Axis powers. His work was exhibited at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, appeared in popular magazines like Time, Collier’s and Esquire, and was reproduced on posters and postcards.
But some of Szyk ‘s work also had a religious tone, and this will be the subject of a talk by Irvin Ungar at Afikomen on Claremont Avenue on April 14th at 5:30 pm. In the 1930s, Szyk made 48 drawings to illustrate a Haggadah, the book Jews use during the Passover service. While the book recounted the Jews’ escape from Egypt and 40 years of wandering, Szyk also included a modern, political touch. … Continue reading »
Author Raj Patel’s food revolution: From chips to salad
Raj Patel is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center for African Studies, an honorary research fellow at the School of Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, and a fellow at The Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as Food First, in Oakland.
Such affiliations allow the academic activist to hang out with his brethren in both camps. At the same time it affords the Oxford, Cornell, and London School … Continue reading »
A planner who favors edible, eco education — and risks
In the course of her travels researching her new book Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation, Sharon Gamson Danks was struck by two things: First, the United States is a world leader in school food gardens and Berkeley is firmly at the epicenter of that movement.
And second, the U.S. lags far behind other countries when it comes to building green schoolyards with eco-friendly aspects beyond a produce patch — in other words spaces that encourage play with potential risk. We’re talking less asphalt and metal structures, and more nature nooks and shaded ponds.
An environmental planner, Danks and landscape architect Lisa Howard run Bay Tree Design in Berkeley, which specializes in designing ecological outdoor play spaces. They incorporate ideas Danks picked up from her playground adventures overseas. … Continue reading »
North Branch library construction delayed
The bids to renovate the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library came in so high that library officials are asking the City Council to reject them all.
The architects hired by the library thought it would cost about $3.8 million to renovate the historic building on The Alameda and add a two-story, 3,850 square foot addition facing Josephine Street, but the lowest bid came back more than $1 million over that estimate.
Library officials think that with a little tweaking of the design, the city can redo the building within its projected budget.
“We are disappointed but we are optimistic that we can bring the cost down,” said Donna Corbeil, the library director. “It’s important we stay within our budget.” … Continue reading »
