Library News

This July, the Palos Verdes Library District will host three sessions of “Operation Kid Print”! This free program is available to parents thanks to Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D-54th District).  Lowenthal and her staff will help parents create special forms for their own records that include each child’s fingerprints, physical description, and medical information. These forms are kept by parents and are confidential.  Attend one of these fun activities at the library, and make your own KidPrints record!

Wednesday,  July 12, 3-4 PM – Miraleste Library –  Operation Kid Print will be available before, during and after A Day at the Beach Storytime

Thursday, July 22, 10:30 – 11:30 AM – Malaga Cove Library,  - Operation Kid Print will be available before, during and after The Teddy Bear Tea Party

Tuesday, July 27 , 3 – 4PM – Peninsula Center Library – Operation Kid Print will be available before, during and after the  Surf’s up Kids Crafts program

In case you need further suggestions for summer reading, the July issue of O, The Oprah Magazine has a list of 20 titles, with reviews, and in some cases reading guides.

The titles in the following list link to our catalog or to other sources:

Kings of the Earth

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Someone Knows My Name

Words That Matter

Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It

If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This

My Name Is Mary Sutter

The Madonnas of Echo Park

Parrot & Olivier in America

Dombey and Son

Elizabeth Street

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

The Hundred-Foot Journey

What Is Left the Daughter

Father of the Rain

The Passage

American Music

The Summer We Read Gatsby

Someone Will Be with You Shortly: Notes from a Perfectly Imperfect Life

How Did You Get This Number

Marooned in an African village in 1871, most of his expedition deserting him or dead, explorer David Livingstone penned a despairing letter to a friend in England.  Written with improvised ink on pages from newspapers and books, the letter was indecipherable until now.

19th century journalism portrayed Livingstone as a fearless hero, an intrepid icon of the Victorian era.  Using such tools as spectral imaging, a research team’s work “makes [Livingstone] human,” a “politically incorrect” man at the low point of his career, but who nonetheless “never gave up.”

Library resources: Dr. David Livingstone

One of the beauties of reading is that attracts everyone–from little princesses like this one to people who have three digits in their age. Reading is a family affair!   So, be sure to schedule yourself for some great bargains at the Peninsula Center Book Sale this weekend. WHAT:    USED BOOK SALE offered by the [...]

Volunteers manned the two different Peninsula Friends of the Library booths at the two local 4th of July Celebrations today. The large Rancho Palos Verdes event drew hundreds of people throughout the day and membership and book sales were featured. The Palos Verdes Estates event featured the Dodger’s Tommy LaSorda and PFL promoted the Books [...]

Librarian of Congress James Billington yesterday announced the appointment of W.S. Merwin as the 17th Poet Laureate of the United States.  In a career spanning six decades, Merwin has published more than 30 books of poetry and prose.

In a statement announcing the appointment, Billington cited Merwin’s profound yet accessible poetry: “He leads us upstream from the flow of everyday things in life to half-hidden headwaters of wisdom about life itself.”  Merwin and his wife live on Maui, where he often finds inspiration for his writing.

Library resources: Merwin’s poetry and prose

On Saturday, June 26, at 2 p.m., more than 50 people gathered at the Malaga Cove Library to officially dedicate the long-awaited computer mezzanine. A full story will appear in the next few days, but in the meantime, check our photo gallery on the bottom right of this page (Latest Photos of the Friends of [...]

Summer at the Peninsula Center Library was kicked off with a performance by the Isami Taiko Group of Gardena Buddhist Church and Koshin Taiko of Venice Beach.  The enthusiastic group met with an equally enthusiastic reception from an appreciative audience.

August 19, 2010 5:30 p.m. 5:30-7:30 Das weiße band by Michael HANEKE 7:30-8:00 Discussion Details Director: Michael HANEKE Writer(s): Michael HANEKE Stars: Christian FRIEDEL, Ernst JACOBI, Leonie BENESCH, Ulrich TUKUR, Ursina LARDI, Fion MUTERT Type: Crime, Drama, Mystery Year: 2009 Rating: R for some disturbing content involving violence and sexuality Length: 2h 24 min Language(s): [...]

Portugal’s Nobel Prize winner José Saramago died last Friday at age 87.  His remains were cremated Sunday following a funeral service in Lisbon.  In 1993, his novel The Gospel According to Jesus Christ prompted the Portuguese government to remove his name from consideration for the European Literature Prize.  From then until his death, Saramago had lived in self-imposed exile in the Canary Islands.

In a 60 year career, Saramago published more than 30 works, including novels, poetry, essays and plays.  His novel Blindness, adapted for film and directed by Fernando Meirelles, was released in 2008 to mixed reviews.  On Sunday, the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore Romano called Saramago, who was a communist and atheist, a “populist extremist” and “an anti-religious idealogue.”

Library resources: books by Saramago

On June 2, 2010 the Peninsula Friends of the Library and Belmont Assisted Living celebrated the second annual Cook Out for Books on the beautiful grounds of the Belmont. All proceeds from the event benefitted PVLD programs. Below are some of the photos from the Flickr gallery. If you double click, they will enlarge. You [...]

It’s the third weekend of the month which means that that the Peninsula Friends of the Library are hosting their used book sale on Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19 at the Malaga Cove Library. The sale opens at 10 a.m. each day and closes at 5 p.m. This is a great place to [...]

Jun 17-27, 2010 LA Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA SAN FRAN INT’L LGBT FILM FESTIVAL 17 – 27 June 2010 Jun 22-28, 2010 Palm Springs International Shortfest, Palm Springs, CA Like Unlike

American writer Barbara Kingsolver was announced last week as winner of the 15th Orange Prize for Fiction for The Lacuna.  The Orange Prize is awarded for the best novel in English by a female author.  Kingsolver beat out the favorite, Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, for the award.

 The Lacuna, Kingsolver’s sixth novel, moves between Mexico and cold-war United States, and features such real-life personalities as muralist Diego Rivera, his wife painter Frida Kahlo, and Russian exile Leon Trotsky.  While the book received mixed reviews, the Orange Prize jury cited its “breathtaking scale and shattering moments of poignancy.”

Other books on the shortlist were:

Rosie Alison, The Very Thought of You

Attica Locke, Black Water Rising

Lorrie Moore, A Gate at the Stairs

Monique Roffey, The White Woman on the Green Bicycle

The prize jury also presents an Award for New Writers, to recognize first works of fiction.  This year’s winner was Irene Sabatini, for her novel The Boy Next Door, a love story/mystery set in post-colonial Zimbabwe.

FREE FILM VIEWABLE ONLINE COURTESY FILM.COM Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) Director: F.W. Murnau Starring: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment Genre: Horror; B&W; Silent Synopsis “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, F. W. Murnau’s landmark vampire film, isn’t merely a variation on Bram Stoker’s Dracula: It’s a direct steal, [...]

I had lost this article and found it again, today. A good read for anyone interested in knowing how most of the movies we want to see at Ciné-Monde get to us (or not) and how that process is radically changing. This article is by Manohla Dargis of the NY Times. Talking About a Revolution [...]

Y.M.I. (2004) Director: Marek Probosz Starring: Marek Probosz, Cy Carter, William Smith, R. Lee Ermey, Mageina Tovah Studio: Temple 4 Films Genre: Drama Synopsis “Three Goth teens, each sworn to a secret pact they think will make them legendary, venture out on the last night of their lives. They are the 18-year-old students of Roman [...]

Join Palos Verdes Library District’s

Adult Summer Reading Program

To travel with us, simply obtain a “passport” application at the Reference Desk at any branch of our library system, beginning June 14.

Then read from our wide selection of “destination” titles (click here) or any book you wish.  The titles are linked to our catalog, so you can check availability and reserve books.  For fiction and nonfiction specifically focused on the experience of immigrants to America, click here.

Bring your completed application to the Reference Desk when you finish your first book.  For each additional book read, your passport will be stamped and you’ll receive an entry for a weekly prize drawing.  Winners will be drawn each Thursday and notified by phone.

Participants are automatically entered into a grand prize drawing held September 25 at the Lisa See author event - don’t miss it!

EVENTS INCLUDE:

Radio host Tom Schnabel,  July 17, 3 pm, presents “Rhythm Planet: The Past, Present and Future of World Music,” Pen Center Library Community Room

Living Library, August 21, 1 -4 pm – What’s it like to be an American by choice?  “Check out” one of our amazing living books and find out!  Pen Center Library Community Room

Lisa See, September 25, 7:30 pm – author of On Gold Mountain and Shanghai Girls, our ”One Book, One Peninsula” selection, Pen Center Library Rooftop

and . . . Taiko Drummers, Cooking Classes & more!

Check our calendar for more information, or call 310-377-9584, x 601

Have a great trip!

The May 27, 2010 issue of The Palos Verdes Peninsula News ran a comprehensive front page story on the Palos Verdes Library District budgetary status. If you missed the article, you can access it directly at this link: Library District Looks at Preliminary Budgets. The content of the article also appears below. The article points out the importance of the Peninsula Friends [...]

WHAT:

USED BOOK SALE offered by the Peninsula Friends of the Library.

WHERE:

Peninsula Center Library, 701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates.

WHEN:

THURSDAY, June 3, 10 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

FRIDAY and SATURDAY, June 4 and 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SUNDAY, June 6, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

JUNE SPECIALS:

Clearance of Teaching Co. lectures on cassette and VHS, art books and vintage collectibles. Too many bargains to name.

FOR INFORMATION CALL: 310-377-9584,  ext. 264

If you double click on the photo above, you will enlarge it to see the detail. Can anybody identify our shoppers? Leave a comment if you can.