Thursday, May 16, 2019
Linda Strader
Saturday, May 18, noon to 1 p.m.
Joel D. Valdez Main Library
Author Linda Strader will discuss and sign copies of Summers of Fire: A Memoir of Adventure, Love, and Courage. The book follows the personal and physical challenges she had to overcome as one of the first women to work on a fire crew for the U.S. Forest Service, a career where women were generally not welcome in 1976.
Kate Stewart
Thursday, May 30, 6–7 pm
Dusenberry-River Library
Book launch of Kate Stewart's A Well-Read Woman: The Life, Loves, and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport. Stewart's captivating tale tells the unconventional story of librarian Ruth Rappaport. Inspired by her childhood in Nazi Germany, where books were burned and banned, Rappaport spent the rest of her long life devoted to liberating books for the readers of the world.
Marge Pellegrino and Kay Sather
Saturday, June 8, 3–4:30 pm
Dusenberry-River Library
Former Library Writer in Residence and longtime customer favorite, Marge Pellegrino returns with local author Kay Sather to launch their new book Neon Words: 10 Brilliant Ways to Light Up Your Writing. Enjoy readings, a raffle, a short film, and a fun make-and-take activity from the book. Customers will also be treated to mesquite cookies and prickly pear lemonade while they last.
Books will be available for sale at all three events. Call the info line at (520) 791-4010 for more information.
Tags: library , authors , readings , book signings , author events , Pima County Public Library , books , events , Tucson , local happenings , Image
Friday, March 29, 2019
Starting at 4 p.m., Terrence Moore will be signing copies of 66 on 66, a collection of 66 of his finest 35mm color film images taken along Route 66 over the last 40 years. The romance of “The Mother Road” beautifully documents the relics of a bygone era: roadside attractions, marvelous kitsch, storefronts and the great neon signs designed to temp curious travelers.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
In February and March, select Pima County Public Library book clubs will read Matthew Desmond's Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, a book that will change the way we look at poverty in America.
The series will culminate with a community dialogue, "The Eviction Problem in Pima County: What can we do?," led by Stacy Butler, director of the Innovation for Justice Program and founding member of Step Up to Justice.
BOOK DISCUSSIONS
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m. – noon
Oro Valley Public Library (Registration is required for this event. Please call 594-5580)
Saturday, Feb. 23, 10 – 11 a.m.
Murphy-Wilmot Library
Thursday, March 7, noon – 1 p.m.
Joel D. Valdez Main Library
Monday, March 11, 1:30 – 3 p.m.
Dusenberry-River Library
PANEL DISCUSSION (You don't need to have read the book to attend)
Thursday, March 21, 6 – 8 p.m.
Joel D. Valdez Main Library
Tags: eviction , book review , meetings , libraries , Pima County , Public Library , discussion , panel , Image
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Award-winning and local author Alice Hatcher is here to help.
Pima County Public Library is continuing its Writer-In-Residence program, a favorite among the local community.
Hatcher's residency at the library starts in February and runs through April and she will be available to consult with writers of any age, experience or genre.
She will hold office hours at Himmel Park Library every Tuesday from 3 to 5 p.m. and every Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m.
Call to guarantee a spot at 520 594 5305. Walk-ins will only be available if space allows.
Hatcher is also hosting three workshops that are free and open to the public:
- Finding Your Narrator in the Crowd - UA Festival of Books, 4 to 5 p.m. March 2
- Your Novel’s Opening Pages: Establishing Tension, the Story Question, and the Reader-Writer Contract - Dusenberry-River Library, 1 to 2:30 p.m. March 21
- The Basics of Writing Grant Proposals for Individual Creative and Research Projects - Joel D. Valdez Main Library in the Idea+Space, 10:30 a.m. to noon, April 13
Tags: writing , workshops , Alice Hatcher , Image
Monday, December 3, 2018
New changes added to the Sam Lena-South Tucson Library include a large children's room with a creative youth space for teens, new study rooms and community rooms, an upgraded service desk and new curbside book drop-off. The library will reopen on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 9 a.m, and is located at 1607 S. Sixth Avenue.
The Flowing Wells library will reopen Monday, Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. and is located on 1730 W. Wetmore Road.
Both libraries will have updated collections, furniture and public use computers.
Join the reopening celebration with Pima County Public Library. For more information, visit the library website or call (520) 791-4010.
Tags: library , reopening , renovations , new , Flowing Wells Library , Sam Lena Library , celebration , completion , Image
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Summarized on the new book's website:
As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments.The book goes into detail not only of the Obama family's time in the Whitehouse, but also delves into the First Lady's childhood, college years, motherhood and beyond. It gives insight into what it is really like to live inside the Whitehouse, how she really felt on President Trump's inauguration day, how the First Daughters dealt with their young fame and more.
Her month-long book tour unfortunately doesn't come close to Tucson, but her book is available online, and fans can follow along with videos from the tour.
"A house is a house, and what you bring to the home is what makes it a home."
— The Hill (@thehill) November 14, 2018
WATCH: Former First Lady Michelle Obama opens arena tour with Oprah conversation. https://t.co/2hGeGSUTxK pic.twitter.com/GUUjjfRPvz
Tags: books , reading , Michelle Obama , Becoming , Oprah , book tour , video , Image
Thursday, October 25, 2018
The book chosen for the book club is acclaimed New York Times bestseller Caraval by Stephanie Garber. A mystery fantasy novel about a girl named Scarlett who is forced into marriage by her father. Scarlett and her sister Tella escape from their father and tiny island home to visit Caraval, a once a year extravagant performance. Bookman's invites you to stick your nose into a book of love, heartbreak and magic.
Bookmans is also hosting a studio night of halloween painting on Friday, Oct. 26. The painting class is free and all ages are welcome. No need to bring painting supplies, all crafts will be provided.
Sign up for both events by e-mailing [email protected] and receive updates via Facebook by joining our official Young Adult Group.
Monday, October 22, 2018
Twitty will speak about gastronomy, the social justice reality of food, and his memoir The Cooking Gene, which the New York Times Book Review called "fascinating."
Of Twitty, the Washington Post says "Should there ever be a competition to determine the most interesting man in the world, Michael W. Twitty would have to be considered a serious contender."
- The Cooking Gene: Michael Twitty on PBS - Curate 757
- Michael Twitty on the politics behind what you eat on Eater
Wednesday, October 24 at 7 pm
The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd.
Doors open at 6:30 - No registration required
Tags: Pima County Public Library , The Loft Cinema , LGBTQ+ , food politics , gastronomy , Image
Monday, October 15, 2018
Bastards of the Reagan Era by Reginald Dwayne Betts
Reginald Dwayne Betts read from his book Bastards of the Reagan Era at the University of Arizona Poetry Center on the last day of August last year. Videos of his reading are available on VOCA.
His voice as captivating as the words he spoke, Betts' poetry is relevant in both the time period in which it is set, and in today's political atmosphere as well. Themes such as police brutality, mass incarceration and the battle against racism fill these lyrical and powerful poems. The book takes on a somber tone, exposing some of the ugly truths that many, including the author, faced growing up throughout the 1980s and the lasting effects the Reagan Era had into the '90s and beyond. While reading is a great way to experience this book, I would highly suggest taking a listen to the VOCA recordings.
The Crown Ain't Worth Much by Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib
Another great book from publisher Button Poetry, The Crown Ain't Worth Much is a tiny book that packs a big punch. With the poetry taking on many forms, including blocks of prose, Willis-Abdurraqib explores age-old themes such as family, gender, race, community and love through various timely pop-culture references. The book follows the author through his life experiences starting in 1998 and ending in 2015, the year before the book was published. The poems intertwine the themes with lived experiences, such as time spent at the barber shop and concerts attended. Characters such as as the speaker's wife, the ghost of his mother and friends add depth to the poems.
"Never simple, always beautiful, Willis-Abdurraquib’s poems expand what epic story poetry can tell." - Los Angeles ReviewSonnets by Bernadette Mayer
"I looked through my last poems in the morning and discovered I'd been writing the always somehow peripheral sonnet all along without understanding the forms of brief conclusive thought the poems had been taking so often in 14 lines without me."This quote from Bernadette Mayer printed on the back cover of Sonnets tells you more about her writing style than any review. Long rambling sentences often lacking complete sense but giving you a general idea of what she is talking about is what most of this book entails. I was instructed to read this book as an undergrad because of it's contradiction with the traditional form reserved for sonnets. Throughout the sentences within the poems, the confines of grammar are stretched with the order of words often jumbled. This book makes the reader work to understand the poetry and teaches about creativity through stretching the limits of meaning and form. While this book isn't as important in the social and political ways that the previous two are, it is important to the study of contemporary poetry.
As always, if you have recommendations of books of poetry to read, write them in the comments!
Tags: poetry , top picks , books , reading , books to read , recommendations , Image
Monday, October 8, 2018
As someone who minored in poetry in university, I was baffled and somewhat saddened at my own lack of response, lack of ability to pin down a favorite, or even a couple of favorites, from four years of study.
And so I went home, sat on the carpet next to my bookshelf and set out to reacquaint myself with the much thumbed and sticky-note covered volumes I have collected over the years from classes, bookstores and friends, and I settled on some favorites, well, sort of, there are 11 books.
Who should care what the favorite books of poetry from a random local journalist are? Well, no one really, but in case you are like me and are always on the hunt to find a way to narrow down the seemingly never-ending pile of poetry out there to be read, this might give you a few recommendations of where to start.
After much narrowing down, here are three that are my absolute favorites from my bookshelf:
Green Ash, Red Maple, Black Gum New Poems by Michael Waters.
This is a sensual book following the story of a man (potentially the author) and his many love affairs. While the poems tap into oft-used and cliched descriptions of women's beautiful hair and soft skin, they also encourage the reader to engage with their imperfections. Loss plays as much of a role in Waters’ love stories as does falling in love, and so the cycle continues forward. As the name indicates, there are also many references to specific trees and flowers throughout the book, grounding the metaphors while at the same time making them flowery and intriguing. While some of the poems stick to airy language that is the cause of so many people who say, “I hate poetry, it doesn’t make any sense,” there are others that drop all pretense and speak in plain text. One poem starts, “These winter trees charcoaled against bare sky,” and you can see where that one's going. Yet another starts, “The Sunday I blew sixty dollars on a taxi,” and continues on with a much more accessible poem. If you do read this book, keep an eye out for “Whitefish,” a poem that stands out from the rest and was my favorite of the 73 pages.
Tags: poetry , recommendations , books to read , literature , poems , poets , authors , recommended , Image
