Here is a footnote to Mary Ann's message. Anne went out in glory with lots
of laughter and good will. The party, with over 200 guests plus staff, was
held at the beautiful new Layfayette Library recently completed (Jan and I
had a tour last summer)and now Anne's home library. Several speakers
remarked that Anne understood that each of the 25 communities under her
watch were different and worked to design library services to meet their
unique needs. As the newspaper editorial stated so well, reiterated by the
speakers, Anne was able to achieve trust with whomever she dealt with, at
all levels. Bravo Anne! To think that she had her start in our Pasadena
Public Library and helped all of us to make it a place of excellence.

And now more congratulations are in order. Janet Hildebrand will be
retiring from Contra Costa Library this Friday. And our indefatigable Anne
will be making the farewell party at her home. So Janet, congratulations
to you! Both you and Anne are ready to embark on this exciting new phase
of your life -- enjoy! Books and adventure await you.

Submitted by Elaine
ezorbas@wildblue.net

Carolyn and Michael, Elaine and I were able to make it to Anne's retirement
celebration. And what a celebration it was. Accolades, speeches from
city managers, mayors, board members, state librarians! And that was just
the beginning! Elaine also spoke on our behalf and told some funny
stories. ;-)

I was so proud of her accomplishments and it was clear, that anyone who
worked with Anne, had the highest respect (and a little regret to see her
retire.) Very fun party! A hugh Read poster of Anne with clouds behind her made her look like the angel who came to Contra Costa!  Which, of course, she was! 

Here is an editorial you may want to read!
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_16649367?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com&nclick_check=1
Submitted by maryann

I just finished a lovely book that I wanted to share with you. "The
Madonnas of Leningrad" by Debra Dean contrasts the loss of memory of a
older Russian woman experiencing Alzheimer's with her vivid past memories
as a docent and survivor in the Hermitage Museum during the WWII Siege of
Leningrad. The novel beautifully and poetically describes individual works
of art in the Hermitage, the deprivations during the war, and the affect
of her declining memory on the woman's husband,daughter and herself. The
book captures beauty and love in a very singular way, never descending
into sentimentality.

Submitted by Elaine Zorbas

Wow! What a list! Thank you Anne, Jan and Mary Anne for compiling and
posting and to everyone for such a good time!

Submitted by Kathy
katherinergould@gmail.com

Someone left a cell phone charger/battery pack plugged into the wall -
send me your address and i'll drop it in the mail - fabulous to see
everyone!!

Submitted by anne
cain.anne@comcast.net

Unbelievable how much ground we covered in so little time!

Media and web info
Janet's cousin's quilt site: http://joansowada.com/
Man on Wire (documentary on DVD)
Tillman (YouTube) fundraising for NYPL
Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi http://www.cranefestival.com/
Laurie's blog with picture of Bixxli http://lawsew.wordpress.com/
Portobello mushroom lasagna recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/portobello-mushroom-lasagna-recipe/index.html
Inception (new film)
Girl With the Dragon Tatoo (film) Swedish version
Sackett, Kathryn The Help (book or audio)
Ano Nueva site (ceramic nests) http://center.cca.edu/about/news/51
-----------------------------------
Fiction
Allen, Sarah Garden Spells
Amirrezvani, Anita Blood of Flowers
Bail, Murray Eucalyptus
Barbery, Muriel The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Barrows, Annie and Mary Ann Shaffer The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel
Pie Society
Bender, Aimee The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Blake, Sarah The Postmistress
Boyle, T. C. The Woman (about Frank Lloyd Wright’s women)
Bradbury, Ray Something Wicked This Way Comes
Bradley, Alan Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Weed that Stings,
The Hangman’s Bag
Byatt,A.S. Possession (read past p. 100)
Cashore, Kristin Graceling (young adult)
Collins, Suzanne The Hunger Games (young adult)
Courtenay, Bruce The Power of One
De Rosnay, Tatiana Sarah’s Key
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee Sister of My Heart
Drayson, Nicholas A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (a novel)
Ghosh, Amitav Hungry Tide
Gopnik, Adam Paris to the Moon
Greene, Graham The Honorary Consul
Gruen, Sarah Water for Elephants
Ford, Jamie Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
Harrison, Jim The English Major
Horan, Nancy Loving Frank (Frank Lloyd Wright)
James, PD â€" mysteries
Jordan, Hillary Mudbound
Larsson, Steig The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, The Girl Who Played with
Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
Mankell, Henning mysteries
McCann, Colum Let the Great World Spin
Mones, Nicole The Last Chinese Chef
Petterson, Per Out Stealing Horses
Quinn, Spencer Thereby Hangs a Tale, Dog On It (mysteries)
Rendell, Ruth â€" Detective Wexford mysteries
Russo, Richard Bridge of Sighs and That Old Cape Magic
See, Lisa Snowflower and the Secret Fan, Shanghai Girls
Shreeve, Anita Change of Altitude
Simonson, Helen Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
Smith, Jack God and Mr. Gomez
Stein, Garth The Art of Racing in the Rain
Straight, Susan A Million Nightengales
Strout, Eliabeth Olive Kitteridge
Tsukiyama, Gail The Street of 1,000 Blossoms, Samuri Gardens and Women of
the Silk
Verghese, Abraham Cutting for StoneWaldman,
Ayelet Red Hook Road
Zafron, Carlos Ruiz Shadow of the Wind and The Angel’s Game
Zusak, Marcus The Book Thief
-----------------------------------
Nonfiction
Bard, Elizabeth Lunch in Paris: a love story with recipes
Carpenter, Novella Farm City: the education of an urban farmer
Child, Julia My Life in France
Cooper, Helene The House at Sugar Beach
Drinkwater, Carol The Olive Farm
Fadiman, Anne The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Forshaw, Barry The Man Who Left Too Soon: the biography of Steig Larsson
Gentile, Olivia Life List: a woman’s quest for the world’s most
amazing birds
Gill, Brendan Many Masks: A Life of Frank Lloyd Wright
Gruber, Michael Book of Air and Shadows
Halperin, Mark and John Heileman Game Change (about the 2008 election)
Hirsi Ali, Ayaan Infidel, Nomad: From Islam to America
Kahn, Ava, Ellen Eisenberg and William Toll Jews of the Pacific Coast:
reinventing community on America’s edge
Kidder, Tracy Mountains Beyond Mountains: the quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a
man who would cure the world
Krakauer, Jon Where Men Win Glory (about Pat Tillman), Into Thin Air
Lebovitz, David Sweet Life in Paris
Levy, JoAnn They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush
Mortenson, Greg Three Cups of Tea, Stones Into Schools
Obmascik, Mark The Big Year: a tale of man, nature and fowl obsession
Snetsinger, Phoebe Birding on Borrowed Time
Stewart, Rory The Places in Between
Struach, Barbara The Secret Life of the Grown Up Brain
Walls, Jeannette Glass Castle and Half Broken Horses
Zorbas, Elaine Fiddletown: From Gold Rush to Rediscovery

Submitted by Thanks to Anne and Jan for compiling this!

Hi Readers,

Here are three candidates to consider if publication date does not matter:

"The House at Sugar Beach" by Helene Cooper (good for high school and
discussions)

"Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout (short stories make this good for
discussion and high school)

"Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese (superb reading; may be too
graphic for high school)

I look forward to learning abnout more good book recommendations when we
all get together!

Submitted by Elaine Zorbas
ezorbas@wildblue.net

Any suggestions for Pasadena's One City One Story selection for 2011?

Fiction
Adult as well as high school preferable
good programming possibilities

Submitted by Mary Ann

Nancy Pearl's recommendation to PPL Librarians and Staff

Nancy Pearl’s Recommended Titles (Thanks to Jan Sanders for sharing)

May 13, 2010

Dan Arely. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions.  Follows in the style of books like FREAKONOMICS. That is, a thoughtful topic in simple, readable language. Totally engaging

Frank Bakes Miss Hargreaves.  Rated “G” No sex or violence.

Delightful.  Part of Nancy’s June review on NPR

Josh Bazell Beat the Reaper. Fun. A young man becomes a doctor as the result of time in the witness protection program. Later, he is called on to treat someone from his “hidden” past.  Great airplane read. Last scene is a bit gritty

Mischa Berlinski Fieldwork.  Not a “who dunnit” but a “whydunnit.”  Strong interest in anthropology.  Centers on missionary efforts in Thailand

S. J. Bolton Blood Harvest.  Psychological thriller/mystery.  If you like British mysteries, this is for you. Centers on a series of young girls killed.  Page turner

Alan Bradley The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  A “cozy” mystery.  Flavia (11 years old) in England. Wants to solve mystery, her Dad didn’t do it. There’s now a sequel

Libba Gray Going Bovine.  Won a Young Adult award. Very strong, but a good story; just have to set reality aside. Idea for plot is based on Mad Cow disease. The hero must save the world

Craig Childs. Animla Dialogues: Encounters with Animals in the Wild.  Outdoorsy fans. Wilderness guide, river runner. Story of author’s career from Grizzlies to mice. Note especially the encounter with the couger…..

Justin Cronin The Passage. (due out in June).  A little girl who saved the world. A government study that goes awry. Subjects turn into “Dracs” (vampires). A tale of the apocalypse. If you liked THE ROAD this is for you

Terry Darlington Narrow Dog to Indian river.  The dog is a whippet (narrow) the adventure is on a canal boat—6’ wide, 30’ long.
When you finish you’ll want to go adopt a whippet

Georgina Howell Gertrude Bell, Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations.  Biography that reads like a novel.  “the female TE Lawrence” she drew the borders of Iraq and chose the first king.  An American Library Assn. notable book. 

Nick Harkaway The Gone Away World.  Science fiction.  Author is son of John LeCarre. Post apocalypse book.  Brilliant in its formation
IF YOU ONLY READ ONE FROM THIS LIST, THIS IS THE ONE TO CHOOSE.

Guy Gavriel Kay Under Heaven.  Canadian fantasy writer.  Historical events and quarter turn to fantasy.  8th Century China Tang Dynasty.  Fascinating take on a little known subject

Emma Larkin Finding George Orwell in Burma.  Everything is Broken: A Tale of Catastrophe in Burma.  Wonderful non-fiction. A biography of Orwell and a vision of the place—very little “gets out” re: Burma. Is 1984 based on this experience??

Emily St. John Mandel Last Night in Montreal.  Singer with the Gun.  Stories begin small and tight, but expand as tale unfolds. Read for language and character Beautifully scripted. 

China Mieville. The City and the City.  This is a mystery in a city that is contiguous to another city, but the two do not interact. They are totally different cities, but occupy the same space.  Complex and challenging, but interesting

Lisa Moore February.  Halifax, CAN. Story of a widowed family and how they cope, move on.  Strong sense of character

Caroline Moorehead Dancing to the Precipice: the Life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin: Eyewitness to an Era.  Great Biography. Set in Napoleonic / French Revolution Later, she moved to Albany NY until the war was over then back to France; Everyone who was anyone was involved with her life…

Karl Mariantes Matterhorn.  Story of the Viet Nam War. Novel.  Author was a 2nd LT in the war, so is main character.  A mind-blowing emotional ride. “You are there.”  Big, thick book but obvious award material.

Nathaniel Philbrick The Last Stand : Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Big Horn.  The story of both (Sitting Bull and Custer) men and their myth. All extraneous is stripped away; Something everyone should read

Matthew Quick The Silver Linings Playbook.  The playbook is a reference to the football theme that runs through the novel; Nominated for Pulitzer; Delightful story. Main character just out of mental institution—he thinks he was there 2 weeks, it was 2 years. He wants to find his wife and get her back.  Light and well-done

Helen Simonson Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand.  Fun, light reading.  Not a thoughtful tome, but a good read. Takes place in a British village, mostly in the shop there. The Storekeeper is Pakistani and there’s the tale.

Tatjana Soli The Lotus Eaters.  MUST READ.  Female photojournalist in Viet Nam. Beautifully done, a fabulous book

Melanie Watt Chester. An author and her cat. It’s a children’s book and the conflict is between the author and the cat and who really is writing the book

The Pearl is our Oyster...

We've been pearlized! Nancy Pearl did a benefit for the Friends of the PPL and these are some of the titles she recommended. Dorothy, Carolyn
and I (and a newbie from PCC) took her to dinner and what a blast! She's just like us and we talked all night about books, libraries and reading.

Books Recommended by Nancy Pearl (in no particular order)

Born To Run (non-fiction)
Surrendered -- Chang Rae Lee
Andersonville
The Paper Boy  Pete Dexter

Afterlife -- Rhian Ellis
I Captured the Castle  Dodie Smith
A Primate's Memoir  (non fiction)
No One Thinks of Greenland  (non fiction)
The Towers of Trebizond by Rose McCauley (Anglicans in Turkey -- funny)
Lymond Chronicle -- books by Dorothy Dunne Italian Renaissance
historical fiction (1547 Scotland)
A Game of Thrones (1st of six) -- George R. R. Martin (War of the
Roses fantasy fiction)
Housekeeping. Marilyn Robinson
Master and Commander series (Napoleonic world and navy)
The Last Temptation. Scottish mystery (McDermid)
Tapping the Source
Biggest Elvis (funny)-- Kluge
Tinkers
Matterhorn (Vietnam novel)
The Lotus Eaters. Soli (Vietnam novel)
All Souls.  Christine Shute (?)
Last Night in Montreal.  Emily St. John Mandel
Bangkok 8. John Burdett
The Looming Tower. non fiction about Al Queda
Ghost Horse.  Steve Coll (Iran non fiction)
Finding George Orwell in Burma. Emma Larkin
Everything Is Broken (typhoon in Burma novel) -- Larkin

I will put notes in later
Submitted by Mary Ann

You are all usually way ahead of me on these. One of my students sent me
this link with the comment "...and I just had to share it with a
librarian... The book looks great"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/books/review/Kennedy-t.html?emc=eta1

Submitted by Laurie Whitcomb

Good for you, Amy! I'll be interested in how it goes and other
programming you might do around it.

Seattle Public Library has some great info that helped me when I first
started the APL book groups:
http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=collection_readinglists_bookclub_howtos

I think doing the book groups is the thing I miss most in my job as
director - there's just not time for me to do the reading and prep. Plus
I wanted staff to see how much fun it can be!

Submitted by Carolyn
clg708@sbcglobal.net

The date is great, esp. because I couldn't seem to "edit" my calendar.
This saves me the hassle.
I've volunteered to host a book discussion group for our One County Reads
title, Three Cups of Tea. It's only at our branch, probably a small group,
but does anyone have hints about what to avoid, or what gets people
talking?Carolyn, this is really your fault so you might share any
techniques you've learned! I'll have tons on the book and author, but it's
group dynamics, and silence, I'm concerned about. (I have one week to
prepare, and re-read the book.)

Submitted by Amy Kinard
amykinard@mind.net

Ladies...we have a date!

We just confirmed with Anne and we have decided on July 30th-August 1st.  Please mark your calendars!
Unfortunately, Carolyn had a conflict she cannot change but since everyone else can make it, it is the best weekend for everyone else.  Maybe we can have a web cam or Carolyn can Skype in...just kidding...sorta...

More later!  Mary Ann

Getting together

Hi everyone - please do ahead without me. We have long standing plans to attend the Carmel Bach Festival with two other couples and my daughter and son-in-law!

I'll miss you and will look forward to a detailed report!

Carolyn

Wow...it looks like July 30-Aug 1 works best for everyone by Carolyn. Can
you rethink/replan Carolyn?

It is my anniversary weekend but Jeff will love any opportunity to skip
the anniversary and go skydiving...! ;-)

Submitted by Mary Ann

Will you review this again? Can anyone move a little so we can all get
together
http://doodle.com/x9rs9cavutdee6r2

Submitted by Mary Ann

Here is the RSVP link again:

http://doodle.com/x9rs9cavutdee6r2

Submitted by

Reunion at Anne Cain's in Moraga (near Oakland)

We are planning again for a reunion at Anne Cain's home in Moraga. Freeway and airport close...we will pick you up and drop you off! Let's walk the bridge together or just sit around her pool! Indicate which

weekend will work for you... Mary Ann and Anne

http://doodle.com/x9rs9cavutdee6r2


 

 

Hi PPL PALS,

I wrote short sketch of Joyce Pinney which I submitted to her high school
friend from Florida. I recall that Joyce used to go to tea with a few
friends, but I don't know who they were.

Submitted by Elaine
ezorbas@att.net

Hi Mary Ann, Joyce worked for the L.A.Times library after she left PPL.
My cousin, Dorothy Ingebretsen, was the library director (she's now
retired) and was Joyce's boss for a while. I'll get in touch with her to
see if she has any info...or can give a referral.

Submitted by Jan

Joyce Pinney

I was at a meeting at PPL today and one of the Librarians had a research question about Joyce Pinney. I told her I would post it to our group. The contact information is below if anyone wants to contact her.


Hi Mary Ann,
Below is the information from Anne Foster Angelou, the woman interested in learning more about Joyce Pinney's time here at the Pasadena Public Library. Please contact her when you have time. I also gave her your email address, so she can contact you directly. It may be a great idea to post her information on the PPL Pals group you mentioned as well!

Thanks,
Martha

Name: Anne Foster Angelou
Email: fosterangelou@comcast.net
UserMailing_Address: P. O. Box 27346
City_State_Zip: Seattle WA U.S.A.
UserPhone: (206) 367-3167

Original request:
I am seeking further information about my high school classmate, Joyce Y. Pinney, who worked for the Pasadena Library prior to her death in 2004. She and I were high school pals at Sacred Heart Academy in Tampa, Florida and graduated together in May 1960. Our 50th class reunion is in June 2010. We are trying to gather information so we may honor her memory along with other classmates who have died. We are particularly interested in contacting close friends. I knew her mother and grandmother in Tampa. For instance, did she have a life partner?