Dear Reader,

   This weekend promises to be very busy here on Frank Ogawa Plaza!

   Friday and Saturday we'll be here and doing a bit of fundraising. A portion of the sales for Friday and Saturday will go to organizations chosen by the staff.
If you're going to be in the area and were planning to get something new to read anyway, make it count even more!
  
   There are going to be portapotties on the Plaza for some of the festivities this weekend and if there's anything popular at a protest, it's a bathroom. Ours will be available and we'll be happy to take your donation of any size in our organization donation bucket as thanks.
  
   Plus, we were so inspired by Broadway Books in Portland that we decided to have our own giveaway. Thanks to the support of the Family Law Office of Emily Doskow, we'll be giving away pocket copies of the United States Constitution while they last starting on Friday. Just come in and ask.
  
   We are planning some informational and conversational events this year- not just published authors, but people who can lead discussions about how to take care of ourselves, our communities in times of anxiety and political turmoil. Watch for the lineup in the Perspectives Series in events.
  
  
   Happy reading and take care of each other,

Luan 

                               
1-18-17

 
New and Notable


The Meaning of Michelle $24.99
 
Michelle Obama is unlike any other First Lady in American History. From her first moments on the public stage, she has challenged traditional American notions about what it means to be beautiful, to be strong, to be fashion-conscious, to be healthy, to be First Mom, to be a caretaker and hostess, and to be partner to the most powerful man in the world. As Hillary Clinton has said, admiringly about Michelle Obama, our soon to be ex-First Lady exemplifies "the ideal concept of American womanhood." What is remarkable is that, at 52, she is just getting started.


 
Men With Cats by David Williams $12.95 Countless books and blogs have extolled the virtues of the Cat Lady-now photographer David Williams celebrates cat-owning men and the precious kitties who have stolen their hearts. His subjects represent a cross-section of American society-musicians and artists, soldiers and CEOs, truck drivers and tattoo artists-with one very furry common denominator. These fun, fuzzy, and offbeat portraits are full of personality, and the accompanying stories share everything from "how we met" to how the cats earned their names.


   
Star Talk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Everything You Ever Need to Know About Space Travel, Sci-Fi, the Human Race, the Universe, and Beyond  This beautifully illustrated companion to celebrated scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson's popular podcast and National Geographic Channel TV show is an eye-opening journey for anyone curious about the complexities of our universe. For decades, beloved astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has interpreted science with a combination of brainpower and charm that resonates with fans everywhere. In 2009, he founded StarTalk, the wildly popular podcast that became an Emmy-nominated talk show on the National Geographic Channel this year. Tyson's pioneering, provocative book will take the greatest hits from the airwaves to the page in one smart, richly illustrated compendium. 

Hatching Chicks in Room Six by Caroline Arnold $16.99 Follow a classroom of kindergartners as they participate in a popular activity: hatching chicks. Readers learn about the life cycle of a chicken, incubating eggs, watching them hatch, and raising the chicks until they are old enough to return to the chicken coop.
I had the good fortune to meet Caroline last weekend and she is a wonderfully prolific author of children's nonfiction. This one is her latest and if you have a kid that wants to know how things work, how chicks hatch, how the world works, this is a wonderful book. 

 

Book Club pick for January 19     
To join, read the book and show up. We would love to have you with us.


Thursday, January 19, 6:15

 
The Underground Railroad  by Colson Whitehead Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood-where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned-Cora kills a young white boy who tries to capture her. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.
     In Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor-engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But the city's placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.

February 16, 2017  Stranger In Their Own Land
by Arly Hochschild



  
EVENTS

Here is what we have scheduled already for 2017.
Please join us for any or all of our literary events.
Click on links for more info.


January 28  11am
Tree dedication for the Jack London Oak on the Plaza

Friday, February 3, 6-8pm
Art reception for Tomye Neal-Madison,
our February Artist 

Saturday, February 4, 5pm
Patricia Minger
and her novel of the opera, Magic Flute

February 8 6pm
Teachers and Parents!
Meet folks from Know Yourself Academy
publishers of great kid books about the different parts of the body

February 18  5pm
Diverse New Voices: Poetry and Prose
SF Columnist Vanessa Hua, R.O. Kwon, Ashley M Jones, and Dara Barnat
have a great evening of new poetry and prose planned!

February 19 4pm
Karin Kallmaker, KC MacGregor, Jaime Vlevenger,
Heather Rose Jones, Pol Robinson, Laina Villenueve,
"Why We Do What We Do- Lesbian Authors Talk about Storytelling"

Perspectives Series 
February 23  
How Important is Community in the New Political Climate  
and How Can We Foster It?  
March 9 
What's Going On With the Health of Our Oceans? 
with Liz Cunningham, author of Ocean Country, One Woman's  
Voyage from Peril to Hope in Her Quest to Save the Seas

Not yet finalized but in the works:
  • Mindfulness for a New Reality
  • Self Care and Stress Reduction to Avoid Depression
  • How to Read the News So Your Head Doesn't Explode
  • How to Be a Better Ally to Those Potentially in Danger



Quick Links to Places We Like 
 
Paws & Claws                               All Hands Art
NCLR                                             Cafe Santana
Emily Doskow, Esq                  ReadKiddoRead Longitude
Laurel Book Store | [email protected]  | 510-452-9232 | laurelbookstore.com
See what's happening on our social sites: