Visit Oakland Libraries | All month
Summer is the best time to explore the library on the pages of a good book, magazine, or periodical, and beyond. Nestle in a favorite reading spot among the stacks or use a library card to take standard materials home. However, book lovers take note of the library’s many other wonderful services. Most people know the literature, films, music, and tech tools such as e-readers available for check out, along with many public programs are free. But they might not be aware of free access to Kanopy (movie streaming); the ‘Discover & Go’ program, which gives library card holders who reside in Oakland, Emeryville or Piedmont entry to several Bay Area museums. The recently-restored California State Parks passes covers admission and parking for outdoor adventures; the Temescal branch’s Oakland Tool Lending Library includes toys; multiple in-person craft and art-making classes take place at several locations; and there are Bike Fix clinics with assistance or DIY options.
Meg Waite Clayton: Typewriter Beach | A Great Good Place for Books | July 8
Swinging between two locations and two eras, the New York Times bestselling author’s newest book begins with the story of a rare friendship. An Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a young actress hoping to be Alfred Hitchcock’s new star find their lives entwined. Isolated by the film studio’s “fixer” in a Carmel cottage, the actress is consumed with anxiety. It is 1957 and her male screenwriting next-door neighbor has been blacklisted. A major time travel leap has Gemma Chazan, a 26-year-old screenwriter in 2018 zooming up the Big Sur coast to sell her grandfather’s cottage. Clayton lays out a landscape of secrets, family obligations, the experience of being a writer, a woman, and a star actor, along with the unlikely connections across generational divides. Clayton is the author of eight previous novels, among them, the Good Morning America ‘Buzz Pick’ The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and The Wednesday Sisters. She writes for major newspapers and magazines, is a member of the California bar, and lives in California and Connecticut.
July 8 @ 7 pm | Free | ggpbooks.com
Crystal Haryanto | The Glory of Giving Everything: The Taylor Swift Business Model | Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore | July 16
Bay Area-based author Haryanto’s new book offers a deep dive into the illustrious Swift’s business practices and acumen. Not only did the megastar musician radically impact and influence an entire generation of teenagers—and their parents, in many cases—her brand transcended the music industry during a highly competitive time with unique challenges. Harynato’s analysis outlines numerous topics: how devoted fans became dedicated consumers; how networking, collaboration, design, a savvy approach to social media were utilized; and how Swift established herself as an icon of independence, empowerment, and engagement. Large scale, small scale — the book addresses it all. In its own marketing, the book claims: “Whether you’re a lifelong Swiftie or new to her world, this book will inspire you to elevate your own business strategies and embrace the artistry of entrepreneurship.” Haryanto graduated from UC Berkeley in 2023 with degrees in economics, cognitive science, and public policy. She founded UC Berkeley’s globally recognized course Artistry, Policy, & Entrepreneurship. Her work as an philanthropist has taken her to Bulgaria to teach Syrian refugee children ballet. In Zambia, she delivered bicycles to villagers in schools, health clinics, and dairy farms.
July 16 @ 7 pm | Free | MrsDalloways.com
Books Inc: Books N’ Brews @ Cellarmaker Berkeley | July 19
If the marvelous Books Inc. bookstore’s nonprofit organization known as The Reading Bridge, is not on a book lover’s radar, it should be. Not only because of the program’s mission to provide students across the San Francisco Bay Area with access to new, diverse, and inclusive books regardless of socio-economic status, but for the best of reasons: They team up with local breweries to offer free book fairs several times each year. This one at Cellarmaker in Berkeley ups the ante and boldly asks: Books and beer, what could be better? The sales of hot books and cool brews support free books for kids. Join the crowd, toast a title, sip a Cellarmaker offering, and celebrate community. The six-hour fair offers a fantastic, do-good, feel-good activity.
July 19 | noon to 6 pm | Free | BooksInc.net
Juliet Blackwell: The Asylum Hotel | Books Inc. Alameda* | July 31
The Agatha-Award-nominated local author will introduce her latest ghostly, Gothic-style thriller on the last day of the month. (*A mix-up had her at the Marina location the day before. On Facebook, Blackwell clarifies and confirms readers will find her on the East Bay’s favorite island.) Her new book, full of zigs and zags, is no less intriguing. A mysterious figure shows up in the photograph an architect takes of the derelict Seabrink Hotel; murders are revealed, and locals insist the property is haunted. The novel’s protagonist Aubrey Spencer loves photographing classic old buildings and encounters a man who the next day is found dead at the base of a nearby cliff. Atmospheric and instantly mesmerizing, the story of the abandoned hotel and the ghost residing there is magnetic; the writing, masterful. Juliet Blackwell is the pseudonym for the New York Times bestselling author of Off the Wild Coast of Brittany and The Vineyards of Champagne. In addition to mainstream novels, Blackwell pens the New York Times bestselling Witchcraft Mysteries and the Haunted Home Renovation series.
July 31 @ 7 pm | Free | BooksInc.net