David Nayfeld’s “Dad, What’s for Dinner?” @ Books Inc. Alameda | Sept. 10
Guest author David Nayfeld will read from, and share stories about, his new cookbook “Dad, What’s for Dinner?” A terrific guide to 80 dad-, mom-, grandparent-friendly recipes with a foreword by Gwyneth Paltrow is part lark, part lesson. Nayfeld, a professional chef, shows how you, too, can navigate a meal from kitchen to table without relying on Chef Boyardee or canned chili. Look no further than Broccolini Lasagna, Bread Salad, and Cuppycakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Nayfeld is chef and co-owner of Che Fico Parco Menlo, Il Mercato di Che Fico, and Che Fico Pizzeria, and was named a semifinalist for the 2023 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Chef.
Sept. 10 @ 4:30 p.m. | Free | booksinc.net
Poet Alison Luterman’s “Hard Listening,” | Great Good Place for Books @ Montclair Presbyterian Church | Sept. 19
Luterman (“The Largest Possible Life”, “See How We Almost Fly;” “Desire Zoo” and “In the Time of Great Fires”) introduces her new poetry collection, “Hard Listening”. Hosted at the Montclair Presbyterian Church by Great Good Place for Books, she is joined by Leslie Absher in conversation. The poems in “Hard Listening” speak of lovers and artists and most poignantly, recount her journey to learning how to sing during the pandemic. Through the journey, she found a greater sense of rhythm, pitch, and deeper listening practices. Poetry becomes a portal to kindness, justice, love, and decency. Luterman has published poems in The New York Times Magazine, The Sun Magazine, The Atlanta Review, and many other journals and anthologies. Oakland-based Absher is a journalist and author of the memoir, “Spy Daughter, Queer Girl: In Search of Truth and Acceptance in a Family of Secrets.”
Sept. 19 @ 7 p.m. | Free | ggpbooks.com
Children’s Fairyland Book Festival | Sept. 20
Bay Area Kid-lit authors, illustrators, publishers, sellers, and educators come together to celebrate the magic of books at Fairyland from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sept. 20. The festival is included with a general admission ticket.
Meet 30+ kid-lit book creators ready to inspire, enjoy captivating stories read aloud by the authors themselves, watch talented illustrators bring stories to life before your eyes, shop for books by all the participating book creators with Books on B, and much more.
Saturday, Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Included with Fairyland general admission | fairyland.org/event-calendar/book-festival/
African American Quilt Guild + Staff Art Show | Oakland Pubic Library Elmhurst and Rockridge branches | September
All year long, the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland meets the fourth Saturday of each month (except December) at the West Oakland Library. In 2025, they are celebrating their 25th Anniversary at the Elmhurst Library with a marvelous display of members’ latest quilts. The quilts were inspired by a simple prompt — 25 — which opened up quiltmakers’ vast creativity and technical skills. An artist’s reception on Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. allows visitors to chat with the artists. Exhibited at the library until Oct. 24, the quilts will then be moved to the African American Museum and Library. They will be available for viewing at that second location from Nov. 17 to Jan. 26, 2026.
From January 27 to February 27, 2026, the journey will continue with the quilts exhibited at the East Bay Municipal Utility District Gallery in Downtown Oakland.
Another opportunity to view the remarkable inventiveness of creative artists brings the OPL Staff Art Show to the library’s Rockridge Branch. Oakland Public Library staff reveal their imagination and finesse — not only with finding the perfect books for each person — with works on paper and more. The exhibit is free and continues until Oct. 24. Be sure to look for work by a favorite librarian or staff member and share a compliment.
Quilting @ Elmhurst branch: Sept. 22-Oct. 23 | Staff art show @ Rockridge branch: through Oct. 24
Dr. Vanessa Grubbs’ “Negligent by Design” @ Oakland Pubic Library Rockridge Branch | Sept. 17
Physician and activist Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, MD., reads from and discusses her new book, “Negligent by Design: Anti-Blackness in American Medicine and How to Address It.” Grubbs relies on her 25 years experience as a medical doctor, extended research, and interview with physicals to address less-than-adequate standards of care in communities of color. Three core issues Grubbs identifies as central to the health-care system’s problem: race-based medical diagnoses and training, medical textbooks and trainings that inappropriately disregard race in cases when it matters, and medical institutions that continue to deny racism is an issue and result in there being fewer Black physicians and higher percentages of disastrous outcomes for Black patients.
Expect Grubbs to lay out the roadmap to true equity and inclusion in health care and steps necessary to fix the broken, dysfunctional health care system.
The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Rockridge Library and offers copies of the book available for purchase from A Great Good Place for Books.
Sept. 17 @ 6:30 p.m. | Free | Rockridge Library | oaklandlibrary.org
‘Read Contra Costa’ @ Contra Costa County Public Libraries | September
Expand your horizons by joining readers “next-door” in Contra Costa County and visit a local bookstore to swoop up a copy of “James” by award-winning author Percival Everett. The “Read Contra Costa” program is an annual event that encourages their county residents and library users to join in a shared experience by reading and discussing the same book. Piedmonters and people in Alameda County need not be CC residents to tag-team the programs running Sept. 2 to Nov. 8.
Even better: the library’s program this year partners with the Richmond Public Library (which is closed for renovations through 2027). Everett’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book — it also received the National Book Award for fiction in 2025 — has readers delving into his retelling of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Narrated from the perspective of enslaved Jim after he runs away to avoid being sold and forever separated from his family, the book is a masterpiece in contemporary literature. With timeless themes and Everett’s signature cut-to-the-bone style, community discussions and programs are destined to be rich, provocative, enthusiastic. Visit participating library websites in early September for complete information.
All month | Free | CCClib.org | richmondlibrary.org