Saturday, May 4, 2024 Free Comic Book Day Stop by any Oakland Public Library location on Saturday, May 4, during open hours, and pick up a free comic book. We’ll have comics for kids, teens, and adults available while supplies last.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce Come to Montclair Baby Bounce Every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance, and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 – 2:00–3:30pm Teen DJ Radio Hour Want to learn how to DJ? Or just share music you’ve been listening to or making lately? Learn how to DJ, mix songs, talk about music, find new tunes, and share them with the world live over internet radio. No equipment needed – just bring a song in mind or share your own music if you make it!
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 – 2:30–3:30pm Join us for an afternoon of art with Asé Arts Join us for a kids’ book making workshop guided by Nichole Talbott of Asé Arts. Create your own book out of a variety of materials and supplies.
Thursday, May 9, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 – 2:00–3:00pm Teen Crafting @ Montclair Come hang out and get crafty every fourth Wednesday at 2:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 – 3:00–4:00pm Teen Advisory Board @ Montclair Join the Montclair Branch Library Teen Advisory Board (TAB) and make your voice heard! Take an active role in creating and planning the programs and services you want to see as a teen at your local library!
Thursday, April 4, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce Come to Montclair Baby Bounce Every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance, and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024 – 6:30pm–7:30pm One Village, One Book Club Join us this month to discuss Oakland author Margaret Wilkerson Sexton’s On the Rooftop. Set in San Francisco’s Fillmore District in 1953, this book follows three singing sisters on the verge of major changes in their own lives and in the neighborhood they call home.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 – 2:00–3:30pm Teen DJ Radio Hour Want to learn how to DJ? Or just share music you’ve been listening to or making lately? Learn how to DJ, mix songs, talk about music, find new tunes, and share them with the world live over internet radio. No equipment needed – just bring a song in mind or share your own music if you make it!
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 – 2:30–3:30pm Art with Asé Arts Join us for a book-making workshop guided by Nichole Talbott of Asé Arts. Create your own book out of a variety of materials and supplies. Designed for families and grade-school-age kids.
Thursday, April 11, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Saturday, April 13, 2024 – 10am-2pm Vintage Book Sale Come shop beautiful vintage books at bargain prices at our one-day Vintage Book Sale. All proceeds benefit Montclair Library.
Tuesday, April 16, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Thursday, April 18, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 – 6:00-7:30pm Plant Drawing Party Celebrate spring by making some fresh botanical art! We’ll spend some time looking at plants and greenery in a relaxed, community-focused setting, learn how plants are constructed so we can break them down into simple shapes for drawing, and use ink and watercolor to make our own piece of botanical art as we draw from life or our imaginations. Along the way, we’ll discuss how to sketch what you see in real life, practice some contour drawing and learn basic sketching techniques. Suitable for all skill-levels ages 13 and up. All materials provided.
Thursday, April 25, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Saturday, April 27. 2024 – 2:00–3:00pm Planning a Spring Garden Learn how to plan a spring/summer garden in this hands on workshop for adults with Guillermo of Indigenous Permaculture.
Tuesday, April 30, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Thursday, March 7, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce Come to Montclair Baby Bounce Every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance, and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 – 3:00–4:00pm Teen Crafting @ Montclair Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 – 6:30–7:30pm One Village, One Book Club Join us to discuss Amy Chua’s The Golden Gate, a noirish historical detective novel that starts when a presidential candidate is assassinated at the Claremont Hotel.
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 – 2:00–3:30pm Teen DJ Radio Hour Want to learn how to DJ? Or just share music you’ve been listening to or making lately? Learn how to DJ, mix songs, talk about music, find new tunes, and share them with the world live over internet radio. No equipment needed – just bring a song in mind or share your own music if you make it!
Thursday, March 14, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Thursday, March 21, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Thursday, March 28, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Thursday, February 1, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes and stories especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Tuesday, February 6, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce Come to Montclair Baby Bounce Every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.
Thursday, February 8. 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 – 3:00–4:00pm Teen Crafting @ Montclair Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 – 6:30–7:30pm One Village, One Book Join us to discuss Isabel Allende’s Daughter of Fortune, with its adventures in Gold Rush-era California.
Thursday, February 15, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Monday, February 19, 2024 LIBRARY CLOSED – President’s Day
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Thursday, February 22, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Tuesday, February 27, 2024 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce
Tuesday, February 27, 2024 – 6:30–8:00pm Mark-Making Class for Adults Explore artistic building blocks and get your creativity flowing with mark-making, the process of making marks on paper.
Thursday, February 29, 2024 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
In the movie “Groundhog Day,” Bill Murray’s character is stuck in a time loop, doomed to repeat the same day over and over until he becomes a better person.
In honor of Groundhog Day, we’ve pulled together 15 books that play with the “Groundhog Day” theme of repeating time. A lot of these books are rom coms or YA rom coms (who doesn’t wish for a do-over in love sometimes, especially teenage love?), but there are also mysteries, historical fiction and more where the protagonist is stuck reliving the same day (or decade, or lifetime) until they get things right.
(Book descriptions are from the library catalog unless otherwise noted.)
The Déjà Glitch by Holly James (rom com) “When she literally crashes into Jack one Friday morning, Gemma gets a funny feeling of déjà vu until he tells her the unbelievable truth: they have lived this day over and over 147 times and to break the loop, she must fall in love with him within the next twenty-four hours.”
Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz (YA-Fantasy) “At the stroke of midnight, an explosion rips through the palace, killing everyone in its path,” including Anaïs. When “she wakes up in her bedroom, hours before the ball, no one else remembers the deadly attack or believes her warnings of disaster. Not even when it happens again. And again. And again. If she’s going to escape this nightmarish time loop, Anaïs must take control of her own fate and stop the attack before it happens.”
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (literary fiction) “On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war. Does Ursula’s apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny?”
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (mystery) This stylishly crafted murder mystery is Clue and Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day (with a dash of Downton Abbey), as our “hapless protagonist is doomed to relive the same day over and over unless he can solve a murder at a masquerade ball.” (Kirkus Reviews)
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren (rom com) “Love Actually” meets “Groundhog Day” in the quintessential holiday romance as Maelyn Jones wakes up from a car crash to find she’s back on a plane, beginning the holiday again. “With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.” (Amazon) (See also The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk)
The Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds (YA) “Here’s a second chance romance with a twist: Jack and Kate meet and fall fast at a party. Their romance is perfect…but then Kate dies in an accident, and this sends Jack straight back to the party where they first met. Being given a second chance at their love story and at saving Kate seems like a dream come true, but as Jack is about to find out, every action has a consequence, and they can be difficult to predict.” (Bookriot)
End of the World House by Adrienne Celt (dystopian fiction) “The apocalypse is looming, but best friends Bertie and Kate are more concerned with a relocation for a new job pulling them apart. They take a trip to Paris to bond before the move, but when frightening world events overlap with a private night tour of the Louvre, they get stuck in a time loop and then separated from each other. Can they reunite in time to survive the end of the world?” (Bookriot)
Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut (science fiction – as much as any Vonnegut book ever fits into any one genre) “After the universe decides to back up ten years and all humans must live through the 1990s again, author Kurt Vonnegut finds himself trying to write a book called Timequake, which he knows he will never finish since he already did not finish it.”
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (science fiction) “Forced to relive his life over and over again, Harry August receives a message on his eleventh death bed from a little girl who tells him that the world is about to end, and it is up to him to stop it.”
See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon (YA) Barrett Bloom is stuck reliving her disastrous first day of college when she meets Miles and learns he’s been trapped for months, too. Working together to find a way out, “soon they’re exploring the mysterious underbelly of the university and going on wild, romantic adventures. As they start falling for each other, they face the universe’s biggest unanswered question yet: what happens to their relationship if they finally make it to tomorrow?”
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter (YA) “After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again.” (Goodreads)
Replay by Ken Grimwood (science fiction) “Through a bizarre cycle of dying and coming back to life again and again, Jeff Winston receives six chances to change his life, correct previous mistakes, and find the happiness that has long eluded him.”
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (thriller) Jen witnesses her 18-year-old son committing murder, then “falls asleep in despair. But when she wakes up…it is yesterday. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each morning, when Jen wakes, she is further back in the past, first weeks, then years, before the murder. And Jen realizes that somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime…and it is her mission to find it, and prevent it from taking place.”
The Rehearsals by Annette Christie (rom com) “After a disastrous rehearsal dinner Megan and Tom vow to call the whole thing off—only to wake up the next morning stuck together in a time loop. Are they really destined to relive the worst day of their lives, over and over? And what happens if their wedding day does arrive?”
If I See You Again Tomorrow by Robbie Couch (YA) “Clark has lived the same Monday 309 times. But everything changes on his 310th Monday, when a boy he’s never seem before shows up in his math class. Soon, Clark and Beau set out on an adventure across the Windy City, and Clark is falling for the new boy. He’s just not sure he’ll see Beau in the morning…” (BookBub)
Deep Oakland “reveals how [Oakland’s] silt, soil, and subterranean sinews are intimately entwined with its human history–and future,” from “how ice-age sand dunes gave root to the city’s eponymous oak forests” to “how the Jurassic volcanoes of Leona Heights gave way to mining boom times.” Alden will discuss Montclair’s peculiar geology: where to see it, how it came to be, how it has shaped the neighborhood’s history and how it will affect Montclair’s future.
Tuesday, January 9, 2024 – 3:00–4:00pm Teen Crafting @ Montclair Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.
Tuesday, January 9, 2024 – 6:30-7:30pm One Library, One Book Club Join us to discuss Andrew Alden’s Deep Oakland and learn about what’s below the surface of our city and how it shapes life above.
Wednesday, January 10, 2024 – 2:30–3:30pm Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Rings Join us as we make Butterfly rings out of Pipe cleaners! Come and craft with us and make some new friends! All materials are provided, *limit of 2 rings per person.
Monday, January 15, 2024 Library Closed – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Tuesday, December 19, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm Baby Bounce Come to Montclair Baby Bounce every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance, and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 – 2:30–3:30pm Card Making Craft Make a card for a friend, a family member, or yourself. We will have supplies for a variety of handmade cards. Join us for an afternoon of crafting.
Thursday, December 21, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Saturday, December 23, 2023 Library closed – Christmas Eve Holiday (Observed)
Monday, December 25, 2023 Library closed – Christmas Day
Tuesday, December 26, 2023 Library closed – Christmas Holiday (Observed)
Thursday, December 28, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Monday, January 1, 2024 Library closed – New Year’s Day
At our last book club meeting of the year, our dedicated crew of readers pooled their knowledge to come up with 12 books we’d like to read in 2024 – we hope you can join us! This year we’ve expanded a bit beyond the borders of Oakland with books set in San Francisco and Berkeley, but we still have a strong focus on Oakland stories and Oakland authors.
We’ve got mysteries, YA novels, historical fiction, nonfiction, magical realism, a graphic novel, short stories and more from a diverse collection of voices – there’s something for everyone! Get all the details and links to check out the books on our book club page.
To help you get ready for Gail Tsukiyama’s visit to the library November 28, here are 12 novels about the glamour and intrigue (and also the dark side) of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Like Tsukiyama’s The Brightest Star, many of these books are fictional accounts inspired by actual people.
Quoted book descriptions are from the library website unless otherwise noted.
The Brightest Star by Gail Tsukiyama “Arriving in Hollywood to become an actress, Anna May Wong discovers her beauty and talent aren’t enough to overcome the racism that relegates her to supporting roles and, over the years, fights to win lead roles, accept risqué parts, and keep her illicit love affairs hidden-even as she finds global stardom.”
Delayed Rays of a Star by Amanda Lee Koe “This novel follows the lives of three extraordinary women in the late 1920s. One is up-and-coming German actress Marlene Dietrich, one is Anna May Wong, the world’s first Chinese American star, and the third is Leni Riefenstahl, whose work as a director of propaganda art films would first make her famous–then, infamous.” (Penguin Random House)
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra Like many before her, screenwriter Maria Lagana has come to Hollywood to outrun her past. Her job is to re-write scripts to circumvent the censors for Mercury Pictures, “a nexus of refugees and emigres, each struggling to reinvent themselves in the land of celluloid,” including “Eddie Lu, a struggling actor and Maria’s boyfriend, who despite being born in Los Angeles encounters the worst of America’s xenophobia.”
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid This best-seller might be the first book that comes to mind when you think of Old Hollywood fiction, as Reid recounts the fictional tale of a movie icon telling her life story to an unknown magazine reporter.
Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch Character actress Edie O’Dare moonlights “for Hollywood’s reigning gossip columnist, providing her with the salacious details of every party and premiere. When an up-and-coming starlet hands her a letter alleging an assault from an A-list actor at a party with Edie and the rest of the industry’s biggest names in attendance, Edie helps get the story into print and sets off a chain of events that will alter the trajectories of everyone involved.”
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict Desperate to escape an increasingly dangerous Nazi Germany, Hedwig Kiesler flees to Hollywood, where she reinvents herself as Hedy Lamarr, screen star. This novel imagines Hedy’s rise in Hollywood alongside her work inventing a radio guidance system for torpedoes that paved the way for Wi-Fi.
Miss Del Rio by Barbara Mujica “Spirited away to Hollywood from Mexico City, Dolores del Río becomes an instant star, swept up into Tinseltown’s glitzy inner circle, until, amidst her tumultuous personal life, she becomes box office poison amid growing prejudice before World War II, forcing her to decide what price she’s willing to pay to achieve her dreams.”
The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin “A fascinating novel of the friendship and creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female legends–screenwriter Frances Marion and superstar Mary Pickford,” with “cameos from such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Rudolph Valentino, and Lillian Gish.”
Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub “Fleeing her family home in Wisconsin in the wake of a tragedy that compels her to pursue her acting career in golden-age Hollywood, Elsa enjoys the heady extravagances of her fame while struggling to remain true to herself and balance the needs of her family.”
All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani “The movie business is booming in 1935 when 21-year-old Loretta Young meets 34-year-old Clark Gable on the set of The Call of the Wild. Though he’s already married, Gable falls for the young actress instantly, setting off decades of scandal” which she navigates with the help of her assistant, a novice nun recently dismissed from her convent.
Platinum Doll by Anne Girard The fictionalized story of how a 17-year-old from the Midwest named Harlean Carpenter McGrew transformed herself into “Hollywood’s original blonde bombshell,” Jean Harlow. (“Girard tells the enchanting story of Jean Harlow, one of the most iconic stars in the history of film, from 17-year-old Harlean Carpenter McGrew’s arrival in Beverly Hills to being thrust into the center of the cinema spotlight.”)
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul “When white silver screen icon Kitty Karr Tate dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the three Black St. John sisters, it prompts questions…” In Kitty’s journals, Elise St. John discovers the truth behind Kitty’s ascent to stardom, as “Kitty and her California cohort survive a series of excruciating trials in order to live their dreams. The results of their choices, made in order to succeed and survive in the Hollywood machine, echo for generations.” (Kirkus Reviews)