Earthquake Books

 
Just before  I  moved to the bay area,  I  started  reading books that took place in  the bay area .  Inevitably, some were  earthquake  stories. Here are a few:

1989 Quake stories:

Quake   Joe  Cottonwood

Amazing  Grace  Danielle Steel
 

1906 Stories
Fire and fog  Dianne Day
1906 :  A Novel James Dalessandro

 Future Disaters
Richter 10  Arthur C. Clarke & Mike McQuay

and Here is  a list that includes some really early fiction books about earthquakes. Do you have a favorite earthquake – or other disaster book – that takes place in the bay area?

The City, not long after

About half a generation ago, a plague took most of the people of the world. San Francisco is filled with dreams, memories, and magic. When a military force want to take over the city; two teenagers, Art, Magic, and the soul of the city are the defense.

A magical book , that lures you into thinking just a little bit, while be thoroughly entertained. Reserve a copy here.

 Pat Murphy is a writer for the Exploratorium ; here is her web page.

Introducing Dianne Day

Another local mystery writer from the Bay Area, Dianne Day! In this case, historical mysteries. Fremont Jones is a young feminist from Boston. She escape the confines of Boston Society and lands in San Francisco. The four books that take place in and around the bay area occur around the time of the great earthquake. So they are historically interesting as well as intriguing mysteries.

Request books by Dianne Day here.

Introducing bay area author – Deborah Grabien

There are lots of writers  in  the bay area.  There is  no way  to know them  all, so  I  love  this  theme  for  our  Adult  summer  reading  game .  Today  I  want  to  introduce Deborah Grabien, mostly for her current mystery series , The Kincaid Chronicles. This series follows the adventures of a well established, San Francisco, rock and roll band as they age into their fifties. While the characters deal with murders, secrets revealed,and aging rock-n-roll bodies, the reader is treated to full backstage access pass. Here is the YouTube trailer for the first book, Rock and Roll Never Forgets:

Sadly, the second book, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, doesn’t come out until September. But don’t despair– there is another great series by Ms. Grabien, The Haunted Ballard Series.


In The Haunted Ballard Series we are treated to a series of ghost stories based on traditional English ballads. A real kick and some of them are scary! And even though these books take place in England, the music might be familiar to you. These ballads were song a lot during the big folk revival scene of the 1960s by band such as Fairport Convention.

Music has been part of my vision of San Francisco and the bay area for a long time. Add a good story –and you find the magic. Here are some of Ms. Grabien’s books in the Alameda County Library.

Join the Summer game @ the library

It is a celebration of Bay Area authors , experiences, and life .These works make Bay Area a unique place where authors with the power of pen bring beauty, joy, and liberation. The choices are infinite…

“I Loved You So Much

I loved you

So much

That when

You left

It took

A lot

To keep me

Alive.”

ABSOLUTE TRUST in the GOODNESS of the EARTH     

The new poems by ALICE WALKER

From Alice Walker’s poetry to memoir of Frances Mayes are all works: that are considered as literally works around the Bay.

In UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, France Mayes in a poetic language describes her decision leaving San Francisco and finding a different world in Tuscan, Italy. “I’ve learned here that simplicity is liberating. Simca’s philosophy applies totally to this kitchen, where we no longer measure, but just cook. As all cooks know, ingredients of the moment are the best guides. Much of what we do is too simple to be called a recipe-it’s just the way to do it.”

Books around the Bay seems to be a simple theme for the summer reading game at the library .The theme is wide open to all different titles that were created here or the writers lived here part or all of her career , or the story starts ,ends, or take place in San Francisco. Two above titles are sample of the list. Both are non fiction …however if you like to read fiction, just search the catalog for San Francisco (calif.) fiction! Or stop by the information desk so we can share the other Bay Area authors that wrote fiction about other places in the world. The example for that would Isabel Allende, and Khaled Hosseini. Just join the game!

 

Be a traveler in your own backyard!

If your budget calls for a “staycation” this year, the good news is that the Bay Area is a great place to explore even if you’ve lived here your whole life.

 Check out our Books Around the Bay travel booklist for ideas about places to go and things to do on your own, with friends or with the kids. There are some great online resources, too. If you love the outdoors, archived copies of Tom Stienstra’s Chronicle column can give you some new ideas for places to go. SFGate also has a page full of Weekend getaways to inspire you. The Bay Area Backroads Website offers new destinations each week; this week it features Glide Memorial Church and free things to do in Oakland.

Remember too that all branches of the Alameda County Library offer family passes to the Asian Art Museum for checkout, so this summer you can even travel back in time to the age of the samurai!

Oprah’s summer reading picks

Oprah’s love for reading still shines through years after she first established her popular book club. She even appears on the July  issue of O Magazine with her face partially hidden behind a book!

Inside the magazine (or online), you’ll find a variety of great reading suggestions, from lighthearted beach reads to fascinating memoirs, from the bestselling Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to Hemingway’s classic Moveable Feast.

At least one title on the list fits our Books Around the Bay theme: Farm City is about how a community created an urban farm in Oakland.