From all of us at the Los Angeles Public Library, at the Central Library, and the 72 branches, we are pleased to announce the best books of 2023 as selected by our staff, who volunteered their…
Over the centuries, various forms of expression have been banned or destroyed, and their creators have been censored, imprisoned, tortured, killed, exiled. At the present time, all types of libraries…
From all of us at the Los Angeles Public Library, at the Central Library, and the 72 branches, we are pleased to announce the best books of 2022 as selected by our staff, who volunteered their…
From all of us at the Los Angeles Public Library, at the Central Library, and the 72 branches, we are pleased to announce the best books of 2021 as selected by our staff, who volunteered their…
The novels and poetry of Charles Bukowski continue to have devoted, admiring fans, who can never get enough of his books. We have those books in hard copy, and there is a good representation in…
It is a good thing that the lives of children’s authors are not always reflected in the books they wrote. Some of the most enduring and well-loved of these books were written by people whose lives…
Other than indigenous peoples, we are a nation of immigrants, those who came by choice and those who came by force. As our country keeps growing and changing with new people arriving all the time…
As Women’s History Month ends, we would like to offer you a few e-books and e-audiobooks about intrepid, adventurous women who traveled for the sheer joy of doing something different, to escape from…
The TV serialization of two novels, Sharp Objects and Big Little Lies, has brought attention to a new crop of novels. They are edgy, psychological, thriller, suspense stories with distinct…
In retrospect, it is ironic that the fire took place when it did: April 29, 1986. On that day, progress was quietly continuing with plans for a renovation of the original Central Library and a new…
This is the first book, in a series, to be translated from Japanese into English. From the illustration on the book cover and the title of the book, this might seem to be a cozy mystery. And, in some ways it is. The Kamogawa Diner is located on an insignificant...
Michael Ondaatje is first and foremost a poet whose insights, perceptions and writing style are evident, as well, in his prose. Generally he is well known for his historical novel, The English Patient, and the eponymous film. Even though the film differed, somewhat, from the novel, it was just as...
In her cookbook/memoir/history Tanya Holland organizes recipes in four chapters arranged by the seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), preceded with a lovely foreward by Alice Walker. In the introduction the successful American chef, restaurateur, podcaster, writer and cookbook author states, “I claim it all,” Black, African American, from the African diaspora...
Katalin Karikó shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023, with Drew Weissman “for their discoveries concerning base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19." Her journey to this achievement could not have been predicted by her, or by anyone else. Her life and work...
The story of how this manuscript was found and eventually published is a serendipitous adventure, with many discoveries about the woman who created it and connections with some of the people who knew her. In 2013 Sarah Rich was at an exhibition of the California International Antiquarian Book Fair in...
Sheila Johnson has had an exceptionally rewarding personal and professional life, overcoming many obstacles that would have discouraged and leveled many other people. All her life, from the time she was very young, Sheila Johnson has worked steadily and relentlessly. Among her many accomplishments are: co-founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television)...
Both the title and book jacket of Rory Stewart's political memoir are ironic. The title because it is emblematic of Rory Stewart’s sincere attempts to make a difference, domestically and internationally, by entering British politics, in which he was frequently confounded by the motivational tactics of other politicians. It was...
You know the melodies, the tunes, the lyrics, the remixes because you have heard them, and you do hear them everywhere: the radio, piped-in in stores, online, e-media, movies … Sometimes it’s just the music, sometimes it's the music and the lyrics. There is a certain brightness, rhythm, saucy innuendo...
Although it might not be apparent from his off-beat, congenial stories and stretched-to-the-limit puns, Ciscoe Morris is an expert gardener, whose inordinate enthusiasm and expertise has created a loyal following. He is well known in the northwest with his weekly radio program on KSQM 91.5, and according to his website...
As First Lady of the United States (1961 - 1963), then as the wife of one of the world’s richest men (1968 - 1975), until the time of her death in 1994, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was among the most photographed and well known women in the world. But did...
