By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

We’ve talked about how wonderful books can be, so I thought I’d share with you some of the books I’ve enjoyed these last few years. There are fiction books, non fiction books, and graphic novels. There are singles titles, and entire series. There is high brow and beach reads. There are all types of wonderful and meaningful in here. Some of them if I re-read them now might disappoint me but I’m not re-reading them there are too many new things to read. I hope you enjoy them.
Updated 4.11.2010
FICTION

AUTHOR               TITLE (publication date) (General Subject Matter)
Adiga, Arvind    White Tiger(2007) (India)
Alsanea, Fajaa     Girls of Ridyah(2007)(Saudi Arabia)
Barbery, Muriel       Elegance of the Hedgehog(2008)(Paris/Life/People)
Becker, Stephen    Blue-Eyed Shan(1983)(China)
Chinese Bandit(1977)(China)
Dog Tags(1987)
Last Mandarin(1979)(China)
Belfer, Lauren        City of Light(2002)(Buffalo, NY around 1900)
Berry, Steve     Entire Cotton Malone Series(Adventure,espionage)
Bosse, M.   WarLord(1984)
Fire in Heaven(1985)
Bradby, Thomas       Master of Rain(2003)
Bradley, Alan        Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie(2009)
Brooks, Geraldine        People of the Book (2001)
Brown, Rita Mae         Rubyfruit Jungle (1988)
Buck, Pearl        The Good Earth (1931, Pulitzer Prize)(China)
Bull, Bartle          White Rhino Hotel(1992)
Cisneros, Sandra       The House on Mango Street (1991)
Clavel. James     Shogun(1975)(Japan)
Whirlwind(1987)
Taipan(1966)(Hong Kong)
King Rat(1962)
Cleary, John      High Road to China( 1983)(China)
Coetzee, J.M.        Disgrace (1999, Booker Prize)
Conroy, Pat     Prince of Tides (1986)
Courter, Gay         Flowers in the Blood(1991)(India)
Cunningham, Michael         The Hours (1998)
Desai Hidier, Tanjua         Born Confused (2002)(India)
Desai, Kiran       The Inheritance of Loss (2006, Man Booker Prize)(India)
Drummond, Emma      Beyond All Frontiers (1985)(India)
Forget the Glory (1987)(India)
Fast, Howard   Immigrants(1977)
Second Generation(1978)
Follett, Ken   Eye of the Needle (1978)
The Key to Rebecca (1980)
Funke, Cornelia    Dragon Rider(2004)
InkHeart(2003)
Thief Lord(2005)
Gaan, M     Blue Mountain(1987)(China)
Red Barbarian(1984)(China)
Little Sister(1983)(China)
White Poppy(1985)(China)
Gaines, Earnest J.   A Lesson Before Dying (1993, National Book Critics Circle Award)
Godshalk, C. S.    Kalimantaan (1998)
Goldberg, Myla     Bee Season (2000)
Golden, Arthur      Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel (1997)(Japan)
Haddon, Mark    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003)
Haji, Nafisa          Writing on My Forehead (2009)(Pakistan/USA)
Harter, Evelyn       Bosom of the Family (1985)(India)
The Wink  (1986)(India)
Hill, Lawrence     Someone Knows My Name
Hosseini, Khaled         The Kite Runner (2003)
Hunter, Stephen     All the Bobby Lee Swagger book
Irving, John     Cider House Rules (1985)
Ishiguro, Kazuo        An Artist of the Floating World (1986)
Kaye, M.M.   Far Pavillions (1978)(India)
Shadow of the Moon ( 1957)(India)
Kingsolver, Barbara   Animal Dreams (1990)
Poisonwood Bible (1998)
Lahiri, Jhumpa        The Namesake (2003)(India/USA)
Li, Nam    The Boat (2008)
Lord, Betty Bao      Spring Moon: A Novel of China (1981)
Markandaya, Kamala       Nectar in a Sieve (1995)(India)
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia     One Hundred Years of Solitude (1970)
Martel, Yann    Life of Pi (2004)
Mason, Daniel      The Piano Tuner (2002)(Thailand)
Masters, John  Bhowani Junction(1954)(India)
Deceivers (1952)(India)
Far, Far the Mountain Peak (1966)(India)Himalayan Concerto (1976)(India)
Lotus and the Wind (1953)(India)
Nightrunners of Bengal (1951)(India)
To the Coral Strand (1962)(India)
Venus of Konpara (1960)(India)
Coromandel  (1955)(India)
Mathers, Berkely     Midnight Gun (1981)
Snowline (1973)
White Dacoit (1974)
Matsuoka, Takashi        Cloud of Sparrows (2002)(Japan)
McCarry, Charles       All the Paul Christopher Novels
McCullough, Colleen       The Thorn Birds (1977)(Australia)
Michner, James      Caravans (1963)(Afghanistan)
Mistry, Rohinton     A Fine Balance (2006)(India)
Mitchell, David    Black Swan Green (2008)
Murari, T.N.        Field of Honor (1981)(India)
Imperial Agent (1989)(India)
Last Victory (1990)(India)
Nahai, Gina       Cry of the Peacock ( 1991)(Iran)
Olden, Marc      Dai-Sho (1983)(Japan)
Gaijin (1986)(Japan)
Giri (1982)(Japan)
Kisaeng ( 1991)(Japan)
Ozeki, Ruth L.      My Year of Meats (1998)
Pasternak, Boris     Doctor Zhivago (1958)
Patchett, Ann     The Magician’s Assistant (1997)
Perry, Anne     No Graves As Yet (2003)(World War 1)
Angels in the Gloom (2005)(World War 1)
Shoulder the Sky (2004)(World War 1)
At Some Disputed Barricade ( 2007)(World War 1)
We Will Not Sleep (2007)(World War 1)
Price, Eugenia    Lighthouse (1971)(Sea Islands Georgia)
New Moon Rising (1969)(Sea Islands Georgia)
Renault, Mary      Bull from the Sea (1962)
King Must Die (1958)
Last of the Wine (1956)
Mask of Apollo (1966)
Robb, J.D.  Naked in Death (1955)
Entire Eve Dallas Series
Roy, Arundhati    The God of Small Things (1997)(India)
Scott, Paul    The Raj Quartet(India)
See, Lisa     Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005)(China)
Peony in Love (2007)(China)
Shanghai Girls (2009)(China)
Selvadurai, Shyam     Cinnamon Gardens (1999)(Sri Lanka)
Funny Boy (1994)(Sri Lanka)
Sidhwa, Bapsi   The Bride (1983)(India)
Crow Eaters (1992)(India)
Ice Candy Man (1988)(India)
Singh, K     Train to Pakistan (1956)(India)
Slaughter, Carolyn         Black Englishman (2004)(India)
Smedley, Agnes    Daughter of Earth: A Novel (1929)(China)
Smith, Zadie    White Teeth: A Novel (2000)
Staples, Suzanne Fisher     Haveli (1995)(India)
Shabanu (1991)(India)
Steinbeck, John      The Grapes of Wrath (1939, Pulitzer Prize)
East of Eden (1952)
Styron, William    Sophie’s Choice (1979?)
Sundaresan, Indu   Splendor of Silence (2006)(India)
Suri, Manil       The Death of Vishnu (2001)(India)
Swarup, Vikas   Q & A (2005)(India)
Tan, Amy         Joy Luck Club (1989)(China)
The Kitchen God’s Wife (1991)(China)
Thomas, Ross     Yellow-Dog Contract (1976)(China)
Chinamen’s Chance (1978)(China)
Brass Go Between (1969)(China)
Thomas, Will       Limehouse Text (2006)
Trevanian       Shibumi (2005)
Uris, Leon      Exodus(1958)(Israel)
Topaz (1967)
Verghese, Abraham         Cuting for Stone (2009)(Ethiopia)
Waldari, M.      The Egyptian (1949)(Egypt)
Wouk, Herman         Winds of War (1971)(World War 2)
War and Rememberance (1978)(World War 2)
Wynd, Oswald     The Ginger Tree (1977)(China)

MYSTERIES
AUTHOR       TITLE
Ball, J      Eyes of the Buddha
Cool Cottontail
Five Pieces of Jade
Winds of Mitamure
In the Heat of the Night
Barr, Nevada      Blind Descent
Block, Lawrence         Burglars series
Tanner series
Bradby, Tom         Master of Rain
Chesbro, George        Mongo Mysteries
Cleverly, Barbara     Last Kashmiri Rose(India)
Craig, A         Mysteries
Leon, Donna     Any of the Guido Brunetti Mysteries(Venice, Italy)
Doyle, Arthur Conan        The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes �
Dunlap, Susan      Any of hers about Berkeley
Dunning, John   The Bookman’s Promise— And all the  Cliff Janeway Mysteries
Follett, Ken     Eye of the Needle
Key to Rebecca
Francis, Dick        Any of his mysteries
Gilman, Dorothy      All Mysteries
Hillerman, Tony   All Mysteries
Kellerman, Faye        Peter & Reena Decker series
Kellerman, Johnathan     Alex Delaware Series
Kijewski, Karen    All the Sacramento series
King, Laurie R        Beekeeper’s Apprentice
All Mary Russell Series
Larsson, Stieg     Girl who Playedwith Fire
MacLeod, Charlotte      Mysteries
Mann, Paul        Ganja Coast(India)
Season of the Monsoon(India)
Massey, Sujata     Salaryman’s Wife(Japan)
Entire Rei Series
McCall Smith, Alexander  No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency  The entire series(Botswana)
Melville, James       A Haiku for Hanae(Japan)
Bride Wore Brocade(Japan)
Chrysanthemum Chain(Japan)
Death Ceremony(Japan)
Death of a Daimyo(Japan)
Go Gently Gaijin(Japan)
Kimono for a Corpse(Japan)
Ninth Netsuke(Japan)
Reluctant Ronin(Japan)
Sayonara Sweet Amaryllis(Japan)
Sort of Samurai(Japan)
Wages of Sin(Japan)
Peters, Elizabeth        All Amelia Peabody Books(Ancient Egypt)
Thomas, Will    Limehouse Text
Van De Wetering     Mysteries
Van Gulik, Robert      All Judge Dee Mysteries(China)
Winspear, Jacqueline       Maisie Dobbs  -  The entire series (World War 1)
�
GRAPHIC NOVELS
AUTHOR           TITLE
Bechdel, Alison       Fun House
Marchetto, Marisa      Cancer Vixen
Satrapi, Marjane    Chicken with Plums (2006)(Iran)
Persepolis I (2003)(Iran)
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return ( 2004)(Iran)
Thompson, Craig        Blankets: An Illustrated Novel
Vaughan, Brian K.       Pride of Baghdad: Inspired by a True Story
Willingham, Bill et al.      Fables – Entire Series
Yang, Gene Yuen    American Born Chinese
NONFICTION
AUTHOR     TITLE
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi     Infidel(Somalia/Autobiography)

Angelou, Maya      I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(Autobiography)

Arana, Marie      American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood (2001)(Autobiography)
Ashe, Arthur and Arnold Rampersad       Days of Grace: A Memoir (1993)(Autobiography)
Ashton-Warner, Sylvia       Spinster(Autobiography)
Bahrampour,Tara        To See and See again(Iran)(Autobiography)
Baker, Nicholson       Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper (2001)
Baldwin, S.S.   What the Body Remembers(India)(Autobiography)
Beach, Sylvia         Shakespeare and Co.(Books)
Blanch, Leslie       Wilder Shores of Love(Travel)
Beah, Ismael        Long Way Gone(Autobiography)
Bourdain, Anthony       Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly(Autobiography)
Bradley, James        Fly Boys: A True Story Of Courage (2003)(World War 2)
Brooks, Geraldine   Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women (1995)
Bryson, Bill        A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (1998)(Autobiography)
All of his travel books
Buzbee, Lewis      The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History (2006)
Cahill, Susan (editor) Desiring Italy (1997)
Chalon, F     Portrait of a Seductress(Natalie Clifford Barney)
Child, Julia       My Life in France(Autobiography)
Collins & LaPierre    Freedom at Midnight(India)
Is Paris Burning
Conway, Jill Ker      The Road from Coorain (1990)(Autobiography)
Copeland, Brian          Not a Genuine Black Man: Or, How I Claimed My Piece Of Ground In The Lily-White Suburbs (2006)(Autobiography)
Davidson, Cathy  36 Views of Mount Fuji(Japan)
Devi, G      A Princess Remembers((India)
Didion, Joan      The Year of Magical Thinking (2005)(Autobiography)
Douglas, Scott       Quiet Please(Public Libraries)(Autobiography)
Dumas, Firoozeh     Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America(Autobiography)
Eire, Carlos  Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy (2003, National Book Award)(Autobiography)
Fadiman, Anne     The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures (1998)
Fisher, M.F.K.   Long ago in France(Autobiography)
Two Towns in Provence(Autobiography)
Fox, J.    White Mischief(Kenya)
Fraser, Keith        Bad Trips(Travel)
Freire, Paolo     Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Fussel, Paul       Abroad(Travel)
Gawande, Atul     Complications
Gilbert, Elizabeth    Eat Pray Love(Travel/India/Italy/Indonesia/Autobiography)

Godden, Rumer     A Time to Dance No Time to Weep(India/Autobiography)
A House with Four Rooms(India/Autobiography)
Grealy, Lucy     Autobiography of a Face (1994)
Hochschild, Adam      King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa (1998)(Congo)
Jaffrey, Madhur     Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India (2006)(Autobiography)
Johnson, Marilyn    The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries (2006)
Kamdar, Mira      Motiba’s Tattoo: A Granddaughter’s Journey into her Indian Family’s Past (2000)(Autobiography)
Karr, Mary     The Liar’s Club: A Memoir (1995)(Autobiography)
Kaysen, Suzanna     Girl, Interrupted (1994)(Autobiography)
Kidder, Tracy     Mountains Beyond Mountains (2003)(Paul Farmer)
Krakauer, Jon    Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster (1997)
Kutherton, B    No One Said Not to Go(Travel/China)
Lagnado, Lucette      Man in the White Sharkskin Suit(Autobiography/Egypt))
Lamott, Anne    Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year (1993)(Autobiography)
Lansing, Alfred     Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (1959)
Lord, Betty Bao     Spring Moon(Autobiography)(China)
Maathai, Wangari    Unbowed (2006)(Kenya/Autobiography)
Macfarlane, Alan and Iris Macfarlane           Empire of Tea: The Remarkable History of the Plant that Took over the World (2004)(Tea)
Mar, M. Elaine      Paper Daughter(Autobiography)
Markham, Beryl      West with the Night (Aviation/Kenya/Autobiography, 1942)
McBride, James      The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother (1996)
McCourt, Frank     Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir (1996)(Autobiography)
Morris, Mary     Maiden Voyage(Travel)
Mortenson, Greg        Three Cups of Tea(Afghanistan, Pakistan)
Murphy, Dervla         Full Tilt(Autobiography/Travel/Bicycling from Ireland to India)
Tibetan Foothold (Travel/India/Autobiography)
Where the Indus was Young(Travel/India/Autobiography)
The Waiting Land(Travel/India/Autobiography)
All of her Travel books
Nafisi, Azar      Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (2003)(Iran/Autobiography)
Namu, Gene Yuen and Christine Mathieu        Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World (2003)(China/Autobiography)
Nazeer, Kamran     Send in the Idiots       (Autism)
Obama, Barack      Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (2004)(Autobiography)
Orlean, Susan      The Orchid Thief (1998)(Orchids)
Pollan, Michael     The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World
Raban, Johnathan         Arabia ( Saudi Arabia/Travel/Autobiography)
Rappaport, Roger      I Should have Stayed Home(Travel)
Rau, D. Rama      An Inheritance(India/Autobiography)
Reichl, Ruth       Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table (1999)(Food/Autobiography)
Roach, Mary       Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003)
Sacks, Oliver       Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (2001)(Autobiography)
Sarton, May     Journal of a Solitude(Autobiography)
Her journals
Seal, Jeremy      Snakebite Survivors Club(Snakes)
Seth, Vikram   From Heaven Lake(Travel/China/India/Autobiography)
Smedley, Agnes     Daughter of Earth(China/Autobiography)
Smith, Huston      Religions of Man(Religion)
Tales of Wonder (2009)(Autobiography)
Stewart, Rory      Places In Between(Afghanistan/Travel/Autobiography)
Suyin, Han      Mountain is Young(Autobiography)
Till Morning Comes(Autobiography)
Destination Chungking(Autobiography)
Crippled Tree(Autobiography)
Phoenix Harvest(Autobiography)
Birdless Summer(Autobiography)
Mortal Flower(Autobiography)
My House has Two Doors(Autobiography)
Theroux, Paul         Great Railway Bazaar(Travel/India/Autobiography)
Dark Star Safari(Travel/Africa/Autobiography)
Twigger, Robert      Big Snake(Snakes)
Walker, Rebecca     Black, White and Jewish (Autobiography)
Walls, Jeannette       The Glass Castle: A Memoir (2005)(Autobiography)
Warren, Frank      PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions From Ordinary Lives (2005)
My Secret: A PostSecret Book (2006)
Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book (2007)
Wheeler, Sara       Terra Incognita : Antartica(Travel/AntarticaAutobiography)
Travels in a Thin County(Travel/Chile/Autobiography)
Wickes, George       The Amazon of Letters: The Life and Loves of Natalie Barney (1976)
Winchester, Simon      The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary – (Biography) (1998)
X, Malcolm      The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)(Biography)
Yung, Judy      Adventures of Eddie Fung(Autobiography)
Zeppa, Jamie   Beyond the Sky and Earth(Travel)

If there are books by the same author that I have not mentioned, it might mean I have not read them versus I did not recommend them. I would be interested in your book recommendations, let me know what you have read that you’ve enjoyed.

I do apologize if I have remember the subject matter incorrectly.

Reading is Fundamental… at least to some of us.

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

There was an interesting essay in the New York Times on Monday February 28, 2010 about reading the classics of literature as an adult. The woman who wrote the essay, said she was illiterate; “I was illiterate. At least, I was as close to illiterate as a person with over 20 years of education could possibly be.” (1) To me, who works in a public library, reading the classics of literature as an adult instead of as a young person does not constitute illiteracy. I think that her essay was fine in that it was inviting people to enjoy reading, to realize how much literature can positively affect us as adults. The essay was saying that literature broadens us and enriches us, it can teach us about life. Those are all fine and commendable arguments but it doesn’t erase that she equated being unread of a certain canon with being illiterate. I work with people who cannot read the job application they so desperately need to fill out. They cannot read the union safety laws which could prevent them from being injured if they are lucky enough to work where a union works to protect their working conditions. They cannot help their children when their children need their help. That is so much more important an issue and one not so easily solved as a woman who has all the requisite tools to enjoy a wider reading list.

Now that there are so many different kinds of people in the U.S. there are also different kinds of illiteracy. Some people cannot read and write in English but they can in their mother language. That is one type of deficit. This can be helped with English as a Second Language.

There are people who did not have education in their mother tongue so they cannot read and write in any language. Often this is now helped with literacy in the mother language and then working on English.

There are also people who need help in sign language in their mother language and then in English.

For those of us who are lucky enough to have learned how to read and write in our mother language, sometimes it is hard to contemplate what it would mean to you if everything written including this blog were denied you. If you could not read the menu at a fast food restaurant let alone a fancy restaurant you want to take your date to how d that impact you? Volunteering in a literacy program is one of the ways you can help.

The people who tutor in the Hayward Public Library’s adult literacy program, Literacy Plus, are volunteers. They work with their adult learners week after week assisting them in learning how to read and write English. This opening up of the world of words is a process unlike any other. It is the empowering of a person, enabling them to enrich themselves in ways they were never able to before. Many volunteers have worked for years in Literacy, helping one person after another learn to read and write. Many report that the effort they put into this mentoring provides them with rewards that are truly incalculable. They have changed someone’s life for the better forever & will never be forgotten by their students. If you want to be part of this program, contact:

Literacy Plus
(510) 881-7910
literacyplus@hayward-ca.gov

(1)Schine,Cathleen. (2010, February 26). I was a Teenage Illiterate The New York Times retrieved  from http:www.nytimes.com.  A version of this article appeared in print on Schine,Cathleen (2010,February 28).I was a Teenage Illiterate The New York Times. pp 23 Sunday Book Review. Cathleen Schine’s most recent novel is “The Three Weissmanns of Westport.”

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

One of the trials of my moving to California from Massachusetts that I didn’t envision and that no one warned me about was the loss of humor for a while. If you move to a place where you know no one, then you cannot joke. It is as simple and ugly as that.

If I were to attend a comedy club in Iceland where all the comics were Icelandic, I would undoubtedly miss all the really good jokes(This is even if the comics were speaking English which is the only language I understand- and why would a rocking club in Reykjavik have English speaking comics when the audience would be speaking Icelandic?). I don’t know any Icelandic history ( think all the George Washington, Abe Lincoln, George Bush jokes you’ve heard), I’m not proud of this. I know nothing about Icelandic eating habits, (think all the American fusion diet jokes, the as American as Apple Pie jokes). I know no Icelandic authors (even though I hear that they have some good mystery authors( Arnaldur Indriðason -Reykjavik Murder Mysteries 1. Jar City (2004) aka Tainted Blood 2. Silence of the Grave (2005) 3. Voices (2006) 4. The Draining Lake (2007) 5. Arctic Chill (2008) 6. Hypothermia (2009) and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir Last Rituals ( 2005) and My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland(2007)).

Think of some stupid joke; a duck walks into a bar. The bartender hands him a drink ( the newest Pomegranate margarita or mojito) and says; “That’s $25.97. How do you want to pay for that? The duck says; “same as always put it on my bill.”

Ok to understand that award winning joke, you have to know some cultural context. You need to know what a duck is, why it is unusual for a duck to walk into a bar, what a bar is, who the bartender is ( and all the bartender jokes) and then you have to understand why the punch line has a double meaning.

Ok, back to me coming to California. All the attempts at humor were in English. But I didn’t know any Californian geography( or distances between towns or cities), history, notables(Herb Caen, the twins), reputations(Why would anyone voluntarily go to Fresno?), institutions( Thrifty Jr., Albertsons, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Candlestick, the maze, Telegraph, the Haight, Stern Grove, The Greek Theatre.

One kind of humor is repetitive. If I say something like Excusssse Meee (think Steve Martin in the 80s), if I say it repeatedly, in every conversation, eventually it might become funny. It might not, it might become tedious boring and really annoying. If I tell a weird story where something doesn’t make sense but the rest of the story is absolutely normal, that might be funny ( Think Monty Python re dead Parrot or the Council of the Funny Walk). If I tell a story and something truly unexpected happens that might be funny. There are lots of different kinds of humor but a lot of it depends of some shared assumptions. If you are new to a place, a culture, a group of people, you have to be careful of your assumptions and many times you should not assume that others share them.

In the early days here in California, I was struck again and again by saying things I thought were perfectly normal and having people stare at me and say after a polite pause, “What?” Clearly what I had said to them had not been understood as I meant it, let alone as a humorous remark. I would then retreat and answer politely, and go another day without exchanging any humor with anyone. It was fascinating to watch when I would risk another humorous try. I always considered it a mark of true friendship when I knew someone well enough not to have to think before joking. I also found there were definitely times when I would be taken aback when someone would actually joke with me out of the blue. Be it at the grocery store, or in line at the bank (when one still stood in line at the bank).

I have lived in other parts of the world where language divided me from people and the ability to joke, but this move was the first time I was aware of being denied humor simply because I did not know people well enough to joke with them.

It was also a lesson for me in that I do not want to live long without some humorous interaction. I might have to but I always prefer a little humor…

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

Recently I had a computer set-back. If you work with computers, and I think the majority of people do these days, you will have some sort of accident, mishap, disaster, meltdown, glitch or simply a little oops moment. Mine was that I had over 1500 photos entered into my IPHOTO on my home computer. They were in various folders all within that same software program IPHOTO. Some were scanned from old photos. Some were silly snapshots I had taken with my digital camera but liked well enough to save. Some of them documented events, like my cousin’s 90^th birthday party. Some of them were simply shots of images I liked. They comprised over 6 years of photographs. In some cases the original photos date from the 1800s (these were the ones that I had scanned in).

A month ago they all vanished without a clue in a single moment. What happened no one knows. I have had a technician look for them but he could find no clue. After that single moment, one has to move on.

Step One. Accept what has happened. My photos are gone.

Step Two. See if someone can help recover what was lost. I thought of a computer technician I know and engaged him to investigate.

Step Three. Accept it if they say the item is gone, that it is in fact gone. He looked and said he could find no trace of my photos.

Step Four. Move on. So not let this loss stop your enjoyment of photography, of working with computers, of life.

I am in step four. I am moving on. I do not yet know if there are copies of some of those photos elsewhere. I will figure that out when I start rescanning photos. I will miss some of the photos which are not going to be rescanned. I will miss some of the images that can not be recovered. It does me no good to mope or to try and figure out some new technician to ask- I have asked the question and gotten it answered by a good, capable technician who looked for the photos. I think that these situations are good mini practices for the big losses in life.

I am sad, don’t get me wrong. I can’t be too sad though. Part of it is my own fault. Did I back up each photo by saving it somewhere else as well as in IPHOTO? No. That is the end of the story. If I had stored each and every image in IPHOTO and also on a cd-rom, I would have only lost what was stored on the computer, I would be able to reload the photos and go on with nothing more than a few minutes spent importing the photos.

Granted we can not guard against all of life’s tragedies but with computers we can safeguard our files by saving them in more than one location. Put your files on a cd-rom, or in another application. I can put my photos in both IPHOTO and simply elsewhere in a separate folder (that is not connected to IPHOTO).

I also want to stress, this loss like the bigger more important losses that are bound to happen to us, is not something to stop us, not meant to end our enjoyment of life, it is simply a way to remind me in this case to be more vigilant in saving my images and to appreciate them while I have them. Of course in life as in photography, the real lesson is to enjoy your life as you are living it, not rely on some printed form of it to substitute for the real thing.

As you go forth, safeguard your work, savor it while you create it, and then if something happens, you will have had the enjoyment of the moment when you created it as well as the memory of your work. Let my story remind you to safe your work before something happens.

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

I recently read a great piece by Monique le Conge who is Director of the Richmond, CA Public Library system. She wrote an article entitled 7 Ways Your Public Library Can Help You During Tough Economic Times.
I liked her ideas so much I wanted to customize it; 25 Ways The Hayward Public Library Will Help You Survive Tough Times. Here are my ideas:
1.)    We’re here for you and we lend our materials free of charge. How great is that?! It’s free to get a Hayward Public Library card. It’s the MASTER key that opens every door. The doors of opportunity, of education, of relaxation, of family togetherness, of possibility, and self discovery all can be opened with a free Hayward Public Library card.

2.)    We have public access computers with internet access to help you look for jobs, submit job applications, file your resume on various list servs and receive emails concerning jobs and interviews.

3.)    Those same computers can help you write your resume and we have printers that can print out your resume if you are submitting it in person somewhere.

4.)    Those same computers can also be used to keep in touch with friends and family during these times when we need all the emotional support we can get.

5.)    We loan DVDs and videos to both provide instruction to help you learn something new ( like cooking or Taibo) as well as simple entertainment when you are relaxing.

6.)    We loan audio books and cassettes to help with the commute when you live far away from your job and have quite a commute. The audio books are fiction, nonfiction and language instruction. That means you can enjoy a good mystery while driving, learn Russian or learn Donald trump’s secrets of salesmanship. Put that commute time to good use.

7.)    We also loan downloadable audio books and Ebooks( think free Kindle).Explore these possibilities either during your commute or when doing chores, increase the time you can learn or enjoy books. Someone reads them aloud and you download them to your computer, MP3 player or other device.

8.)    We loan Books. These come in all shapes and sizes, fiction, non-fiction, in various languages and for children, teens and adults. Books can teach us how to write a resume, how to conduct a job interview, how to write a cover letter and which jobs are going to pay us what we need to make. Books can also take us away from the everyday reality by transporting us to another time, another place, even another galaxy. They can make us see the world differently, they can help us to understand the world in which we live and they can help us to change ourselves.

9.)    We have book groups where you can join a community of readers and explore mystery books, literary books, autobiographies, or books from around the globe. These groups can provide a forum for discussions and can also provide a loose structure to explore a subject like autobiography. The group means you don’t have to do all the work yourself. It is not like a college class but it has the rewards without the papers, the exams and the professor. It can provide companionship, intellectual interaction and some great reading.

10.)    We provide computer classes to get you started in the complex world of computers.

11.)    We offer English Conversation groups as a means where people learning English as a Second Language can come together and practice speaking English.

12.)    We also offer a wide range of one time programs ranging from an evening learning about Arabic Calligraphy to Japanese Brush Painting. We offer music  from local musicians, local authors come to talk about their work, we provide programs detailing how to avoid Termites, Fall prevention, craft programs as well as how to improve your writing.

13.)     We offer yoga workshops every month to give you an opportunity to come and learn to relax, to breathe and even to laugh.

14.)    We encourage and teach  literacy as the most fundamental skill that will keep us employed, employable and enjoying life.  We provide this valuable life skill in both English and in Spanish.

15.)    We offer an extensive range of programs for children, starting the day they are born.

16.)    We offer programs for children and their parents together.

17.)    We offer programs for teenagers. Some of these programs are just fun( like crafts), some are  computer games and some of them are actually learning skills and growing as a person- such as a recent photography project that culminated in a city wide gallery showing of their photographs.

18.)    We offer library services for shut-ins and seniors who can no longer get into the library. We bring the library materials out to them.

19.)    We offer a repository for living Hayward local History. We are continuing for a third year to collect video stories of Hayward residents telling of their lives in California and specifically Hayward. Come in and tell us your story. We want to save it for the generations of the present and the future.

20.)    We answer questions. If you need to know how to get to that interview in Oakland but don’t know the way, you can ask us and we can print out a map or show you on your map how best to get there. We can tell you what year Benjamin Franklin was in France if you want to find that out. We can tell you who is offering classes in Excel in the Hayward area if you want to improve your skills. We can give you the telephone number for East Bay Works. We can find the poem that starts; It was many and many a year ago in a kingdom by the sea. We can answer where to find Health or Medical issue answers(see recent entry in this blog).

21.)    We are going to be here. We have the daily papers, come in and read them. We have magazines you can follow international politics, design from Martha Stewart, Oprah’s monthly interest, magazines explaining men’s health issue. Come in, relax and read them without having to subscribe.

22.)    We loan music cds. Come in and see what relaxing or stimulating music we have from around the country and across the globe.

23.)     We offer free legal help, two to three times a month, we have a lawyer into the lawyer to answer library patron questions. The sessions are brief, just fifteen minutes but they are free, confidential and will help start the solution to the problem bothering you.

24.)    We offer many of these services in Spanish, Chinese, Farsi, Vietnamese and Hindi.

25.)    We have online services such as an online catalog, events blog, Refresh Your Life Blog, reference books, database offerings,  the ability to put  books on hold that  you are looking for, notification of the status of your books, online payment of fines, and many many other online resources.

Taking a line from long ago and far away and changing it a bit…;

Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.

(I think this was an R.Crumb line; Drugs will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no drugs. I like mine better- no offense RC)

‘image: www.freeimages.co.uk’

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

When I hear people talk about public libraries, many people think of old fashioned public libraries. We at Hayward have really changed into one of the new wave of public libraries. We do many things that help people when and where they need that help. We are always interested in hearing from people who have suggestions of how we can use our tools to reach more people. Do any of you have any suggestions? Would people like tweets from the library? If you answer yes, what kind of information would you want to receive? Someone suggested that appropriate tweets would be only when our plans changed; such as if the scheduled “Lawyer in the Library” program was cancelled for one day but was rescheduled for another. Are there other suggestions?

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

I forgot to mention the other day one other trick I use to remember what is said to me; I write it down. When I listen to a program on tv that interests me, or if I go to hear someone speak, I take notes.

The actual physical act of writing down what is being said while I am hearing it sends an additional message to my brain that this is something I want to remember. It is yet another way to remember it as well, since now I have both heard it and seen it (as I am writing).

Just one more little trick. I would still love to hear from you about the tricks or methods you employ to help you maximize your gifts and minimize your skill deficits.

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

When I say the library is an oasis, think in the big sense not in the quiet sense. In these days when money is in short supply for everyone, it is a good time to reflect on the wealth of fun and adventure available for free at the Hayward Public Library.

Have you ever heard of Library browsing? This is a great cheap sport. There are no referees, no uniforms and only a few errors that could get you thrown out of the game.

Step 1. You go to your local library, in our case the Hayward Public Library.

Step 2.You pick an area to explore. Let’s say fiction. That’s always fun.

Step 3. You start at a random letter and you look at the shelves. This means you aren’t looking for a particular book. You’re not checking to see if War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is in. You are simply browsing through the Ms to see if anything appeals.

Now since we have little space and many books, all the titles are showing only their spines. That makes it hard to see enough to judge a book by its cover. This is where the fun comes in.

Step 4. pull out a book, examine it, read the back cover or the inside cover blurbs. Open to a random page and read a paragraph or start at the beginning and read the first page. Does it capture you? Are you interested? Have you ever thought about this as a book to read? The great thing about the library is that you can take it out and try it. If you don’t like it, simply return it the next day and start again.

I can’t tell you how many great authors I have found this way. At a book store, sometimes there is a table of fiction all lying face up and you can browse by covers. This is called marketing and we only have the room to do that with the newest books. In Hayward, we have these set aside in a bookcase near the front door so you can see them as you walk in. new books are fabulous but I would say, do not forget the books that are a little older. They can represent hours of fun without having to wait in line.

We have some other aids to help you in your browsing, we have little stickers on some of the novels. There is one which identifies that the author is African-American, one that identifies the author as Asian and one that identifies the author as Latino/a. These are simply to help you before you pull the book off the shelf to examine it.

We have a separate Mystery section, ditto Science Fiction and Western. We don’t have a separate romance section since isn’t romance a part of almost all of our lives?

If you discover an author who has written a series, we (Librarians) can help you find the other books in the series and how to identify which books come in which sequence.

This same sport can be played in any of the sections of the library including the non-fiction, the audio books, the music CDs, the movies(either video or DVD) and even the EBOOKS.

If you don’t know about the EBOOKs; let me explain them a bit. They are a resource that you sign up for inside the library. Then at home if you have a computer that has internet access, you can access a book that will display on your computer. At home, you read the entire book on your computer screen. These are often used when the entire book doesn’t need to be read but simply a portion has to be referred to for research or other specific non-fiction research. You might have heard of the Amazon.com KINDLE. That device is for EBOOKS. It is a stand alone product. We use your computer so there is no expense  incurred by you using our EBOOKS, as there is with the KINDLE and the books downloaded onto it.

We also have downloadable Audio books that you can access through your computer at home if you have signed up inside the library. These you would listen to at home through your computer and it’s internet link or you can transfer them to an MP3 device.

Enjoy the Oasis, it is an island of amazing in this land of gloom and doom. Enjoy the American Free Public Library. I know I do.

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

I was playing cards with some friends on the fourth of July. We were 4 adults playing Spite and malice, drinking tea and coffee and having a good time. As I lay in bed later reflecting on it, I thought how telling it was. I had a relaxing evening and I was savoring it. I know the value of relaxation. There was no cut throat completion, as there can be with some card games. Even one of the people on the evening of the fourth, asked if I played Bridge. I said no, it was too competitive for me. People take it too seriously. If I am going to relax then I do not want to compete. I want to enjoy the little mental puzzles, not any big ones. I know which card to play but if I flub up, no one cares, not even me.
I think that it’s a hard thing for us to learn in this society; when to relax and why. I see people who are ambitious and do not see any value in relaxing. I see people in their careers, fearing relaxing because if they go away for a week, they will not want to go back to that killer schedule, or those mind numbing meetings. They are afraid if they step out of the “rat race” it will move on without them and they will be left behind.
Years ago I was in business for myself. I took no vacations for the first years of my business. I was it. If I wasn’t working, no one was and so no work was getting done. I was single, living alone, it worked fine for about five years and then I felt I needed a break. I took a month off. I went geographically away from my business and home. When I came back I had decided to sell my business and did. To make that decision, I needed perspective that I couldn’t get while running on the treadmill I called my sole proprietorship. I have never regretted either the working so hard on that business nor the decision to sell it.
I now see how important relaxation is to any project. In writing, you need to let the words sit for a period, so you can go back to them fresh and see what is actually on the page, not the projection of what you think you have written. In painting, you need to let the paint dry, you need to come back to it to see the colors and how they interact once dried and set.
In intellectual pursuits, it is just as true. If you’re working on a big paper or project, you need to work and then sit back. You need to be able to clear your mind of the details and the minutiae. You need to be able to look at the big blocks, then go look at the details. Only stepping back, turning your back on these things will let their true nature be revealed as it is.
In fine dining they always say you have to cleanse your palate to be able to appreciate the next course. I think it is also true of your brain especially when creativity is involved. Relaxing is nature’s way of cleansing the palate of your mind so we can appreciate the next course of life, whatever it is.
Ok, so we’ve decided we need to relax. Do something else, what should we do? I mentioned playing cards. I know so many people who see it as a waste of time. You actually spend money to take home 54 little slips of paper and then you waste time flipping them over. Of course some of us see it differently.
I think anything repetitive that requires a bit of mental effort ( not too much) is great for this curative relaxation. Besides playing cards, think knitting (or any needle or thread art( quilting, weaving, spinning, tatting, crocheting, embroidery, macrame ) or walking (we’ve covered this activities benefits in another post ( see May 16th post) I’ve already mentioned crosswords(or any word or number problems Sudoku etc.) and then there are all the logic games like go or chess or checkers.
And then there is reading. It’s a relaxation of a different kind. It can steal us away from our problems and take us for an exciting ride or to a magical land or into the future or far into the past. Reading non-fiction can help educate us about whatever it is we’re working on. If you’re writing, you need to do research. If you’re building, then it’s great to both do research but also surf the web for new and exciting solutions that other people have built. And lest we forget there is also boring reading, that can actually put you to sleep if you need it to.
I wonder at people who do not want to retire. I see retirement as a way to both keep working on my projects versus those from my employer, as a great time to volunteer for the causes I believe in as well as getting through this long list of ways to relax. I’m going to need years to get through testing them all out to see which one works the best.
Keep me posted as to which method works best for you.

By Trudy Toll, Adult Services Librarian at Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA

I need to say that the program with Jan Wahl last Saturday was a hoot! She talked about her early childhood growing up in Hollywood, she talked about wanting more smart movies, she talked about frustrations we all face. She was fabulous. She was straight forward, warm, fast paced without seeming rushed. She showed some fine clips of old movies that made you want to go out and rent them that very afternoon. When the clock struck she had to go and everyone moaned in sadness. Our two hours with her sped by faster than any spaceship in any movie. It’s rare I talk about the programs we have had here at the library but this one was really special. We will hope to have her back next year if we can raise the necessary funds. Watch some old movies and enjoy when intelligence was still a part of the movies.