{"id":223436,"date":"2015-10-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/la-mesa-reads-oct-23-2015\/"},"modified":"2015-10-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T07:00:00","slug":"la-mesa-reads-oct-23-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/la-mesa-reads-oct-23-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Lecturas de La Mesa \u2013 23 de octubre de 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Heather Pisani-Kristl, Librarian<\/p>\n

Lifelong learning at the library<\/strong><\/p>\n

Join the La Mesa Library Book Club on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. for a discussion of \u201cThe Dressmaker\u201d by Kate Alcott. Novice seamstress Tess Collins accompanies her flamboyant employer Lucile Duff Gordon on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, where she sees the worst aspects of her traveling companion. The senatorial investigation following the Titanic disaster threatens to expose the Gordon family\u2019s corruption, and it also endangers Tess\u2019s escape from poverty. Should Tess stand on the side of justice, or think of herself? Fans of immigrant stories and historical romance will enjoy discussing this title; copies of the book can be borrowed at the library\u2019s front desk.<\/p>\n

\"dressmakerweb\"<\/a>La Mesa Library staff are fired up about STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math for young people. La Mesa, Poway and San Marcos libraries received a combined $6,500 grant from the California State Library to fund STEAM-related storytimes and afterschool programs for children in preschool through seventh grade at these three locations. Families participating in these grant-funded events will also be able to borrow kits containing child-safe equipment to experiment with STEAM ideas at home. Stay tuned for the winter announcement of our hands-on STEAM programs!<\/p>\n

On re-reading Bill Bryson<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all have books that we re-read to experience the author\u2019s cozy world. I recently asked my librarian colleagues for their favorite re-reads and received a variety of childrens and adult titles. J.K. Rowling\u2019s \u201cHarry Potter\u201d series made three appearances on the list, and \u201cAnne of Green Gables\u201d by L.M. Montgomery appeared twice. Runners-up included mysteries by Agatha Christie, \u201cTales of the City\u201d by Armistead Maupin, and Anthony Trollope\u2019s \u201cBarchester\u201d books.<\/p>\n

But the top author on my personal list is nonfiction author Bill Bryson, whose travelogue \u201cNotes from a Small Island\u201d has occupied my bookshelf and my sense of humor for years. Bryson\u2019s memoir of the Appalachian Trail, \u201cA Walk in the Woods,\u201d was recently interpreted by Robert Redford and Nick Nolte for the big screen, so it seemed like the right time for me to revisit Bryson\u2019s first major hike.<\/p>\n

\"6_notes-from-a-small-island-by-bill-bryson\"<\/a>Bryson circumambulated England, Scotland and Wales – with liberal assistance from British Rail and Guinness – before leaving his adopted Yorkshire in the early 1990s. He begins by bristling at the rules of a Kentish boardinghouse (three-minute showers and no shoes on the bedspread), but happily finds that there is no shortage of innkeepers willing to lock him out of his hotel at 9 p.m., listen meekly to his verbal tirades after he rouses them from bed, and cheerfully serve him a hearty English breakfast in the morning. Bryson\u2019s affection for his daffy but unflappable neighbors is evident throughout the memoir, and British readers reciprocated by naming \u201cNotes\u201d their nation\u2019s favorite book about the postwar years. If you enjoyed this journey the first time around, keep a lookout for Bryson\u2019s second travelogue about Great Britain, \u201cThe Road to Little Dribbling,\u201d which will be published in January 2016. As Bryson wrote in \u201cNotes\u201d: \u201cWhat other country, after all, could possibly have come up with place names like Tooting Bec and Farleigh Wallop, or a game like cricket that goes on for three days and never seems to start? Who else would think it not the least odd to make their judges wear little mops on their heads [and] compel the Speaker of the House of Commons to sit on something called the Woolsack?\u201d What other country, indeed.<\/p>\n

Notes from our friends<\/strong><\/p>\n

The community group La Mesa Conversations will put the public library in the spotlight with a panel discussion asking the question, \u201cIs the town library a valuable community partner?\u201d The discussion will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge, 4731 Date St. in La Mesa. Speakers include San Diego County Library Director Jos\u00e9 Aponte, Chula Vista Public Library Director Betty Waznis, and other local library and literacy professionals. The Friends of La Mesa Library encourage you to attend and ask your questions about the role of the public library in today\u2019s society.<\/p>\n

Have you considered a new volunteering opportunity? Book lovers are needed in the Friends of La Mesa Library Bookstore. Duties include selling gently-used books to benefit the Library\u2019s collection and events; sharing recommendations with enthusiastic customers; and keeping the bookstore tidy. Typically, volunteers give one three-hour shift per week; an application and background check are required. If you\u2019re interested, call the library at 619-469-2151 so that the bookstore manager can get in touch with you.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Heather Pisani-Kristl, Librarian Lifelong learning at the library Join the La Mesa Library Book Club on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. for a discussion of \u201cThe Dressmaker\u201d by Kate Alcott. Novice seamstress Tess Collins accompanies her flamboyant employer Lucile Duff Gordon on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, where she sees […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":747,"featured_media":222320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11548","_seopress_titles_title":"La Mesa Reads \u2013 Oct. 23, 2015","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-la-mesa-courier"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/747"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}