Between the Lines: Sacramento Library has summer reading for all ages
June 7, 2010
You've reached that stage of adulthood where you envy kids who get to participate in a summer reading program and connect over some good books.
Well, the Sacramento Public Library is inviting adults back into the fun this summer, offering 580 free "entertaining and educational" opportunities to everyone — from preschoolers to adults. The programs will be at the library's 27 locations through August.
In the interest of keeping cool, the themes are "Make a Splash" (children), "Making Waves" (teens) and "Water Your Mind" (adults). Join the party at (916) 264-2920, www.saclibrary.org, or at any library branch.
It's worth noting one library program — "How Austentatious!" — which will appeal to the legion of Jane Austen fans out there.
Can there be enough Austen? Obviously not.
David Bell, an expert on Austen and a professor at California State University, Sacramento, leads "How Austentatious!" — a 12-part series of free book discussions at 2 p.m. on selected Sundays each month, through November, at the Sacramento Central Library, 828 I St.
This Sunday, enjoy a presentation on Regency-era etiquette and social customs that were at the heart of Austen's novels. On June 27, the era's means of transportation (think horse-drawn carriages) are examined.
For other sessions, call (916) 264-2920 or visit www.saclibrary.org. Registration is not required. Note that metered street parking is free on Sundays.
Twain time again
Mark Twain's tales still make the world laugh out loud, but his upcoming autobiography could be a different story.
The humorist spent the last decade of his life on the first-person project, and directed that his 5,000 pages of tell-all not be published until a century after his demise (1910).
The time has come. The University of California Press will release the first of three hefty volumes of Twain's grousings and frank opinions, largely dealing with those close to him and the hot-button topics of the era. Look for the 800-page book in November.
Leg up on college reading
If your children ages 14-18 are seeking a head start on college reading requirements, they'll want to review the summer reading list recommended by admissions expert Katherine Cohen, CEO of IvyWise, a company that counsels college-bound students. It's at www.ivywise.com/booklist.htm.
Must tell of these
I couldn't leave without sharing some titles that caught my eye recently:
"Frankenstein: Lost Souls" by Dean Koontz (Bantam, $27, 368 pages; June 15): In this fourth entry in Koontz's "Frankenstein" series, the mad doctor strives for world domination, beginning in a Montana town.
"Blood Harvest" by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur, $25.99, 384 pages): The author's third macabre thriller ("Awakening," "Sacrifice") mixes gothic- supernatural with psychology, and pours the concoction into a mysterious old house near a cemetery.
"The Rule of Nine" by Steve Martini (William Morrow, $26.99, 400 pages): In his 11th adventure, California attorney Paul Madriani again goes up against the assassin known as Liquida Muerte, as well as a new villain ? the terrorist Thorn.
"Don't Shoot the Ice Cream Man" by James Waste (Ringwalt, $17.99, 456 pages): After a successful engineering career, the author was recruited by the CIA as a "covert observer behind the Iron Curtain and later along the ancient Silk Road of Central Asia." This is his memoir.
"Fair, Balanced and Dead" by Steve Swatt (Trafford, $23.49, 336 pages): Former political reporter and broadcaster Swatt drew on his credential to write a mystery set in "the halls of power at the state Capitol."
"Agents of Treachery," edited by Otto Penzler (Vintage, $15.95, 448 pages): In what the editor calls the "first collection of original, international-adventure short stories," 14 masters of espionage (including Lee Child, Stephen Hunter, Gayle Lynds) show their expertise. It's getting starred reviews.
