ADULT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Book Club
Good Reads: May and June Titles
The
Paso Robles City Library Book Club invites interested readers to
join them Thursday, May 17 and June 21 at 7:00 pm.
in the Library Conference Room for mentally stimulating
discussions of May’s chosen title, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz
Zafon, and June’s title The Planets by Dava Sobel.
The Shadow of the Wind
Barcelona 1945
- Just after the war, a great world city lies
in shadow, and a boy named Daniel awakes one day to find that he
can no longer remember his mother’s face. To console his only
child, Daniel’s widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer,
initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten
Books, a library tended by Barcelona’s guild of rare-book
dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world.
Daniel’s father coaxes him to choose a book that will have a
special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the book that he
selects, a novel called The Shadow of the Wind by one
Julian Carax, he sets out to find the rest of Carax’s work. To
his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically
destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In
fact, he may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Before
Daniel knows it, his innocent quest has opened a door into one
of Barcelona’s darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic,
madness, and doomed love. An uncanny, absorbing historical
mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the
mystical powers of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a
triumph of the storyteller’s art.
The Planets
With her New York Times and international bestsellers
Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter, Dava Sobel introduced readers
to her rare and luminous gift for weaving difficult scientific
concepts into a compelling narrative. In The Planets, Sobel
brings her full talents to bear on what is perhaps her most
ambitious topic to date - the planets of our Solar System. The
Sun’s family of planets becomes a familiar place in this guided
tour of other worlds. Sobel explores the origins and oddities of the planets through the
lens of popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music,
poetry, biography and history. Whether revealing what lies behind Venus’s cocoon of
acid clouds or capturing firsthand the excitement at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when
pictures from Cassini at Saturn are beamed to earth, this intimate account is filled with
fascination, beauty and surprise. Written in Dava Sobel’s characteristically graceful
prose, The Planets is a distinctive view of our place in the universe. It is that rare book
that will delight the experienced astronomer and, at the same time, engage anyone eager
to know the planets.
The Paso Robles Library Book Club has been meeting for over a decade, but we still always love to see new faces! Please join us for a mentally stimulating discussion beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Library Story Hour Room the third Thursday of each month. Call Karen Christiansen at 237-3870 for more information, or download a flyer to see what title we will be reading next. Download the Book Club Flyer.
Book Group Reading Kits
Attention All Book Group Members!
Reading Group Kits include ten copies of a proven title and laminated discussion questions - all in a handy book bag for easy transportation. These kits have been in such demand that this year the Library has more than doubled its collection size! Designed to aid local book groups, Reading Group Kits ensure that each member has a copy of the title to read and that the discussion is thought provoking. Kits check out for six weeks to give groups plenty of time to read and discuss the title before they must be returned.
If you are a member of a book group, visit the Paso Robles City Library soon to choose your group’s next title! For more information about Reading Group Kits, contact Karen Christiansen, Adult Services Librarian, at 237-3870.
Download a list of Book Group Kit titles.
Adult Collection
The Paso Robles City Library offers users a broad range of materials:
Fiction (including special sections for Mysteries, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Westerns, and Young Adult)
Non-fiction (including special California collections and Career and Educational Test books)
Books on Tape (audio cassettes) or CD
Large Print (including both fiction and non-fiction)
Paperbacks (including both fiction and non-fiction and Young Adult)
Reference (including special sections for encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, maps, auto repair manuals, and government documents)
Video Cassettes (fiction and non-fiction)
Local History
Microfilm (local newspapers and other special items)
Microfiche (back issues of periodicals and a wide selection of phone books from other areas)
Pamphlets
Newspapers
Investment Aids (including Value Line and the Weiss Ratings)
Periodicals (current year plus two past years)
Braille Institute Library Talking Books
Music Audio Cassettes
Music CDs
DVDs
New Books
Rental Books are bestsellers that are in high demand, often having a waiting list of 100 or more; if you don’t want to wait, pay the $2.00 rental fee for a one-week rental.
Spanish Language (including reference, fiction, non-fiction, paperbacks, AV materials, magazines)
See more Activities in our Recreation Services Department!
