December 12, 2008

Off the Shelf

Book clubs can give new spark to reading life

By Joy Kim
Special to the Times

Make the most of your reading experiences by joining one of the Evergreen Branch Library’s book clubs! Book clubs are a great way to give a new spark to your reading life. They’ll introduce you to books you might not have otherwise read, deepen your understanding of what you do read and give you a chance to meet other people in the community.

Evergreen Branch Library hosts two book clubs, one for adults and one for teens. Our adult book group meets the first Wednesday of every month from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Community Room. The book that we will be discussing at our Jan. 7 meeting is Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck, the story of a group of paisano friends living near Monterey. If you are interested in knowing what titles are under consideration for future meetings, please contact us at ev.sjpl@sjlibrary.org and we will send you a list.

Second Fridays, our brand new book club for teens ages 13-18, meets (you guessed it) the second Friday of each month from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Community Room. At our Jan. 9 meeting, we’ll be discussing Shattering Glass by Gail Giles, a suspense thriller about what happens when Rob, the leader of the senior class, decides to turn the school nerd into Prince Charming.

Finally, if you enjoy book clubs, you’ll love participating in Silicon Valley Reads. This program asks the question, “What if everyone in Silicon Valley read the same book, at the same time, and then discussed it?” Like our branch book clubs, Silicon Valley Reads is designed to promote reading and literacy while fostering a sense of community.

The 2009 Silicon Valley Reads selection is Not a Genuine Black Man, a memoir about growing up in the 1970s in one of the first African-American families in San Leandro, and the author, Brian Copeland, will be visiting Evergreen Branch Library on Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2009 as the regular meeting of the Evergreen Adult Book Club. We hope that you will join us to meet the author and discuss the book. For more information on Silicon Valley Reads, visit www.siliconvalleyreads.org.

Evergreen Branch Library’s Calendar

For Adults and Teens

- Integral Tai Chi Classes
Mondays, 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the Community Room

Integral Tai Chi is a self-healing system that integrates tai chi, yoga, relaxation and meditation to heal the mind, body and spirit.

- Citizenship Class
Prepare for the citizenship test with others in a class setting. We will be learning about American history and government. Practice tests will be available.

Class Schedule

- Grace Church, Classroom One, first and third Tuesdays by appointment, at 7:00 p.m. Classes will be in English and Spanish and taught by Pastor John and Judith Goldstein.

- Evergreen Library, Study Room A, first and third Tuesdays, at 7:00 p.m. Classes will be taught in English and Vietnamese.

- Evergreen Library, Study Room A, Saturdays, 2:00-4:00 p.m. Classes will be in Hindi, Panjabi and English. Taught by staff from the Sikh Gurdwara.

- teensReach Meeting
Friday, Dec. 19, 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Community Room

Join our teensReach group and learn about volunteering in the library, earn community service credit, and help make the library as great as it can be. Teens ages 13-18 can pick up a teensReach application at the Evergreen information desk.

For Children and Teens

Wii gaming events for school age children and teens.

- Wii Wednesday
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:00 p.m. in the Teen Room
For Children and Families

- Storytimes
There will be no storytimes in December. Storytimes will resume in January.

- Reading Buddies
Thursdays, 4:00-5:00 p.m. in the Family Place

Children in grades K-3 can come to the library and practice their reading skills with a teen buddy.

Library Closures

Wednesday, Dec. 24 – All libraries closed

Thursday, Dec. 25 – All libraries closed

For news of other library activities, including those at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library visit: www.sjlibrary.org/about/events/. For links to RSS feeds of library events; visit http://www.sjlibrary.org/rss/index.htm.

Joy Kim is a librarian at the Evergreen Branch Library, 2635 Aborn Rd, between Capitol Expressway and White Rd. Evergreen Branch is part of the San Jose Public Library. The library’s phone number is (408) 808-3060. For more information about the library, visit the website at sjlibrary.org.