Page 64 - Sonoma County Gazette Janaury 2019

HIGHLIGHTS at our Libraries - sonomalibrary.org
Jan 12 ~ P is for Parks: Nature and Books Unite! - our Sonoma County Library and Regional Parks have joined forces for bilingual story time with a park and nature theme. Join us for a fun interactive morning with songs, nature stories and nature themed crafts for children ages 3-5. All libraries are accessible. Free. 10:30-11:30a, INFO: Irma Cuevas (707) 565-7888 or by email at irma.cuevas@sonoma-county. org. Windsor Regional Library, 9291 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor.
Jan 23 ~ Social Justice Book Club - Creating a space for courageous conversations. This month: Climate Justice by Mary Robinson. Free, 6:00p - 8:00p, Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 707-823-7691, sonomacounty. libcal.com/event/4819811
Jan 30, 1 - Feb 1,2 ~ Friends of the Sebastopol Library Winter Book Sale - Books DVDs CDs for adults, teens & children in good condition & bargain priced: most at .50-$1 Free, 1/30 5p-8p, 1/31 & 2/1 10a-6p, 2/2 10a-2p, Sebastopol Library, 7140 Bodega Ave, Sebastopol, 707-823-7691
Feb 2 ~ Mac Barnett - Mac Undercover. When Mac Barnett was a kid, he was a spy. Not just any spy, but a spy for the Queen of England! Free, 4p Windsor Library, 9291 Old Redwood Highway, Windsor
Two Local Authors
By Diane McCurdy
Oftentimes we hear the phrase, “Buy Local”. Perhaps we should also abide
by the suggestion, “Read Local” as well.
Marlene Cullen of Petaluma and her group of writers have produced yet
another collection of mini-stories, vignettes and poems in her Write Spot series. The first book was entitled Discoveries, the second Connections and the third of the trilogy is entitled Reflections. Michael Browne of Forestville has also produced a trio of recent offerings. His first was The Andie Chronicles, then came Pentimento and the third is Wabbi Sabi.
Cullen is the editor of Reflections in which each author is given several pages to express their thoughts usually in a couple of different formats. At the end of each author’s section the prompt that served as inspiration is indicated. For example, one prompt was “What If?”. The writer then ruminates through her life events and speculates what if a different road had been taken. Afterward a brief biography or autobiography is given along with an account of “Why I write”. Most indicate a life-long
love affair with writing and reading. Another contributor puts it more succinctly he writes because, “he always has something to say.” Some pieces are several pages long some just a few sentences. My favorites were about a dog named Rex and another about a cat named Ana. Rex fancied himself to be a pool lifeguard of sorts and Ana was a character in a piece
prompted by the directive to tell a “Story of No Consequence”. Ana and an old man who is her caretaker become consequential through the artistry of the writer who chose to tell their story. Some parts of this anthology are poignant, some absurd, some funny. The book itself is attractive, the cover features the cool green serenity of a forest pond.
Winter’s Graces (She Writes Press/October 2018), the new book by Petaluma psychotherapist Susan Avery Stewart, Ph.D., which offers some surprisingly good news about growing older. Drawing on decades of
Michael Browne’s second most recent
publication is Pentimento which literally,
means a scratching below the surface. It is a
metaphor for paintings that are layered over
mistakes, revisions, sketches or first drafts
and for those draftsmen who peel away the
upper levels. Browne definitely delves and
probes beneath the more apparent aspects
of his life. There are stories of his wildly
adventurous youth where he travels to Korea,
India and Vietnam looking for spiritual
enlightenment. Particularly moving are his
family memories and his depiction of death
both brutal and beautiful. An engaging
section called “Brothers” deals with a group
of guys associated with Most Holy Redeemer
Catholic Church in San Francisco’s Castro
district. He recalls each as they succumb to AIDS. Interspersed with prose
is poetry but Browne’s prose is poetry as well with an extreme sensitivity to all the senses, colors, nature, weather, light. Impressive is his paean to San Francisco: “There are few cities that engender as much passionate attachment .....mesmerizing....the Golden Gate bridge.....it’s massive, muscular, clean-lined deco towers and feminine, graceful garlands of steel continue to enchant with a tense and perfect balance....a spell is cast.” His book is a travelogue,
experience in the Psychology Department at Sonoma State University where she taught for over thirty years, as well as the latest research, Winter’s Graces highlights eleven qualities that ripen with age, including authenticity, ingenuity, fierceness, generosity, and a growing capacity to savor life’s ups and downs with humor and equanimity.
Susan Stewart will have a reading and book signing on Friday, January 25 at Copperfield’s Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, in Santa Rosa
With an international perspective, the book weaves together inspiring folk stories from around the world – repositories of humanity’s most enduring and healing wisdom – with cutting-edge research and user-friendly tools and practices for applying these graces to our daily lives. Winter’s
Graces offers a universally compelling vision of aging in a society prone to ageism, revealing how the last season of life can be the most fulfilling.
a memoir, a set of essays, a lamentation and a history. Every inch an Irish storyteller, throughout there is a streak of Gaelic melancholy.
64 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 1/19
Both of these books are segmented with units that are contained so that they can be picked up and put down again without losing continuity. Read Local.