May Book Club Pick

For the month of May we have chosen a title that takes place during the glamour days of 1950's era Cuba ... well until the glamour is interrupted by the Cuban revolution and the legendary ruler who still lives, Fidel Castro. Telex from Cuba is by Cuban-American author Rachel Kushner and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2008. It has received many positive reviews and we hope that it'll be well received at our next book club meeting on Wednesday May 12th at the usual time of 6:30pm. See you there.

UCCE Master Gardeners: Growing Culinary Herbs

Please join us on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 from 7-8 PM for our next program from the UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County.

Learn from UC Master Gardener Ann Ranish how easy it is to grow your own herbs to add lively flavor to your meals. Add culinary herbs to the vegetable garden, use as companions for drought tolerant ornamentals, or grow them in containers. Bring your questions!

This is the fourth free gardening event for 2010 sponsored by West Valley Library, Friends of the West Valley Library and the UCCE Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County. This program will be held in the West Valley Branch Library Community Room.

Census 2010 assistance at West Valley

West Valley library will have a representative from the U.S. Census Bureau through the 19th of April here to assist any members of the public seeking help or information about their census forms. Our Census worker Tiffany will be here Thursday & Friday 1-6pm and Sat. 10-3pm in Study Room B, March 19-April 19 in case you're looking for someone to answer any questions you might have or help you may need in completing the required information from the U.S. Census Bureau. Take advantage of the assistance provided because completion of the Census information is required by law, folks!

April Book Club Selection

Louise Erdrich, prolific author of titles such as Love Medicine and The Master Butchers Singing Club among many others, wrote The Plague of Doves in 2008 and it's the title we'll be reading next month for our book club. It's a family epic of indigenous Ojibwe peoples and white European settlers in North Dakota, a pseudo-mystery and by all accounts a memorable tale written by an accomplished storyteller. Join us on Thursday, April 15th at 6pm in the community room of the library for our next meeting.

UC Master Gardeners Present: Growing Tomatoes!

Learn the secrets to growing great tasting tomatoes from UC Master Gardeners Sue Zaslaw and Janet Waagen. Learn about the many different varieties of tomatoes, how to get them started and planted, how to grow them, protect them and keep them healthy.
Join us for this program in the Community Room from 7-8PM on Wednesday, March 17.
This free gardening event is sponsored by West Valley Branch Library, Friends of the West Valley Library and the UCCE Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County.

March Book Club Title

We're going back to fiction, contemporary fiction, for the March gathering of our book club. Specifically, we'll be reading The White Tiger: A Novel by Aravind Adiga. According to the publisher: "Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life—having nothing but his own wits to help him along." So hopefully this gives a little taste of this novel of one man's version of contemporary India that won the Man Booker Prize in 2008. It'll be a good time when next we meet on Wednesday, March 10th at 6:30pm. Join us if you can.

Author Event at West Valley February 25th

We're lucky here at West Valley library when Silicon Valley Reads rolls around because we've gotten some great author programs over the years. Typically they are well-attended and this year we have another event to offer. Jonah Raskin, author of Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California will be here on Thursday, February 25th at 6:30pm to talk about his book and hopefully shed some fascinating light on farming and food topics here in Northern California. Locavores and really anyone interested in contemporary food topics should find much value in writers like Mr. Raskin, and his visiting our branch library is an event that we're fortunate to be able to present. Come check it out and take advantage of the unique offerings that Silicon Valley Reads enables us to present to our community.