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555 Main Street   •   Pleasanton, California
925-846-8826



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Upcoming Events--March 2010


Thursday March 4       7:00pm
Literary Showcase with
The Tri-Valley Writers
Location:   Towne Center Books

Come hear delightful readings by Tri-Valley members of the California Writers Club. This event is open to the public and is FREE, so come and join us and meet some of the writers in our area.


Friday     March 5    11:00am
Coffee Time with Elaine Beale
author of Another Life Altogether
Location:   Towne Center Books

Elaine Beale's book Another Life Altogether is a keenly observed coming-of-age story about the effects of a mother's mental illness on her young daughter. Elaine Beale grew up in East Yorkshire, England, studied creative writing at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and was the winner of the 2007 Poets & Writers California Exchange writing contest in fiction. She lives in Oakland, California where she misses the British sense of humor but not the British weather.

Join us for coffee, tea, and conversation with the author. Free no reservation necessary.


Wednesday     March 10    7:00pm
Lisa See Author of
Peony in Love and Shanghai Girls
Location:   Dublin Library

Lisa See is the author of Shanghai Girls, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and the Red Princess Mysteries.

Free. No reservation is necessary. Towne Center Books will be selling books at this event at the Dublin Library located at 200 Civic Plaza.


Thursday     March 18    
School Field Trips
with Shelley Rotner Author of
Dogs Don't Brush Their Teeth
Location:   Towne Center Books

Shelley Rotner, award winning author and photo-illustrator, brings a depth of experience and knowledge to her books with a diverse background as an elementary school teacher, museum educational specialist and UNICEF photographer. She has written and illustrated over thirty children's books!

We'd be happy to have a book autographed for your child during these classroom visits. Please call us 846-8826.


Tuesday     March 23    10:30am
What's Wrong With My Plant? by
David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth
Location:   Towne Center Books

What's Wrong With My Plant? Whether they live in the garden, on the window sill, or in a container on the patio, your ailing plants will benefit from this invaluable book with its extensive color illustrations and photographs that will guide you to a diagnosis and a safe, non-toxic solution.

No need to know the name of your plant to diagnose a problem. David and Kathryn will show us how to sort through the symptoms. You might even want to bring a leaf or cutting if you have a problem.

Learn more here

Coffee, tea, and advice for gardeners. Reservations are helpful but not necessary.


Thursday     March 25    10:30am
Sharon Lovejoy Author of
Grandma's Bag of Tricks
Location:   Towne Center Books

Sharon inherited her love of nature from her Quaker Grandmother. A graduate with distinction in the field of art, she successfully combines her love of botany and art in over 11 of her own books and as a contributor to many more. She has a feature column in the Country Living Gardener. Grandma's Bag of Tricks will be useful to Grandparents, parents, scout leaders, educators and anyone who just wants to have fun in the garden. Fun ideas involving nature for all ages!

Reservations are helpful but not necessary. More info on Sharon can be found here .


Wednesday     March 31    7:30pm
Jack Bowen Author of
Philosophy of Bumper Stickers
Location:   Towne Center Books

Mixing pop culture with the ideas of historically prominent philosophers and scientists, If You Can Read This exposes the deeper wisdom couched behind bumper sticker slogans.

Jack holds a Masters in Philosophy, taught philosophy for 6 years at De Anza College, and is currently at Menlo School in Palo Alto, where he teaches philosophy and coaches water polo.

Read more about Jack Bowen .


Saturdays     10:30am
Story Time
for ages 3 and up
Location:   Towne Center Books

We're pleased to announce a New Event! - Storytime for ages 3+ and their parents. Come down on Saturday mornings at 10:30 when Nadia Firoozmand , a student at Pleasanton Middle School, will act out stories and involve the children in activities. This event will be ongoing, so come and enjoy whenever you can.



BOOK-RELATED LIBRARY EVENTS


Here are links to our local libraries so you can keep up with their events.

Our own Pleasanton Library has a great series called Books into Film. Read the book, see the movie, then come to the library and discuss which version was better!

Wonder Boys will be shown Feb. 21 at 2:00. Mention the film series when buying the book and receive the 15% bookclub discount.

Livermore Library continues many great programs for their all-city reads…. Get the next book, Travels with Charlie, at Towne Center and receive the bookclub discount of 15%.



ONGOING EVENTS at TCB



Bookclubs at Towne Center Books

Have you been looking for a book club? Look no further... We have numerous book groups that either meet at the store or are affiliated with us. They are all free and open to the public; all you have to do is read the book, come on down to Towne Center Books and join the discussion!

Store bookclub selections are always 15% off. If you're already in a book group you can register at Towne Center Books and receive 15% off your current selections too! Ask our staff for more details.

Give us a call at 925-846-8826 for details on the following groups:



Towne Center Book Club for Adults

Towne Center Books 555 Main Street, Pleasanton
7:00pm--second Wednesday of each month

next meeting:
Wednesday March 10
to discuss The 19th Wife
New Members are Welcome!



Books on the Brain Bookclub


Towne Center Books
555 Main Street, Pleasanton
7:30pm-- Third Wednesday of each month

This book group reads books about the brain

next meeting: Wednesday March 17
to discuss Reading the Brain
New Members are Welcome!



Great Books

Towne Center Books 555 Main Street, Pleasanton
7:30pm--fourth Monday of every month

Continuing discussions are from the Great Conversations 2

next meeting: Monday March 22
New Members are Welcome! to discuss the "Playboy of the Western World" by John Singe..



Times Bookclub

Towne Center Books 555 Main Street, Pleasanton [or other locations]
meets every month or six weeks--

The Times Bookclub is facilitated by columnist Lynn Carey.

next meeting: Call the store to find out!
to discuss Cutting for Stone



Remember!
Convenient parking behind the store. We're open 6 nights (Sunday 6:00 closing). Save $10.00 on every 10th visit with our Free Loyalty Program. Special orders are usually received in the store within 24-48 hours.



Here's a typical scene at Towne Center Books.....a group of students from Hearst School enjoying an afternoon presentation by local author/illustrator Ashley Wolff.


Maisy the most famous Mouse visited Towne Center Books recently and had a mmmarvelous time!

Lucy Cousins, the creator or Maisy, is one of today's most acclaimed author-illustrators of children's books. Her unique titles instantly engage babies, toddlers, and preschoolers with their childlike simplicity and crayon-bright colors. And the winsome exploits of characters like Maisy--star of her own animated television program on Nick Jr.--reflect the adventures that young children have every day.

Lucy admits that illustration comes more easily to her than writing, which tends to work around the drawings. "I draw by heart," she says. "I think of what children would like by going back to my own childlike instincts." And what instincts! Lucy Cousins now has more than 4 million books in print, from cloth and picture books to irresistible pull-the-tab and lift-the-flap books to Maisy's Pop-Up Playhouse.

Working at home in Hampshire, England, L