In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez  

Live Skype Session

with Big Read Author Julia Alvarez

Tuesday, May 10 

1:00-2:00 p.m.

Main Library

Join us for an Internet-assisted live discussion with the author facilitated by Hayward City Council member Francisco Zermeño. Bring your questions about the Big Read selections and enjoy a unique opportunity to talk with this internationally influential author.  

Multigenerational Poetry Slam

Saturday, May 7  

1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Main Library 

Join us in the Library's garden plaza for an afternoon of entertainment and inspiration from local poets of all ages, presenting original poetry based on themes from In the Time of the Butterflies. Sign up to present your poetry at this special event--bring up to four original poems to participate in the competitively judged event where everyone will be celebrated as a winner. The top three participants will be awarded a cash prize of $75, $50, and $25, respectively.

To obtain a copy of the book and to register, contact Sally Thomas at sally.thomas@hayward-ca.gov or 510-881-7700.  

Visit the Big Read blog to find out  more about Big Read events. 

The Big Read is an initiative of National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute for Museum and Library Services in partnership with Arts Midwest.                                

Investor Education

in the Library

Saturday

May 21 

10:15-11:30 a.m.
Main Library

Have concerns about your ability to retire on your timeline?  Have an old 401K that you want to work harder for you?  A local financial advisor will be on hand to provide information on various topics and assist you with your questions.  Space is limited and registration is recommended. To register or for more information contact

Melesha.owen@hayward-ca.gov or call 510-293-5239.

Knitting Circle

Wednesdays

Need Help with Reading, Writing, or Spelling?

• You read below the 8th grade level
• You can speak English
• You are 18+ and not in high school
• You never went to college

Pushing the Elephant

Monday, May 23

6:00 p.m.

Main Library  

When civil war came to Rose Mapendo's Congolese village, Rose managed to escape with nine of her ten children, but was separated from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. More than a decade later, mother and daughter are reunited in the U.S., where they must come to terms with the violence and devastation of the past and build a new future.  

English

Conversation Groups

Lawyer in the Library 

Book Discussion Groups

Mystery & Suspense - Nursery Crimes
Tuesday, May 3 @ 11:30 a.m., Le Paradis Bakery (D St. and Mission)

Nursery Crimes, the first of Ayelet Waldman's Mommy-Track Mystery series, introduces readers to Juliet Applebaum, a public defender turned stay-at-home mom. Juliet shares parenting duties with her screenwriter husband, but she's bored with playdates and trips to the park. That is, until she finds a way to spice up motherhood by tracking down a would-be killer. 

Discussion facilitated by Heidi.Ontiveros@hayward-ca.gov, 510-881-7975.
 
Mostly Literary Fiction - Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
Monday, May 9 @ Noon, Peet's Coffee (B St. and Mission) and 
6:30-7:45 p.m., Main Library
Ayelet Waldman takes us through one woman's passage through love, loss, and the strange absurdities of modern life. Emilia Greenleaf believed that she had found her soulmate, the man she was meant to spend her life with. But life seems a lot less rosy when Emilia has to deal with the most neurotic and sheltered five-year-old in New York City: her new stepson William, and attempts to find balance in a new family.
 
Discussion facilitated by Sally.Thomas@hayward-ca.gov, 510-881-7700. Not able to attend meetings but want to discuss this book with others? Join GoodReads.com and participate in online discussions! You must have an account on GoodReads.com to participate. Contact Sally for more information. 

 

Brown Bag Lunch Discussion - In the Time of the Butterflies

Wednesday, May 4 @ 12:00 noon, Main Library

Didn't get a chance to attend one of the other In the Time of the Butterflies book discussions?  It's not too late.  Join us at the library for one more chance to discuss this fascinating work of historical fiction. Bring your lunch and enjoy a quick discussion.  

 

Autobiography & Memoir - Bad Mother
Wednesday, May 18 @ 6:30-7:45 p.m., Main Library
In our mothers' day there were good mothers, indifferent mothers, and occasionally, great mothers. Today we have only Bad Mothers: If you work, you're neglectful; if you stay home, you're smothering. If you discipline, you're buying them a spot on the shrink's couch; if you let them run wild, they will be into drugs by seventh grade. Writing with remarkable candor, and dispensing much hilarious and helpful advice along the way, Ayelet Waldman says it's time for women to get over it and get on with it in this wry, unflinchingly honest, and always insightful memoir on modern motherhood.
 
Group is facilitated by Abbe.Kalos@hayward-ca.gov, 510-881-7941.