Summer reading is a family affair. Kids read, teens read, adults read, and if there's a baby in the family, somebody reads to the baby. Your dogs, cats, and fish like to hear books, too.

Sign up for Read for the Win online and download and print your game card!

Summer Reading start officially on June 17 and ends September 4, 2016, but go ahead now and start playing! It's for all ages!

Fill in boxes on your Game card by visiting us, using Discover & Go, downloading songs, videos or magazines and reading books!

How do you find that book? Come browse the shelves. Explore. Ask a Librarian!

And if you hit the road, use our 24/7 elibrary. Download videos, magazines, books audiobooks!

For a curated collection of  books focused on this Summer's Reading theme, Read for the Win, go here.

Summer Reading Kick-Off Party @North
Saturday, June 18
2:00-3:30pm
Start Summer Reading in STYLE! Celebrate the beginning of Summer Reading Season with the Eric Van James Trio, who will  grace us with jazz renditions of standards all afternoon.  Come create decorate-it-yourself bookmark crafts and custom calligraphy. It's an event for the whole family!

Celebrate bodies of all sizes and bring intersectionality conversations to the Berkeley Public Library.

Virgie Tovar, author of Hot & Heavy and body-positivity activist, created three provocative events encouraging self-acceptance and challenging weight discrimination.

Lose Hate Not Weight: Diet Culture @Claremont
Wednesday, June 22
6:30pm-7:30pm
Virgie Tovar offers a primer on the history and sociopolitical realities of our cultural obsession with weight loss.The story of modern day "Diet Culture" didn't begin with juicing or cleanses, but rather over 150 years ago with the inventor of the graham cracker.



Fat Positive Shorts @ THP South
Thursday, June 30
7:00-9:00pm
A selection of short films designed to challenge our understanding of fatness: Read more

• Aquaporko - (22 min.)
• Fatty Cakes & the Puff Pastries - (2 min.)
• Heft -(10 min.)
• Life Long Weight Gaining - (8 min.)
• The Fat Body (In) visible - (24 min.)

Freedom from Fat Shame! Read/Discuss @North
Saturday, July 2
7:00-9:00pm
Virgie Tovar assembles a group of incisive writers and activists for an evening of body liberation with readings and personal stories. Featuring:

• Casey Gilly
• Jezebel Delilah X
• Baruch Porras-Hernandez
• Irene McCalphin
• Dr. Kjerstin Gruys

Online Calendar of All Library Events  

 

Dorothy Allison @Central CMR
Saturday, June 18
1:00-2:00pm
This is how you save a life. Dorothy Allison, groundbreaking author of Bastard Out of Carolina, describes herself as a feminist, a working class story teller, a Southern expatriate, a sometime poet and a happily born again Californian. Join us for thought-provoking and entertaining hour! Third floor community meeting room.


Mary Roach Reads Grunt @Northbrae Community Church
Saturday, June 25
7:00-9:00pm
Join us to celebrate the release of Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War,  in which Mary Roach (the acclaimed author of Stiff, Gulp, and Packing for Mars) launches herself into first-hand military experiences to understand the human symptoms of battle. A partnership of Berkeley Public Library and the Bone Room staff. Free but Eventbrite RSVP is required. May contain graphic content or trigger flashbacks. Children under 18 require adult supervision. Read More.