Discover what's new this month at your local library!
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Longform Article Reading Club |
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Like a book club, but less commitment
| Thanks for the great discussion of "Silicon Valley Circuits" on Sept. 26. I really appreciated everyone's response to the ice breaker question, "How has your hometown changed since you grew up there?" I was fascinated to learn we have members hailing from Hong Kong, China, India, and many places all over the U.S. including right here in SF! Although our discussion is prompted by the shared inquiry method that keeps us focused on the text, connecting as individuals is important to the health of the group. That's why I like the ice breaker and the free share time.
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We'll have even greater opportunities to get to know each other in December at our in-person mixer (coffee, longform article bingo, mystery gifts). Fear not— there is a Zoom option for folks who can't come down to the Main Library but still want to be part of the discussion of "Joy" by Zadie Smith.
Next up we have our adult Halloween celebration on the 31st— featuring Franz Kafka, the missing person.
| See you in a couple of weeks on Zoom! -- Kelci |
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October Selection |
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by Kate Zambreno |
| Register on Zoom
| Saturday, 10/31/2026
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Virtual Library (Zoom) (Rescheduled from July 25)
Judging from how Kafka talks about traveling in his diaries, he’s a frail and neurotic man urged by the obsession to write—but in this patchwork essay of tidy squares and literary headings, Zambreno associates him with photography, Paris, Lake Maggiore, art theft and historical occurrences both literally connected to his life and figuratively relevant. Does Kafka get what Kafka complains about wanting? In reconstructing Kafka’s history through her own obsessive research and placing the writer’s process within the essay itself, Zambreno presents a portrait both splintered and replete of the famous Czech author as a young man.
Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2019
Access options: |
November Selection |  |
by Leslie Marmon Silko
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| Register on Zoom
| Saturday, 11/21/2026
10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Virtual Library (Zoom)
In this essay that went on to become the title piece of her 1996 book, Native American literary giant Leslie Marmon Silko writes about the concept of beauty as held by the old timers of Laguna Pueblo reservation in New Mexico, a concept informed by the mythology of Yellow Woman (Kochininako) and taught to her as a child by her great-grandmother. In sharing these stories and beliefs, she invites us to explore Native ideas of beauty, sturdiness and gender roles that contrast with white, Christian ideals. These beliefs celebrate female sensuality and fertility, peering into the spirit and determination of a person rather than judging their static outward appearance.
Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, 19 Dec 1993
Access options: | December Selection |
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| Register on Zoom If You Cannot Come In-Person
| Saturday, 12/12/2026
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Main Library, Learning Studio (5th Floor)
Agenda
10 – 10:30 a.m.: Coffee, pastries and longform article bingo (ice-breaker)
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.: Discussion of “Joy” by Zadie Smith
- Register on Zoom to join the discussion virtually if you cannot come in-person. The Zoom portion will only be one hour, 10:30-11:30.
- In this short essay, Smith ponders the difference between joy and pleasure, unavoidably entering into the territory of romantic love and lasting partnerships while also detouring into stories of clubbing and mourning. New York Review of Books, Jan 2013
11:30 – 12:00 p.m.: Mystery gift giveaway and socializing
Access options: | 2026 in Review |
View all 2026 selections discussed by the Longform Article Reading Club. |
2027 Ahead |
Should we do something a bit different next year, more investigative journalism or something else? For January I'm looking at work by Kevin Fagan, a writer who covered homelessness in San Francisco for the Chronicle for many years. Let me know what you think! mnc@sfpl.org
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Recap From Last Meeting | We discussed "Silicon Valley Circuits" by Hua Hsu
Hua Hsu won a Pulitzer Prize in the category of memoir or autobiography for his book Stay True (read more on the UC Berkeley website). I think the essay we discussed riffs on many similar themes but with a lighter touch.
As part of our discussion we considered what is "California car culture?" Is it limited to Southern California, where a few of us grew up, or does it extend to Northern California? Is San Francisco or the more urban parts of the East Bay the exception to the stereotype of California car culture? Some of us, similar to the author, couldn't wait to get our driver's license and escape the confines of the family home; for others, that freedom only cost $1 for a Muni ride. Some of us could relate to the way Hsu's mother regarded driving her son: if he was with her in the car, he was safe and accounted for. In the teenage vantage as well as in the parental vantage, driving time was time to talk, dream, gossip, catch favorite songs on the radio and connect.
Speaking of Cupertino, there is a new television series of that name on CBS/Paramount Plus. It's a legal drama. You could go old school and rewatch the series Silicon Valley on HBO+ instead!
David Foster WallaceOne last thing! I forgot to include this recording of DFW reading "Shipping Out" and discussing it on a radio show. Enjoy!
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Thanks for reading!
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Selections are curated by librarians in the Magazines and Newspapers Center. See all 2026 selections.
We welcome your suggestions! Guidelines:
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Around 10,000 words in length
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Strong sense of plot driving the narrative
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Any topic or genre
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Preference given to articles from periodicals the library subscribes to Have questions or comments?
Contact us by phone at (415) 557-4453 or email at mnc@sfpl.org
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Magazines and Newspapers Center Main Library, 5th Floor
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
sfpl.org/magsnews
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