The La Mesa Branch Library is excited to celebrate One Book, One San Diego, our region’s literary program that brings our communities together through the shared experience of reading and discussing the same book.
The adult selection for 2023 is The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee.
Our Adult Book Club will discuss this on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 1 pm. The teen selection is Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango. Our Teen Book Club will discuss this on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 4 pm. This year’s kids title is Nigel and the Moon by Antwan Eady; illustrated by Gracey Zhang. Visit sdcl.org/one-book-one-san-diego for more details and to check out the ebooks and eaudiobooks without any wait.
This month we’ve got some small topics that make a big impact in the following “micro-histories.” A micro-history is a historical deep dive into a small, well-defined topic that leaves you asking everyone, “Did you know…?”
Something that most of us have never thought twice about is the development of how we carry our items on our person.
Hannah Carlson thought quite a lot about it and shares what she found in Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close. She covers when pockets first came about (not until the 1500s!) as well as examining the politics of pockets – many have probably noticed that only recently have pockets been included in women’s high-end fashion. Carlson does a great job of exploring culture and sociology through a small part of the fashion world.
Southern California is seen as the birthplace of car culture. Although cruising the roads is well-loved, parking spots are often coveted and disputed.
Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World is an investigation by Henry Greybar into this unexpected necessity. Readers find out how required infrastructure for parking determines almost every aspect of cities we live in. Greybar, with a large dose of humor, provides insights, through examples (San Diego makes an appearance) and illustrations, into the parking scene.
Jamie Loftus’s premiere, Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs, is one for the road.
Loftus took a year to travel our country and try the different tastes and preparation styles that adorn the beloved hot dog. She also gives us details about the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, the effects of COVID-19 on the hot dog industry, and the dog’s relationship with baseball, all with a wink to the reader. 
Let’s round out this list with Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke.
This examination of one particular area of the human anatomy focuses especially on the changing cultural meanings of women’s bottoms. Radke explores the discovery of the first hominid butt, and cultural attitude shifts from the Victorian bustle to the barely-there Kate Moss-look to the Brazilian butt lift.
Don’t let the fun cover and topic fool you, this is serious commentary and scholarship.
To get your hands on these fascinating explorations visit the La Mesa Branch Library or sdcl.org.
