Fresno Famous

I learned to really love reading at the Henry Madden Library at California State University, Fresno. This was before it got all fancy with the awesome architecture and a Starbucks. This was when you could walk through the stacks without being afraid of the mechanical shelves crushing you. I read through every Leonard Cohen book there, and a good deal of Vonnegut (there are just soo many). Point is, I discovered some of my favorites in that library and it is a special place for me.

If you read with any voracity, you probably feel the same about some library somewhere. They are special places and need to be supported.

Which brings us to the 22nd Annual Dinner in the Library, a benefit for the Fresno County Public Library, that's being held Nov. 6, at the central library downtown. This year, the event honors the late John Kallenberg, who served as the Fresno County Librarian and was a driving force behind the dinners. This was dear to his heart, to the point that he continued working on the planning committee up to a few days before his death.

It is a really cool idea as these fund-raising things go, imagined as "a magical sort of dinner party where the guests are all intelligent, thoughtful, well spoken and brimming with creative notions about books and people."  

Each table at the dinner is hosted by someone from the community. This year that includes people like Reza Assemi, Anthony Taylor, Donald Munro and ... me (hey, I clean up well). I'll be talking "Books, Art and Rock and Roll" (like the time I met The Duke of Earl. Not the real one, but the guy who sang the song). 

Tickets are $90 ($100 after today).  A full-list of table hosts (and topics) can be found here.