Coronado Times

Stu Stall Book Launch: "DARK SIDE: True Stories From A Teenage Pot Smuggler"
2024-12-19 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Coronado Library Winn Room, 640 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
From the author of HELL HOUSE: True Stories From The Redheaded Stepchild, comes a riveting new book DARK SIDE: True Stories From A Teenage Pot Smuggler. The book is filled with tales of adventure, lust, danger, and betrayal. Stu Stall is a voice for the voiceless in a powerful journey fraught with danger and tales of partying, surfing, living in the ’70s and smuggling marijuana. A book filled with stories of coercion, manipulation and schmoozing and how people ended up doing things they never thought they would do in a million years as they drifted into the abyss and were trapped sometimes forever in the Primrose Labyrinth. Ride with Stu on a journey through some epic stories about stuff you just can’t do any more. There are multiple stories that will blow your mind.
About the author: Stuart Stall was born at Coronado Hospital, the second of four children born to Andy and Joan Stall. To obtain his finance degree from San Diego State, he worked for many years as the maître d’ at Chez Loma. He raised two sons who graduated from Coronado High School (CHS) and is himself a class of ’72 graduate (his father was CHS class president in 1942). He’s fond of saying he’s “a recovering mortgage and real estate broker.”

"Postmortem" - Exploring the Impact of the John Wayne Gacy Murders with True Crime Author Courtney Lund O'Neil
2025-01-09 19:00 - 20:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Join the Coronado Public Library and Warwick’s Bookstore for an unforgettable evening with author Courtney Lund O’Neil, in conversation with Jacqueline Alnes, as she shares her gripping true crime memoir Postmortem. In the vein of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, this compelling work revisits the chilling crimes of “Killer Clown” John Wayne Gacy, offering a unique perspective on the emotional aftershocks that his violence left behind. Praised as as “harrowing” and “unforgettable” in a starred review from Publishers Weekly, O’Neil’s skill in blending her mother’s memories with her own reflections, offers “profound new insights into an oft-told American horror story.”
With thought-provoking layers of personal reflection, community impact, and the broader American psyche, Postmortem offers an intimate view of how one family’s grief rippled outward, forever affecting their lives and countless others. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the author share her poignant story and insights.
Free open seating is first-come, first-served, subject to available space. Guaranteed Preferred Seating is available with pre-order of Postmortem through Warwick’s at https://www.warwicks.com/event/oneil-2025 or by calling the store at 858-454-0347.

An Evening with Two-Time Oscar Nominee and Author John Sayles
2025-01-15 19:00 - 20:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Be one of the first to hear acclaimed filmmaker and two-time Oscar nominee John Sayles discuss his latest novel, To Save the Man, in an exclusive pre-release event. Originally crafted as a screenplay, Sayles changed this powerful story into a novel, bringing to life the haunting history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Sayles will be in conversation with Coronado Island Film Festival Executive Director Merridee Book, discussing the journey from screenplay to novel and offer his unique insights on the book and this incredibly powerful story and its reverberations through history.
A book-signing will follow. This event is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served, subject to availability. Limited preferred seating is available with purchase of To Save the Man through Warwick’s bookstore. Please visit https://www.warwicks.com/sayles-2025-reserved-seat or call the store at 858-454-0347 for more information.

John Sayles is a much-celebrated film director who has made 18 movies, beginning in 1980 when his debut Return of the Secaucus Seven was released. Among the other movies he is known for directing—and often writing as well—are Lianna, Brother from Another Planet, Matewan, Eight Men Out, City of Hope, Sunshine State, Passion Fish and Lone Star, the last two of which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay. He also has written screenplays for other directors, including the iconic 1980s horror movies The Howling and Alligator. Sayles also directed three of Bruce Springsteen’s most famed music videos for the songs Born in the USA, Glory Days and I’m on Fire.
As an author, Sayles has written numerous novels and short stories since 1975, when his first novel, Pride of the Bimbos, appeared. His second novel, Union Dues, was nominated for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Subsequent books include At the Anarchist’s Convention, Los Gusanos, Dillinger in Hollywood, A Moment in the Sun, and Yellow Earth. Sayles has been honored by, or been guest speaker for, such respected organizations as the American Historical Association, the Modern Language Association, and the American Studies Association. His screenplay for the film Sonora, released in 2021, won the Ariel Award, Mexico’s equivalent to the Oscar, for Best Adapted Screenplay. Sayles divides his time between Los Angeles and Connecticut.

About To Save the Man In the vein of Never Let Me Go and Killers of the Flower Moon, one of America’s greatest storytellers sheds light on an American tragedy: the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the ‘cultural genocide’ experienced by the Native American children at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School . . . In September of 1890, the academic year begins at the Carlisle School, a military-style boarding school for Indians in Pennsylvania, founded and run by Captain Richard Henry Pratt. Pratt considers himself a champion of Native Americans. His motto, “To save the man, we must kill the Indian,” is severely enforced in both classroom and dormitory: Speak only English, forget your own language and customs, learn to be white. As the young students navigate surviving the school, they begin to hear rumors of a “ghost dance” amongst the tribes of the west—a ceremonial dance aimed at restoring the Native People to power, and running the invaders off their land. As the hope and promise of the ghost dance sweeps across the Great Plains, cynical newspapers seize upon the story to whip up panic among local whites. The US government responds by deploying troops onto lands that had been granted to the Indians. It is an act that seems certain to end in slaughter. As news of these developments reaches Carlisle, each student, no matter what their tribe, must make a choice: to follow the white man’s path, or be true to their own way of life . . .

Merridee Book is the CEO + Artistic Director of the Coronado Island Film Festival. Before that, she spent 3 years as the Vice President of Development at the San Diego International Film Festival. She has held key positions in the arts and entertainment industry, and the non-profit sector for 30 years., working with bestselling authors, artists, musicians, filmmakers, major studios and record labels. These relationships culminated in producing and hosting an inspirational television program, DeeperLiving. She has held several board director positions including the Coronado School of the Arts and she currently sits on the board of the well-respected Patrons of the Prado, a non-profit that raises funds for ten beneficiaries in Balboa Park, the largest urban park in the U.S.

Best of the Best Book Club: "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang
2025-01-22 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library’s Best of the Best Book Club meets regularly on the fourth Wednesday of each month to discuss books that have won major awards. Receive reminder emails about our meeting by registering below. Registration is not required.
For our January meeting, we will discuss the 2016 Booker Prize winner The Vegetarian by Han Kang, who recently made history by becoming the first Korean and the first Asian Nobel laureate in literature.
Place this title on hold via our online catalog, or check out the e-book through the CloudLibrary app.

About The Vegetarian
Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary, controlled life. But the dreams—invasive images of blood and brutality—torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. It’s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that’s become sacred to her. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself.
Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.

Book Launch with "USA Today" Bestselling Author Jennifer Coburn: "The Girls of the Glimmer Factory"
2025-01-22 18:30 - 19:30 | Coronado Library Winn Room, 640 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The library, in partnership with Adventures by the Book, presents an exclusive pre-release celebration of The Girls of the Glimmer Factory, the latest novel from Jennifer Coburn, author of Cradles of the Reich. Set against the backdrop of WWII, this poignant tale of resistance, friendship, and the dangers of propaganda is inspired by the true story of Theresienstadt.
Meet the author and hear her discuss this moving story about two women on opposite sides of history—Hannah, a Jewish prisoner fighting to reveal the truth, and Hilde, a Nazi loyalist desperate to make a name for herself in the Reich Ministry of Propaganda.
This event is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served, subject to availability. Limited preferred seating is available with purchase of The Girls of the Glimmer Factory through Adventures by the Book. Please visit adventuresbythebook.com/calendar-event/jennifer-coburn-1-22-25 for more information.
A New Glimpse Into WWII: “The Girls of the Glimmer Factory”

About The Girls of the Glimmer Factory: Hannah longs for the days when she used to be free, but now she is a Jewish prisoner at Theresienstadt, a model ghetto where the Nazis plan to make a propaganda film to convince the world that the Jewish people are living well in the camps. But Hannah will do anything to show the world the truth. Along with other young resistance members, they vow to disrupt the filming and derail the increasingly frequent deportations to death camps in the east.
Hilde is a true believer in the Nazi cause, working in the Reich Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda. Though they’re losing the war, Hilde hasn’t lost faith. She can’t stop the Allied bombings, but she can help the party create a documentary that will renew confidence in Hitler’s plans for Jewish containment. When the filming of Hitler Gives a City to the Jews faces production problems due to resistance, Hilde finds herself in a position to finally make a name for herself. And when she recognizes Hannah, an old childhood friend, she knows she can use their friendship to get the film back on track.

Jennifer Coburn is the author of Cradles of the Reich, a historical novel about three very different women living at a Nazi Lebensborn breeding home at the start of World War ll. She has also published a mother-daughter travel memoir, We’ll Always Have Paris, as well as six contemporary women’s novels. Additionally, Jennifer has contributed to five literary anthologies, including A Paris All Your Own. Jennifer lives in San Diego with her husband, William. Their daughter, Katie is currently in graduate school. When Jennifer is not going down historical research rabbit holes, she volunteers with So Say We All, a live storytelling organization, where she is a performer, producer, and performance coach. She is also an active volunteer with Reality Changers, a nonprofit that supports low-income high school students in becoming the first in their families to attend college.

Mystery Book Club: "A Death of No Importance"
2025-01-27 14:00 - 15:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library’s Mystery Book club will meet regularly on the third* Monday of each month. Receive reminder emails about our meeting by registering. Registration is not required.
* Due to the holiday this month, we will be meeting on the fourth Monday.

We will be discussing A Death of No Importance by Mariah Fredericks. Check out the book in print or ebook format from the Coronado Library Catalog by clicking here.

Learn the Art of Storytelling
2025-02-04 18:00 - 19:30 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Back by popular demand! Have you always enjoyed telling stories? Ever considered storytelling in front of an audience? The Storytelling Institute, a free seven-week course presented by the Storytellers of San Diego, is open to everyone who would like to hone their skills in this ancient art form. The Institute culminates in an optional storytelling slot for each participant at the San Diego Storytelling Festival here at the Coronado Public Library on March 15, 2025.

Registration was requested for the January 21 introductory session, but all other sessions are walk-in, no registration.
February 4: “Building the World with Details: Painting the Picture” with Emily Stamets
At its best, storytelling is actually storySHOWing! In this workshop, learn strategies to paint the picture for your listeners, to transport them into the unforgettable world of your story.

Poetry for the People
2025-02-05 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-02-12 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
This course will feature poems by winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry since 1997. First presented in 1922, the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published during the preceding calendar year. All class members are encouraged to contribute their ideas and perceptions of the poems, enriching the discussions for everyone in attendances. Attend one class or the entire series.

Chuck Kamar received his Bachelor’s from Boston State and his Master’s from Boston University. He taught for 34 years in the Newton Public Schools, the last 20 of which at Newton North High School. In 1998 he won the Paul E. Elicker Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Learn the Art of Storytelling
2025-02-18 18:00 - 19:30 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Back by popular demand! Have you always enjoyed telling stories? Ever considered storytelling in front of an audience? The Storytelling Institute, a free seven-week course presented by the Storytellers of San Diego, is open to everyone who would like to hone their skills in this ancient art form. The Institute culminates in an optional storytelling slot for each participant at the San Diego Storytelling Festival here at the Coronado Public Library on March 15, 2025.

Registration was requested for the January 21 introductory session. All other sessions are walk-in, no registration.
February 18: “Memorable Moments in History: Placing You or Your Characters at Historical Junctures” with OJ Mozon, Jr.
Let’s make history fun by justly claiming ourselves as significant historical figures. Develop how you were in the room or on the street when IT happened. Or creatively introduce figures of your own imagination to add to the outcome of the events.

Spoilers Book Club: "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
2025-02-22 14:00 - 18:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Spoilers Book Club reads books that are turned into movies. We read the book and get together to watch the film. We compare the two and discuss what we did and didn’t like.

Mystery Book Club: "Silence of the Grave"
2025-02-24 14:00 - 15:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library’s Mystery Book club will meet regularly on the third Monday of each month. Receive reminder emails about our meeting by registering below. Registration is not required.
*Due to the holiday this month, we will be meeting on the fourth Monday of the month.*
We will be discussing Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indriðason. Check out the book in print or ebook format from the Coronado Library Catalog by clicking here.

Best of the Best: "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
2025-02-26 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library’s Best of the Best Book Club meets regularly on the fourth Wednesday of each month to discuss books that have won major awards. Receive reminder emails about our meeting by registering below. Registration is not required.

For our February meeting, we will discuss the 2014 Newberry Honor winner Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, a powerful memoir that tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse.
Place this title on hold via our online catalog, or check out the e-book through the CloudLibrary app.

About Brown Girl Dreaming
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

Behind the Pen with author Madeline Falcone Discussing "The Adoption Wound"
2025-02-27 18:00 - 19:30 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Join the San Diego Writers Festival for a special behind the pen event with author and therapist Madeline Falcone, LMFT.

Falcolne will be discussing her upcoming work, “The Adoption Wound.” Over the course of her therapeutic career she has supported numerous adopted children and their families. By integrating evidence-based therapeutic approaches with her extensive experience and empathetic understanding, Madeline has become a respected expert in adoptive dynamics. Her unique blend of scientific insight, energetic awareness and straightforward communication allows her to address complex emotional dynamics with both professional rigor and deep compassion. Learn about the work and process behind it at this events.
Madeline Falcone, LMFT, is the Founder and Therapeutic Director of Falcone Institute, a psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational practice based on The Falcone Method, Madeline’s innovative and holistic approach to therapeutic care.

Book Launch & Signing: "Body Parts" with Caitlin Rother
2025-03-01 12:00 - 14:00 | Bay Books, 1007 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Caitlin Rother, the New York Times bestselling author of Death on Ocean Boulevard, will be at Bay Books on Saturday, March 1 from 12 to 2 pm for her book “Body Parts.”

Originally released in 2009, this edition of “Body Parts” is a re-issue in trade paperback with 32 pages of new developments and comes out on February 25.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 15 books. Her next title, Down to the Bone, about the McStay family murders, comes out in June 2025. The author of narrative non-fiction crime, thrillers, and memoir, Rother also has the first two books in a new series of crime novels coming out in 2026, starting with Dopamine Fix (Thomas & Mercer). Her most recent title is Death on Ocean Boulevard, which was optioned by Untitled Entertainment. An award-winning investigative newspaper reporter for 19 years, Rother’s journalism has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The San Diego Union Tribune, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and The Daily Beast. Her more than 250 TV, radio and podcast appearances include 20/20, People Magazine Investigates, Crime Watch Daily, Australia’s World News, and numerous shows on Netflix, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, HLN and REELZ. A popular public speaker, she also works as a writing-research coach- consultant. For fun, she binges on limited series, swims, and plays keyboards and sings in a trio with her partner. Rother earned a bachelor’s in psychology from UC Berkeley and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. For more information, visit her website: caitlinrother.com

"Let’s Call Her Barbie" - A Book and Birthday Celebration
2025-03-04 18:30 - 19:30 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Did you know March 9 is Barbie’s birthday? Come celebrate the iconic doll’s 66th birthday with author Renee Rosen. Rosen’s latest novel “Let’s Call Her Barbie“ is a fresh and fun story about the invention of the doll we all know. She will talk about her inspiration for the book and more.
This event is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served, subject to availability. Limited preferred seating is available with purchase of Let’s Call Her Barbie” through Adventures by the Book. Please visit https://adventuresbythebook.com/calendar-event/renee-rosen-3-4-25/ for more information.
About Let’s Call Her Barbie
When Ruth Handler walks into the boardroom of the toy company she co-founded and pitches her idea for a doll unlike any other, she knows what she’s setting in motion. It might just take the world a moment to catch up.
In 1956, the only dolls on the market for little girls let them pretend to be mothers. Ruth’s vision for a doll shaped like a grown woman and outfitted in an enviable wardrobe will let them dream they can be anything. As Ruth assembles her team of creative rebels—head engineer Jack Ryan who hides his deepest secrets behind his genius and designers Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein, whose hopes and dreams rest on the success of Barbie’s fashion—she knows they’re working against a ticking clock to get this wild idea off the ground.
In the decades to come—through soaring heights and devastating personal lows, public scandals and private tensions— each of them will have to decide how tightly to hold on to their creation. Because Barbie has never been just a doll—she’s a legacy.
About Renée Rosen
Renée Rosen is the USA Today bestselling author of “Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl,” “The Social Graces,” “Park Avenue Summer,” “Windy City Blues,” “White Collar Girl,” “What the Lady Wants,” and “Dollface.” Renée lives in Chicago.

Coronado Community READ: Teen Book Discussion
2025-03-05 14:00 - 15:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Join the Coronado Middle School Book Club as they help lead teens through the discussion of this year’s Coronado Community READ Teen pick, Inside Out and Back Again.

Coronado Community READ: Teen Silk Painting
2025-03-05 15:30 - 16:30 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Experiment with a new medium and try your hand at a traditional Asian art style, Vietnamese-Style Silk Painting, as part of this year’s Coronado Community READ.

Coronado Community READ Book Discussion: "The Women"
2025-03-06 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-03-10 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Join us for one of our book discussions focusing on The Women by Kristin Hannah. Engage with fellow readers as we explore its themes, characters, and the reasons why it was chosen as the 2025 Coronado Community READ.
Find the full Coronado Community Read 2025 program here.

Connecting Cultures with Little Saigon San Diego
2025-03-07 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Vietnam War saw hundreds of thousands of people leave their home and come to the United States as refugees. A great number of them came to California to build new lives, including nearly 40,000 who settled in San Diego. Today, the Vietnamese community in San Diego is strong and thriving.
In partnership with Little Saigon San Diego, this discussion-based program will highlight the local Vietnamese experience, offer an opportunity to learn from one another, celebrate diverse perspectives, and build new community relationships. Come listen, share, and connect in an open and welcoming space as we explore this rich cultural heritage and the stories that shape our community. All are welcome!
Find the full Coronado Community Read 2025 program here.
About Little Saigon San Diego
At Little Saigon San Diego, we believe social equity and racial equality can be achieved through the sense of belonging. To do this, we revitalize community infrastructure such as buildings, streets, and sidewalk, so that everyone could see their story, take ownership, and become a part of the community. We also host art and cultural events and festivals to share and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. When each of us realize that we are an equal part of a whole, we, naturally, will advocate for ourselves to achieve greater self-sufficiency and economic independence. When justice and fairness is achieved it will eliminate the motivations behind hatred, discrimination, and racism. Our community will be filled with lovingkindness, compassion, and empathy. Our works are also mission oriented toward the goal of spreading cultural awareness, building strong empathetic leadership in children, and encouraging lovingkindness in all.

Author Talk: Taylor Kiland, "Murder of the Jujube Candy Heiress"
2025-03-13 17:30 - 19:30 | Winn Room, Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
One candy heiress, two bullets, and three suspects.
Coronado rarely makes news for violent crime. But in the spring of 1975, World War II widow and retired librarian Ruth Quinn was murdered, execution-style, in her cottage. Her death sent a shock wave through the community. The granddaughter of Jujubes and Jujyfruits creator Henry Heide, Ruth was found fully clothed with her shoes on, in her bed, dead from two gunshot wounds. To this day, her murder has never been solved, but whispers about her brother, her son, and even a local petty thief still swirl.
The Coronado Historical Association, in partnership with the Coronado Public Library, is proud to host Coronado author Taylor Baldwin Kiland as she sifts through the dirt for the facts about Ruth’s life and her untimely end fifty years ago. This event will take place in the Winn Room at the Coronado Public Library on March 13, 2025 from 5:30 – 7:00 pm.
Light refreshments will be served and a book-signing will follow. This event is free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis and is subject to availability. Preferred Seating is full. Ticket purchase/book pre-order is not required to attend the event. Pre-ordered books will be available for pickup at the event. Limited books will be available for purchase before and after the event.

Taylor Baldwin Kiland, a former naval officer, is the third generation in her family to serve in the Navy and live in Coronado, California. She is the author, coauthor or ghostwriter of more than twenty books, mostly in the military nonfiction genre and, specifically, about Vietnam prisoners-of-war and their families. She has occasionally written some children’s books, including one picture book about Coronado: Oz, Dog of the Del. Taylor lives in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and daughter, but she visits the island about once a month to check on her dad. Murder of the Jujube Candy Heiress: A Coronado Cold Case is her first cold case murder mystery. Learn more about her at TaylorKiland.com

Candy, Coronado, and a 50-Year-Old Cold Case

San Diego Storytelling Festival
2025-03-15 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
It’s back! The Storytellers of San Diego return to Coronado Public Library for a daylong celebration of all things storytelling. There’s a reason why storytelling has been around for much longer than the written word. Listening to a storyteller is an immersive, enchanting experience not to be missed.
This free all-day festival takes over the library with storytelling for adults and kids, open mic sessions, and a debut performance by the participants of the Storytelling Institute, a storytelling how-to course for novices.

Mystery Book Club: "Threads of Deception"
2025-03-17 14:00 - 15:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library’s Mystery Book club will meet regularly on the third Monday of each month.

We will be discussing Threads of Deception with the author herself, Elle Jauffret! Check out the book in print or ebook format from the Coronado Library Catalog by clicking here.
Receive reminder emails about the meeting by registering. Registration is encouraged but not required.

The True Story behind "The Women"
2025-03-18 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library, in partnership with the Coronado Historical Association, is proud to host Coronado author Taylor Baldwin Kiland in conversation with Diane Carlson, the real-life inspiration for the 2025 Coronado Community Read, Kristin Hannah’s The Women.
This event will take place via Zoom and be broadcast in the Winn Room at the Coronado Public Library on March 18, 2025 at 11 am. Register below to receive the Zoom link for this event.
Ms. Evans, a Vietnam War combat nurse, will share her remarkable story and discuss her book, Healing Wounds: A Vietnam War Combat Nurse’s 10-Year Fight to Win Women a Place of Honor in Washington, D.C. (Permuted Press, 2020). Hear firsthand about her experiences as a young Army nurse in Vietnam, the challenges faced by returning veterans (especially women veterans), and her tireless decade-long campaign to establish the Vietnam Women’s Memorial on the National Mall. Learn about the personal journey that led her to write her story and the obstacles she overcame to ensure that the service and sacrifice of women in the military are never forgotten.
Taylor Baldwin Kiland is a writer specializing in military non-fiction who has written, co-authored, ghost-written, or edited eighteen books, including three about our nation’s Vietnam POWs: Unwavering: The Wives Who Fought to Ensure No Man is Left Behind, Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton: Six Characteristics of High-Performance Teams and Open Doors: Vietnam POWs Thirty Years Later. A former naval officer—the third generation in her family to serve in the Navy, Taylor was raised in Coronado, California, and Alexandria, Virginia. Taylor’s work has been featured in NewYorkTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com, NBC Nightly News, CNN, C-SPAN, International Herald Tribune, Associated Press, military.com, and Naval Institute’s Proceedings, just to name a few. She is also the author of the recently released, Murderer of the Jujube Candy Heiress: A Coronado Cold Case.
This event also serves as a Coronado celebration of Ms. Evans’ recent recognition with the Presidential Citizens Medal, awarded on January 2, 2025, for her exemplary service to the country.
Don’t miss this opportunity to meet a true American hero and gain deeper insights into the powerful story behind The Women. Healing Wounds can be purchased here.
Find the full Coronado Community Read 2025 program here.

Candy, Coronado, and a 50-Year-Old Cold Case

Coronado Community READ Book Discussion: The Women
2025-03-19 14:00 - 15:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States

Coronado Community READ Book Discussion: "The Women"
2025-03-25 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Join us for one of our book discussions focusing on The Women by Kristin Hannah. Engage with fellow readers as we explore its themes, characters, and the reasons why it was chosen as the 2025 Coronado Community READ.

Best of the Best Book Club: "The Power" by Naomi Alderman
2025-03-26 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library’s Best of the Best Book Club meets regularly on the fourth Wednesday of each month to discuss books that have won major awards. Receive reminder emails about our meeting by registering below. Registration is not required.
For our March meeting, we will discuss the 2017 Women’s Prize for Fiction winner The Power by Naomi Alderman, a book of speculative fiction at its most ambitious and provocative, at once taking us on a thrilling journey to an alternate reality, and exposing our own world in bold and surprising ways.
Place this title on hold via our online catalog, or check out the e-book through the CloudLibrary app.
About The Power
In The Power, the world is a recognizable place: there’s a rich Nigerian boy who lounges around the family pool; a foster kid whose religious parents hide their true nature; an ambitious American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family.
But then a vital new force takes root and flourishes, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power: they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world drastically resets.

Unyielding Courage: A Conversation with a Vietnam Navy Nurse
2025-03-29 15:00 - 16:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Casey Meehan, a retired Navy nurse who served in the Vietnam War, shares her experience and lessons from her service.

Alice: Illustrating Wonderland - Art Contest, Entry Deadline March 31
2025-03-31 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Library was founded in 1890. The original library was built as a classical building that architect Harrison Albright designed in 1909. The building still stands at 640 Orange Avenue located in the heart of the Coronado community. This original building serves as the Spreckels Reading Room within the 40,000 square feet remodeled and expanded library building. The library includes study space at tables and carrels, lounge seating, wireless internet access, a large public meeting room, conference room, study rooms, separate Children’s Library and teen area, public-access computers, and collections in various subjects and formats. The library also has several large exhibit spaces where we display curated art from the local Coronado and San Diego community and museum-like curated cultural exhibits.

This summer, the library will host Alice: Illustrating Wonderland, a special exhibit celebrating 160 years of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In honor of this milestone, we invite artists of all ages to reimagine the whimsy and wonder of Lewis Carroll’s timeless tale. Choose a character or scene that inspires you—from the Mad Hatter’s tea party to Alice’s encounter with the Queen of Hearts—and craft your own two-dimensional masterpiece. Winners will receive prizes, and at least 10 pieces from each age category will be featured in the exhibit alongside 160 beautifully illustrated editions of the book. Don’t miss this chance to showcase your creativity and become part of Wonderland’s artistic legacy!
