West Oakland Book Club X Oakland Public Library

This book club meetup is all about good conversation and community. Whether you’ve read every page or just started the book, bring your thoughts, questions, and vibes.

This month, the West Oakland Library Book Club dives into Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark, a fierce, imaginative, and unflinching novella that reclaims Southern history through the lens of Black resistance and cosmic horror. Set in an alternate 1920s Georgia, where the Ku Klux Klan are literal monsters and hate is a supernatural force, Ring Shout follows a band of freedom fighters who wield ancestral power and unshakable courage. With razor-sharp prose, folkloric depth, and a powerful sense of justice, Clark delivers a story that is as thrilling as it is timely, unearthing the spiritual and ancestral tools needed to fight systemic terror and reminding us that survival can be a form of revolution.

**About West Oakland Library**

The West Oakland Branch of the Oakland Public Library, established in 1977, serves as a vital resource and gathering place for the West Oakland community. Situated at 1801 Adeline Street, the branch offers a diverse collection of materials, including books, DVDs, CDs, magazines, and newspapers for patrons of all ages. Notably, it houses a dedicated African American collection, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the neighborhood, as well as smaller collections in Arabic and Spanish, catering to the area's linguistic diversity. The library also features graphic novel collections suitable for all age groups, supporting a wide range of reading interests.

Beyond its collections, the West Oakland Branch provides various amenities to support community engagement and learning. Facilities include accessible bathrooms, computers, copiers, fax machines, meeting rooms, parking, printing services, scanners, and study rooms. The branch hosts a variety of events and programs, such as family storytimes and tenants' rights clinics, fostering a sense of community and providing valuable resources to residents. As part of the Oakland Public Library system, the West Oakland Branch exemplifies a commitment to serving the educational and cultural needs of its patrons.

**About Oakland Public Library**

The Oakland Public Library is a part of the City of Oakland in California and has been in existence since 1878. They have:

• a Main Library
• Seventeen branch libraries
• The Second Start Adult Literacy Program
• The Tool Lending Library
• The African-American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO).
• The Oakland History Center

They offer a range of additional services for residents of Oakland and California. They get support from the lively Friends of the Library group and the Library Advisory Commission. They also have local Library Friends groups around the city. More at: https://oaklandlibrary.org/

**About P. Djèlí Clark**

Phenderson Djéli Clark is the award winning and Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, and World Fantasy nominated author of the novels and and the novellas , , and . His stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor.com, Daily Science Fiction, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Apex, Lightspeed, Fireside Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in print anthologies including, Griots, Hidden Youth and Clockwork Cairo. He is a founding member of FIYAH Literary Magazine and an infrequent reviewer at Strange Horizons. Read more here.

Host or Publisher Sistah Scifi