There’s More than One Night to Stay Home and Read a Book

For 25 years strong, Angelenos have teamed up with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles to celebrate the Stay Home and Read a Book Ball and support the Los Angeles Public Library.  Thanks to 260 Library lovers, this year’s Ball brought in $54,000 – a 23% increase from last year’s proceeds!

Participants of the Ball experience the inherent pleasure of championing what the Library represents: free access to ideas and information, lifelong learning, and democracy at its finest – but in the comfort of their own homes with permission to retire early, put on jammies and curl up with a good book. Sounds like heaven, right?

Here’s just a few examples of how people observed this novel “non-event.”

Patton Oswalt had H. P. Lovecraft at his table and read Tenth of December by George Saunders.

Peg Yorkin celebrated with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and read My Beloved World by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Mary Bergman-Rallis read Lamb by Christopher Moore.

Natalie Seaman read anything she could get her hands on.

Jane Lopatt read The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.

Charity Tran enjoyed Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Rachel Small read Citizenville by Gavin Newsom and Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

Andrew Bogen read The Observant Owl by Kālīprasanna Siṃha.

Miles Corwin read Defender of the Realm by William Manchester and Paul Reid.

Sharon Rising read Jack Kennedy by Chris Matthews.

Library Foundation staff participated in the Second Annual Dr. Seuss Read-a-thon in the Children’s Literature Department.

Although the Ball took place on March 1, no one turned into a pumpkin after the clock struck midnight. The spirit of the occasion is ongoing as Los Angeles Times journalist and award-winning author Hector Tobar writes, “Yes, every day is a ball, a journey or a miracle when you have a library card.” Every day is a good day to give back to the Library, and there’s no expiration on taking part in the Ball.

So, if you have plans to stay home with a book in hand and the Los Angeles Public Library in heart, make a reservation for the Ball any time by donating at www.lfla.dev/stayhome. Share your festivities on Facebook and Twitter @LibraryFoundLA #LFLAStayHome.

Thank you to all who have stayed home over the years to support the Library!

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