Houston Public Library

MLK Day: What's Closed on Monday?

Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday and there are quite a few things closed. Here's a rundown of what we know is closed and/or open. If you know of any things we missed, please add them in the comments. Most banks. The United States Post Office -- no mail delivery, except Expr ... More >>

Hoarding & Clutter In The Burbs: Viruses, Fires...When Will It End?

The hot new sydrome these days is hoarding -- people can't get enough reality TV shows about poor idiots who can't throw anything away, even if those people watching have to shove aside three boxes of 11-year-old Fuddrucker's receipts just to see the screen. But things have gotten real, hoarding-wi ... More >>

"Miss Sassy Jazz," Other Locals Lend Library Tunes at Noon

The Houston Public Library would like to give you a little music while you read this month. Friday morning the library announced Tunes at Noon, a new free concert series starting the Tuesday at the main library's Julia Ideson Building (550 McKinney). The first performer, Cassandra Tyson, is an alum ... More >>

“Faces, Places & Spaces”

This Is Our Home and It Is Not for Sale

''Every Day Use: The Origins of African-American Quilt Making''

Paula Poundstone

An Evening with David Eagleman

"When the Spirit Moves: African American Dance History"

Cultural history in motion

Jeff Henry Williamson Learns Not To Send Bomb Threats To The FBI From The Houston Public Library

Mess with the FBI at your own risk​Jeff Henry Williamson, who thought it was a good idea to use the Houston Public Library downtown to send threats about blowing up the FBI building, learned otherwise today.U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Williamson to three and a half years in federal ... More >>

Fifth Ward's DeLuxe Theater Gets Ready For Its Close-Up

Photo courtesy DeLuxe TheaterThe DeLuxe, back in the day​City Council on Wednesday approved a contract with Smith & Company Architects for the renovation of the Fifth Ward's historic DeLuxe Theater. No opening date has been announced for the 59-year old building, which has sat dormant for over ... More >>

Save A Houston Librarian, Buy A Book

​While Hair Balls is fearful of ever-expanding government power and its attendant death panels and Wall Street takeovers, there is one government institution we absolutely love: libraries. We're total whores for literacy and recreational/ educational reading. Which is why we're stoked for the ... More >>

"Pennone: The Pole of Soap"

Three flags, one flagpole and lots of grease - hey, what could go wrong?

Community Center Reading Series: Rick Elliott

The GLBT Community Center starts its new literary series

Veteran's Day Parade In Downtown Houston: The Photos

Photos by Olivia Flores Alvarez​Tanks and other military vehicles came down Smith Street at lunchtime today, along with drill squads and a few political honchos, all part of today's Veteran's Day Parade.Hair Balls was stationed right by the Houston Public Library, not that it was hard to find a sp ... More >>

Michael Andrews: Historic Texas Courthouses

The author discusses the state's architectural history

8th Annual Books on the Bayou

Houstonians take a look at Zora Neale Hurston's most famous book

Urban Fiction Book ClubUrban Fiction Book Club: ReShonda Tate Billingsley

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An Evening with Lamar Smith

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Cafe Reads Presents Cathy Jodeit

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ReShonda Tate Billingsley

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Last Call for Art: Cabaret, Houston Center for Photography, Enchanting Taiwan

Photograph by David M. AllenIf you catch Theater Under the Star's Cabaret on its last weekend, and we suggest you do, here's a tip: Don't sing along with the performers. (Hair Balls was treated to a performance of "Willkommen" by a fellow audience member during our visit on opening night.) But even ... More >>

Who's Who in Black Houston

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Urban Fiction Book Club: Angel by Teri Woods

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The Books Are Alive!! They're Aliiiiive!!!!!!

Image courtesy HALN.comCheck out a book that walks and talks during Saturday's Living Library. Presented by the Houston Public Library and the Center for the Healing of Racism, the Living Library is made up of more than a dozen members of the community who will have a give-and-take conversation with ... More >>

Before We Go: A Thousand Cranes, the Muses, Johnny Bush, the Old Quarter, Katy Perry, a Numbers Documentary and More

The above cartoon - give it a minute; it'll show up - is somehow tied into Saturday's show at Avant Garden featuring A Thousand Cranes, How I Quit Crack and Metal Rouge. Rocks Off wishes he could tell you how, but he digs the Monty Python and the Holy Grail homage. Colorado traditional Celtic duo t ... More >>

Stephanie Elizondo Griest: Mexican Enough

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Gothtopia: Searching for the Perfect Vampire Anthem

Note: Lost in all the inaugural hoopla this week was the fact that Monday was Edgar Allan Poe's 200th birthday. No better time, then, to debut Rocks Off's new Goth column... Recently, my wife and I made our way down to the Houston Public Library to hear a talk with Charlaine Harris, author of ... More >>

Authors in Architecture

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The Library's Patience For The Homeless Apparently Has Expired (Updated)

The grace period at the Houston Public Library for all undesirables is officially over, it seems. A Houston police officer confronted some members of Food Not Bombs on Monday night - the group serves food to the homeless outside the library - to tell them to start thinking about another base of oper ... More >>

$13 at The Black Labrador Pub on Montrose

Where: The Black Labrador Pub, 4100 Montrose Blvd, 713-529-1199 What $13 gets you: Many of their main course dishes for either brunch or lunch. The Black Labrador during the daytime has the most wonderful ambience. Located next to the Montrose branch of the Houston Public Library, you can go in ... More >>

Classic Lit/Metamorphosis

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“Whimsical Wearables”

Standouts from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection make us rethink the definition of jewelry

Via Colori in Downtown Houston

Artists of all ages representing local schools and businesses were in full and colorful work mode this weekend on the streets running behind the central branch of the Houston Public Library and next to Sam Houston Park. The streets were closed off so the artists could spread out and apply chalk to t ... More >>

Fic at NiteBoomsday

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Alex Kava

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David Handler

Have lunch with the author of The Sour Cherry Surprise

Mark Doty

The Dog Years author reads at the Houston Public Library

Who Decides What You Can View on Houston’s Free WiFi?

An Evening with Emily Giffin

The chick-lit queen checks in at the Houston Public Library

Love the Look, Miss the Escalators: Houston Public Library Central Branch Reopens

Breaking Out of the Box: Conventional Women Embarking on Unconventional Paths

The Heritage Society marks Women’s History Month with a look at Houston’s earliest female movers and shakers

Judging Books and Their Covers

Appearances aside, is the Houston Public Library doing the right thing for all?

Houston Public Library, energy policy, Houston Chronicle, blogging

Fondren Southwest gets a mini-library

Book 'Em!

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Caribbean Vacation

Storyteller Edwin Negrón tells stories from other lands

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