Friends,
Below are some great events coming up at the Book Smith at 1644 Haight St. between Clayton & Cole (863-8688)
Wednesday, July 7, 7:30 PM
WILLOW WILSON
The Butterfly Mosque:
A Young American Woman’s Journey to Love and IslamTwenty-seven-year-old G. Willow Wilson has already established herself as an accomplished writer on modern religion and the Middle East in publications such asThe Atlantic Monthly and The New York Times Magazine. In her memoir, The Butterfly Mosque, she tells her remarkable story of converting to Islam and falling in love with an Egyptian man in a turbulent post–9/11 world.
When Willow leaves her atheist parents in Denver to study at Boston University, she enrolls in an Islamic Studies course, hopeful that it will help her to understand her inchoate spirituality. As she reads through the teachings and events of the Quran, Willow is astounded and comforted by how deeply this fourteen-hundred-year-old document speaks to who she is, and decides to risk everything to convert to Islam and embark on a fated journey across continents and into an uncertain future.
She settles in Cairo where she teaches English and attempts to submerge herself in a culture based on her adopted religion. And then she meets Omar, a passionate young man with a mild resentment of the Western influences in his homeland. They fall in love, entering into a daring relationship that calls into question the very nature of family, belief, and tradition. Torn between the secular West and Muslim East, Willow -- identifiably Western with her shock of red hair, shaky Arabic, and candor -- records her intensely personal struggle to forge a “third culture” that might accommodate her own values without compromising them or the friends and family on both sides of the divide.
Part travelogue, love story, and memoir, The Butterfly Mosque is a brave, inspiring story of faith -- in God, in each other, in ourselves, and in the ability of relationships to transcend cultural barriers and exist above the evils that threaten to keep us apart.
Willow Wilson was born in New Jersey in 1982 and raised in Colorado. Shortly after graduating from Boston University, Willow moved to Cairo, where she converted to Islam. She divides her time between Cairo and Seattle. Wilson is also the author of the graphic novel Cairo.Monday, July 12. 7:30 PM
HENRY LEE
Presumed Dead:
A True Life Murder MysteryComputer genius Hans Reiser married beautiful Russian pediatrician Nina Sharanova, moved with her to his native Oakland, and had two children. But bliss soon soured, and in the middle of a contentious divorce Nina simply vanished. One month later, Hans was charged with her murder. But that was just the beginning...
Henry Lee is a crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, and writes the “Crime Scene” blog at sfgate.com. Lee takes a thorough look at the entirety of the Hans Reiser case, from the exclusive vantage point of a long-time, on-the-ground field reporter.Wednesday, July 14, 7:30 PM
LARRY DOYLE
Go, Mutants!It came to earth . . . and now its’ kids go to high school.
The author of I Love You, Beth Cooper returns with another hilarious novel, this time with heroes and villains straight from classic sci-fi and teen movies of the ‘50s and ‘60s.
What if the movies that glowed from drive-in screens from the 50s and 60s weren’t fantasies but really happened? In Go, Mutants!, Larry Doyle has created a world populated with the monsters, aliens, and mutants of B-movie legend, with all the beach parties, dances, fist fights and hotrod races of classic teen dramas. An unforgettable era of pop culture is brought to life in an uproarious mash-up filled with Romance! Danger! Intergalactic Conspiracy! Molting!Earth has survived alien invasions, attacks by hordes of atomic mutants and the ravages of dinosaurs brought back to life. Now we’re in the blissful future. The grass is always green, freshly mowed by famous robots. Carhops in jetpacks deliver burgers and fries to your atomic coupe. And automatic sidewalks can take you anywhere: the Watch the Skies Drive-in, Crater Cove, and Manhattan High, where everybody roots for the Mutants.
J!m, the son of the alien who nearly destroyed the planet, is a brooding blue-skinned rebel with an enormous forehead and exceptionally oily skin. Along with Johnny, a leather-jacketed radioactive ape, and Jelly, a gelatinous mass passing as a fat kid, J!m navigates a scary adolescence in which he really is as alienated as he feels, the world might actually be out to get him, and true love is complicated by misunderstanding and incompatible parts. As harmless school antics escalate into explosive events with tragic consequences, J!m makes a discovery that will alter the course of civilization, though it may help his dating life.
Larry Doyle, a former writer for The Simpsons, works in showbiz and writes funny things for The New Yorker. He is the author of I Love You, Beth Cooper, which won the 2008 Thurber Prize for American Humor and was made into a major motion picture. He lives outside Baltimore with his wife, Becky, and their three children.Friday, July 16, 7:30 PM
SQUAW VALLEY COMMUNITY OF WRITERS BENEFIT POETRY READING
in honor of Lucille CliftonWith KAZIM ALI, author of The Far Mosque, The Fortieth Day, and Bright Felon;BRENDA HILLMAN, author of Pieces of Air in the Epic and Practical Water;FORREST GANDER, author of Eye Against Eye and A Faithful Existence; EVIE SHOCKLEY, author of A Half-Red Sea; and DEAN YOUNG, author of Primitive Mentor and Embryoyo. This annual gala reading benefits the Poetry Scholarship Fund.
First Unitarian Universalist, 1187 Franklin at Geary, San Francisco
Tickets $15-$30 at Brown Paper Tickets (or call 800-838-3006)
More information: squawpoet@ureach.com or 877-537-8073
The Booksmith is a supporter of this event, as are Hotel Rex, Rev. Audrey Gonzalez, and Deborah and Leo Ruth.Wednesday, July 21, 7:30 PM
KATE VEITCH
TrustWhat does it take to be a good woman – and what does it take from you?
Susanna Greenfield has given her all to being a good daughter, sister, wife and mother. Somehow, she’s maintained her profession as a college art teacher, as well as rearing two headstrong teenagers and nurturing a twenty-year marriage to Gerry, a confident, ambitious architect. She’s also the eternal peacemaker between her pretty younger sister, a single mother and former junkie turned born-again Christian, and their strong-willed mother. Just as Susanna is about to revive her long delayed creative artistic career, the unthinkable happens, ripping apart the fabric of her world, and revealing secrets which threaten to destroy both a marriage and a life.
Kate Veitch is a journalist and writer who grew up in Melbourne, Australia. She now divides her time between San Francisco (in our neighborhood!) and New South Wales, Australia. Her debut novel, Without a Backward Glance, received international praise, and was a bestseller in Australia and Germany.
“Similar to Anne Tyler in her wry affection for her characters and to Anita Shreve in her aptitude for creating compulsively readable plotlines…with its brisk pacing and compassionate take on human failing, this absorbing novel is sure to win many fans.” – Booklist
“Warm and always honest, Veitch manages to capture the ebb and flow of sibling dynamics and illuminate the mixed bag of emotions that comes with family life.” – Vogue (Australia)
Visit her at kateveitch.com.THE AUTHOR OF CLOUD ATLAS RETURNS TO THE BOOKSMITH:
Thursday, July 22, 7:30 PM
DAVID MITCHELL
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de ZoetA postmodern visionary, linguistic virtuoso, and sage of deep human feeling, David Mitchell has rightly earned international acclaim, a fireplace mantle of prizes, and a slavishly devoted readership. His fiction overflows with ecstatically rich language, dry humor, cliff hangers, plot twists, extraordinary characters, and imagination. All those pleasures and more await you in Mitchell’s long-awaited, hotly-anticipated new novel, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.
Mitchell has spent the past four years in Japan and Holland researching and writing this novel, so it is no surprise that it is chockablock full of gorgeous historical detail intertwined with his boundless imagination. Set in the mysterious, atmospheric coastal Japan of 1799, this tale follows an earnest, nerdy Dutch accountant fresh off the boat as he loses himself in a swirling, silken world of Japanese intrigue and danger – dangers that only grow stronger and more ethereal as the novel unfolds.
With superstitions, samurai and swamp fever, kimonos, crocodiles and courtesans, the brutal but dazzling world of feudal Japan is brought to life, as are Dutch ships, the royal court, forests, temples, and shrines. As with all Mitchell novels, fates intertwine, human choices and mistakes shift the course of events in unexpected ways, and delicate questions of identity, foreignness, and interconnectedness are raised.
David Mitchell is a two-time Booker Prize finalist, a Time magazine 100 Most Influential People, and a Granta Best Young British Novelist. His first novel,Ghostwritten, was awarded the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for the best book by a writer under 36 and a Guardian First Book Award finalist. His second novel, Number9Dream, was a finalist for the Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. His third novel Cloud Atlas was short-listed for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was an international bestseller. His most recent novel, Black Swan Green, was long-listed for the Booker Prize and named a Times Best Book of the Year. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children. It is our great pleasure to welcome David Mitchell back to The Booksmith.
Preferred seating vouchers available with the purchase of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet at The Booksmith, beginning June 29. There are a limited number of seating vouchers; we suggest purchasing your copy early if you would like one.Tuesday, July 27, 7:00 PM
FOUND IN TRANSLATION Book Group
Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de BalzacIn July we're going classic with a novel by Honoré de Balzac, one of France's most important writers and a major influence on Proust, Dostoyevsky, Faulkner, and others. Eugénie Grandet's father is a rich miser, making life unbearably dull for the young lady. One day she discovers salvation in her dashing, orphaned cousin Charles, but there's one catch: Charles is penniless, and he needs a fortune to satisfy Eugénie's father. So off to the West Indies for Charles . . . We'll be discussing Romanticism, fraught love, the origins of the novel, and Balzac's epic, 100-book series Comédie humaine, an immense panorama of post-Napoleon France--of which Eugénie Grandet forms one of the most important, most acclaimed, parts.
Join us on the fourth Tuesday of every month for spirited conversation about some of the newest writing hitting the U.S. from all over the globe. No foreign language knowledge necessary and no continental savvy required (but will be appreciated!) -- just bring your desire to read some excellent new books, hand-selected for you byScott Esposito, of the Center for the Art of Translation and The Quarterly Conversation, who also fearlessly leads the discussion, brilliantly.. You'll also meet some great new people and chat with them about the best new fiction from around the world.Saturday, July 31, 7:30 PM
TONY O’NEILL
Sick City“Tony O’Neill is a man who has taken the term rock & roll poet to its furthest edges…” – The Guardian
The latest page-turning romp from Tony O’Neill, author of Down and Out on Murder Mile and Hero of the Underground, Sick City is an outrageous adventure of one legendary sex tape, two desperate dope fiends, and all the trouble in the world.
Jeffrey has nowhere to go when his sugar-daddy boyfriend, Bill, croaks. But before Jeffrey sets off into the glare of LA, he grabs a few parting mementos: two grand in cash; a handgun; Bill’s police badge; a wild assortment of drugs; and a film canister that contains a treasure greater than all the rest combined: a reel featuring Steve McQueen, Mama Cass, Yul Brynner, and Sharon Tate in a never-before-see, drug-fueled orgy.
Randal is the fallen scion of a great Hollywood family. His drug addiction and his rehab bills have been long overlooked by his indulgent father; however, with him no dead and gone, Randal’s left to the zealous sanctimony of his younger brother who has admitted him to Clean and Serene, a celebrity treatment center run by TV personality Dr. Mike, which is where Randal meets Jeffrey.
Together the new friends scramble to unload the sex tape before their pasts, and a killer, catch up with them. Sick City rollicks in the absurdities of celebrity culture, entertains from first to last, and reads as if Elmore Leonard co-opted the métier of Irvine Welsh.
Tony O’Neill’s books include Digging the Vein, Down and Out on Murder Mile, andHero of the Underground. He is also the co-author of Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie. O’Neill’s essays, poems, and short stories have appeared extensively online and in print. He is a survivor of heroin addition, crack abuse, rehab, fatherhood, and stints in the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Kenickie, and Marc Almond’s band. He lives in New York with his wife and daughter.
"Sick City is a disturbingly twisted ride through Hollywood's underbelly with a degenerate cast of colorfully interwoven characters. I loved the whole fucked up journey." -- Slash, rock'n'roll legend
"Sick City is fun, twisted and brutal. One of the best books written about LA in a long time. O'Neill could be our generation's Jim Thompson." -- James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, Bright Shiny Morning
"…this ensemble of grotesques stumbles through skid-row L.A. like a Robert Altman film scripted by Charles Bukowski and William S. Burroughs … the characters are unforgettable; they live and breathe, and you sure as hell wouldn't want them to breathe on you. Sick City is appealing in its unsentimentalism, disgusting in its details—and almost unbelievably funny." -- BooklistThe girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes
http://media.causes.com/510213?p_id=44401190Tired of Talking to a Voice Robot? Want to Talk with a Human?:
Dial A Human - http://www.dialahuman.com/Women In The Arts - [Video] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs
World Clock: http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf
Dear World:
We, the United States of America, your top quality supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for our 2001-2008 interruption in service. The technical fault that led to this eight-year service outage has been located, and the software responsible was replaced November 4.
Early tests of the newly installed program indicate that we are now operating correctly, and we believe it to be fully functional as of January 20.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage. We look forward to resuming full service and hope to improve in years to come.
We truly thank you for your patience and understanding,
Sincerely,
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAJUKEBOX - http://www.bobforrest.com/JukeBox.htm
[HUMOR/ETC. - LOCATED NEAR BOTTOM OF PAGE]
SOME INTERESTING GEOGRAPHY
Alaska
More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska .Amazon
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply. The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States .Antarctica
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica . This ice also represents 70% of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, i.e.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.Brazil
Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.Canada
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning ' Big Village .'Chicago
Next to Warsaw , Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.Detroit
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road any where.Damascus , Syria
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.Istanbul , Turkey
Istanbul (AKA Constantinople), Turkey , is the only city in the world located on two continents.Los Angeles
Los Angeles' full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula -- and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.New York City
The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to playNew York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.Ohio
There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is man made.Pitcairn Island
The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia , at just 1.75 sq. miles.Rome
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome , Italy in 133 B..C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.Siberia
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.S.M.O.M
The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M. O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 had a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vaticanis.Sahara Desert
In the Sahara Desert , there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest place on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island . There has been no rainfall there for two million years.Spain
SPAIN literally means 'the land of rabbits.'St. Paul, Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota , was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre 'Pig's Eye' Parrant who set up the first business there.Roads
Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A: 1%, in Canada : 75%.Texas
The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas . It is as deep as 20 empire state buildings but only 3 inches wide.United States
The Interstate System requires that one-mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.Waterfalls
The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet. IT is 15 times higher than Niagara Falls
It has been said that one should learn something new every day.
Unfortunately, many of us are at that age where what we learn today, we forget tomorrow. But, give it a shot anyway!.All My Faves - http://www.allmyfaves.com/
FactCheck.org
Recent Postings - http://www.factcheck.org/just-the-facts/index.htmlTRIVIA
A friend of a friend of mine sent me this. Some interesting bits of trivia. Cheers, Marliese
Buddy Holly's backup band, the Crickets, got their name by flipping through the 'Insects' section of an encyclopedia. One of the names they rejected was 'The Beetles'. The Beatles chose their name in honor of The Crickets. And The Hollies chose their name in honor of Buddy Holly. And Badfinger's original name, The Iveys, was in honor of The Hollies.
Led Zeppelin's original name was "The New Yardbirds". Guitarist Jimmy Page had briefly been a member of the Yardbirds, and the band sprang out of an attempt to reform the band with new members.
Lynyrd Skynyrd named themselves after their high school athletic coach, Leonard Skinner, who'd told them that they'd never amount to anything.
"Mr. Mojo Risin'" (a phrase used in The Doors' song " L.A. Woman") is an anagram for Jim Morrison.
The Aerosmith hit "Walk This Way" was inspired by a gag in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein"
The band Nirvana was originally called "Skid Row", the members somehow unaware of the very popular heavy metal band by that name. When they finally heard of the band, they changed their name to "Nirvana", and were promptly sued by the members of a practically unknown sixties band that had gone by that name.
-First choice for Terry Doolittle in "Jumpin' Jack Flash" was Shelly Long. Whoopi Goldberg got the part.
-First choice for Bernie Rhodenbarr in "Burglar" was Bruce Willis. Whoopi Goldberg got the part.
-First choice for Rita Rizzoli in "Fatal Beauty" was Cher. Whoopi Goldberg got the part.
-First choice for Deloris Van Cartier in "Sister Act" was Bette Midler. Whoopi Goldberg got the part.-First choice for the title role in "Carrie" was Carrie Fisher. Sissy Spacek got the part.
-First choice for Princess Leia in "Star Wars" was Sissy Spacek. Carrie Fisher got the part.The Professor on 'Gilligan's Island' was named Roy Hinkley. The Skipper was named Jonas Grumby. Both names were used only once in the entire series. Gilligan's full name was never revealed (even Bob Denver, who played Gilligan, was never told his full name, nor was he sure if Gilligan was his first or last name), though some insiders claim his name was supposed to be Willy Gilligan. And Mary Ann's last name was Summers, and Mrs. Howell's maiden name was Wentworth.
Hot water weighs more than cold water.
If a pin was heated to the same temperature as the center of the Sun, its heat would set alight everything within 60 miles of it.
If the Sun's energy output would decreased by one-tenth, the entire Earth would be covered in ice one mile thick; if the Sun's energy increased by 30 percent, all life on Earth would be burnt to a cinder.
If something were to happen to Washington, D.C., the city of Port Angeles, WA, would become our nation's capital.
If you ever need to call someone in Antarctica, the area code is 672.
In medieval England, beer was often served with breakfast.
Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts and white worms like fried pork rinds.
John Larroquette was the narrator of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
Leonardo DiCaprio's acting debut was on TV's 'Romper Room'.
Roald Dahl, the children's writer who wrote "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory" and "James And The Giant Peach", wrote the screenplay for "You Only Live Twice", the fifth James Bond Movie.
Female wrestlers are called "siffleuses"
Most tropical marine fish could survive in a tank filled with human blood.
Spiders never spin webs in structures made of chestnut wood. That is why do many European chateaux were built with chestnut beams - spider webs on a 50-foot beamed ceiling can be difficult to clean.
>From the same list with my own addition:
What do Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, Kris Kristofferson, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Marvin Gaye, Michael Nesmith (of The Monkees), Bill Wyman (of The Rolling Stones), The Everly Brothers, and Gene Vincent all have in common that Rush Limbaugh, Bill Kristol, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Scooter Libby do not? They're veterans of course.
Underground Hour
Tuesdays 7 to 8 p.m.
http://ksfs.sfsu.edu/
MUSIC by MiKo
Paper Mill Creek Saloon, Forest Knolls, CA, - FREE - EVERY Tuesday, 8-11 PM, West on Sir Francis Drake, turn left at the Forest Knolls intersection (before Lagunitas). Thought for the day: Q What is the only food that doesn't spoil? A Honey ..via Michael Welch
