Archive
Friends,
below are some great events coming up at the Book Smith at 1644 Haight St. between Clayton & Cole (863-8688)
BETH LISICK
reading & booksigning for Helping Me Help Myself Tuesday, February 19 at 7 pmFrom Bay Area favorite Beth Lisick, author of Everybody into the Pool, comes Helping Me Help Myself - the engaging and often-humorous story of one skeptic (the author), ten self-help gurus (John Gray, Richard Simmons, Stephen R. Covey, Jack Canfield, etc….), and a year spent trying to improve one's self. The author doesn't think of herself as a victim of the self-help movement. But is she?
Beth Lisick, author of the New York Times bestselling book Everybody into the Pool, is also a performer and odd-jobs enthusiast. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and anthologies including Best American Poetry, the Christian Science Monitor, and Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Movement. She has contributed to public radio's This American Life and is the cofounder of the monthly Porchlight storytelling series in San Francisco
CHARLES BOCK
reading & booksigning for Beautiful Children Wednesday, February 20 at 7 pmIn his debut novel, Charles Bock mixes incandescent prose with devious humor in capturing life in contemporary Las Vegas. And in doing so, the author provides a glimpse into a microcosm of modern America. Beautiful Children is an odyssey of heartache and redemption - heralding the arrival of a major new writer. "Beautiful Children careens from the seedy to the beautiful, the domestic to the epic, all with huge and exacting heart." - Jonathan Safran Foer
Charles Bock was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has an MFA from Bennington College and has received fellowships from Yaddo, UCross, and the Vermont Studio Center. He lives in New York City. Visit the author's website at:
beautifulchildren.netCHARLES BAXTER
reading & booksigning for The Soul Thief Thursday, February 21 at 7 pmCharles Baxter - the acclaimed author of The Feast of Love - now gives us one of his most beautifully wrought and unexpected novels. The Soul Thief is a work of fiction at once lyrical and eerie, acutely observant in its sensual and emotional detail, and audaciously metaphysical in its underpinnings. The Soul Thief is a brilliant novel - one that is certain to expand both his already-stellar reputation and ever-growing readership.
Charles Baxter is the author of eight previous works of fiction, including Saul and Patsy, The Feast of Love (nominated for the National Book Award and recently released as a film), Through the Safety Net, and Believers. He has also authored books of poetry and the art of writing.
PHILIP FRADKIN
reading & booksigning for Wallace Stegner and the American West Tuesday, February 26 at 7 pmAs a writer and novelist, as the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Angle of Repose and National Book Award winning The Spectator Bird, as a teacher and founder of the Stanford Creative Writing Program, and as an advocate of the Western landscape, Wallace Stegner has few equals. Philip Fradkin's new biography, Wallace Stegner and the American West, is the definitive account of one of the most acclaimed and admired writers, teachers, and conservationists of our time.
Philip L. Fradkin shared the Pulitzer Prize as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and was western editor of Audubon magazine. He is the author of ten previous books, including The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906: How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself and Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West. He lives on the coast north of San Francisco.
Dear Friends,
Hear are photos from the Haight [Ashbury] from a friend of a friend of mine.
Enjoy
Cheers, Marliese
http://haight.tribe.net/photos
CARYL FLINN
talk & booksigning for Brass Diva
Thursday, March 6 at 7 pmBrass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman tells the story of how a stenographer from Queens became the queen of the Broadway musical. Mining official and unofficial sources, including interviews with Merman's family as well as her personal scrapbooks, film historian Caryl Flinn unearths new details about Merman's life and finds that behind the high-octane personality was a remarkably pragmatic woman who never lost sight of her roots.
Caryl Flinn lives and works in Tucson, where she is a Professor at the University of Arizona. She is the author of The New German Cinema, Strains of Utopia, and Music and Cinema (co-edited).
CARA BLACK
reading & booksigning for Murder in the Rue de Paradis
Wednesday, March 12 at 7 pmMurder in the Rue de Paradis is the vivid new novel from San Francisco writer Cara Black. In this eighth Aimée Leduc story, the intrepid investigator is determined to avenge the murder of her one-time lover, an investigative journalist. Leduc's investigation embroils her in Turkish and Kurdish politics and leads to a sleeper jihadist. "She makes Paris come alive as no one else has since Georges Simenon." - Stuart Kaminsky
Cara Black lives in San Francisco with her bookseller husband. She is the author of an acclaimed series of novels set in Paris, including Murder in the Marais, Murder in the Bastille, Murder in Belleville, Murder in the Sentier, and Murder in Clichy. The most recent book in the series, Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis, was a #1 bestseller last year.
DAVID SMAY
talk & booksigning for Swordfishtrombones
Friday, March 14 at 7 pmSwordfishtrombones, the now legendary 1983 album by Tom Waits, was a watershed recording for the idiosyncratic artist. It not only revived his career, but signaled a significant change in the artist's personal life as well. David Smay's new book, Swordfishtrombones which is part of the 33 1/3 series, tells the story of the making of this remarkable album, once named the second best of all-time.
David Smay is a San Francisco music writer and longtime Booksmith customer whose earlier books include Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth: The Dark History of Prepubescent Pop, from the Banana Splits to Britney Spears and Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed.
MAESTRO
JAMES REDO'S ART EXHIBIT
MARCH 14th, 15th & 16th
RECEPTION SAT. MARCH 15th 7p.m.
AT - LIVE WORMS ART GALLERY
1345 GRANT STREET
BETWEEN VALLEJO & GREEN
NORTH BEACH, SAN FRANCISCOHora Vacuui Exhibit scheduled for Live Worms Gallery
Recent work by one of San Francisco’s most prolific iconic artists, James Redo, will be on display March 14 thru 16 at Live Worm Gallery, at 1345 Grant Avenue, between Vallejo and Green.
Called Hora Vacuui, hich translates to “fear of space,” the exhibition of four works is sponsored by the North Beach Arts Group. The exhibit will be launched with a reception, March 15, beginning at 7:00 pm.
Included in the exhibit will be Redo’s Maya Vision, Ancient Ancestors and Fusion Frisco Dreaming , which express his penchant for rendering dense, muralistic representations of the vibrant life of distant cultures evoked in his Classic and Contemporary forms.
Best known for his thoughtful and emotive work as well as the volume of his output of drawings, paintings and sculptures in various media, Redo is also a published poet, whose universal themes in various media reflects his extensive travel and his fascination with ancient cultures.
Maya Vision honors both the end and beginning of time as interpreted by the Mayan calendar, as it anticipates momentous cosmic change in 2012. Fusion Frisco is a blended anthology of Redo’s daily renderings incorporating a variety of monochromatic drawings that deal with both traditional and contemporary-technological themes.
The North Beach Arts Group has, as its mission, the celebration and promotion of the long tradition of creative expression associated with San Francisco’s legendary district.