Archive

Friends,

below are some great events coming up at the Book Smith at 1644 Haight St. between Clayton & Cole (863-8688)

MARK ENGLER
talk & booksigning for "How to Rule the World"
Monday, May 5 at 7 pm

"As the world readies to heave a collective sigh of relief upon George W. Bush's exit from the White House, "How to Rule the World" is a caution against complacency. Mark Engler offers a timely reminder that before Bush's boots and bombs there was Clinton's corporate 'consensus' - more soothing perhaps but no more sustainable than the neocons' disastrous militarism. He then makes a case that there lies a third choice: democracy. Impressively researched and sharply argued, How to Rule the World is an essential handbook not for the few who do rule the world but for the many who should." - Greg Grandin, author of Empire's Workshop

Mark Engler is an analyst with Foreign Policy In Focus. He is also a New York City-based journalist. His articles have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Newsday, Dissent, In These Times, Salon.com, and MotherJones.com.

CATHLEEN SCHINE
reading & booksigning for "The New Yorkers"
Tuesday, May 6 at 7 pm

Inspired by Cathleen Schine's adoption of a profoundly troubled dog named Buster, "The New Yorkers" is a novel of love, longing, and overcoming the shyness that leashes us. On a quiet block near Central Park, compelled to meet by their canine companions, five lonely city dwellers find one another. Over the course of four seasons, they emerge from their apartments in snow, rain, or glorious sunshine to make friends and sometimes even fall in love. A love letter to a city full of surprises, The New Yorkers is an enchanting comedy of manners (with dogs!) from one of our most beloved writers.

Cathleen Schine is the author of "The Love Letter" and "Rameau's Niece," among other novels. She has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, and The New York Times Book Review.

FELICIA SULLIVAN
talk & booksigning for "The Sky Isn't Visible from Here"
Wednesday, May 7 at 7 pm

Felicia Sullivan's volatile, beautiful, drug-addicted mother disappeared the night she graduated from college. In "The Sky Isn't Visible from Here" Sullivan, who grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, now looks back on her childhood lived among drug dealers, users, and substitute fathers. She became her mother's keeper, taking her to the hospital when she overdosed, withstanding her narcissistic rages, succumbing to the abuse of so-called stepfathers, and always wondering why her mother would never reveal the truth about the father she'd never met. This is a memoir brave and beautiful.

Felicia C. Sullivan is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and a Best American Essays notable. Her work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Mississippi Review, and Pindeldyboz - and in such anthologies as Homewrecker: An Atlas of Illicit Loves and Money Changes Everything. Sullivan was the recipient of the 2005 Tin House memoir fellowship, and in 2001, she founded the critically acclaimed literary journal Small Spiral Notebook. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

DALE PENDELL
reading & booksigning for "Walking with Nobby"
Tuesday, May 13 at 7 pm

Norman O. Brown (1913-2002) was an American intellectual, academic, and author of wide-ranging interests and influence. In "Walking with Nobby: Conversations with Norman O. Brown," the teacher's one time student - the acclaimed ethnobotanist Dale Pendell - records a series of conversations on such topics as paganism and world religions, psychoanalysis, modern and ancient cultures, Dionysus, Marx, and Freud.

Dale Pendell is a poet, software engineer, longtime student of ethnobotany and the author of the acclaimed Pharmako trilogy - a literary, shamanic, and pharmacological study of psychoactive plants. He has led workshops on ethnobotany and ethnopoetics for the Naropa Institute and the Botanical Preservation Corps.

FARHAD MANJOO
reading & booksigning for "True Enough"
Wednesday, May 14 at 7 pm

In 2005, Stephen Colbert catapulted the word "truthiness" - the notion of an idea feeling true without any backup evidence - into the public consciousness. Salon.com writer Farhad Manjoo expands upon this concept in "True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society", a perceptive analysis of the status of truth in the digital age - as well as an exploration of how biases push both liberals and conservatives to interpret news in a way that accords with their personal versions of "reality."

Farhad Manjoo manages Machinist, a daily technology news blog at Salon.com, where he also writes frequently on journalism, politics, and new media.

CHUCK PALAHNIUK **
talk & booksigning for "Snuff"
Wednesday, May 28 at 7 pm

Chuck Palahniuk's new novel, "Snuff", is the story of a gargantuan gangbang. It tells the tale of an aging porn queen who intends to put an exclamation point on her career by having sex on film with 600 men in one day. The story begins with Mr. 600. The perspective then shifts to Mr. 72, before we encounter Mr. 137. Wild, funny, and thoroughly researched - Snuff goes where no literary novel has gone before. Who else but Chuck Palahniuk would dare do such a thing?

Chuck Palahniuk is the bestselling author of seven novels: "Haunted," " Lullaby," "Fight Club" - which was made into a popular film by director David Fincher - "Diary," "Survivor," "Invisible Monsters," and "Choke" - which will be released later this year as a film starring Sam Rockwell and Angelica Houston.

** This Booksmith sponsored event will take place at the Sundance Kabuki Theater (1881 Post Street) in San Francisco. Tickets are on sale at The Booksmith.

TIM WINTON
reading & booksigning for "Breath"
Saturday, May 31 at 7 pm

Tim Winton is Australia's best-loved novelist. His new work, "Breath", is an extraordinary evocation of an adolescence spent resisting complacency, testing one's limits against nature, finding like-minded souls, and discovering just how far one breath will take you. It's a story of extremes sport and extreme emotions. "Breath is a coming-of-age novel written with Tim Winton's customary tenderness and vivid sense of place and psychological truth." - Colm Toibin

Tim Winton was born in Perth, Western Australia, and is the preeminent Australian novelist of his generation. He has written twenty books, including the bestselling novels "Cloudstreet," "The Riders" (shortlisted for the Booker Prize), and "Dirt Music."

MIKE FARRELL
talk & booksigning for "Just Call Me Mike"
Tuesday, June 10 at 7 pm

After gaining renown for his role in the much-loved television series M*A*S*H, actor Mike Farrell embarked upon a more arduous path as a human rights advocate. "Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist" is his story. As amply demonstrated in this memoir, Farrell's celebrity has put him in the unique position to witness and participate in the efforts of peace-workers both at home and throughout the world.

Best known as an actor and for his eight years on M*A*S*H and five seasons on Providence, Mike Farrell is also a writer, director and producer. Farrell has served on human rights and peace delegations to many countries around the world. As President of Death Penalty Focus, he speaks, writes, and coordinates efforts to stop executions.

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