Archive
Friends,
below are some great events coming up at the Book Smith at 1644 Haight St. between Clayton & Cole (863-8688)
Wednesday, November 20 7:30 PM
JONATHAN MILES
WANT NOT
In his much anticipated second novel, WANT NOT, Miles takes a giant leap forward with this highly inventive and corrosively funny story of our times, a three-pronged tale of human excess that sifts through the detritus of several disparate lives -- lost loves, blown chances, countless words and deeds misdirected or misunderstood --all conjoined in their come-hell-or-high-water search for fulfillment.
Read more: http://booksmith.com/event/jonathan-miles-want-not
Thursday, December 5 ~ 7:00 PM
SHIPWRECK: A CHRISTMAS CAROL EDITION
6 Great Writers Destroy 1 Great Book, 1 Character at a Time
Good theatre for bad literature? Marital aid for book nerds? Competitive erotic fanfiction at its finest? Shipwreck is all of these things.
Six Great Writers will destroy one Great Book, one Great Character at a time, in service of the transcendent and the profane (and also laughs). Marvel as beloved characters are plucked from their worlds and made to do stuff they were never meant to do in places they were never meant to see.
You choose the best Ship. The winning writer chooses their character for the next Shipwreck, and returns to defend their title.
Battlers for December's title will be announced soon!
All stories will be recited by Shakespearean Thespian in Residence, Sir Steven Westdahl, from his private chamber at Booksmith Castle, both to preserve the majesty of the written work and to ensure the honesty of the audience when voting for a winner.
Tickets $10 (includes drinks), available in the store or at Brown Paper Tickets online
Wednesday, December 11 ~ 7:30 PM
ZYZZYVA's Third Annual Holiday Party and Reading
Once again, it’s time to celebrate the release of ZYZZYVA’s Winter issue -- and for you to have some cheery drinks, tasty snacks, and maybe win some prizes, too.
Hosted by ZYZZYVA editors Laura Cogan and Oscar Villalon, and featuring Winter contributorsLisa Teasley, John W. Evans, Pat Joseph, and Monique Wentzel.
Lisa Teasley is the author of the novels Heat Signature and Dive and the story collection Glow in the Dark. She lives in Venice, California.
John W. Evans is the author of the memoir Young Widower, which will be published in March 2014. He is a Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing at Stanford.
Pat Joseph is the executive editor at California magazine. His work has appeared in VQR, The Atlantic, and Salon, among other publications.
Monique Wentzel is a Stegner Fellow at Stanford. Her story in the Winter ’13 issue, "Modern Speedwash,” is her first work of fiction in print.
Friday, December 13 ~ 6:30 - 9:30 PMBOOKSMITH BOOKSWAP: REGRET EDITION
Eat, Drink, Talk, (Swap) BooksGet ready for THE LAST BOOKSWAP of 2013.
Come hang out with us for our last bookish bash before the Holidays. We'll eat dinner, drink free-flowing wine, and have a rowdy, white elephant swap. All you have to do is bring a book.
Since it's the season of giving, you'll get coupons, swag, free books, and a closed bookstore all to yourself.Did we mention all you have to bring a book? December's theme will be REGRET. Maybe it's looking back at 2013. Maybe we're imagining ourselves on Saturday morning, after 3 hours of an open bar. Maybe we just want a clean slate for 2014. Regardless, pick a book you love about regret, and bring it to show off.
Our special guest, who'll be bringing his own Regret to share, is Anthony Marra, whose first novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, was a New York Times bestseller, was long-listed for the National Book Award, and will be translated into over a dozen languages. Marra is the recipient of a Whiting Award, a Pushcart Prize, and the Narrative Prize. His work has appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012, The Atlantic, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. He holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, where he now teaches.
You''ll hand your Regret off to a kindly new friend, and get someone else's to cart away. How's that for starting 2014 off right?
Tickets for this event must be purchased in advance, in the store, or at Brown Paper Tickets online(or 800-838-3006).
Tuesday, March 4
7:30 PM
KATHERINE PRESTON
OUT WITH IT
"Out With It is both a compassionate, unflinching memoir and an anatomy of life with a stammer. Katherine Preston offers affirmation for the millions of us who live with a speech disfluency and practical insight for those who don't. I highly recommend this astute and engaging book." -- David Mitchell, author of Cloud AtlasA vividly powerful memoir of a young woman who fought for years to change who she was until she finally found her voice and learned to embrace her imperfection.
Imagine waking up one day to find your words trapped inside your head, leaving you unable to say what you feel, think, want, or need. At the age of seven that happened to Katherine Preston. From that moment, she began battling her stutter and hiding her shame by denying there was anything wrong. Seventeen years later, exhausted and humiliated, she made a life-changing decision: to leave her home in London and spend a year traveling around America meeting hundreds of stutterers, speech therapists, and researchers. What began as a vague search for a cure became a journey that debunked the misconceptions shrouding the condition, and a love story that transformed her conception of what it means to be normal.
Shedding light on an ancient condition that affects approximately 4 million people in the United States and 60 million people worldwide, Preston has assembled an anthology of expertise and experience. In addition to specialists in the field, she interviews celebrities, writers, musicians, social workers, psychologists, and financiers -- men and women from all walks of life battling their difficulties with speech. A heartwarming memoir and a journalistic feat, OUT WITH IT is more than a chronicle of one of the most prevalent speech problems in the world; it’s a story about understanding yourself, and learning to embrace the voice within.
"Katherine Preston is an upbeat and inspiring example of how to deal with a problem that concerns so many and yet is acknowledged by so few. Out With It deserves the widest possible audience." -- Michael Palin, actor, author, and founder of the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children
"Katherine Preston's memoir is an astute and personal exploration on the human experience.... A must-read." -- Emily Blunt, actress
"A frank, encouraging, and fresh exploration of a problem that's more widespread than we think. Out With It is a welcome addition to the small body of literature on this fascinating and mysterious subject." -- Margaret Drabble, author of The Peppered Moth and A Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with JigsawsKatherine Preston is a writer, public speaker, and a regular contributor to Psychology Today. Raised in England, she currently lives in San Francisco
Thursday, March 6
7:30 PM
SHIPWRECK: Wind in the WillowsGet ready for Mr. Toad's wild ride.
Good theatre for bad literature? Marital aid for book nerds? A literary erotic fanfiction competition for the ages? Shipwreck is all of these things.
Six Great Writers will destroy one Great Book, one Great Character at a time, in service of the transcendent and the profane (and also laughs). Marvel as beloved characters are plucked from their worlds and made to do stuff they were never meant to do in places they were never meant to see.
You choose the best Ship. The winning writer chooses their character for the next Shipwreck, and returns to defend their title.
All stories will be recited by Shakespearean Thespian in Residence, Sir Steven Westdahl, from his private chamber at Booksmith Castle, both to preserve the majesty of the written work and to ensure the honesty of the audience when voting for a winner.
WRITERS: Alan Leggit (4-time champ), Sean Keane, Alitzah Oros, Christopher Steffen, Kate Santos, and one elusive mystery writer.
Tickets $10 (includes drinks) available in the store or at Brown Paper Tickets online. 21+, please.
Monday, March 10
7:30 PM
JULIAN HOFFMAN
THE SMALL HEART OF THINGS
Being at Home in a Beckoning World
Julian Hoffman intimately examines the myriad ways in which connections to the natural world can be deepened through an equality of perception, whether it’s a caterpillar carrying its house of leaves, transhumant shepherds ranging high mountain pastures, a quail taking cover on an empty steppe, or a Turkmen family emigrating from Afghanistan to Istanbul. His narrative spans the common -- and often contested -- ground that supports human and natural communities alike, seeking the unsung stories that sustain us.Guided by the belief of Rainer Maria Rilke that “everything beckons us to perceive it,” Hoffman explores the area around the Prespa Lakes, the first transboundary park in the Balkans, shared by Greece, Albania, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. From there he travels widely to regions rarely written about, exploring the idea that home is wherever we happen to be if we accord that place our close and patient attention.
"At a time when we wonder where hope resides, this is a book of faith in the natural histories of community, broken and sustained. Not only does the language honor the encountered beauties along the way, it explores a complexity of ideas that reminds us we are not strangers in the world if we remain open to awe and respectful of the tenacious spirit required to live in place. The Small Heart of Things is a book of patience.” -- Terry Tempest Williams, author of Finding Beauty in a Broken World
Julian Hoffman was born in England and grew up in Canada. In 2000, he and his partner, Julia, moved to the Prespa Lakes in northern Greece where, after some years as market gardeners, they now monitor birds in sensitive upland areas where wind farms have been built or proposed. His essay “Faith in a Forgotten Place,” which is taken from the manuscript of The Small Heart of Things, won the 2011 Terrain.org Nonfiction Prize. Other writing has recently appeared in Kyoto Journal, Southern Humanities Review, EarthLines, Flyway, Cold Mountain Review, Three Coyotes, and Redwood Coast Review.