Welcome to The Booksmith calendar of author events. Our readings/booksignings are a great opportunity to meet an author, hear them read from their work, or purchase an autographed copy of their latest book. As always, our events are free and open to the public. The Booksmith is located at 1644 Haight Street (between Clayton & Cole) in San Francisco's historic Haight Ashbury neighborhood. Check our information page for directions and a map to the store. If you are unable to attend an event and are interested in purchasing a signed book (available at no extra charge), please please give us a call at 415-863-8688 or contact us via email at read@booksmith.com. We're happy to hold a book or ship it to you.

	RUDOLPH DELSON reading & booksigning for Maynard and Jennica Tuesday, October 2 at 7 pm Maynard is a defeated musician, and a reformed misanthrope. One day, in the New York City subway, he meets Jennica, a nostalgic Californian who calculates she has been lonesome 68.53 % of her adult life. Rudolph Delson's debut novel, Maynard and Jennica (hardback, $24.00), is the portrait (told in the voice of 35 narrators!) of a pair of lovers who are both flawed and complex and at once eccentric and deeply familiar. Rudy Delson, a "recovering lawyer," quit his job on the eve of his 30th birthday to write Maynard and Jennica, his first novel. Delson was raised in San Jose, graduated from Stanford, and currently lives in Brooklyn.
	LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI booksigning for Poetry as Insurgent Art Tuesday, October 9 at 7 pm >From the groundbreaking A Coney Island of the Mind to the "personal epic" of Americus, Book I, Lawrence Ferlinghetti has, in more than 30 books over 50 years, been the poetic conscience of America. Now in the just released Poetry As Insurgent Art (hardback, $12.95), he offers in prose his primer of what poetry is, could be, and should be. The result is by turns tender and furious, personal and political. If you are a reader of poetry, find out what is missing from the usual fare; if you are a poet, read at your own risk. Lawrence Ferlinghetti is not only a major American poet - he is an international icon. In 1998 he was named Poet Laureate of San Francisco. In 2005, he received the National Book Award's first Literarian Award (recognizing an individual whose life's work has enhanced the literary world as a whole). In 2006, he was named a Commander in the French Order of Arts and Letters. Ferlinghetti has read his poetry and shown his art around the world.
	ROBERT ALTMAN talk, slideshow & booksigning for The Sixties Wednesday, October 10 at 7 pm Timothy Leary. Allen Ginsberg. Jim Morrison. Neil Young. Abbie Hoffman. Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. Janis Joplin. Ram Dass. Dennis Hopper. Jane Fonda. Ken Kesey. Hippies on Mt. Tam. The March on Washington. Anti-war demonstrations. People's Park. Berkeley. Haight Ashbury. Robert Altman's just published book, The Sixties (hardback, $39.95), brings together photographs of the people, events, culture, rock stars, writers, and political figures who made the sixties the most influential decade of the century. Robert Altman is an internationally acclaimed photographer who studied with Ansel Adams. He is best known today as a photojournalist for Rolling Stone magazine - Cameron Crowe used many of his images in the film Almost Famous. A leader in embracing digital photography, Altman's recent work appeared in numerous publications including Entertainment Weekly, Mojo, New York Times, People, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
	WESLEY STACE reading, a bit of ventriloquism, & booksigning for By George Thursday, October 11 at 7 pm By George (hardback, $24.99) is the new novel from Wesley Stace (aka the singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding), which tells the story of two boys named George Fisher, one flesh, one wood. Weaving the boy's tale and the "memoirs" of a ventriloquist's dummy, Staces' second novel unveils the secrets of four generations of entertainers. Exquisitely tender, By George also tells the story of two boys separated by years but driven by the same desires: to find a voice, and to be loved. Educated at Cambridge, Wesley Stace (also known as John Wesley Harding) cut short his Ph.D. studies to pursue a music career. He has released 8 solo albums and toured as the opening act for Michelle Shocked, The Mighty Lemon Drops, and Bruce Springsteen. His bestselling novel, Misfortune, was published to great acclaim in 2004.
	KEN FOSTER talk & booksigning for Dogs I Have Met Friday, October 12 at 7 pm Ken Foster writes about the human/canine bond with wisdom, insight, and a great heart. Now, this Booksmith favorite returns to our store to speak about his new book, Dogs I Have Met (softcover, $14.95), the follow up to the author's bestselling memoir, The Dogs Who Found Me: What I've Learned from Pets Who Were Left Behind. If you love dogs, if you love good writing, if you loved Marley and Me, don't miss this very special event. Ken Foster is the author of The Kind I'm Likely to Get, a New York Times Notable Book, and the editor of two anthologies, including Dog Culture. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, McSweeney's and The Believer. He lives in New Orleans, where he and his dogs survived Hurricane Katrina.
	DON LATTIN talk & booksigning for Jesus Freaks Tuesday, October 16 at 7 pm After twenty-five years of reporting on religion in America, journalist Don Lattin thought he'd seen it all. Yet, the San Francisco Chronicle reporter was stunned by what he found inside one of the most controversial sects he has encountered: the Children of God, aka Family International. In the tradition of Under the Banner of Heaven, Lattin's just released Jesus Freaks: The True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge (hardback, $24.95) is a story of revenge that left two people dead and shocked a nation. Don Lattin is one of the nation's leading journalists covering religion in America. His award-winning work has appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, where he covered the religion beat for nearly two decades. Lattin authored two earlier books, was a three-time nominee for the Pulitzer Prize, and has broken several national stories including the Jim Jones/Peoples Temple tragedy.
	FRANK WARREN *** talk & booksigning for A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book Wednesday, October 17 at 6 pm For the past three years Frank Warren has invited people of all backgrounds to send creatively decorated postcards bearing secrets they have never before revealed. Warren has shared these secrets on his award-winning blog - www.PostSecret.com, in an internationally traveling art exhibit, and in three bestselling books. Now, in A Lifetime of Secrets (hardback, $27.95), "America's most trusted stranger" again delves into our collective confessions, presenting a never-before-seen selection of provocative post secrets. Frank Warren is a small business owner who started postsecret.com as a community art project. Since October 2004, he has received thousands of anonymous postcards that have been featured in galleries, music videos, and, most recently, in the bestselling book PostSecret. Ranked by New York magazine as the third most popular blog on the Internet, Warren's website has earned several awards and continues to attract over 3 million visitors a month. *** Please note special start time.
	HARRY SHEARER *** reading & booksigning for Not Enough Indians Wednesday, October 17 at 8 pm Harry Shearer - the voice of the Simpson's - is an actor as well as a satirist, musician, radio host, playwright, and now author. His first novel, Not Enough Indians (softcover, $12.95), is a bitingly funny satire about a down and out town that tempts fate by having themselves declared a sovereign Indian nation - and opening a casino. Funny, smart, antic and scathing, Not Enough Indians is also a hilarious send-up of the American dream. Don't miss this special event. Harry Shearer is first and foremost an actor - as well as an author, director, satirist, musician, radio host, playwright, and multi-media artist. For nineteen years, he has enjoyed enormous success with his voice work on The Simpsons, where he plays a stable of characters including Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, and Rev. Lovejoy. He is the host of the nationally syndicated NPR program, Le Show, and helped create and also appeared in such films as This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. *** Please note special start time.
	ALAN CHEUSE reading & booksigning for The Fires Thursday, October 18 at 7 pm In the two novellas which make up The Fires (softcover, $10.00), NPR book critic Alan Cheuse dissects the aftermath of two very different deaths: one, of an American businessman traveling in Russia; the other, a mother, jazz pianist and drug addict. The two novellas - one of sorrow and one of radiance - are filled with characters trying to maneuver the space between creation and destruction. Read them, and weep. Alan Cheuse is a longtime commentator on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and the author of The Light Possessed and The Grandmothers' Club. A teacher in the writing programs at George Mason University and the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Cheuse's short fiction has appeared in The Antioch Review, The New Yorker, and Ploughshares.
	ANN PACKER *** reading & booksigning for Songs Without Words Tuesday, October 23 at 7:30 pm Ann Packer's debut novel, The Dive from Clausen's Pier, was a Bay Area and nationwide best seller that established her as one of our most gifted chroniclers of the interior lives of women. Now, in her long-awaited second novel, Songs Without Words (hardback, $24.95), Packer takes us on a journey into a lifelong friendship pushed to the breaking point. Don't miss this special event. Ann Packer received a Great Lakes Book Award and the Kate Chopin Literary Award for The Dive from Clausen's Pier, a national best seller that has been translated into ten languages. Also the author of Mendocino and Other Stories, she lives in northern California. *** Please note special start time.
	JEANINE BASINGER talk & booksigning for The Star Machine Friday, October 26 at 7 pm From one of our leading film authorities comes The Star Machine (hardback, $35.00), a penetrating look at the golden age of film. In this new book, Jeanine Basinger offers us an immensely entertaining look into the "star machine," examining how, at the height of the studio system, the studios worked to manufacture star actors and actresses. With revelatory insights and delightful asides, she shows us how the machine worked when it worked, how it failed when it didn't, and how irrelevant it could sometimes be. Jeanine Basinger is the chair of film studies at Wesleyan University and the founder and curator of its cinema archives. She has written nine other books on film, including A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930-1960; Silent Stars, winner of the William K. Everson Award for Film History; and American Cinema: 100 Years of Filmmaking, the companion book for a ten-part PBS series.
	DIANA NYAD & BONNIE STOLL *** talk & signing for BravaBody Sunday, October 28 at 6 pm With their just released DVD, BravaBody (dvd, $19.99/$39.99), two world-class athletes become your personal fitness coaches. Join us as world champion swimmer Diana Nyad pairs with professional racquetball player Bonnie Stoll to discuss fitness for women over 40. Their new program - inspiring women to embrace fitness as the foundation of well-being - allows you work out in any small space with no equipment and no gym membership. A world champion swimmer of the '70's, Diana Nyad is still the world record holder for the longest swim in history - 102.5 miles from the Bahamas to Florida. Today, she can be heard on National Public Radio and seen doing commentary on CBS Sunday Morning. A former #3 in the world in professional racquetball, Bonnie Stoll has carved out a niche as one of the most successful personal fitness coaches in Los Angeles. *** Please note special start time.
	REBECCA CURTIS reading & booksigning for Twenty Grand JONATHAN SELWOOD reading & booksigning for The Pinball Theory of Apocalypse Monday, October 29 at 7 pm The Booksmith is pleased to partner with Harper Perennial for "Take a Stranger Home with You," a new program that celebrates debut authors and invites readers to take a chance on an unknown writer! Join us as Rebecca Curtis, author of the delightful and disturbing short story collection Twenty Grand (softcover, $13.95) - and Jonathan Selwood, author of the post earthquake, pre-apocalypse novel The Pinball Theory of the Universe (softcover, $13.95) read from their new books. You heard it here first! Rebecca Curtis's writing has appeared in The New Yorker, including its debut fiction issue, as well as in Harper's, McSweeney's, and n+1. She is a recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award, and her work has been selected for The O. Henry Prize Stories. She teaches in the graduate writing program at Columbia University. Jonathan Selwood grew up in Hollywood. He received an MFA from Columbia University and is married and lives in Portland, Oregon
	JOSHUA HENKIN reading & booksigning for Matrimony Tuesday, October 30 at 7 pm We began the month with a love story, and we end the month with a love story, Joshua Henkin's second novel, Matrimony (hardback, $24.95). It's 1987, and Julian Wainwright, aspiring writer and Waspy son of old money, meets beautiful Jewish Mia Mendelsohn in the laundry room at college. So begins a love affair that - spurred on by family tragedy - takes the young lovers . . . . What happens to a marriage confronted by betrayal and mortality? Will love survive the passing of time? Joshua Henkin is the author of the acclaimed novel Swimming Across the Hudson. His short stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in many journals and newspapers.
Please join us for one or more of these upcoming events. Booksmith author events are free and located at our San Francisco store (1644 Haight Street in San Francisco, between Clayton & Cole), unless otherwise noted. Seating is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, approximately 45 minutes in advance. For further information, call 415-863-8688 or visit www.booksmith.com. We have a great line-up of author events scheduled for the next few months. Coming to the Booksmith are music photographer MICK ROCK (November 1), acclaimed author STEVE ERICKSON (November 7), legendary NYC disc jockey COUSIN BRUCIE (November 12), graphic novelist ADRIAN TOMINE (November 14), popular Salon columnist CARY TENNIS (November 15), Sesame Street's ROSCOE ORMAN (November 17), Joan Blondell biographer MATTHEW KENNEDY (November 20), Dinotopia author JIM GURNEY (December 4), local artist DANIEL MERRIMAN (December 6), novelist and screenwriter JERRY STAHL (December 7), and many others.

SEPTEMBER AUTHOR EVENTS
Welcome to The Booksmith calendar of author events. Our readings/booksignings are a great opportunity to meet an author, hear them read from their work, or purchase an autographed copy of their latest book. As always, our events are free and open to the public. The Booksmith is located at 1644 Haight Street (between Clayton & Cole) in San Francisco's historic Haight Ashbury neighborhood. Check our website for directions and a map to the store. If you are unable to attend an event and are interested in purchasing a signed book (available at no extra charge), please please give us a call at 415-863-8688 or contact us via email at read@booksmith.com. We're happy to hold a book or ship it to you.


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JENNIFER GILMORE
reading & booksigning for Golden Country
Thursday, September 6 at 7 pm

Golden Country (softcover, $14.00) vividly brings to life the intertwining stories of three immigrants: handsome and ambitious Seymour, a salesman turned gangster turned Broadway producer; gentle and pragmatic Joseph, a door-to-door salesman driven to invent a cleanser effective enough to wipe away the shame of his brother’s mob connections; and irresistible Frances Gold, who grows up in Brooklyn, stars in Seymour’s first show, and marries the man who invents television. Spanning the first half of the 20th century, Jennifer Gilmore’s debut novel captures the exuberance of the American dream - while exposing its underbelly of disillusionment, greed, and disaffection bred by success.

Jennifer Gilmore’s work has appeared in magazines, journals, and anthologies, including the New York Times Magazine, Allure, Nerve, and Salon. She lives in Brooklyn, New York and is a fan of the silent film star Louise Brooks.

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MATT VOLLA
talk & booksigning for Matt Volla's Unruly Drawings
Friday, September 7 at 7 pm

Oakland based artist, musician, teacher, and surfer Matt Volla has been obsessively drawing strange kinetic creatures for years. These creatures were born into small-enclosed room-like spaces where they bounced and slithered off the walls. In Matt Volla's Unruly Drawings (softcover, $40.00), the artist has created a universe in which drawings can evolve, flourish, have rave parties and battles, find solace, have existential crisis, animate, and become self-aware.

Matt Volla is an Oakland based artist and musician whose art practice involves two different directions. He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Studio Art with an emphasis in Sound Art and Sculpture. Later, he received an MFA in Electronic Music from Mills College in Oakland, CA. He has shown his work throughout the United States.

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GEORGE SAUNDERS
reading & booksigning for The Braindead Megaphone
Monday, September 10 at 7 pm

George Saunders's first foray into nonfiction - The Braindead Megaphone (softcover, $14.00) - is comprised of sharply observant essays on literature, travel, and politics. Echoing the work of Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut, Saunders leads the reader across the rocky political landscape of modern America. The result is a look at the real world brimming with wonderful, marvelous strangeness.

George Saunders is the author of several books – including CivilWarLand in Bad Decline and Pastoralia. He writes regularly for The New Yorker, Harper's, and GQ. Saunders is the recipient of multiple National Magazine Awards, and teaches at Syracuse University.

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ZARA HOUSHMAND
reading & booksigning for A Mirror Garden
Wednesday, September 12 at 7 pm

A Mirror Garden (hardcover, $25.95) is a memoir by Monir Farmanfarmaian. It is an enchanting love story, a compelling portrait of the creative spirit, and a celebration of the warmth and grace of Iranian culture. It is also a genuine fairy tale whose exuberant heroine has never needed rescuing - for by embracing experience, she has always charmed her own life. Join co-author Zara Houshmand as she speaks about this book.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian was born in 1924. She now lives and works in New York. Zara Houshmand is an Iranian American writer and theater artist. She lives in Austin, Texas.

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VINCENT LAM
reading & booksigning for Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures
Tuesday, September 18 at 7 pm

Margaret Atwood, upon introducing Vincent Lam at the Giller Prize ceremony, said “Direct in style, unsparing though compassionate in observation, subtle in emotion, and occasionally gruesome in humor, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures (hardcover, $23.95) follows four medical students from widely different backgrounds as their stories intertwine, as their illusions shatter, and as the meanings of many lives expand around them.” Don’t miss this author debut.

Dr. Vincent Lam studied medicine in Toronto and is an emergency physician at Toronto East General Hospital. He is from the expatriate Chinese community of Vietnam, and his first novel, a multigenerational family saga set in Saigon during the Vietnam War, will be published in 2008.

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STEVE ALMOND
reading & booksigning for (Not that You Asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions
Wednesday, September 19 at 7 pm

How does Steve Almond get himself into so much trouble? Could it be his incessant moralizing? His generally poor posture? The fact that he was raised by a pack of wolves? Frankly, we haven’t got a clue. What we do know is that Almond has a knack for converting his dustups into essays that are both funny and furious. The result is (Not that You Asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions (hardcover, $21.95) – a book you will feel foolish for not having read.

Steve Almond is the author of the story collections My Life in Heavy Metal and The Evil B.B. Chow, the nonfiction book Candyfreak, and the novel Which Brings Me to You, co-written with Julianna Baggott. He lives outside Boston, and a few years back sent the Booksmith a big box of regional candy from around the United States. Find out more about the author at www.stevenalmond.com.


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JACK KEROUAC CELEBRATION ***
panel discussion & booksigning celebrating the 50th anniversay of On the Road
Saturday, September 22 at 7 pm


In September of 1957, Viking published On the Road. Fifty years later, the world celebrates the legacy of Jack Kerouac with a panel discussion composed of John Leland, author of the just released Why Kerouac Matters (hardcover, $23.95); Joyce Johnson, Kerouac’s one-time companion and the author of the National Book Critic’s Circle Award winning Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir (softcover, $15.00); Michael McClure, the acclaimed Beat poet and longtime Booksmith customer who was rendered in fictionalized terms in Kerouac’s novels; Barry Gifford, acclaimed novelist, screenwriter and co-author of Jack's Book: An Oral Biography Of Jack Kerouac (softcover, $15.95); and local writer Suzanne Kleid, who will be reading from the just released City Light's publication You'll Be Okay: My Life With Jack Kerouac (softcover, $15.95), by Edie Kerouac-Parker. Also for sale at this special San Francisco event will be two other new books, On the Road: 50th Anniversary Edition (hardcover, $24.95) and On the Road: The Original Scroll (hardcover, $25.95). Please come enjoy a lively evening.


*** This special San Francisco celebration will take place at the All Saints Church (1350 Waller) in the City's Haight Ashbury neighborhood. For further information, call 415-863-8688. This special event is sponsored by The Booksmith, City Lights, and Viking Penguin.

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DANIEL PINCHBECK
talk & booksigning for 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl
Monday, September 24 at 7 pm

“Daniel Pinchbeck's 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl (softcover, $14.95) is a dazzling kaleidoscopic journey through the quixotic hinterlands of consciousness, crop circles, and ancient prophecy, as well as an intriguing and deeply personal odyssey of transformation. 2012 presents a compelling and complex teleological argument, weaving together the twilit realms of the human imagination and the harsh realities of accelerated global catastrophe. Its conclusions are surprisingly robust, original, and thankfully optimistic.” - Sting

Daniel Pinchbeck is the author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism. He has also written for The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Wired, The Village Voice, LA Weekly, ArtForum and many other publications.

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GRAHAM HANCOCK
talk, slideshow & booksigning for Supernatural
Wednesday, September 26 at 7 pm

Less than fifty thousand years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change described by scientists as “the greatest riddle in human history,” all the skills and qualities that we value most highly appeared fully formed. In Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind (softcover, $18.95), Graham Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious “before-and-after moment” and to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern human mind.

Graham Hancock's books have sold more than 5,000,000 copies and have been translated into 27 languages. He is the author of the international bestsellers The Sign and The Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, and Heaven's Mirror. His TV appearances and lectures have put his ideas before audiences numbering in the tens of millions.

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STEPHEN MURDOCH
talk & booksigning for IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea
Thursday, September 27 at 7 pm

IQ scores have the power to determine the chance we have in life: the people we meet, the schools we attend, the jobs we get, the lives we live. Very few of us, however, understand what IQ tests and ratings really mean. In his fascinating and provocative book, IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea (softcover, $24.95), journalist Stephen Murdoch explains the turbulent history and controversial current uses of intelligence testing.

Stephen Murdoch is a freelance journalist who has written for the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Newsweek, The Christian Science Monitor and many other publications. Before becoming a writer, Murdoch was a human rights lawyer in Cambodia and practiced civil litigation in Washington.

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Please join us for one or more of these upcoming events. Booksmith author events are free and located at our San Francisco store (1644 Haight Street in San Francisco, between Clayton & Cole), unless otherwise noted. Seating is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, approximately 45 minutes in advance. For further information, call 415-863-8688 or visit www.booksmith.com
We have a great line-up of author events scheduled for the next few months. Coming to the Booksmith are Beat poet LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI (October 9), acclaimed photographer ROBERT ALTMAN (October 10), novelist WELSEY STACE aka John Wesley Harding (October 11), postsecret.com founder FRANK WARREN (October 17), NPR book critic ALAN CHEUSE (October 18), film writer JEANINE BASSINGER (October 26), acclaimed author STEVE ERICKSON (November 7), legendary NYC disc jockey COUSIN BRUCIE (November 12), graphic novelist ADRIAN TOMINE (November 14), Sesame Street's ROSCOE ORMAN (November 17), Dinotopia author JIM GURNEY (December 4), novelist and screenwriter JERRY STAHL (December 7), and many others.

JANUARY 2007 AUTHOR EVENTS AT THE BOOKSMITH

Author events are free and are sponsored by The Booksmith (1644 Haight Street in San Francisco). For further information, call 415-863-8688 or visit www.booksmith.com

RUDY RUCKER
reading & booksigning for Mathematicians in Love
Tuesday, January 16 at 7:00 pm

It's true. Reality is never less stable or unpredictable than when two mathematicians are in love with the same girl - and each is willing to change the world to get her. Welcome to Rudy Rucker's corking new novel, Mathematicians in Love,
a mind-bending romantic comedy about the hazards of reshaping reality to suit
one's own ends.

Rudy Rucker is a mathematician, novelist, software engineer and former
professor of computer science at San Jose State University. He is well known for his popular books about science, as well as for his acclaimed novels and short fiction. Rucker is considered one of the original cyberpunk authors, and is a two-time winner of the Philip K. Dick Award.
"Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction." -- William Gibson

DEAN LATOURRETTE & KRISTINE ENEA
talk & booksigning for Time Off! The Leisure Guide to San Francisco
Wednesday, January 17 at 7:00 pm

For vacationers and permanent residents alike, Time Off! The Unemployed Guide to San Francisco by Dean LaTourrette and Kristine Enea offers practical advice for spending free time in the City by the Bay. More than just a travel guide, this book imparts a philosophy of leisure, showing how to get time off and use it without guilt.

Dean LaTourrette and Kristine Enea have lived in San Francisco for the past 15 years. Both worked in the technology industry during its peak and subsequent bust. And each has been successfully unemployed since 2001, pursuing creative interests and attempting to perfect the leisure lifestyle.
"Time Off! gave me a wealth of ideas for enjoying life after City Hall." -- Mayor Willie L. Brown,Jr.

COLSON WHITEHEAD
reading & booksigning for Apex Hides the Hurt
Tuesday, January 23 at 7:00 pm

Colson Whitehead is known as a "writer's writer" for his acclaimed novels,The Intuitionist and John Henry Days, as well as for his essay collection, The Colossus of New York. Now, in Apex Hides the Hurt, Whitehead again shows his literary and intellectual vigor in the story of a small town with an identity crisis - a satirical look at American politics, racial identity, and corporate values.

Colson Whitehead was born and raised in New York City. He is the author of the acclaimed novels The Intuitionist and John Henry Days, and a collection of essays, The Colossus of New York. Whitehead lives in Brooklyn, and is a recipient of a Whiting Award and a MacArthur Fellowship.

ROBERT STONE
reading & booksigning for Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties
Wednesday, January 24 at 7:00 pm

Building on personal vignettes from Robert Stone's travels across America, Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties offers a novelist's unique perspective on a time many understand only peripherally. This powerful memoir of America's most turbulent decade explores the 1960s in all its weird, innocent, fascinating glory from someone who experienced it all.

Robert Stone is the acclaimed author of seven novels, including A Hall of Mirrors (winner of the National Book Award), A Flag for Sunrise, Children of Light, Outerbridge Reach, Damascus Gate, and Bay of Souls. His short-story collection, Bear and His Daughter, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

KEVIN BROCKMEIER
reading & booksigning for The Brief History of the Dead
Wednesday, January 25 at 7:00 pm

In The Brief History of the Dead, a fictional metropolis known as "The City" is inhabited by those who have departed Earth, but are still remembered by the living. They reside in this afterlife until they are completely forgotten. Kevin Brockmeier's lyrical, haunting story about love, loss and the power of memory is also a gracefully written story that blends fantasy, philosophical speculation, and adventure with crystalline moments of compassion.

Kevin Brockmeier is the author of The Truth About Celia and Things That Fall from the Sky. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney's, The Georgia Review, and The Best American Short
Stories. He is the recipient of a Nelson Algren Award, an Italo Calvino Short Fiction Award, a James Michener-Paul Engle Fellowship, three O. Henry Awards and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.

Please join us for one or more of these outstanding events. Booksmith author events are free and located at our San Francisco store (1644 Haight Street in San Francisco, between Clayton & Cole). For further information, call 415-863-8688 or visit www.booksmith.com If you cannot attend an event and would like to order a signed copy of a book by an author included in our events calendar, please email or call our store.

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ANDREW VACHSS
reading & book signing for Mask Market
Wednesday, September 6 at 7 pm

What is it about the character of Burke in Andrew Vachss’s thrillers that has made his novels so popular? Burke certainly doesn’t have the dossier of the traditional hero: he’s a career criminal, a man-for-hire not especially fussy about what he’s paid to do. But, he is a child of abuse, with a pathological hatred of those who prey on children. Burke is back, and Vachss has given his fans another intricate mystery to unravel in Mask Market.

Andrew Vachss is a lawyer who represents children and youths exclusively. His many novels include the Burke series, two collections of short stories, and last year’s Two Trains Running, a literary departure which was critically well-received. His books have been translated into twenty languages, and his work has appeared in Parade, Esquire, Playboy, and The
New York Times.


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MICHAEL GRAY
reading & book signing for The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia
Friday, September 8 at 7 pm

There are many books about Bob Dylan, but few like The Bob Dylan
Encyclopedia - one of the most wide-ranging, informed, entertaining, provocative, and compulsively readable books ever written about popular music. It's the culmination of over thirty years of research by British scholar Michael Gray. At this very special event, you’ll experience a multimedia immersion into a world of ideas, facts, and opinions.

Michael Gray, recognized as an authority on the work of Bob Dylan, is also an expert on rock music and the blues. He recently appeared at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. His massive Song & Dance Man III: The Art of Bob Dylan has been reprinted several times since being published in 2000. Gray lives
in Yorkshire, England.


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CHRIS MOONEY
reading & book signing for The Republican War on Science
Tuesday, September 12 at 7 pm

On issues like stem cell research, climate change, abstinence education, and even ergonomics - the positions of the Bush administration fly in the face of scientific consensus. Does the current administration ignore mainstream research to please its conservative base? Have business groups and religious lobbies helped it do so? The answer can be found in The Republican War on Science, Chris Mooney’s compelling account of our government’s attack on reason.

Chris Mooney is the Washington, DC correspondent for Seed Magazine. Formerly an editor at The American Prospect, Mooney is a journalist specializing in science and politics. He has written for Mother Jones, Wired, the Boston Globe, Slate, and other publications. This is his first book.


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LARA PARKER
reading & book signing for The Salem Branch
Friday, September 15 at 7 pm

The Salem Branch is what fans of cult television show Dark Shadows have long waited for. In her new novel, Lara Parker, the actress who played the role of Angelique on the gothic soap opera, takes readers back to the world of Collinsport in 1971 - the year the show went off the air - and resurrects Barnabas, Antoinette and other characters so many find so fascinating.

Lara Parker played the role of Angelique on Dark Shadows, a gothic mystery-romance soap opera that aired on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It’s 1,225 spine-tingling episodes and two feature films are still shown in syndication. Recently, over a dozen actors who appeared on the show gathered at the Dark Shadows 40th Anniversary Celebration held New York City.


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MICHAEL TOLKIN
reading & book signing for The Return of the Player
Tuesday, September 19 at 7 pm

Published to great acclaim and adapted into a celebrated movie by Robert Altman, The Player was a brilliant study of the film world that quickly became a cult classic. Now, years after he gave us the defining portrait of late twentieth-century Hollywood, Michael Tolkin revisits greed, wealth, and power in an industry that knows it’s dying with a terrific sequel, The Return of the Player.

Michael Tolkin is the author of three novels and numerous screenplays, including the screenplay for the Robert Altman film, The Player. Tolkin held a residence at Yaddo where he worked on his new book.


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KELLY LINK
reading & book signing for Magic for Beginners
Wednesday, September 20 at 7 pm

Magic for Beginners is Kelly Link’s follow-up to her acclaimed debut,
Stranger Things Happen. “Cumulatively weirder and wiser” (The Believer), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties. Call it kitchen sink magical realism, fantastic, bizarre, funny or down to earth, there is something for everyone in this genre bending tour-de-force.

Time Out New York called Links’ stories “cross-genre gems,” and her admirers in the literary community - from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon - reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Link’s stories have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales, Conjunctions, and elsewhere.
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MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI
reading & book signing for Only Revolutions
Friday, September 22 at 7 pm


The Borgesian maze explored in Mark Z. Danielewski's first novel, House of Leaves, only hints at the depths plumbed in its innovative successor, Only Revolutions. Cycling through time ­ from the Civil War to the war in Iraq - this new novel is the story of two perpetually sixteen-year-old lovers, Hailey and Sam, who give up everything except each other. The book is printed on two sides - one side tells the story from Hailey's point of view, flip it over and you get Sam's side.

Mark Z. Danielewski was born in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles. His father was a film maker. His sister is the acclaimed singer known as Poe. (MZD once read from his first book while performing with his sister when she opened for Depeche Mode at Madison Square Garden.) House of Leaves is the fastest selling debut novel in Booksmith history.


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DAVID THOMSON
reading & book signing for Nicole Kidman
Tuesday, September 26 at 7 pm

From the film historian and critic David Thomson comes a book that reinvents the star biography in a singularly illuminating portrait of a contemporary actress. At once life story, love letter, and critical analysis, this is not merely a book about Nicole Kidman - but about what she is in our culture and in our minds. Impassioned, opinionated, and original in its approach and ideas, Nicole Kidman is as alluring and as much fun as the actress herself.

David Thomson has taught film, served on the selection committee of various film festivals, authored screenplays and novels, and is a regular contributor to publications on both sides of the Atlantic. He is also the author of the Biographical Dictionary of Film, Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick, and The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood, among other books.


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JOHN STAUBER
reading & book signing for The Best War Ever
Thursday, September 28 at 7 pm

The Best War Ever is about a conflict that was devised in fantasy and lost in delusion. It’s also about the futility of lying to oneself and others in matters of life and death. In his new book, John Stauber offers a factual dismantling of the Bush Administration’s claims about the Iraq War, from its inception to the latest debacles. We've met the enemy - and it's our own propaganda machine.

John Stauber is founder and director of the Center for Media & Democracy.
He and Sheldon Rampton write and edit the quarterly PR Watch. They are also the authors of Weapons of Mass Deception, Toxic Sludge is Good for You!, and Trust Us, We're Experts! In 2001, the National Council of Teachers of English gave Rampton and Stauber its annual George Orwell Award
for exposing the use of doublespeak in American life.

Please join us for one or more of these outstanding events. Booksmith
author events are free and located at our San Francisco store (1644 Haight
Street in San Francisco, between Clayton & Cole). For further information,
call 415-863-8688 or visit www.booksmith.com If you cannot attend an event
and would like to order a signed copy of a book by an author included in
our events calendar, please email or call our store.

JOHN DEAN
reading & book signing for Conservatives Without Conscience
Thursday, July 27th at 7 pm

John Dean, White House legal counsel to President Nixon and the
best-selling author of Worse Than Watergate, has now authored
Conservatives Without Conscience - a sincere, well-considered look at how
conservative politics in the U.S. is veering dangerously close to
authoritarianism. John dean will speak on his new book, a signing will follow.

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TOMMY CHONG
reading & book signing for I Chong: Meditations from the Joint
Wednesday, August 9th at 7 pm
--- On the morning of February 24, 2003, agents of the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration launched a sting called Operation Pipe Dreams
and forced themselves through the door of Tommy Chong's California home,
with automatic weapons drawn. As a result of the raid on his home; the
simultaneous ransacking of his son's company, Chong Glass; and the Bush
administration's determination to make an example out of the "Pope of Pot;"
Chong was sentenced to nine months in prison because his company shipped
bongs to a head shop in Pennsylvania that was a front for the DEA.

Beloved stoner comedian Tommy Chong is now older, wiser, and officially an
ex-con. His just published memoir, the I Chong: Meditations from the Joint (hardcover, $23.95), tell his side of the story. Introspective,
inspiring, and incendiary, it is a spiritual exploration of his time in
prison, and a political indictment of the eroding civil liberties in
post-9/11 American society.

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IRVINE WELSH
reading & book signing for The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs
Tuesday, August 22nd at 7 pm
--- Irvine Welsh's new novel, "The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs"
(hardback, $24.95) is a trangressive parable about the great obsessions of
our time: food, sex, and celebrity. Set partly in San Francisco, it is the
story of two men locked in a war of wills which threatens their very
existence. This new novel is Irvine Welsh at his best.

Irvine Welsh is the author of Trainspotting, Acid House, Marabou Stork
Nightmares, Ecstasy, and other works of fiction - each of which have been bestsellers at The Booksmith. He lives in Dublin, Ireland. His new
play, Bablyon Heights (softcover, $13.95), recently had its world
premiere at the Exit Theater in San Francisco.

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MARISHA PESSL
reading & book signing for Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Tuesday, August 29th at 7 pm
--- Special Topics in Calamity Physics (hardcover, $25.95), the mesmerizing
debut novel from Marisha Pessl, features a narrator as distinctive as
Holden Caulfield and a plot as complex as a Hitchcock film. Structured
around a Great Works of Literature class & containing visual aids (drawn by
the author!), this new novel is complex yet compelling, erudite yet
accessible. This new novel, uncannily uniting the trials of a postmodern
upbringing with a murder mystery, heralds the arrival of a vibrant new
voice in literary fiction.

Marisha Pessl graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University. "Beneath
the foam of this exuberant debut is a dark, strong drink." - Jonathan
Franzen, Winner of the National Book Award and author of "The Corrections".

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COMING THIS FALL
readings & book signings sponsored by The Booksmith
--- Among the authors scheduled to appear at the Booksmith this fall are
novelists Mark Danielewski and Heidi Julavitz, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert
Olen Butler, Los Angeles writers Bruce Wagner and James Ellroy (in a
special joint appearance), sci-fi author Spider Robinson, Dark Shadows
actress Lara Parker, rock musician Andy Summers (of The Police), rock music
historian Richie Unterberger, film critics Peter Cowie (for his new book on
Louise Brooks) and David Thomson, historian Simon Winchester, gonzo artist
Ralph Steadman, photographers Annie Leibovitz and Joel Meyerowitz, graphic
novelist Marjane Satrapi, American Splendor author Harvey Pekar, porn star
Nina Hartley, and many others.

The Booksmith and The San Francisco Silent Film Festival are pleased to announce that a number of distinguished authors will attend this year's festival, which takes place at the historic Castro theater in San Francisco. Authors will meet with the public and autograph books between films during the course of the weekend long event. These book signings are a great way for interested individuals to meet the film historians, writers, biographers, and critics helping keep silent film alive.

The Booksmith - San Francisco's leading independent bookstore and a longtime supporter of the festival - will be on hand selling books, including many new releases. Admission to the booksignings is by festival admission. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival takes place at the Castro Theatre July 14-16. See the Festival website www.silentfilm.org for further details and a complete line-up of films. Hope to see you there!

SATURDAY, JULY 15th

HARRY CAREY, JR.: following "Bucking Broadway"
signing Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company
--- Harry Carey, Jr. has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows. The son of actress Olive Carey and film star Harry Carey, the younger Carey entered films when he was given a chance to work with his father in "Red River" (1948). After his father's death, director John Ford gave Carey Jr. a leading role in the film dedicated to Carey Sr., "3 Godfathers." As a member of the John Ford Stock Company, Carey Jr. appeared in many of Ford's greatest Westerns - including a number with John Wayne. He also starred in "The Adventures of Spin and Marty," which aired as part of The Mickey Mouse Club.

JOSEPH McBRIDE: following "Bucking Broadway"
signing Searching for John Ford
--- Joseph McBride is a film historian and critic whose acclaimed books include Hawks on Hawks, Filmmakers on Filmmaking, and Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success. A former reporter and critic for Daily Variety, he is currently an Assistant Professor in the Cinema Department at San Francisco State University. October will see the publication of his new book, What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?: A Portrait of an Independent Career.

JACK TILLMANY: following "Au Bonheurs des Dames"
signing Theaters of San Francisco
--- Jack Tillmany's Theaters of San Francisco is based on the author’s personal archive collected during a 30-year career in cinema management. Tillmany is the former owner of the Gateway Cinema in San Francisco, and a revival-programming pioneer.

JIM VAN BUSKIRK: following "Au Bonheurs des Dames"
signing Celluloid San Francisco: The Film Lover's Guide to Bay Area Movie Locations
--- Jim Van Buskirk is a librarian at the San Francisco Public Library. He is the coauthor of Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer Cultures in the San Francisco Bay Area, and has written articles for a wide range of publications.

CARI BEAUCHAMP: following "Sparrows"
signing Adventures of a Hollywood Secretary
--- Cari Beauchamp is the author of Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood, editor of Anita Loos Rediscovered: Film Treatments and Fiction by Anita Loos, and coauthor of Hollywood on the Riviera. She is also an Emmy nominated documentary film writer.

WENDY L. MARSHALL: following "Sparrows"
signing William Beaudine: From Silents to Television
--- In her detailed biography, author Wendy Marshall (the granddaughter of William Beaudine) chronicles the director's rise through the ranks (starting as an assistant to D. W. Griffith), his many triumphs (directing "Sparrows" and other Pickford films), his fall from fame, and prolific work in television. As a child extra, Marshall watched Beaudine work with the stars and crew of the Lassie television show and on a number of films for Walt Disney. William Beaudine: From Silents to Television was named one of the best books of 2005 by Classic Images.

BRUCE CONNER: following "Pandora's Box"
signing 2000 BC The Bruce Conner Story
--- Bruce Conner grew up in Wichita, Kansas - where he nearly encountered Louise Brooks. In the late 1950s, he began making short movies that established him as one of the seminal figures in independent, avant-garde filmmaking. Conner's first film, a visual collage created from bits of B-movies, newsreels and other footage, is listed on the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. His assemblages, drawings, photographs and collages have been exhibited around the world.

SUNDAY, JULY 16

BILL CASSARA: following Laurel and Hardy program
signing Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn
--- Bill Cassara founded "The Midnight Patrol" chapter of the Sons of the Desert, the Laurel and Hardy appreciation society. He has also served on the board of the Monterey County Film Commission. Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn is his first book.

SCOTT O'BRIEN: following Laurel and Hardy program
signing Kay Francis: I Can't Wait to Be Forgotten
--- Scott O'Brien is a lifelong film buff whose interest in Kay Francis began in 1973. He has made use of his Masters in Library Science degree by writing articles for film publications and guest lecturing. Last year, he introduced two Kay Francis films at the "Danger and Despair Noir Festival" in San Francisco.

Lewis Buzbee is reading tonight, from his new collection of essays, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. Lewis makes it very clear that he loves to shop at Borders, and he's reading tonight at this bookstore, an independent bookstore. I understand that he makes this claim as a reader, but does he understand that he would never be able to hold an event at Borders, in the first place? That we - an indie store - welcome all types of authors with open arms -- including Lewis?

I have many bones to pick with Lewis. I work tonight, and will pose a question to him. However, while I'm here in Blogland, I'll tell you why I'm irritated about this proclamation of love for Borders & chains in general:

I've worked at The Booksmith for almost 9 years, at Borders for 2 years, and Barnes & Noble for 1 year & at Encore Music & Books for 3 years. I've had my share of both sides of the business, from the indie and chain viewpoint, in a large city and small town, both as a customer and a bookseller.

(1) Chains seem to be beneficial to the community in small towns. I experienced this with Encore Books & Music, when it opened in South Central PA. Encore was an indie, but was bought out by a chain, and developed into a few handfuls of stores on the East Coast. It's now defunct - but a small community like my hometown in PA was thrilled to have Encore bring them books they could never have imagined finding. The only problem was that the general readership was more interested in romance and mystery novels, than in poetry, classics, or fine fiction. (I'm not sure how different genres of nonfiction fared.) Encore had a cafe, and it brought people together. The store welcomed local authors and musicians, and held regular events. It opened before the advent of Amazon, but I think - if it still existed - it would still serve an important function in bringing people together.

(2) Are chains not beneficial to communities in large urban centers? Yes and no. The Borders by SFSU seems to serve the student community, which is fine at first glance, but SFSU also has a bookstore and can order books that aren't on the bookshelves or in their backstock. So, ultimately, Borders seems to take away the customer base from the school. Borders is also located downtown, at Union Square, and caters to locals who work downtown, as well as to the tourists. This is a problem on many levels. I have worked at this particular store, but more on that later.

(a) The locals who shop here - for the most part - have already invested their lives in Target, Crate & Barrel, Bloomie's, etc. They seem to be happy at a chain bookstore, one that follows them wherever they may travel. Gentrification doesn't bother them. The unique nature of San Francisco for them - this is only an educated guess - lies probably in politics and the Castro district.
The tourists who shop at the Union Square Borders - it's right outside their hotels - are not getting a taste of San Francisco's charm by shopping at a gentrified chain store, but isn't that the way it always is for tourists, in most major cities globally? The tour buses avoid neighbornoods that are low-rent and politically/socially questionable in nature, and the shops surrounding the major hotels seem to protect the tourists from discovering any true nature or individuality of the City, for the most part. The Ferry Building is an important exception to this subjective rule.

(i) On the bright side, Stacey's and Cody's are downtown, and will expose tourists and locals to a unique bookstore setting.

(b) The chains have every book you want. If you need Chinese poetry, you'd better go to a chain. However, the beauty of indie bookstores in urban centers is that each indie store caters to a different readership. Modern Times, in the Mission District, is known for its diverse political and sociology sections. Stacey's downtown is better known for its business section. Cody's (originally from Berkeley) has a name for the academic press. The Booksmith on Haight St is known for its fiction and politcs sections. And so on.

And this relates to a community feeling, something that internet sites won't be able to provide, fully. We crave like-minded people contact.

Urban centers are homes to a variety of choices - politics, art, etc. There should be more choices of community gathering spots, then. In small towns, the central focus is just that - the small town. It's harder to be different in a small town, believe me, but the focus of community at the chain store is the idea of the small town itself. I'll elaborate on this in the future, but I just wanted to get this out there, in cyberspace.

(c) What is it like, from an insider's point-of-view, to work at a chain? Very seriously, it is akin to working in a prison, where your bags are checked daily. Cameras are trained on the booksellers, who work in a much more automated environment. It's true that the computer systems in chains are much more pleasing to the modern mind - say bye-bye to DOS forever!! - but it's also true that the term "bookseller" at a chain means just looking up titles in a computer and ringing up books - it does not include ordering books, having any personal say in ordering books, shaping a section according to the local community. The chains want people who are automatons, who look up the book in question as fast as possible, take the person to the book, and then get the hell back to an information counter to help the next victim.

Once upon a time, those who worked at Borders had college degrees, and took an exam of sorts as part of the interview. "What section(s) would you shelve Kathy Acker's books?" Questions like that. That's not the case anymore, I'm telling you point-blank. Border doesn't give a crap about college degrees, they only want to pay their workers the minimum amount to ring up people at cash registers. Take a look at how horribly their sections are kept - including B&N.

Anyway, there's no personal investment at the chains. It's not about the books at all.

In fact, more so at Borders and less so at Barnes & Noble, workers are not encouraged to read. They cannot read advanced reader's copies. The managerial staff would be visibly upset if you, as a bookseller, showed a true interest in reading. Remember, your whole point working there is to SELL, not to read. The whole point at The Booksmith is to SELL and to KNOW what we sell.

The managers at both chains are typically from Pier 1, Rite Aid, non-book venues like that. Most of them are non-book people, ironically.

Recommendations of books at both chains are anonymous - not at The Booksmith, and other indies, where we are personally invested in our jobs. Bookselling is a way of life, not a job to pay the rent. Admittedly, yes - it helps to pay the rent (and we get paid much more than at the chains)! But most of us have invested a good deal of heart into our jobs as booksellers.

Book buyers are in a central location for the chains, and the booksellers of these chains may not take part in said book buying. This is not the case at indie bookstores - where the buying takes place at the store itself. At many indie stores, the booksellers themselves have much more of a chance in contributing to the buying process.

I will continue this in the future, I just wanted to make some points known before tonight's reading.
If you want to write to me about this, please send me an email to ksaussy@gmail.com.

JULY AUTHOR EVENTS AT THE BOOKSMITH


Author events are free and are sponsored by The Booksmith (1644 Haight Street). For further information, call 415-863-8688 or visit www.booksmith.com


LEWIS BUZBEE
reading & book signing for The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
Thursday, July 6th at 7 pm

In light of recent developments in the Bay Area bookselling community, there may be no timelier book than Lewis Buzbee’s passionate collection of essays, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. This new book celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore - the smell and touch of books, getting lost in the shelves, and the silent community of readers.

Lewis Buzbee is the author of two works of fiction, Fliegelman’s Desire and After the Gold Rush. He is a former publisher’s sales representative and bookseller (and past employee of the Booksmith). He has been teaching in the University of San Francisco’s MFA program since 2000. As “Buzbee,” he was also a recurring character-of-sorts in the Bizarro cartoon.


BETH LISICK
reading & book signing for Everybody into the Pool: True Tales
Friday, July 7th at 7 pm

How exactly did Beth Lisick end up as one of our foremost chroniclers of alt culture, touring as the only straight with a band of punk rock lesbian poets and living in illegal warehouses - all the while managing to get married, buy a house, and have a baby? Lisick explains it all in her irreverent memoir Everybody into the Pool.

Beth Lisick is a weekly columnist for the SF Gate, a contributor to public radio’s “This American Life,” a spoken word performer, a sketch comedian, a musician, an independent film actor, and the curator of a successful storytelling series.


RAE MEADOWS
reading & book signing for Calling Out
Tuesday, July 11th at 7 pm

After being dumped by her boyfriend, Jane flees Manhattan for Salt Lake City, where she takes a job answering phones at a Mormon-endorsed escort agency. But soon, the pull of mystery and danger is too great, and Jane inches toward a place that would have once been unthinkable. Rae Meadows’ debut novel, Calling Out, is the story of a young woman who must come to terms with a life she hadn’t planned.

Rae Meadows is a graduate of Stanford University and the MFA program at the University of Utah. Her short stories have appeared in Mississippi Review, Flyway, 580 Split, and Fine Print. She recently moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Madison, Wisconsin. Calling Out is her first novel.


GAUTAM MALKANI
reading & book signing for Londonstani
Monday, July 17th at 7 pm

Gautam Malkani's debut novel, Londonstani, is set among the South Asian rudeboys of London's Houndslow section. Hilarious and grim, raucous and anguished, this extraordinary comic novel portrays the lives of young Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu men in the ethnically charged enclave where all is in flux.

Gautam Malkani was born in West London in 1976. He was educated at Cambridge University and was appointed director of the Financial Times's Creative Business section in 2005. He completed Londonstani shortly after the bombings in London last July.


THE POPE & SARAH “PINKIE” BENNETT
reading & book signing for How to Dress for Every Occasion
Tuesday, July 18th at 7 pm

Want to dress like the Pope? Well, why not? After all, the Pope is one of the most important people in the world, and gets invited to state dinners and stuff like that, and lives in an ornate place called the Vatican. At long last, The Pope (along with illustrator Sarah “Pinkie” Bennett) present a book on this timely subject called How To Dress For Every Occasion.

The Booksmith is honored to welcome The Pope and Sarah “Pinkie” Bennett for a talk and discussion on this important subject. The Pope will pontificate. A book signing will follow. “In this book, the Pope does for snappy dressing what millions of people have done for the Pope: Praised him.” ­ Daniel Handler.


BARBARA TRAUB
reading & book signing for Desert to Dream
Friday, July 21st at 7 pm

Attended by 20 people on a San Francisco beach in 1986, the "Burning Man" festival has mushroomed into an annual desert pilgrimage for 40,000. Desert to Dream is a pictorial record of the event, from its beginnings as performance art to its explosion into a pop culture happening. Photographer Barbara Traub captures the sacred and profane, from inspired costumes to otherworldly artifacts that defy convention.

Barbara Traub is a critically acclaimed photographer residing in San Francisco. Her art has been exhibited internationally, and her Burning Man photographs have appeared in Wired, Spiegel Online, Photo District News, San Francisco Chronicle, and New Age.


JOHN DEAN
reading & book signing for Conservatives Without Conscience
Thursday, July 27th at 7 pm

John Dean, White House legal counsel to President Nixon and the best-selling author of Worse Than Watergate, has authored Conservatives Without Conscience - a sincere, well-considered look at how conservative politics in the U.S. is veering dangerously close to authoritarianism.

John Dean, White House legal counsel to President Nixon, also served as chief minority counsel for the House Judiciary Committee and as an associate deputy attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice. He writes a widely read bi-weekly column for FindLaw. This is Dean’s seventh book.

SPARE THE AIR day. Please think twice before you drive!! Public Transportation in most SF Bay Area cities is free today. That includes MUNI and BART. Tomorrow will probably also be another day like today - which means that you can also take public transportation for free tomorrow, as well. The first three Spare the Air weekdays (non-holiday weekdays) are free rides on public transit.

HOT and DRY today: A high pressure bubble is hanging over Northern California, making it hot, stinky, smoggy and very dry - great for fires.
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This is the perfect day to hang out on the beach, and breathe the Pacific air. In fact, you want to breathe this air out here today - instead of choking on smog inland. Pack your sunscreen and your swimsuit, or bathing beauty clothes, pack a beach umbrella - don't forget the beach towel! And pack a few good books - great day to read at the beach. Why? IT'S NOT A WEEKEND DAY. You won't be surrounded by the fodder of humanity.

Customers, perhaps with well-meaning intentions, will often ask me, What can I read at the beach, I want a beach book, what's good for the beach?? Listen, I've got to tell you that I am the wrong person to answer this. I mean, read Murakami, read Rushdie at the beach. Reach Tolstoy. What does that mean, "beach book?" Might as well flip through "People."

Another sunny day. I'm running out of summer outfits - okay - I only have two, really. The rest are sweaters and ski pants.

My forecast for today -->
SF: Sunny. Highs in the mid-60s. NNW winds increasing to 10-20 mph by this afternoon.
East Bay, Santa Clara Valley: Sunny. Highs in the 80s. Afternoon seabreeze 10 to 20 mph.

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And today I mail in an application packet for a possible job with the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission (SFBCDC). The SFBCDC concentrates on saving the bay - and keeping it from filling up with pollutants, silt, etc. If we did not clean up the bay, it would fill up with silt and other particulates -- squeezing the life out of estuaries and decreasing the overall size of the bay. I really want to work for this group - it's a 9-month contract job, and I'll take the minimum pay, which would be a helluva lot more than what I'm making at the bookstore. It would be a Real Salary! Besides, working with the SFBCDC would give me a chance to do work with environmental analysis, something that I really want to do. And, the job would be located right here, in the Bay Area. Please, Galactic Ordering Directorate, please.


Satellite image of the southern end of the SF Bay. Courtesy NASA.