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This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 8/2)

Aug 2

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Well, after a visit from my parents this past week it’s back to the grind from me. I’ve decided to mention that my parents were here in my LA post as opposed to my SF post for the obvious reasons, the Southern California connection. Sure they’re not from there but what the hell, it works in my mind at least.

Once again, for those of you that may have missed it, book reviews return this week!!

Monday, August 2nd
@ 7pm
- Jennifer Weiner, author, will be at Vroman’s singing copies of her latest novel Fly Away Home. For those of you like me who recognize this name as the name of a movie you are not mistaken. Yet, I was pleased to discover, once I did some research and found out that the movie was about a father, daughter and a bunch of orphaned geese that the book and movie have nothing in common. Instead of dealing with Geese, Ms. Weiner’s book deals with a family of women who seek refuge in a beach house after it is revealed that their Senator father/husband has had an affair. Yeah, not my kind or reading, but perhaps it is yours.

Well… it looks like Los Angeles is truly preparing themselves for the return of book reviews by offering very little in the way of events (or at least ones that I would consider attending) this week. So with that, hope you’re ready for tomorrow!

This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 7/26)

Jul 26

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Just in case you missed it, I said it in my SF post that book reviews will return next week. Yes, you did read that correctly. You’re surprised? Come on, don’t be, I knew all along that they’d be back and better (well, that’s debatable) than before. To tide you over, for yet another week, here’s this weeks happening in you neck of the woods.

Monday, July 26th @ 730pm
- Alex Cohen and Jenny Barbee, athletes and authors, will be at Skylight Books signing and discussing their book Down and Derby. Although I have not yet jumped on the Roller Derby band wagon, I did have the pleasure of watching Whip It with my parents. That was a trip to say the least. Anyways, both Ms. Cohen and Barbee are current members of the L.A. Derby Dolls and have decided to write a book providing us with the history of the sport as well as how-to. So, for those of you intrigued, here’s you’re ticket.

Monday, July 26th @ 7pm
- Tori Spelling, actress and probable awful author, will be at Vroman’s signing copies of her book Uncharted TerriTORI. Um, you’ve got to be kidding me. Is this for real? Do people really read this garbage? God help us all.

Wednesday, July 28th
@ 7pm
- Molly Ringwald, actress and now author, will be signing copies of her book Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick at Vroman’s. I feel as though Ms. Ringwald really needs no introduction. If you don’t know who she is you were clearly born in the late 80′s or later and missed a few incredible films. Starring in films such as , Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink, I am certain there will be a large crowd at this signing regardless of how bad her book is. Not to be harsh, but come on, her book can’t seriously be any good can it? Stick to the movies Molly, that’s my advice.

Wednesday, July 28th
@ 730pm
- Tony O’Neill, author, will be at Skylight Books signing copies of his latest work Sick City. I don’t know who Mr. O’Neill is but from what little I’ve read in finding out about this event he sounds like an author that I should be reading. Sick City is about a sex tape, dopers and some good wholesome trouble. Sounds pretty good right? Well… I guess that’s for us to find out.

Thursday, July 29th
@ 7pm
- Jonathan Tropper, author, will be at Book Soup, presenting and signing copies of his latest work This Is Where I Leave You. I’ve seen this book a lot often and I’ve always contemplated picking it up. But, there are just so many other books out there I have yet to do it. I think the subject matter of this one, dealing with love, marriage, divorce, etc. has somewhat precluded my interests. Nevertheless, odds are this one will be read by yours truly sometime in the near future.

Friday, July 30th
@ 7pm
- Michael Scott Moore, author, will be at Book SoupBook Soup discussing and signing his book Sweetness & Blood: How Surfing Spread from Hawaii and California to the Rest of the World, with Some Unexpected Results. A veritable history of surfing with as the book title explains “some unexpected results.” Find out what it’s all about on your own.

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 7/26)

Jul 26

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Well, here goes: Book reviews will return next week. There, I said it, it’s done. I’ve made the commitment and I’m not going to let you or myself down.

So, whether or not you’ve noticed I haven’t exactly made it to very many book events myself of late. I’ve been busy, what can I say? That certainly shouldn’t be precluding you from making it to any of the numerous events happening this week. I mean it. Get there.

Monday, July 26th
@ 7pm
- Frank Bruni, author of Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater will be appearing and presumably signing books at Books, Inc. in Berkeley. I’m guessing that you don’t know who Frank Bruni is, and if you do feel free to call me naive, but Bruni was the chief food critic at the New York Times for the past five years. The book is his memoir and appears to be filled with humor, sadness and will most likely induce your sympathy. Seems as though his path to Chief was a long and difficult one. In one of his wisest moment, prior to the final publishing of the book Mr. Bruni left his top post at the Times, after all, once everyone knows who he is there is no telling what could happen.

Wednesday, July 28th
@ 7pm
- Harold Jaffe, author, will be signing copies of his book Anti-Twitter at Books, Inc. in Berkeley. Is there any surprise that there is a book out there title Anti-Twitter? There are haters everywhere right? Actually though, Jaffe’s book isn’t so much a knock on Twitter as it is a new use for it. Jaffe has taken 150 news stories and condensed each of them into 50 word stories that pull the most vital information to provide the reader with the “inner core” of each story. Oh, that and to prove “that brief need not = dumbed-down.”

Wednesday, July 28th & Thursday, July 29th
@ 6pm & 1pm
- Jennifer Weiner, author, will be at Book Passage in San Francisco (on Wednesday) and in Corte Madera (on Thursday) singing copies of her latest novel Fly Away Home. For those of you like me who recognize this name as the name of a movie you are not mistaken. Yet, I was pleased to discover, once I did some research and found out that the movie was about a father, daughter and a bunch of orphaned geese that the book and movie have nothing in common. Instead of dealing with Geese, Ms. Weiner’s book deals with a family of women who seek refuge in a beach house after it is revealed that their Senator father/husband has had an affair. Yeah, not my kind or reading, but perhaps it is yours.

Saturday, July 31st
@ 10am
- Oscar Villalon, former San Francisco Chronicle Book Editor, will be at Book Passage in Corte Madera providing those with $60 an opportunity to learn how to write book reviews. Imagine that. Naturally, I won’t be there. I’m quite proud of my abilities and don’t really think $60 will get me very far. But I do like Mr. Villalon so this may be a good opportunity for those of you out there that want to give me some sort of competition.

Saturday, July 31st
@ 730pm
- Tony O’Neill, author, will be at Booksmith signing copies of his latest work Sick City. I don’t know who Mr. O’Neill is but from what little I’ve read in finding out about this event he sounds like an author that I should be reading. Sick City is about a sex tape, dopers and some good wholesome trouble. Sounds pretty good right? Well… I guess that’s for us to find out.

This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 7/19)

Jul 19

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I promise you the book reviews will return. I’m working on it right now and you’ll see them once I am ready and willing to share. These things take time after all.

For the time being, you’ll just have to be satisfied with my posts detailing the events that are happening in your neck of the woods.

Monday, July 19th
@ 730pm
- Matt Kindt, author, will be at Skylight Books signing copies and discussing his latest work Revolver. If you haven’t noticed I’ve pretty much come to grips with the existence of graphic novels recently and have come to really enjoy them. Not only because they are short but because more often than not they present a stark reality that hits home in more ways than your typical ficition. Revolver seems to fit this bill. It’s about a man battling between his dreams and reality and trying to figure out which is which.

Friday, July 23rd
@ 7:30 pm
- David Mitchell, author, will be at Skylight Books signing copies of his latest book The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. When I first saw Mr. Mitchell’s name there wasn’t a whole lot of recognition from me. Then, it dawned on me that I’d read something by Mitchell before.Although I didn’t recognize his name he is the author of the ever incredible Cloud Atlas, one of my all time favorite books. His latest novel is a historical piece set in Japan at the turn of the 19th century. I assume that this book, like Mitchell’s others will be full of vibrant language and characters and will, without doubt, be highly lauded as his others all have been.

Thursday, July 22nd
@ 7pm
- Joshua Braff, author, presents his book Peep Show and will be signing copies and discussing the book at Book Soup. So, I just saw a copy of this book in a bookstore the other day and I’ll admit I was a little thrown off by the title. I took a look at it and was actually a bit disappointed when it didn’t sound to be as juicy as the title lead me to believe. However, it did/does still sound like a pretty good read.

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 7/19)

Jul 19

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In case you were still wondering things are still going splendidly for me at the moment, minus the whole joblessness thing. That will of course change in due time, that much I’m sure of. Everything else going on in my life right now, well, I’d be perfectly happy if it all just stayed the exact same.

Anyways, here we are with this weeks exciting happenings. Who would have thought that this week would see so many decent events happening in the Bay Area? I sure as hell didn’t.

Monday, July 19th
@ 7pm
- Justin Cronin, author, will be at Books, Inc. in Berkeley where he will be singing copies of and reading from his latest book Passage. Although billed as yet another vampire book, Cronin’s vampire’s are not the sort that you would either cheer for or willing watch on television. They are glow in the dark, hairless mutants that would be more than likely to scare the crap out of you instead of steal your girlfriend. Although it’s not my style to do so, I’ve taken the time to read a couple of reviews of this book and have found myself pretty intrigued. Keep your eyes peeled, you may see a review of this one on my blog sooner or later.

Tuesday, July 20th
@ 7PM
- Scott Sigler, author, will be at Books, Inc. in Corte Madera discussing his latest book Ancestor. It’s pretty rare that advocate a sci-fi signing but I figured it was about time that I mentioned another one. I think I got a little mixed up when I was mentioning Sigler’s signing last week. I had mentioned his book Infected thinking it was his latest. I was only to be proved wrong when I went to the bookstore to pick it up and realized that it was actually published in 2008. Regardless, I’m looking forward to reading it. Ancestor is a new take on horror from Mr. Sigler, this time around he centers his book on a maniacal group of genetic researchers and their attempts to harvest organs from an ancient human. I’ll have to see how I do with Infected before I delve into this one, but I’m kind of into the whole horror writing thing at the moment so I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends up in the stack to be read in due time.

Wednesday, July 21st & Thursday, July 22nd
@ 12pm, 7pm & 730pm
- David Mitchell, author, will be at M is for Mystery (12pm on Wednesday), Book Passage in Corte Madera (7pm on Wednesday) & The Booksmith (730pm on Thursday) signing copies of his latest book The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. When I first saw Mr. Mitchell’s name there wasn’t a whole lot of recognition from me. Then, it dawned on me that I’d read something by Mitchell before.Although I didn’t recognize his name he is the author of the ever incredible Cloud Atlas, one of my all time favorite books. His latest novel is a historical piece set in Japan at the turn of the 19th century. I assume that this book, like Mitchell’s others will be full of vibrant language and characters and will, without doubt, be highly lauded as his others all have been.

Saturday, July 24th
@ 7pm
- Tori Spelling, author and probable awful author will be at Books, Inc. in San Francisco signing copies of her book Uncharted TerriTORI. Um, you’ve got to be kidding me. Is this for real? Do people really read this garbage? God help us all.

Friday, July 23rd & Saturday, July 24th
@ 730pm & 530pm
- Don Winslow, actor, author and several other things, Mr. Winslow will be at M is for Mystery on Friday and Book Passage in Corte Madera on Saturday signing copies of his book Savages. Set in Laguna Beach this mystery novel involves a pair of Americans running a marijuana operation until there action is interrupted by Mexican drug cartels. Sounds like a pretty good thriller with it’s fair share of twist and turns and… who doesn’t love a good fictional tale of drugs and the violence they cause.

Sunday, July 25
@ 7pm
- David Herlihy, author, will be at Book Passage in Corte Madera talking about and signing copies of his book The Lost Cyclist. Back in the 1880′s a gent from Pittsburgh named Frank Lenz had the insane idea of cycling around the world. As Mr. Lenz neared the end of his two year cycle he disappeared. What happened and was the mystery ever solved? Well, looks like you and I will need to read the book in order to find out.

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 7/12)

Jul 12

Posted by The Valet in Events | 1 Comment

Life is good.

Of course, there are certain things, like employment, that could make it better, but I am in no position to complain right now.

You’ve probably noticed my lack of, or at least slowed pace, of reading right now but I’m still convinced that that will turn around. I know it will in fact. All in due time my friends, all in due time.

So, let’s see what we have on the table this week.

Tuesday, July 13th
@ 7pm
- Kevin Starr, author and historian, will be at BookShop West Portal discussing his book Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America’s Greatest Bridge. Odds are, if you live in the bay area, you’ve crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. If you haven’t, what’s going on? Honestly, I’m not too interested in the history of the bridge, I know all I really need to know just by growing up in California and living in San Francisco now. Oh, that and the movie The Bridge which is pretty disturbing to say the least. Anyways, Starr’s book examines the bridge for what it is, a bridge and a piece of art. He covers it’s history, it’s uses and how it serves as an icon of California. If you’re a history buff and are a fan of the bridge, check Mr. Starr and his book out this week.

Wednesday, July 14th & Thursday, July 15th
@ 12pm, 730pm on Wednesday and 12pm on Thursday
Larry Doyle, author & producer, will be at Booksmith (twice) on Wednesday and RakeStraw Books on Thursday talking about and signing copies of his book turned movie I Love You, Beth Cooper as well as his latest book Go! Mutants. Honestly, I can’t recall whether or not I’ve actually seen the movie but I imagine that at some point in the past couple years I have. If you weren’t already aware, Doyle was also a writer for the Simpsons as well as the beloved Beavis and Butt-head. But, back to his work as an author, Doyle’s latest Go! Mutants is a novel that reaches back into the vaults of the 50′s & 60′s and pits heroes and villains from sci-fi and teen movies of that era against one another. I’m a pretty big fan of B-Movies of that era and Doyle has deftly, or so I am lead to believe, recreated those images in this novel. If you’re near the Haight on Wednesday night, get there and hear this comedy mastermind speak.

Thursday, July 15th
@ 7pm
- Scott Sigler, author, will be at M is for Mystery discussing his book Infected. It’s pretty rare that advocate a sci-fi signing but I figured it was about time that I mentioned another one. Although this one seems a bit one the wild side, you know aliens infections and the CIA, it sounds like it could be a pretty entertaining and fun read. Oh, I also think it’s meant to be kind of scary which I like.

Thursday, July 15th
@ 930pm
- Ira Resnick, film historian, will be showcasing his book Starstruck: Vintage Movie Poster from Classic Hollywood at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. While I can’t say I’ve always loved classic Hollywood movie posters I am big fan of their unique style and design. Some were certainly misses yet others were definitely hits. If you favor the classic styling of the movie posters of the lost era of Hollywood, this is definitely your scene and I suggest you get there early to meet Mr. Resnick.

Well, it looks like there’s a pretty good variety of events this week. None really scream out my name but who knows, maybe I’ll end up catching one.

This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 7/12)

Jul 12

Posted by The Valet in Events | 1 Comment

While you’re lounging back in your chair reading this post I thought I’d highlight something of the more extreme sort that my brother is currently engaged in. Josh (J-tris) is, right now, in death valley crewing for a friend of his who is running the 135 mile ultramarathon known as Bad-Water. While he isn’t running the full thing he told me yesterday that he plans to be on the course for at least around 50 miles. Oh, I forgot to mention that the reported high temperatures during the race will be around 120 degrees. Sounds lovely doesn’t it.

As for book events this week in your neighborhood, let’s take a look…

Tuesday, July 13th
@ 7pm
- Misty May-Treanor, athlete and author (I guess), will be at Barnes and Noble in Huntington Beach presenting her narcissistic book Misty: Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life. I know you’re wondering why I chose to tell you about this and honestly I’m not so sure. I think it has partially to do with the fact that I am somewhat dumbfounded that someone published such a book and secondly because I lead this post off with a sports related topic. Although, I think Bad Water deserves more recognition than this book ever does. Will people really buy this book? If you plan on it, please let me know, I’m incredibly curious.

Wednesday, July 14th
@ 1pm
- Ilene Schneider, author, will be at Mystery Ink Bookstore signing copies of her book Chanukah Guilt. Had the title of this book not been incredibly, I doubt it would have made it into my list of events this week. But, once I did some research I learned some interesting things about Schneider that make it that much interesting that this book be included. I won’t go too far into detail but Ms. Schneider is quite accomplished and was also among one of the first women to become a rabbi in the United States. Her book on the other hand is about a rabbi who is determined to solve a crime. I’m not being biased by promoting this event, I promise!

Friday, July 16th
@ 12pm
Larry Doyle, author & producer, will be at Book Soup talking about and signing copies of his book turned movie I Love You, Beth Cooper as well as his latest book Go! Mutants. Honestly, I can’t recall whether or not I’ve actually seen the movie but I imagine that at some point in the past couple years I have. If you weren’t already aware, Doyle was also a writer for the Simpsons as well as the beloved Beavis and Butt-head. But, back to his work as an author, Doyle’s latest Go! Mutants is a novel that reaches back into the vaults of the 50′s & 60′s and pits heroes and villains from sci-fi and teen movies of that era against one another. I’m a pretty big fan of B-Movies of that era and Doyle has deftly, or so I am lead to believe, recreated those images in this novel. If you’re near the Haight on Wednesday night, get there and hear this comedy mastermind speak.

I really wish I had more for you this week, alas this is it. Go forth and enjoy!

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 7/5)

Jul 5

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Well, I’ve been back in San Francisco for a full week now and surprisingly enough I have not booked another trip… yet. Actually, I have no intentions of doing so. Although there are several weddings and a bachelor party or two in the near future, thoughts of returning to Central or South America have been absent.

In spite of thinking about traveling I have been really active in my job hunt. Having not worked for 3 months now it’s about time I get on the horse and find something worthwhile to occupy my time. To that affect, if any of you out there have any leads in the bay area, I’m all ears.

As far as my reading goes, well it’s been slow. Between looking for work and spending time with my friends it’s been more than a bit difficult to fit a few pages in each day. I know that in the coming week/s I will return to my brutish ways and resume reading with a flourish.

Being Summer now and coming off the tail-end of a long weekend I’m not expecting for there to be much going on in terms of events this week but let’s just have a look anyways.

Tuesday, July 6th
@ 7pm
- Marla Martenson, former matchmaker and now author, will be at Books, Inc. in the Marina telling all the Marinaites about her book Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker. It’s no mystery that the Marina is by and away my least favorite neighborhood in San Francisco so it’s pretty fitting that Ms. Martenson be presenting a book of this nature there. That’s not to bash her book by any means, but since so many of the folk in the Marina fall into the mold of the type of person it would appear Ms. Martneson worked with as a matchmaker in Beverly Hills it seems like crowd would be right. The book is supposed to an amusing look at her “romp” as a matchmaker and so long as she’s a decent writer I’m sure there’s plenty of good and entertaining stories in it to keep someone interested. As for me, I don’t think it’ll be added to my list but maybe a few of you out there could be into it.

Tuesday, July 6th
@ 6pm
- Justine Sharrock, author, will be signing copies of her book Tortured: When Good Soldiers Do Bad Things at Book Passage in San Francisco. While I try and avoid reading news regarding the US and the wars which we are engaged in, here we have a book that investigates the torture program/s the US has engaged in. Of note, one of the personal stories highlighted is that of the whistleblower of the Abu Ghraib. I’ll stay away from this one, just on personal principles but I know there are people out there who dig this kind of information.

Saturday, July 10th
1 pm
- S.G. Browne, author, will be at Borders Books in Dublin signing copies of his book of Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament. Who am I to deny the lovely people of the bay area another book event related to the current fad of Zombies? Browne’s novel is a dark comedy in which the title character joins a zombie support group whose members struggle to grip with the rights of zombies in the 21st century. This book vaguely reminds me of Christopher Moore’s vampire series only this one deals with, obviously, zombies. At the moment I’m a little zombied out but who knows this one may very well make it onto my list of books to read.

Well folks that’s all I’ve got for this week. Hope you enjoy it.

This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 7/5)

Jul 5

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Welcome to Monday, July 5th Los Angelinos. Hope those 4th of July hangovers aren’t too bad today.

Let’s see what we’ve got for you this week.

Wednesday, July 7th
@ 6pm
- Randy Jurado Ertll, author, will be at the Western Justic Center Foundation discussing his book Hope in Times of Darkness: A Salvadoran American Experience. It’s no lie that I’m merely promoting this book due to my recent time spent in Latin America and my own desire to visit El Salvador. Yet, this book appears to be more about how it is a Salvadorean can come to prosper in the US.

Wednesday, July 7th
@ Rich Fulcher, actor & author, will be at Skylight Books signing and discussing his book Tiny Acts of Rebellion: 97 Almost-Legal Ways to Stick It to the Man. Had it not been for my friend Sean over at Face It! I would have no idea who Rich Fulcher is. Mr. Fulcher, for those of you who are unaware is the co-star of the BBC’s The Mighty Boosh, put simply, an amazing comedy show. I think the title of the book pretty much tells you what this book is all about but I highly urge you to go check out this funny man in person at Skylight for some good laughs.

Although Mr. Fulcher isn’t in the below video, this is a clip from the Mighty Boosh just for the hell of it:

Wednesday, July 7th, Thursday, July 8th, Friday, July 9th & Saturday, July 10th
@ 7pm, 6pm, 7pm & 2pm
- Wyatt Doyle, author, will be at Book Soup on Wednesday, La Luz de Jesus Gallery on Thursday, Alias Books (West) on Friday and Mystery and Imagination Bookshop on Friday, telling all of you interested listeners and readers about his book Stop Requested. Mr. Doyle’s book chronicles the many stories of the Los Angeles public transportation system. Although I’ve never experienced the LA public bus system, if it’s anything like San Francisco’s I’m sure there are some humorous, some tragic and some extremely entertaining stories to be heard.

Saturday, July 10th
@ 2pm
- George Clayton Johnson, author, will be talking about his book Twilight Zone Scripts and Stories at Mystery & Imagination Bookshop. You may be wondering why I chose to highlight this particular event and I can proudly tell you that I am a fan of the Twilight Zone and that’s why. I think it’s pretty hard not to be a fan of the series so you you’re a Twilight Zone fan or fanatic this event is right up your alley.

Ok, clearly there are other events happening this week but I kind of feel like going outside and enjoying the day. These two caught my eye right away and that’s what i’m giving you. If you need more suggestions for the week I’d be happy to suggest some other interesting events, feel free to ask for my opinion.

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 6/28)

Jun 28

Posted by The Valet in Events | No Comments

Ok, typically I like to provide you with detail regarding every book event that´s happening. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for you I am in Panama right now (although I´m sick) so this weeks events post is lack a little bit.

Tuesday, June 29th
@ 645pm
- David Bickel, author, will be at Books, Inc. (Palo Alto) talking about his book Creepiosity: A Hilarious Guide to the Unintentionally Creepy.

Wednesday, June 30th
@ 7pm
- Scott Sigler, author, will be at Borders Books on Post Street in San Francisco signing copies of his book Infected.

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