Books Inc. in the Castro

Thursday, January 7th, 2009 7:00 PM Books Inc. 2275 Market St. @ Noe San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 864-6777 Books Inc. Castro is proud to present local author Mark Abramson. Mark will be reading from the third installment of his beach reading series, “Russian River Rat”. Tim Snow is sure he's finally ... (more)found the perfect man, a handsome guy with a successful greenhouse business by the Russian River. With his beloved Aunt Ruth now moved to San Francisco, his life should be worry-free. But San Francisco Chronicle's best-selling author Mark Abramson can't stop with telling lively mysteries--Tim starts having troubling dreams; a drowned body haunts his boyfriend, who may be less than perfect; and there are men from both their pasts who might be deadly. Mark Abramson was a midwestern farm boy who joined the great gay migration to San Francisco in the 1970s. His writing has appeared in the gay press as far back as Christopher Street, Fag Rag, Gay Sunshine, Mouth of the Dragon and more recently in Lethe Press’ acclaimed anthology Charmed Lives, gay spirit in storytelling.

Books Inc. Castro is proud to present local author Mark Abramson. Mark will be reading from the third installment of his beach reading series, “Russian River Rat”. Tim Snow is sure he's finally found the perfect man, a handsome guy with a successful greenhouse business by the Russian River. With ... (more)his beloved Aunt Ruth now moved to San Francisco, his life should be worry-free. But San Francisco Chronicle's best-selling author Mark Abramson can't stop with telling lively mysteries--Tim starts having troubling dreams; a drowned body haunts his boyfriend, who may be less than perfect; and there are men from both their pasts who might be deadly. Mark Abramson was a midwestern farm boy who joined the great gay migration to San Francisco in the 1970s. His writing has appeared in the gay press as far back as Christopher Street, Fag Rag, Gay Sunshine, Mouth of the Dragon and more recently in Lethe Press’ acclaimed anthology Charmed Lives, gay spirit in storytelling.

Author Dr. Paul Linde will be joining us to read from his latest book “Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psychiatrist.” The psychiatric emergency room, a fast-paced combat zone with pressure to match, thrusts its medical providers into the outland of human experience where they must respond ... (more)rapidly and decisively in spite of uncertainty and, very often, danger. In this lively first-person narrative, Paul R. Linde takes readers behind the scenes at an urban psychiatric emergency room, with all its chaos and pathos, where we witness mental health professionals doing their best to alleviate suffering and repair shattered lives. As he and his colleagues encounter patients who are hallucinating, drunk, catatonic, aggressive, suicidal, high on drugs, paranoid, and physically sick, Linde examines the many ethical, legal, moral, and medical issues that confront today's psychiatric providers. He describes a profession under siege from the outside-health insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, government regulators, and even "patients' rights" advocates-and from the inside-biomedical and academic psychiatrists who have forgotten to care for the patient and have instead become checklist-marking pill-peddlers. While lifting the veil on a crucial area of psychiatry that is as real as it gets, "Danger to Self" also injects a healthy dose of compassion into the practice of medicine and psychiatry. About the Author: Paul R. Linde, M.D., a board-certified psychiatrist, currently works in the ER of San Francisco General Hospital. He is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine. His work has appeared in "DoubleTake, JAMA, "and the "San Jose Mercury News", as well as numerous other newspapers and academic journals.

Local author David Richo will be stopping by to read from his new psychological book “Being True to Life: Poetic Paths to Personal Growth.” This book offers a fresh and inspiring approach to personal growth, one that taps into our inherent creativity and the versatility of poetry. In" Being True ... (more)to Life" psychotherapist David Richo explains how writing and reading poetry can be a rich path of self-exploration and emotional healing for anyone, no matter one's poetic abilities. Richo offers a range of practical exercises for exploring how poetry can help us to become more aware, to heal, and to grow emotionally and spiritually. Exercises include free writing; composing autobiographical poems; writing a poem to your fears; and composing poems based on childhood memories, significant experiences, and dreams. Richo also offers guidance on how to read poetry in a way that can be personally transformative. About the author: David Richo is a psychotherapist who leads workshops at the Esalen Institute. He is the author of "Creativity of Your Dark Side," "How to Be an Adult," and "Shadow Dance," He lives in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, California.

Author and Poet Toni Mirosevich, will be reading selections from her new book, Pink Harvest; Tales of Happenstance. She will be reading with local emerging poets Mary DeNardo and Page McBee.

Toni Mirosevich's first collection of nonfiction explores life's shifting, tilting moments. A chance meeting ... (more)with a homeless stranger, the feel of a nickel in the palm of her hand, a conversation about politics while watching a game show -- all are seemingly unremarkable events, but each has the possibility of opening for us a new view, an insight, and the experience of wonder. Through happenstance -- the chance or accidental happening -- we see in unrelated, unexpected events profound connections that form a net of meaning.

About Toni Mirosevitch:
Author of two books of Poetry, The Rooms We Make Our Own, and Queer Street. Her award-winning work has appeared in the “Kenyon Review”, “Gastronomica”, “Puerto del Sol”, “UTNE”, “San Francisco Chronicle Magazine” and various other publications. Toni Mirosevich is a professor in creative writing at San Francisco State University, and lives in Pacifica, California.

SF LGBT Center
1800 Market St. @ Octavia
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 866-5555

Books Inc. in the Castro in association with the SF LGBT Center is pleased to announce our next Book Group selection: We Disappear by Scott Heim.

In a Kansas field, a teenage boy is found murdered, an event that ... (more)sparks a dark obsession in a hard-luck woman named Donna. Recently widowed and battling cancer, she persuades her son, Scott, to help her discover more about “disappeared” people, hoping to uncover clues about her own troubled past. Fighting demons of his own, including drug addiction, Scott is barely holding on, but the chance to help is mother offers a taste of salvation.
But Donna’s compulsions soon take a darker turn, and Scott finds a strange boy named Otis handcuffed in a secret basement room. Who, Scott wonders, is Otis? And how is he linked to Donna’s hazy memories of her own childhood disappearance? As his mother’s health deteriorates, Scott resolves to answer these questions, discovering Otis’s unsettling connection to other missing teens- and, ultimately, to Scott himself.
* * *
Our next Book Group meeting is Wednesday, April 16th at 7 PM at the Three Dollar Bill Cafe at the LGBT Center, 1800 Market St. (@ Octavia). As always, I'd like everyone to come with any observations they may have as well as at least one question to pose to the group. Also, please come equipped with any title suggestions for our next joint venture. Hope to see you there. The Center/Books Inc. Book Group is free and open to everyone. We encourage inclusiveness and promote diversity. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of every month.
* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at the Three Dollar Bill Café within the SF LGBT Center
Sponsored by Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: Ken Irish, Store Manager - 415.864.6777
kirish@booksinc.net; on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Poets Kevin Killian, Jocelyn Saidenberg & George Albon, will be reading their favorite and best written poems, celebrating National Poetry Month.

In his first poetry collection, Argento Series, novelist Kevin Killian views the horrors of the AIDS pandemic through the films of Italian horror maestro ... (more)Dario Argento. Structured like a horror film, populating deadpan reportage with badly drawn "characters" whose grisly deaths nevertheless come as an apocalyptic shock, it is a testament to human suffering, a call to political action unlike any other.

Jocelyn Saidenberg's third book of poetry, Negativity, begins in a "dusky" wood, but instead of descending to hell she journeys through the negativity of earthly relations. We hear of friends, lovers, and a declining country--all filtered by a consciousness equally troubled by its own suffering and the suffering of others.

A moment is an inside flutter, a reflection, a civil relapse. George Albon's Momentary Songs, sound the possibilities of forwardness and hope in a surrounding twilight of unprecedented venality. Using a variety of registers--lyrical inquiry, Blakean exhortation, the satirical spiel of Morgenstern's Gallows Songs--they search for alternative states (public ones, affective ones) as well as offer a probe on what has come to pass: "In this eclipse are we the inclement for placing it?"

About Kevin Killian:
Kevin Killian, US poet, novelist, critic and playwright. He has written a book of poetry, Argento Series, two novels, Shy and Arctic Summer, a book of memoirs, Bedrooms Have Windows, and two books of stories, Little Men that won the PEN Oakland award for fiction. A second collection I Cry Like a Baby was published by Painted Leaf Books in 2001. His next book of poetry will be all about Kylie Minogue: poets Michael Scharf and Joshua Clover will launch their new press with Killian’s Action Kylie in the fall of 2008.

About Jocelyn Saidenberg:
Jocelyn Saidenbur is the author of Disposed, Negativity, Dusky, CUSP, and a limited edition chapbook, Mortal City. Winner of the New Langton Arts Bay Area Award in Literature, 1999, and former Director of Small Press Traffic, Saidenberg is an editor and publisher of Krupskaya, a small press publishing collective. She also works as a librarian at the San Francisco Public Library. Born in New York City, she currently lives in San Francisco.

About George Albon:
George Albon was born in 1954. He has a degree in film theory from Southern Illinois University. Work of his has appeared in Hambone, Talisman, Ribot, O Anthology 4, Lingo, West Coast Line, non and elsewhere. He is also the author of Reading Pole, Transit Rock, Empire Life, King, and Possible Floor. He lives in San Francisco, California.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Books Inc. in the Castro celebrates National Poetry Month with a poem contest and poetry reading.

Books Inc. is set to host our 11th Annual Poetry Night on
Thursday, April 24, 2007 at 7:30 PM. Join us for a fun evening of exciting wordplay and creative rhyme schemes. Your creativity is the only ... (more)limit (that and 3 poetry entries!).

Call for submissions:

Books Inc. is looking for your poetry! The top 3 poems, judged by a panel of Books Inc. booksellers, will be rewarded with Books Inc. Gift cards. We will also feature the winning poems and poets at our 11th Annual Poetry Night Thursday, April 24th. Entrants are limited to 3 poems per person, 250 words per poem. Poems must be delivered in person or sent via USPS. No e-mail entries will be accepted. Please include full name and contact information.

Submissions must be received by 11 PM on April 15th!!!!

Poets Randall Mann & Jonathan Braker will be reading their favorite poems, celebrating National Poetry Month. Joining them will be the top 3 poets from our poetry contest.

Complaint in the Garden; from poolside to seaside, barroom to classroom, sex club to colonial Florida, Randall Mann's curiosity ... (more)endeavors to discover, often ironically, the beauty of things in the world around him. These meditations--harsh, honest, explicit (though never vulgar), dark, and astute--reflect a sentiment for the urbane and the primitive in nature, history, love, and humankind. Mann invites readers into lush landscapes, sundry histories, and a contemporary gay San Francisco populated by those things and people loved and lost.

Jonathan Bracker explores his visits of Paris through his peotry in his collection, Paris Sketches. Like public sketches of the city done by artists, Bracker uses his poetry to describe the scenery of things witnessed and experiences undergone.

About Randall Mann:
Mann was born in Provo, Utah, and raised in Kentucky and Florida. He was educated at the University of Florida. His Poems and reviews have appeared in the Kenyon Review, New Republic, Paris Review, Poetry, Salmagundi, and Verse. He lives in San Francisco.

About Jonathan Braker:
Braker was born in New York City in 1936. He tought college English in several states and U.S. Navy ships at sea. Bracker’s work has appeared in America, Poetry Northwesr, Southern Poetry Review, The New Yorker, Writer’s Digest and other periodicals as well as in several anthologies.

Poetry Contest

Join us for a fun evening of exciting wordplay and creative rhyme schemes. Your creativity is the only limit. (that and 3 poetry entries!).

Call for submissions:
Books Inc. is looking for your poetry! The top 3 poems, judged by a panel of Books Inc. booksellers, will be rewarded with Books Inc. Gift cards. We will also feature the winning poems and poets at our 11th Annual Poetry Night Thursday, April 24th. Entrants are limited to 3 poems per person, 250 words per poem. Poems must be delivered in person or sent via USPS. No e-mail entries will be accepted. Please include full name and contact information

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

New York BestSelling author Augusten Burroughs, will be reading selections from his long awaited new novel, "A WOLF AT THE TABLE: A Memoir of my father" at Books Inc in Castro

In his first full-length memoir since Dry, Augusten Burroughs, now takes readers into the most unexpected recesses of his ... (more)psyche to introduce an imposing shadow that has haunted him for most of his life in A WOLF AT THE TABLE: A Memoir of My Father. Burroughs opens old wounds, exposing the rot and chaos of psychological abuse, cruelty, and abandonment he experienced at the hands of his distant, alcoholic father.

In some of his earliest memories, Augusten recalls excitedly anticipating his father’s arrival home from work as a philosophy professor in Massachusetts. The young Augusten would create art projects to impress his father and even once dressed like a dog to hopefully garner the same affection the family pet received from the man he admits he loved, at least in the beginning. For his efforts, Augusten was often met at the door with utter disregard, disgust, and sometimes even chilling rebukes.

“I was losing against the Arms,” Burroughs writes sadly of his inability to get near enough to his father for a hug. In one moment of desperation, Augusten snuck his father’s clothes from drawers and closets and stuffed them with towels and his own bed sheet to create a headless, footless, scarecrow-like father surrogate. “Tenderly, being mindful not to dislodge the torso from the legs and spoil the illusion, I crawled into bed beside the body, turned on my side and curled against it….It was an acceptable substitute.”

Balancing life with a doting, yet unstable mother, an unpredictable older brother, and his volatile father, Augusten agonized over the menacing thought that he may one day grow up to be just like his dad. Amidst the raucous fights between his parents, the suspicious deaths of his childhood pets, and his own angst and despair, Augusten fantasized about killing his father.

A WOLF AT THE TABLE is the heart-rending memoir of one man’s struggle to rationalize his turbulent childhood. It is an untapped chapter of Augusten Burroughs’ life, through which he, as a child, fumbles through the space between love and hate, adoration and abhorrence, and life and death. This is Burroughs at his most uncompromising and most vulnerable.

Book goes on sale April 29th. We will be giving out tickets that will admit one person per ticket for each book that is sold here AT THIS BOOKS INC. LOCATION ONLY (Market St.). The tickets are numbered, so there will be no need to line up early. People with ticket will receive preferred seating.

About Augusten Burroughs:
Augusten Burroughs is the New York Times Bestselling Author of Possible Side Effects, Magical Thinking, Dry, Running With Scissors, and Sellevision. He lives in New York City and Western Massachusetts.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Lambda Award-winning Novelist Blair Mastbaum, author of Clay’s Way, will be reading selections from his new novel, Us Ones in Between.

Us Ones in Between; a story of sexual obsession turned violent in Manhattan's East Village. Kurt Smith can't get over the split with his ex-boyfriend. When Kurt's ... (more)failure to reconnect becomes more than he can handle, the line between fantasy and reality is blurred-and even Kurt can't be sure he's not responsible for the killings making local headlines.

About Blair Mastbaum:
Blair Mastbaum graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in fine arts. He has attended workshops under the guidance of novelist John Rechy, and he contributes reviews on art, music and hotels to various publications. He was a fashion model for six years, traveling the globe for such houses as Versace and Calvin Klein. He lives in Beverly Hills.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Author Alistair McCartney, will be reading selections from his new novel, The End of the World Book.

This is no ordinary novel. An encyclopedia of memory-from A to Z-"The End of the World Book" deftly intertwines fiction, memoir, and cultural history, reimagining the story of the world and one man's ... (more)life as they both hurtle toward a frightening future. Alistair McCartney's alphabetical guide to the apocalypse layers images like a prose poem, building from Aristotle to da Vinci, hip-hop to lederhosen, plagues to zippers, while barreling from antiquity to the present.

In this profound book about mortality, McCartney composes an irreverent archive of philosophical obsessions and homoerotic fixations, demonstrating the difficulty of separating what is real from what is imagined.

About Alistair McCartney:

Alistair McCartney was born in Perth, Western Australia, in 1971. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Fence, Bloom, James White Review, and other literary journals, as well as in a number of fiction and creative nonfiction anthologies, including Wonderlands: Good Gay Travel Writing, published by the University of Wisconsin Press, and Between Men (Carroll and Graff.) He lives in Los Angeles with his partner Tim Miller and teaches creative writing and literature in the BA Program at Antioch University Los Angeles and Antioch Santa Barbara.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Books Inc. in the Castro in association with the SF LGBT Center and 3DB Café is pleased to announce our next Book Group selection: Exiles in America by Christophher Bram

Zack Knowles, a psychologist, and Daniel Wexler, an art teacher at a college in Virginia, have been together for twenty-one years. ... (more)In the fall of 2002, a few months before the Iraq War, a new artist in residence, Abbas Rohani, arrives with his Russian wife, Elena, and their two children. But Abbas is not quite what he seems, and he begins an affair with Daniel. Soon politics intrude upon two families thrown together by love, threatening the future of both in ways no one could have predicted.
A novel that explores how the personal becomes political, "Exiles in America" offers an intimate look at the meaning of marriage, gay and straight.

* * *

Our next Book Group meeting is Wednesday, May 21st at 7 PM at the Three Dollar Bill Café at the LGBT Center, 1800 Market St. (@ Octavia). As always, I'd like everyone to come with any observations they may have as well as at least one question to pose to the group. Also, please come equipped with any title suggestions for our next joint venture. Hope to see you there. The Center/Books Inc. Book Group is free and open to everyone. We encourage inclusiveness and promote diversity. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of every month.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at the Three Dollar Bill Café within the SF LGBT Center
Sponsored by Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Joel Derfner, author of Gay Haiku, will be at Books Inc. in the Castro reading from his new memoir, Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever.

Joel Derfner is gayer than you.
Don't feel too bad about it, though, because he has made being gayer than you his life's work. At summer day camp, ... (more)when he was six, Derfner tried to sign up for needlepoint and flower arranging, but the camp counselors wouldn't let him, because, they said, those activities were for girls only. Derfner, just to be contrary, embarked that very day on a solemn and sacred quest: to become the gayest person ever. Along the way he has become a fierce knitter, an even fiercer musical theater composer, and so totally the fiercest step aerobics instructor (just ask him--he'll tell you himself).

In "Swish," Derfner takes his readers on a flamboyant adventure along the glitter-strewn road from fabulous to divine. Whether he's confronting the demons of his past at a GLBT summer camp, using the Internet to "meet" men--many, many men--or plunging headfirst (and nearly naked) into the shady world of go-go dancing, he reveals himself with every gayer-than-thou flourish to be not just a stylish explorer but also a fearless one. So fearless, in fact, that when he sneaks into a conference for people who want to cure themselves of their homosexuality, he turns the experience into one of the most fascinating, deeply moving chapters of the book. Derfner, like King Arthur, Christopher Columbus, and Indiana Jones--but with a better haircut and a much deeper commitment to fad diets--is a hero destined for legend.

Written with wicked humor and keen insight, "Swish" is at once a hilarious look at contemporary ideas about gay culture and a poignant exploration of identity that will speak to all readers--gay, straight, and in between.

About Joel Derfner:

Joel Derfner graduated from Harvard with a degree in linguistics. His work for the musical theater has been produced in London, New York, and various cities in between. He’s also the author of “Gay Haiku”. He lives in New York City.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: - 415.864.6777
on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Author Andrea Askowitz, will be reading selections from her new memoir, My miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy.

My Miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy— Andrea Askowitz has the best life in the world. She’s pregnant and healthy. She has friends and family who love her. She has money and meaningful ... (more)work. And all she can do is obsess about the one thing she doesn’t have: Kate, her ex-girlfriend. My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy is a funny, whiny, all-too-real account of one girl’s true adventures with maternity. From finding a great donor who turns out to be shooting blanks (“I was a lesbian with male fertility problems,”) through all-day morning sickness and graduation into “fat-girl underwear,” Andrea’s life reads like the antidote to many sugar-sweet pregnancy guides and memoirs. In week 8, her sense of smell becomes so strong that she can tell what deodorant people are wearing. In week 28, she plans a pity party, complete with black-only dress code and a violin player: “It isn’t an attempt to make fun of myself, because that would be too joyous.”

Irreverent and whip-smart, My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy is potent therapy for ill-timed break-ups, leg cramps, constipation, and every other downside to a dream come true.

Accompanying Andrea on her “Misery Loves Company Tour” are authors Jennifer Traig and Meredith Maran.

About the Authors:

Andrea Askowitz is a full time mom, writer and founder of Bike Out, a non-profit organization created to introduce gay and lesbian inner city kids to the outdoors. She performs and produces the program "Lip Service: True Stories Out Loud" at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida.

Jennifer Traig’s books include Devil in the Details, Retox and Judaikitsch; her forthcoming memoir is called Well Enough Alone. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the London Observer, Self, Jane, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Jennifer lives in Berkeley.

Meredith Maran is the best-selling author of several nonfiction books, and an award-winning journalist who writes for magazines and newspapers including Playboy, Real Simple, Salon, More, Health, Vibe, Family Circle, Parenting, Mother Jones, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She’s currently slaving away at her first work of fiction, a novel starring a gorgeous bisexual.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Author David A. Price, will be reading selections from his new book, The Pixar Touch

It is the roller-coaster, rags-to-riches story behind the phenomenal success of Pixar Animation Studios: the first in-depth look at the company that forever changed the film industry and the "fraternity of geeks" ... (more)who shaped it.

"The Pixar Touch" is a story of the technical innovation that revolutionized animation, transforming hand-drawn cell animation to computer-generated 3-D graphics. It's a triumphant business story of a company that began with a dream, remained true to the ideals of its founders- anti-bureaucratic and artist driven--and ended up a multibillion-dollar success.

We meet Pixar's technical genius and founding CEO, Ed Catmull, who dreamed of becoming an animator, inspired by Disney's "Peter Pan "and "Pinocchio," realized he would never be good enough, and instead enrolled in the then new field of computer science at the University of Utah. It was Catmull who founded the computer graphics lab at the New York Institute of Technology and who wound up at Lucasfilm during the first "Star Wars" trilogy, running the computer graphics department, and found a patron in Steve Jobs, just ousted from Apple Computer, who bought Pixar for five million dollars. Catmull went on to win four Academy Awards for his technical feats and helped to create some of the key computer-generated imagery software that animators rely on today.
Price also writes about John Lasseter, who catapulted himself from unemployed animator to one of the most powerful figures in American filmmaking; animation was the only thing he ever wanted to do (he was inspired by Disney's "The Sword in the Stone"), and Price's book shows how Lasseter transformed computer animation from a novelty into an art form. The author also writes about Steve Jobs, as volatile a figure as a Shakespearean monarch . . .

Based on interviews with dozens of insiders, "The Pixar Touch" examines the early wildcat years when computer animation was thought of as the lunatic fringe of the medium.

We see the studio at work today; how its writers, directors, and animators make their astonishing, and astonishingly popular films. The book also delves into Pixar's corporate feuds: between Lasseter and his former champion, Jeffrey Katzenberg ("A Bug's Life" vs. "Antz"), and between Jobs and Michael Eisner. And finally it explores Pixar's complex relationship with the Walt Disney Company as it transformed itself from a Disney satellite into the $7.4 billion jewel in the Disney crown.

About David A. Price:

David A. Price was raised in Richmond, Virginia, and was educated at the College of William and Mary, where he received his degree in computer science. He graduated from Harvard Law School and Cambridge University. Price has written for "The Wall Street Journal," "Investor's Business Daily," "Business 2.0," "The Washington Post," "Forbes," and "Inc." and is the author of "Love and Hate in Jamestown," He lives with his wife and sons in Washington, D.C.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Books Inc. in the Castro in association with the SF LGBT Center and 3DB Café is pleased to announce our next Book Group selection: Mayor of Castro Street. By Randy Shilts

"The Mayor of Castro Street" is Shilts's acclaimed story of Harvey Milk, the man whose personal life, public career, and tragic ... (more)assassination mirrored the dramatic and unprecedented emergence of the gay community in America during the 1970s. His is a story of personal tragedies and political intrigues, assassination in City Hall and massive riots in the streets, the miscarriage of justice and the consolidation of gay power and gay hope.
* * *
Our next Book Group meeting is Wednesday, June 18th at 7 PM at the Three Dollar Bill Café at the LGBT Center, 1800 Market St. (@ Octavia). As always, I'd like everyone to come with any observations they may have as well as at least one question to pose to the group. Also, please come equipped with any title suggestions for our next joint venture. Hope to see you there. The Center/Books Inc. Book Group is free and open to everyone. We encourage inclusiveness and promote diversity. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of every month.
* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at the Three Dollar Bill Café within the SF LGBT Center
Sponsored by Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Marc Acito, author of How I Paid for College will be reading selections from his new novel, Attack of the Theater People.

In praising How I Paid for College the New York Times Book Review said, it "makes you hope there's a lot more where this came from." There is. In this hilarious sequel Attack of ... (more)the Theater People Edward Zanni and his merry crew of high school musical-comedy miscreants move to the magical wonderland that is Manhattan.

It is 1986, and aspiring actor Edward Zanni has been kicked out of drama school for being "too jazz hands for Julliard." Mortified, Edward heads out into the urban jungle of eighties New York City and finally lands a job as a "party motivator" who gets thirteen-year-olds to dance at bar mitzvahs and charms businesspeople as a "stealth guest" at corporate events. When he accidentally gets caught up in insider trading with a handsome stockbroker named Chad, only the help of his crew from "How I Paid for College "can rescue him from a stretch in Club Fed.

Laced with the inspired zaniness of classic American musical comedy, Attack of the Theater People matches the big hair of the eighties with an even bigger heart.

About the Marc Acito:

Marc Acito's debut novel, "How I Paid for College" won the Ken Kesey Award for the Novel and was also selected as an Editors' Choice by The New York Times. Acito is a popular contributor to The New York Times and National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," He lives in Portland, Oregon.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Author Aaron Shurin, will be reading selections from his new anthology, King of Shadows.

King of Shadows is a collection of twenty-one autobiographical essays chronicling the author's gay life and life as a poet in San Francisco since the 1960s. In the title essay, Shurin describes his coming into ... (more)poetry and gay identity via a high-school production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Other essays tell of his deep relationships with poets Denise Levertov and Robert Duncan, and the influence of the sexual politics of the '70s. In "The Bars of Heaven and Hell," we are given a personal history of venturing into gay bars in pre-Stonewall San Francisco. Written in a lyrical, literary, yet highly personal style, Shurin's intelligent and insightful essays circle in and around issues of identity and sensibility, and how our interior and public lives are shaped by them.

About Aaron Shurin:

Aaron Shurin has published eight books of poetry and one volume of essays. His selected poems, Paradise of Forms, was chosen as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 1999. His essays on AIDS, Unbound, went through several printings with Sun & Moon Press. Since 1999 he has directed the MFA in Writing Program at the University of San Francisco.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St. San Francisco 94114
or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksiccastro

Psychologist and author Kimeron Hardin, will be reading selections from his newly revised self help guide, Loving Ourselves: The Gay and Lesbian Guide to Self-Esteem.

Love the inside, embrace the outside.

In this thoroughly revised and updated edition of Loving Ourselves, first published in 1999, ... (more)the issues and concerns relating to self-esteem in the LGBT world are presented to a new generation of men and women. This compassionate guide delves in to the unique problems of self-esteem in the gay community, and how understanding your own self-worth can allow you to function better in this complex world. With advice for every demographic, this is the most comprehensive book for building a better you.

About the author:

Dr. Kimeron Hardin is a licensed clinical psychologist and Director of Functional Restoration and Behavioral Medicine at the Bay Area Pain and Wellness Center in Los Gatos, CA. He is also the author of Queer Blues: The Lesbian and Gay Guide to Overcoming Depression and The Chronic Pain Control Workbook, Second Edition.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Author Sarah Brannen, will be reading from her new children's book, Uncle Bobby's Wedding, at Books Inc Castro.

Bobby and Jamie are getting married, but Bobby's niece Chloe is worried that she won't be his favorite person anymore. Will Uncle Bobby still think she is special?

Sarah Brannen's warm ... (more)story is set in an alternative family as Uncle Bobby marries his boyfriend. "Uncle Bobby's Wedding" embraces Bobby's relationship with Jamie, but keeps its focus where it truly belongs: on an uncle and niece's love for each other.

Beautifully told and charmingly illustrated, this simple yet moving story begs to be read time and again.

About the author:

Sarah S. Brannen received her BA in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard and her MFA in Printmaking from the University of Pennsylvania. "Uncle Bobby's Wedding" is her first book for children. She lives in Sudbury, Massachusetts.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

The fantastical actress, singer, author and Broadway star Bernadette Peters, will be signing copies of her new children book, Broadway Barks.

In a park in New York City lives a lonely little dog. He remembers when he used to get taken for walks, fed dinner every night, and told he was a good dog. ... (more)Now, he's all alone and must fend for himself. But everything changes one day when he sees a lady reading in the park and decides to follow her--all the way to a place where he might become a star!

With a story by actress Bernadette Peters and mixed-media collage illustrations by Liz Murphy, Broadway Barks is a warm and appealing story of loss, reunion, and nurturing, complete with a happy ending.

This beautiful package includes a jacket with foil touches as well as an exclusive CD featuring a reading of the story and an original song written and sung by Bernadette Peters.

About the author:

Bernadette Peters has had a dazzling stage career on Broadway and in theaters and concert halls around the world. She is cofounder, with Mary Tyler Moore, of Broadway Barks, an annual star-studded animal adoption event benefiting animal shelters throughout the New York City area. Her passion for animals and her work on behalf of the organization are the inspiration behind this book.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Month of July, 2008
www.myspace.com/Booksinccastro
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 866-5555

Books Inc. in the Castro proudly announces the first selection for our online reading group: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon.
For sixty years Jewish refugees and their descendants have ... (more)prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. The Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. But now the District is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end.
Homicide detective Meyer Landsman of the District Police has enough problems without worrying about the upcoming Reversion. His life is a shambles, his marriage a wreck, his career a disaster. And in the cheap hotel where Landsman has washed up, someone has just committed a murder--right under his nose. When he begins to investigate the killing of his neighbor, a former chess prodigy, word comes down from on high that the case is to be dropped immediately, and Landsman finds himself contending with all the powerful forces of faith, obsession, evil, and salvation that are his heritage.
At once a gripping whodunit, a love story, and an exploration of the mysteries of exile and redemption, "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" is a novel only Michael Chabon could have written.
* * *
We are excited to welcome all readers to participate in discussing various works of literature. For those of you with busy schedules, who still long to join invigorating, provocative literary discussions: our cyber reading group is dedicated to you. Joining our group is simple:

- Log onto Books Inc. Castro’s Myspace page at www.myspace.com/booksinccastro.

- Near top page, subscribe to our Cyber Reading Group blog by clicking on [Subscribe to this Blog]. This takes you to a confirmation screen where you either click “Confirm” to confirm your subscription or click cancel, returning you to our Myspace page.

- If you do not have a Myspace account you can either: - Open one for free—myspace will walk you through the process.

- When purchasing our reading group’s books at Books Inc. Castro, let your bookseller know and receive 15% off!

- Read, Read, Read!

- Finally, log in and discuss, ask/respond to questions, and meet other fellow readers! Have fun learning!
Books Inc. Book Group is free and open to everyone. We encourage inclusiveness and promote diversity.
* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

Books Inc. in the Castro in association with the SF LGBT Center and 3DB Café is pleased to announce our next Book Group selection: Call me by your name. by Andre Aciman

"Call Me by Your Name "is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest ... (more)at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. During the restless summer weeks, unrelenting but buried currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them and verge toward the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. Andre Aciman's critically acclaimed debut novel is a frank, unsentimental, heartrending elegy to human passion.

* * *

Our next Book Group meeting is Wednesday, August 20th at 7 PM at the Three Dollar Bill Café at the LGBT Center, 1800 Market St. (@ Octavia). As always, I'd like everyone to come with any observations they may have as well as at least one question to pose to the group. Also, please come equipped with any title suggestions for our next joint venture. Hope to see you there. The Center/Books Inc. Book Group is free and open to everyone. We encourage inclusiveness and promote diversity. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of every month.

Author and editor Simon Sheppard, will be reading from his new exciting anthology of sexy stories about the lure and lore of black leather.

Joining him will be contributors Thomas Roche, Aaron Travis(Steven Saylor), and horehound stillpoint.

Covering a pulse-quickening breadth of leathersex experiences, ... (more)the stories in LEATHERMEN are both well-written and very, very hot. Authors include such recognized erotica masters as Aaron Travis, Jeff Mann, Bill Brent, Christopher Pierce, Shaun Levin, and Thomas Roche, as well as gifted newcomers. Lifelong obsessions, back-alley quickies, flogging, spanking, shaving, and just plain vanilla all find their place between LEATHERMEN's covers.
So pull on your chaps, grab a cumrag, and get ready for LEATHERMEN.

About the author:

Simon Sheppard is a smart slut pornographer whose previous books include Kinkorama, Hotter Than Hell, and In Deep. He lives in San Francisco, where they do this sort of thing.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777
or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Best selling author John Elder Robison will be with us at Books Inc. in the Castro to read from his Autobiography "Look Me in the Eye".

Ever since he was young, John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits--an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, ... (more)avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, in them)--had earned him the label "social deviant." It was not until he was forty that he was diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger's syndrome. That understanding transformed the way he saw himself--and the world. A born storyteller, Robison has written a moving, darkly funny memoir about a life that has taken him from developing exploding guitars for KISS to building a family of his own. It's a strange, sly, indelible account--sometimes alien yet always deeply human.

About the author:
John Elder Robison lives with his wife and son in Amherst, Massachusetts. His company, J E Robison Service, repairs and restores fine European automobiles.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Local Author Dan White, will be visiting us here at Books Inc. in the Castro to read from his new autobiographical book "Cactus Eaters".

The Pacific Crest Trail stretches from Mexico to Canada, a distance of 2,650 grueling, sun-scorched, bear-infested miles. When Dan White and his girlfriend announced ... (more)their intention to hike it, Dan's parents--among others--thought they were nuts. How could two people who'd never even shared an apartment together survive six months in the desert with little more than a two-person tent and some trail mix? But when these addled adventurers, dubbed "the Lois and Clark Expedition" by their benevolent trail-guru, set out for the American wilderness, the hardships of the trail--and one delicious-looking cactus--test the limits of love and sanity.

About the author:
Dan White is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in the "New York Times", the "Los Angeles Times", and "Backpacker" magazine. He received his MFA from Columbia University, and he lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Best selling author, Gregory Maguire author of Wicked will be visiting us here at Books Inc. in the Castro to read from his long awaited new novel “A Lion Among Men"

Since "Wicked" was first published in 1995, millions of readers have discovered Gregory Maguire's fantastically encyclopedic Oz, a ... (more)world filled with characters both familiar and new, darkly conceived and daringly reimagined. In the much-anticipated third volume of the Wicked Years, we return to Oz, seen now through the eyes of the Cowardly Lion--the once tiny cub defended by Elphaba in "Wicked,"
While civil war looms in Oz, a tetchy oracle named Yackle prepares for death. Before her final hour, an enigmatic figure known as Brrr--the Cowardly Lion--arrives searching for information about Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West. As payment, Yackle, who hovered on the sidelines of Elphaba's life, demands some answers of her own.

Brrr surrenders his story to the ailing maunt: Abandoned as a cub, his earliest memories are gluey hazes, and his path from infancy in the Great Gillikin Forest is no Yellow Brick Road. Seeking to redress an early mistake, he trudges through a swamp of ghosts, becomes implicated in a massacre of trolls, and falls in love with a forbidding Cat princess. In the wake of laws that oppress talking Animals, he avoids a jail sentence by agreeing to serve as a lackey to the war-mongering Emperor of Oz.
"A Lion Among Men" chronicles a battle of wits hastened by the Emerald City's approaching armies. What does the Lion know of the whereabouts of the Witch's boy, Liir? What can Yackle reveal about the auguries of the Clock of the Time Dragon? And what of the Grimmerie, the magic book that vanished asquickly as Elphaba? Is destiny ever arbitrary? Can those tarnished by infamy escape their sobriquets--cowardly, wicked, brainless, criminally earnest--to claim their own histories, to live honorably within their own skins before they're skinned alive?

At once a portrait of a would-be survivor and a panoramic glimpse of a world gone shrill with war fever, Gregory Maguire's new novel is written with the sympathy and power that have made his books contemporary classics.

About the author:
Gregory Maguire is the bestselling author of "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister", "Lost, Mirror Mirror", and the Wicked Years series, which includes "Wicked", "Son of a Witch", and "A Lion Among Men". "Wicked", now a beloved classic, is the basis for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Maguire has lectured on art, literature, and culture both at home and abroad. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Lambda award wining author Michael Thomas Ford, and debut author Drew Ferguson will be joining us to read from their newest long awaited teen novels "Suicide Notes" and "The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second".

“Suicide Notes” by Michael Thomas Ford is a teen novel about a fifteen year old ... (more)boy named Jeff who wakes up on New Years Day in a psychiatric ward. Jeff does not believe that he needs to be institutionalized; but as his time spent in the hospital, Jeff begins to accept certain traits about him and those surrounding him.

“The Screwed up Life of Charlie the Second” is another teen novel written by Drew Ferguson. Charles James Stewart II, a Lutheran teen from Illinois, explores his angst and personal secrets through his journal entries and college application essay. The book discusses homophobia, infatuation and overcoming the fear of wanting to be who you are.

About the authors:
Michael Thomas Ford is the author of books for both young readers and adults. He lives in San Francisco with his partner and their five dogs.
Drew Ferguson received his MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College, Chicago. His work has appeared in Blithe House Quarterly, The James White Review, Hair Trigger, The Great Lawn and other publications. He lives in Chicago.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Actress, philanthropist and author Mia Kirshner will be visiting us here at Books Inc. in the Castro to read from her documentary book "I Live Here"

"I Live Here" is a paper documentary-an intimate journey to humanitarian crises in four corners of the world: war in Chechnya, ethnic cleansing in Burma, ... (more)globalization in Mexico, and AIDS in Malawi, told through journals, stories, images, and graphic novellas.

The voices we encounter are those of displaced women and children, in their own words or in stories told in text and images by noted writers and artists. The stories unfold in an avalanche: An orphan goes to jail for stealing leftovers. A teenage girl falls in love in a city of disappeared women. A child soldier escapes his army only to be saved by the people he was taught to kill.

Mia Kirshner's journals guide us through a unique paper documentary brought vividly to life in collaboration with J.B. MacKinnon, Paul Shoebridge, and Michael Simons, with featured works by Joe Sacco, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Phoebe Gloeckner, Chris Abani, Karen Connelly, Kamel Khelif, and many others.

About the author:
Mia Kirshner is the star of the hit television drama "The L Word". She's starred in the movie "The Black Dahlia" as well as other hit films. "I Live Here" is her first book.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Author and journalist Sarah Schulman will be appearing at Books Inc. Market for a reading and signing of her new novel “The Child.”

“The Child,” a Lambda Literary Award finalist, is the eleventh and perhaps most controversial book by acclaimed lesbian writer Sarah Schulman, available for the ... (more)first time in paperback. This novel explores the parameters of queer teen sexuality against a backdrop of hysteria and sanctioned homophobia, based on the 1997 sexual assault and murder of an eleven-year-old boy by a fifteen-year-old.
Stew is a lonely teen who discovers love on an adult website. But when his older boyfriend is arrested in an Internet pedophilia sting, his proclivities are revealed to his family and friends, to his horror. Devastated by these revelations and left to fend for himself, he ends up committing murder.

Brazen and daring in its themes, "The Child" is a powerful indictment of sex panic in America, and a plaintive meditation on isolation and desire.

About the author:
Sarah Schulman is the author of eleven books, including eight novels, the latest being The Child (2006). As a journalist, her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, and Interview. She has won a Guggenheim Fellowship and two American Library Association Gay & Lesbian Book Awards. She lives in New York.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.’s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions Contact:415.864.6777
or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Sports journalist and author Bill Konigsberg will be visiting us here at Books Inc. in the Castro to read from his debut novel "Out of the Pocket."

"Out of the Pocket" stars quarterback Bobby Framingham, one of the most talented high school football players in California, who knows he's different ... (more)from his teammates. They are like brothers, but they don't know one essential thing: Bobby is gay. Can he still be one of the guys and be honest about who he is? When he's outed against his will by a student reporter, Bobby must find a way to earn back his teammates trust and accept that his path to success might be more public, and more difficult, than head hoped.

"Out of the Pocket" is an affecting novel about identity that also delivers great sports writing.

About the author:
Bill Konigsberg is an award-winning sports journalist who has written for television, newspapers, wire services, and the internet. He currently is a sports writer and editor for the Associated Press.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Books Inc. presents GuyWriters Poetry Open Mic

GuyWriters, the only gay men's writing group in San Francisco, has teamed up with Books Inc. for a night of poetry. Come listen to the GuyWriters poetry group as they read their latest poems.

Then stick around and join in on the reading. GuyWriters ... (more)will open the floor so you can get up and read your poems to an audience at Books Inc. Everyone will get a maximum of five minutes to read their best poetry. Sign up for the open mic begins at 7:00 PM with the performance starting at 7:30 PM.

* * *

Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and
www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Writer, actor and director Marcus Ewert will be joining us here at Books Inc. on Market Street for a signing and reading of his new kids book "10,000 Dresses." Also appearing with Marcus will be graphic designer and fine artist Rex Ray, the illustrator of "10,000 Dresses." About the book: Every night, ... (more)Bailey dreams about magical dresses: dresses made of crystals and rainbows, dresses made of flowers, dresses made of windows. Unfortunately, when Bailey's awake, no one wants to hear about these beautiful dreams. Quite the contrary: "You're a BOY!" Mother and Father tell Bailey. "You shouldn't be thinking about dresses at all." Then Bailey meets Laurel, an older girl who is touched and inspired by Bailey's imagination and courage. In friendship, the two of them begin making dresses together. And Bailey becomes the girl she always dreamed she'd be! This gorgeous picture book-a modern fairy tale about becoming the person you feel you are inside, will delight people of all ages. About the authors: Marcus Ewert co-created the hit animated series, Piki & Poko: Adventures in StarLand, currently being shown on MTV's LOGO channel. He is writing a memoir about his time with Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. He lives in San Francisco. Rex Ray, a renowned graphic designer and fine artist, has a retrospective catalog, Rex Ray: Art + Design, and a gift line are available from Chronicle Books. His work is collected by SF MoMA and exhibited around the US. * * * Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946. Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants. This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114 For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at www.booksinc.net and www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

Books Inc. on Market is proud to welcome Fr. Donal Godfrey for a reading and signing of his new historical book about the Catholic presence in San Francisco: “Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.” Joining Fr. Donal Godfrey will be three-time Emmy winner ... (more)and writer Patrick Mulcahey. Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco is in the center of the world’s first gay neighborhood, The Castro, and was the center of the hostility to the arriving gay population in the 1970s. Author Father Donal Godfrey shows how, over time, the old time parishioners, or “the gray,” bonded with the new comers, “the gay,” particularly in a joint compassionate response to the crisis of AIDS. Most Holy Redeemer was changed from a dying parish to a vital place where gay and straight people together created something new. Father Donal Godfrey shows how this parish became prophetic and compassionate, through conflict and compromise at times; despite opposition from many sources, including the institutionalized homophobia of the church and society.

Local author Mark Abramson will be stopping by to read from his acclaimed novel, "Beach Reading" Gay tourists are arriving in San Francisco by the planeload for the party of the decade at the Moscone Center, a tribute to a late disco star. On the same night as the dance festival, a infamous evangelist ... (more)plans to bring his nationwide crusade against gay rights to the Civic Auditorium a few blocks away. Tim Snow finds himself caught in the middle when his activist friends plan a protest. For Tim, the fun-and the intrigue-are about to begin. Beach Reading is equal parts mystery and romantic comedy set in romantic San Francisco with a taste for adventure, a touch of magic. About the author: Mark Abramson was a Midwestern farm boy who joined the great gay migration to San Francisco in the 1970s. His writing has appeared in the gay press as far back as Christopher Street, Fag Rag, Gay Sunshine, Mouth of the Dragon and more recently in Lethe Press' acclaimed anthology Charmed Lives, gay spirit in storytelling. * * * Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946. Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants. This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114 For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro...

Books Inc. in the is pleased to announce our next Book Group selection: Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Greenville County, South Carolina, a wild, lush place, is home to the Boatwright family-rough-hewn men who drink hard and shoot up each other's trucks, and indomitable women who marry young ... (more)and age all too quickly. At the heart of this astonishing novel is Ruth Anne Boatwright, known simply as Bone, a South Carolina bastard with an annotated birth certificate to tell the tale. Observing everything with the mercilessly keen eye of a child, Bone finds herself caught in a family triangle that will test the loyalty of her mother, Anney. Her stepfather, Daddy Glenn, calls Bone "cold as death, mean as a snake, and twice as twisty," yet Anney needs Glen. At first gentle with Bone, Daddy Glen becomes steadily colder and more furious-until their final, harrowing encounter, from which there can be no turning back. * * * Our next Book Group meeting is Wednesday, January 14, at 7 PM at Books Inc. in the Castro, 2275 Market St.. As always, I'd like everyone to come with any observations they may have as well as at least one question to pose to the group. Also, please come equipped with any title suggestions for our next joint venture. Hope to see you there. The Books Inc. Book Group is free and open to everyone. We encourage inclusiveness and promote diversity. We meet the 2nd Wednesday of every month. ****PLEASE NOTE**** With great regret, we pass on the news that the Three Dollar Bill Café, Where the Book Group has met for the past 4 years, has closed. We will be meeting at Books Inc. for the foreseeable future. We thank Vince & Pete for their hospitality and wish the best. * * * Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946. Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants. This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114 For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro...

Reigning mistress of erotica Susie Bright will be stopping by to read from her latest collection of erotic stories "X: The Erotic Treasury." Joining her will be contributors Rachel Kramer Bussel, Greta Christina, Donna George Storey, and Pam Ward. If there's only room for one book on your bedside table ... (more)this should be it. The reigning mistress of erotica Susie Bright has expertly chosen 40 of the hottest stories ever written: breathtaking new stories as well as the most sought-after stories from The Best American Erotica series. Designed in a "gotta-touch-it" slipcase with a cloth-covered book the package cultivates the quality and taboo satisfaction of the stories themselves. Luminaries like Carol Queen and Robert Olen Butler contribute to the stories about all kinds of lovers: heartbreakers foxes maniacs romanticists hell-raisers and utter bandits. This delicious collection is certain to satisfy. * * * This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114 For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro...

Author Nathaniel Frank will be stopping by to read from his new and anticipated book, "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America." When the "don't ask, don't tell" policy emerged as a political compromise under Bill Clinton in 1993, it only ended up worsening the destructive ... (more)gay ban that had been on the books since World War II. Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Nathaniel Frank exposes the military's policy toward gays and lesbians as damaging and demonstrates that "don't ask, don't tell" must be replaced with an outright reversal of the gay ban. Frank is one of the nation's leading experts on gays in the military, and in his evenhanded and always scrupulously documented chronicle, he reveals how the ban on open gays and lesbians in the U.S. military has greatly increased discharges, hampered recruitment, and--contrary to the rationale offered by proponents of the ban--led to lower morale and cohesion within military ranks. Frank does not shy away from tackling controversial issues, and he presents indisputable evidence showing that gays already serve openly without causing problems, and that the policy itself is weakening the military it was supposed to protect. In addition to the moral pitfalls of the gay ban, Frank shows the practical damage it has wrought. Most recently, the discharge of valuable Arabic translators (who happen to be gay) under the current policy has left U.S. forces ill-equipped in the fight against terrorism. Part history, part expose, and fully revealing, "Unfriendly Fire" is poised to become the definitive story of "don't ask, don't tell." This lively and compelling narrative is sure to make the blood boil of any American who cares about national security, the right to speak the truth, or just plain common sense and fairness. About the author: Nathaniel Frank is author of the forthcoming book, "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America," to be published by St. Martin's Press in March. He is senior research fellow at the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and teaches history on the adjunct faculty at New York University's Gallatin School. Dr. Frank's publications on gay rights and other topics have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The New Republic, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, Lingua Franca and others. He has been interviewed for national television and radio programs, including ABC's "Good Morning America," the "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," "CBS News on Logo" and MSNBC's "Abrams Report." He has also consulted with ABC's "20/20" and CBS's "60 Minutes." Dr. Frank's research and opinions have been cited on the Congressional floor, in syndicated columns, in the blogosphere, the New York Post, The Advocate, National Review Online, the AP, BBC and other venues, including university syllabi and media roundups. He lives in Brooklyn. * * * Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946. Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants. This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114 For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro...

Author Daniel Bergner will be stopping by to read from his new and anticipated book, "The Other Side of Desire: Four Journeys Into the Far Realms of Lust and Longing." Introducing him will be Kemble Scott, author of Soma. How do we come to be who we are sexually? How do we cope with the forces of desire? ... (more)How can we understand the relationship between the transcendent and the physical, between the wish for love and the anarchy of the erotic? Daniel Bergner looks for answers in the stories of four people whose longings are very different from our own: a devoted husband burdened by an insatiable foot fetish, a clothing designer who finds ecstasy in the pain of others, a man smitten with his young stepdaughter, and an advertising director who casts traditionally beautiful models but who is attracted only to amputees. Bergner finds in their desires metaphors for the issues that confront us all and raises fascinating questions about the erotic differences between men and women and the nature of ecstasy itself: Are some people actually experiencing "more" ecstasy than the rest of us? In speaking to experts in the fields of psychology and neurology, and by threading the personal stories of several modern-day Kinseys throughout his riveting case studies, Bergner has written a provocative, profoundly insightful, and brilliantly illuminating book about the most fundamental of human needs About the author: Daniel Bergner is a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of two previous books of nonfiction, "In The Land of Magic Soldiers: A Story of White and Black in West Africa", a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year, and "God of the Rodeo: The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola Prison", a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Bergner's writing has also appeared in Granta, Harper's, Mother Jones, Talk, the New York Times Book Review, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times. He graduated from Columbia University's MFA Program in 1988. Daniel Bergner lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two children. * * * Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946. Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants. This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114 For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro...

Author Daniel Bergner will be stopping by to read from his new and anticipated book, "The Other Side of Desire: Four Journeys Into the Far Realms of Lust and Longing." Introducing him will be Kemble Scott, author of Soma. How do we come to be who we are sexually? How do we cope with the forces of desire? ... (more)How can we understand the relationship between the transcendent and the physical, between the wish for love and the anarchy of the erotic? Daniel Bergner looks for answers in the stories of four people whose longings are very different from our own: a devoted husband burdened by an insatiable foot fetish, a clothing designer who finds ecstasy in the pain of others, a man smitten with his young stepdaughter, and an advertising director who casts traditionally beautiful models but who is attracted only to amputees. Bergner finds in their desires metaphors for the issues that confront us all and raises fascinating questions about the erotic differences between men and women and the nature of ecstasy itself: Are some people actually experiencing "more" ecstasy than the rest of us? In speaking to experts in the fields of psychology and neurology, and by threading the personal stories of several modern-day Kinseys throughout his riveting case studies, Bergner has written a provocative, profoundly insightful, and brilliantly illuminating book about the most fundamental of human needs About the author: Daniel Bergner is a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of two previous books of nonfiction, "In The Land of Magic Soldiers: A Story of White and Black in West Africa", a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year, and "God of the Rodeo: The Quest for Redemption in Louisiana's Angola Prison", a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Bergner's writing has also appeared in Granta, Harper's, Mother Jones, Talk, the New York Times Book Review, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times. He graduated from Columbia University's MFA Program in 1988. Daniel Bergner lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two children. * * * Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946. Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants. This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114 For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro...

Books Inc. in the Castro celebrates National Poetry Month with a poem contest and poetry reading. Books Inc. is set to host our 12th Annual Poetry Night on Tuesday April 28th 2009 at 7:30 PM. Join us for a fun evening of exciting wordplay and creative rhyme schemes. Your creativity is the only limit ... (more)(that and 3 poetry entries!). Call for submissions: Books Inc. is looking for your poetry! The top 3 poems, judged by a panel of Books Inc. booksellers, will be rewarded with Books Inc. Gift cards. We will also feature the winning poems and poets at our 12th Annual Poetry Night Thursday, April 28th. Entrants are limited to 3 poems per person, 250 words per poem. Poems must be delivered in person or sent via USPS. No e-mail entries will be accepted. Please include full name and contact information. Submissions must be received by 10 PM on April 15th!!!!

Lambda award winning author Thomas Glave will be stopping by to read from his new and anticipated book, "The Torturer's Wife." Glave's second collection is a disquieting, graphic, semi experimental compendium examining violence and ignorance in and out of wartime. After opening with a contemporary relationship ... (more)drama, Glave makes the jarring transition to armed conflicts, invasion and genocide. What most unifies these works is what's left unsaid secrets are a constant, and there are virtually no names. Glave's style, full of interruptions, ellipses, unconventional text treatments and poem like breaks, sends each story whirling thickly toward its end: in the title story, a woman called She is haunted by grotesque nightmares of dismembered body parts raining on her house and garden, after discovering her high-ranking husband's wartime atrocities. In the allegorical Milk/Sea; Sentience, the dreams of a sleeping village of women heal war's wounds. Between takes a step back to focus on a couple, telling the story of two racist gay men in an interracial relationship; cleverly, Glave refers to both as one of them. Laced with grisly details makes an intriguing experiment in post-postmodern war fiction. About the author: Thomas Glave was born in the Bronx and grew up there and in Kingston, Jamaica. His work has earned many honors, including an O. Henry Prize and a Fulbright fellowship to Jamaica. His fiction and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals and he is the editor of two anthologies of gay and lesbian writing.

Author, musician Jon Ginoli will be stopping by to read from his new and anticipated book, "Deflowered: My Life in Pansy Division." "We're the buttfuckers of rock-and-roll, We want to sock it to your hole!" With these words written in a notebook, Jon Ginoli sets off on a journey of self-discovery and ... (more)musical passion to become the founding member of Pansy Division, the first out and proud queercore punk rock band to hit the semi-big time. Set against the changing decades of music, we follow the band from their inception in San Francisco, to their search for a music label and a permanent drummer to their current status as indie rock icons. We see the highs--touring with Green Day--and the lows--homophobic fans--of striving for acceptance and success in the world of rock. Replete with the requisite tales of sex, drugs, groupies, band fights and label battles, this rollicking memoir is also an impassioned account of staying true to the artistic vision of queer rock'n'roll.

Economist and author Joel Magnuson will be stopping by to read from his new book "Mindful Economics: How the US Economy Works, Why It Matters, and How It could Be Different" Magnuson presents an intriguing perspective on the U.S. economy by describing the American capitalist system and its key institutions ... (more)and economic issues, covering the most important consequences of the system and, finally, offering alternatives. His overview of the history and background of the U.S. economic system is thorough, including the development of capitalism, the U.S. financial system and Federal Reserve banks, the stock market, the structure of corporations, and international economic relations. The problems with the system Magnuson discusses include poverty, financial market instability, environmental destruction, and economic downturns. In the final section, he presents a notable study of a mindful economy, writing, "In a mindful economy, we seek to avoid debilitating crises and set out to follow a thoughtful and careful path toward change." He examines ways of achieving a mindful economy of values-based principles: the mindful economy is intrinsically democratic, equitable, just, based on respect for all life and natural processes, and stable. This book should be read by faculty and students studying economics and can be appreciated by those just learning about how the economy works.

Comic, author and editor Mike Player will be stopping by to read from his book "Out on the Edge: America's Rebel Comics". Joining him will be fellow comics and contributors, Charlie Ballard, Karen Ripley and Jen Slusser. In clubs, at public events across America, and on television, more queer comedians ... (more)are coming out and telling their stories-fighting the battle in the trenches of pop culture. How are they faring and where do we still need to go? This is a fun and illuminating trip behind the scenes with America's queer comics-as they see it. Margaret Cho, outspoken comedian, pens the book's introduction. About the author: Mike Player is the creator of America's First and Continuing Queer Comedy Festival, Outlaugh! He is also a cast member and the director/creator of The Gay Mafia improv/sketch comedy group, based in Los Angeles.

Books Inc. presents GuyWriters Poetry Open Mic GuyWriters, the only gay men's writing group in San Francisco, has teamed up with Books Inc. for a night of poetry. Come listen to the GuyWriters poetry group as they read their latest poems. Also Joining GuyWriters will be Andrew Demcak, who will be reading ... (more)from his latest poetry book, Zero Summer. Then stick around and join in on the reading. GuyWriters will open the floor so you can get up and read your poems to an audience at Books Inc. Everyone will get a maximum of five minutes to read their best poetry. Sign up for the open mic begins at 7:00 PM with the performance starting at 7:30 PM.

Andrew Demcak reads from his new book, Zero Summer, as the featured author at the GuyWriters/Books Inc. poetry reading. There will be an Open Mic after the event.

Author, Lance Reynald, will be visiting us to read from his latest novel, "Pop Salvation" Caleb Watson is not like the other children at his Washington, D.C., private school. Having skipped a grade--and being younger and smaller than the rest of the boys--he finds that his Southern accent and sensitive, ... (more)reserved nature set him even further apart. Caleb simply does not belong. But on a field trip to the art museum, Caleb discovers his hero--his icon--when he is exposed to the art of Andy Warhol. In the beauty of the things that don't fit, in the art and philosophy of Pop plus the glorious camp of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and its creatures of the night, Caleb will find sanctuary, transforming himself and the eccentric friends he meets along the way into his own little version of Warhol's Factory. About the Author: Born in Texas, raised in Washington, D.C., and self-exiled to Colorado, Lance Reynald currently lives in Portland, Oregon, but keeps a bag packed near the door for the moment when wanderlust calls. * * * Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946. Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants. This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114 For Questions:415.864.6777 or on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro...

Author, Tommi Avicolli Mecca and Contributors, will be visiting us to read from their latest anthology, "Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation." This anthology by former members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) captures the history and spirit of the revolutionary time ... (more)just after Stonewall, when thousands came out of the closet to claim their sexuality, and when queer resistance coalesced into a turbulent, joyous liberation movement--one whose lasting influence would ultimately inform and profoundly shape the LGBT community of today. Personal essays explore the philosophy and culture of the stridently anti-assimilationist GLF: the actions, demonstrations, and marches; views on marriage, religion, and gender; the drugs, orgies, and communes; and GLF's relationship to the hippies, the Black Panthers, the straight Left, the women's movement, civil rights, and the antiwar struggle. The collection includes contributions from Martha Shelley, Cei Bell, Paola Bacchetta, Susan Stryker, Tom Ammiano, Nikos Diaman, Mark Segal, Barbara Ruth, and Perry Brass. About the Author: Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a former member of Gay Liberation Front who has never stopped being an activist for queer and social justice causes. His writings have appeared in various anthologies over the years, most recently, "That's Revolting" (Soft Skull) and he is a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, SF Examiner, and SF Bay Guardian, among other newspapers.

Author Daniel Doen Silberberg will be visiting us to read from his latest book “Wonderland: The Zen of Alice.” Expanding on the classic tale we all know and love, Silberberg uses the story of Alice and her odd journey to help readers understand the Zen concept of ‘one mind.’ He weaves together ... (more)snippets from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” with personal anecdotes, classic Buddhist sutras and references to pop culture to provide an original exploration of the meaning of true enlightenment and of the puzzling difference between the way we see the world and the way it really is.

Author Geoffrey Knight will be visiting us to read from his latest book “Riddle of the Sands.” The clock is ticking! Blackmailed by Jake's nemesis - the vengeful Pierre Perron - Professor Fathom's team of five horny gay adventurers is sent on a seemingly impossible mission to uncover the legendary ... (more)Riddle of the Sands in order to save one of their own from a rare and deadly poison. But what is the Riddle of the Sands? Where are the long-lost clues and hidden maps that can lead to its whereabouts? Is it a myth, a mirage, or the greatest engineering feat in the history of ancient Egypt? From the icy plains of Siberia to the shadowy bathhouses of Cairo, from the scorching valley of the Nile to the heart of the Amazon jungle, readers join Knight’s cast of hunks -- treasure-hunter Jake, Brazilian biologist Eden, Texas cowboy Shane, art expert Luca, and quarterback Will -- in a search that blends nonstop action and high-octane sex! About the Author: Geoffrey Knight is an Australian writer who writes gay mystery/adventure novels. “Riddle of the Sands” is the second volume in his Fathom’s Five series, the first being “The Cross of Sins.”

Author, James Ellroy, will be visiting us to read from his latest book, “Blood’s a Rover.” Summer, 1968. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy are dead. The assassination conspiracies have begun to unravel. A dirty-tricks squad is getting ready to deploy at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. ... (more)Black militants are warring in Southside L.A. The Feds are concocting draconian countermeasures. And fate has placed three men at the vortex of History. Dwight Holly is J. Edgar Hoover's pet strong-arm goon, implementing Hoover's racist designs and obsessed with a leftist shadow figure named Joan Rosen Klein. Wayne Tedrow--ex-cop and heroin runner--is building a mob gambling mecca in the Dominican Republic and quickly becoming radicalized. Don Crutchfield is a window-peeping kid private eye within tantalizing reach of right-wing assassins, left-wing revolutionaries and the power mongers of an incendiary era. Their lives collide in pursuit of the Red Goddess Joan--and each of them will pay "a dear and savage price to live History." Political noir as only James Ellroy can write it--our recent past razed and fully reconstructed--"Blood's A Rover "is a novel of astonishing depth and scope, a massive tale of corruption and retribution, of ideals at war and the extremity of love. It is the largest and greatest work of fiction from an American master. About the Author: James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. His L.A. quartet -- The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential and White Jazz -- were international bestsellers. American Tabloid was Time's Novel of the Year in 1995; his memoir My Dark Places was Time's Best Book and a New York Times Notable book for 1996. His novel The Cold Six Thousand was a New York Times Notable Book and Los Angeles Times Best Book for 2001. He lives on the coast of California.

Books Inc. in the Castro is pleased to announce our next Book Group selection: The World of Normal Boys by K.M. Sohnlein. The time is the late 1970s -- an age of gas shortages, head shops, and Saturday Night Fever. The place, suburban New Jersey. At a time when the teenagers around him are coming of ... (more)age, Robin MacKenzie is coming undone. While "normal boys" are into cars, sports, and bullying their classmates, Robin enjoys day trips to New York City with his elegant mother, spinning fantastic tales for her amusement in an intimate ritual he has come to love. He dutifully plays the role of the good son for his meat-and-potatoes father, even as his own mind is a jumble of sexual confusion and painful self-doubt. But everything changes in one horrifying instant, when a tragic accident wakes his family from their middle-American dream and plunges them into a spiral of slow destruction. As his family falls apart day by day, Robin finds himself pulling away from the unquestioned, unexamined life that has been carefully laid out for him. Small acts of rebellion lead to larger questions of what it means to stand on his own. Falling into a fevered triangle with two other outcasts, Todd Spicer and Scott Schatz, Robin embarks on an explosive odyssey of sexual self-discovery that will take him beyond the spring-green lawns of suburbia, beyond the fraying fabric barely holding together his quickly unraveling family, and into a complex future, beyond the world of normal boys.

Author Rob Rosen will be joining us to read from his latest book ‘Divas Las Vegas.’ What happens when you find out that Grandma's vase mistakenly sold at a yard sale is worth tens of thousands of dollars--and somebody else is about to cash in on it on Antiques Roadshow? Of course, you hop on a plane ... (more)with your best friend and race off to Las Vegas to get Grandma's vase back! Filled with action and suspense, hunky blackjack dealers, divine drag queens, strange sex, and sex in strange places, plus a Federal agent or two, ‘Divas Las Vegas’ puts the sin in Sin City. A fun, new take on the murder mystery genre, Rob Rosen's "Divas Las Vegas" is a hilarious, touching, and compulsively readable page-turner. About the Author: In addition to ‘Divas Las Vegas,’ Rob Rosen is the author of “Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Read.” He is also a widely published short story writer whose short fiction has appeared in over fifty anthologies. A native New Yorker, he lived for many years in Atlanta working as a clinical biochemist. Upon turning thirty, he broke his lease, packed up his apartment, sold his car and moved to San Francisco, where he plans on staying.

Author Melissa Hart will be joining us to read from her latest book “Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood Seal Press.” Torn between the high socioeconomic status of her father and the bohemian lifestyle of her mother, Melissa Hart tells a compelling story of contradiction in this coming-of-age memoir. ... (more)Set in 1970s Southern California, "Gringa" is the story of a young girl conflicted by two extremes. On the one hand there's life with her mother, who leaves her father to begin a lesbian relationship, taking Hart and her two siblings along. Hart tells of her mom's new life in a Hispanic neighborhood of Oxnard, California, and how these new surroundings begin to positively shape Hart herself. At the opposite extreme is her father's white-bread well-to-do security, which is predictable and stable and boring. Hart is made all the more fraught with frustration when a judge rules that being raised by two women is "unnatural" and grants her father primary custody. Hart weaves a powerful story of fleeting moments with her mother, of her unfolding adoration of Oxnard's Latino culture, and of the ways in which she's molded by the polarity of her parents' worldviews. Hart is faced with opposing ideals, caught between what she is "supposed" to want and what she actually desires. "Gringa" offers a touching, reflective look at one girl's struggle with the dichotomies of class, culture, and sexuality. About the Author: Melissa Hart grew up in Southern California. She teaches Journalism at the University of Oregon, and Introduction to Memoir for U.C. Berkeley's online extension program. She's the author of The Assault of Laughter, a memoir. Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Advocate, High Country News, Horizon Air Magazine, Hemispheres, Orion, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She lives in Eugene with her husband, photographer Jonathan B. Smith, and their daughter Maia.

Author Loren Rhodes will be joining us to read from his latest book “Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues.” This quirky book is filled with tales from ordinary people -- who just happen to have eccentric, peculiar interests. Ranging from the outrageous (attending a Black Mass, fishing bodies out of San ... (more)Francisco Bay, making fake snuff films) to the more "mundane" (visiting a torture museum, tracking real vampires through San Francisco), this curiously enjoyable collection of stories, complete with illustrations and informative asides, will entertain and haunt readers long after the final page is turned.

Books Inc. in the Castro is pleased to announce our next Book Group selection: Light Fell by Evan Fallenberg. Twenty years have passed since Joseph left his family and his religious Israeli community when he fell in love with a man, the brilliant rabbi Yoel Rosenzweig. Now, for his fiftieth birthday, ... (more)Joseph is preparing to have his five sons and the daughter-in-law he has never met spend the Sabbath with him in his Tel Aviv penthouse. This will be the first time he and his sons will have all been together in nearly two decades.

Author Drew Banks will be joining us to read from his latest book “Ere I Saw Elba.” August 17, 1944. Following a brief detainment, Brigitte Sureau and her parents are released seemingly intact from Drancy, a Nazi internment camp on the outskirts of Paris. After the war, when Brigitte’s mother captures ... (more)the public eye as a model for Christian Dior’s “New Look” the reunited Sureaus become France’s standard for reconciliation. The notoriety veils the family’s quiet disintegration, ending in tragedy that forces Brigitte into exile. Fifty years later a chance encounter exposes fact from fiction, and Brigitte must face the betrayal that shattered her youth. About the Author: Drew Banks is an entrepreneur and author. In both his business writing and fiction. Drew deconstructs behavioral patterns in an attempt to explore casual motivations and deterrents. While Drew’s first two business books, Beyond Spin and Customer Community examine organizational implications of various social psychologies, he is drawn to fiction as a more intimate medium for delving beneath the surface of the individual. Ere I Saw Elba is his second novel, as well as the second of The Elba Trilogy: Able was I.

Author Stuart E. Weisberg will be joining us to read from his latest book “Barney Frank: The Story of America’s Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman.” In a survey conducted by Washingtonian magazine, Barney Frank was rated the smartest, funniest, and most eloquent member of Congress. A mainstay ... (more)in the House of Representatives since 1981, he has come to be known for his talent as a legislator, his zeal for verbal combat, his imposing intellect, and a quick wit that both disarms and entertains other lawmakers. Most recently, as chair of the Financial Services Committee, he was instrumental in crafting a compromise bill to stem the tide of home mortgage foreclosures, as well as the subsequent $700 billion "rescue plan." Based on interviews with over 150 people, including more than twenty-five hours with Frank himself, this biography reconstructs for the first time his life and career, from his working-class childhood in Bayonne, New Jersey, to his years at Harvard and in Boston politics, through his rise to national prominence. Stuart Weisberg captures Frank in all his quirkiness, irreverence, and complexity. He also examines his less appealing side--his gruff exterior, his legendary impatience, his aversion to wasting time. Weisberg reveals the pressure Frank has felt as the most prominent openly gay politician in the United States, one whose career was nearly derailed by a highly publicized sex scandal involving a male prostitute. Above all, this book shows Frank to be a superb legislator--a pragmatic politician who has dedicated his career to pursuing an unabashedly liberal agenda and whose depth of intellect and keen sense of humor have made him one of the most influential and colorful figures in Washington.

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 7:30 PM Books Inc. 2275 Market St. @ Noe San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 864 – 6777 Author Elayne Angel will be joining us to read from her latest book “The Piercing Bible: The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing.” Piercing pioneer Elayne Angel has performed over 40,000 ... (more)piercings since the 1980s and has brought many practices, such as tongue-piercing, into the mainstream. She brings her exhaustive knowledge to this groundbreaking manual that covers everything you need to know about the process, including: - The best piercings and placements for various body parts and body types - Terminology, tools, and techniques of the trade - Vital sterility, sanitation, and hygiene information - Jewelry designs, shapes, and materials - Advice for people with stretch marks, plastic surgery, and unique anatomy - Healing, aftercare, and troubleshooting for problem-free piercing. About the Author: Elayne Angel has been a professional piercer for more than 20 years and has performed over 40,000 piercings. She was awarded the President's Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Professional Piercers in 2006 and is a contributing writer for PAIN Magazine. She lives in Merida, Mexico.

Books Inc. in the Castro is pleased to announce our next Book Group selection: You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas by Augusten Burroughs. You've eaten too much candy at Christmas...but have you ever eaten the face off a six-foot stuffed Santa? You've seen gingerbread houses...but have you ever ... (more)made your own gingerbread tenement? You've woken up with a hangover...but have you ever woken up next to Kris Kringle himself? Augusten Burroughs has, and in this caustically funny, nostalgic, poignant, and moving collection he recounts Christmases past and present--as only he could. With gimlet eyed wit and illuminated prose, Augusten shows how the holidays bring out the worst in us and sometimes, just sometimes, the very, very best.