Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe

We are having a party for kids to celebrate the collaboration between Sandra Boynton and blues legend B.B. King! Their new book and DVD is called "One Shoe Blues" and was written and directed (that's right!) by Sandra. To find out more and have a blast on your holiday vacation, give us a call and ask ... (more)for your host, SUE!

Meet Howard Frank Mosher and don't miss his slide presentation, Transforming History into Fiction: The Story of a Born Liar.

"Local musician and author Cactus comes to Malaprop's to present the children's book, What's it Like in the Stars?"

"Hosted by author Tommy Hays. Featured authors are UNC-Asheville writing scholarship winners Ethan Bradley, Joanna Knowles, Kristen Marshall & Jeremy Rice."

"Women on Words, a poetry workshop for women. New members always welcome."

"Grab your favorite young poet and meet host Graham Hackett in the cafe for this popular version of youth open mic poetry."

"Join us for a talk by Wally Bowen and Laura Hope Gill on aesthetics and activism."

"Join us for reading by poets Janie Fink (Bubble Opera), Sally Buckner (Collateral Damage), and Rita Quillen (Her Secret Dream).

Dan Mathews, PETA Vice President, will read from his memoir Committed. "This irresistably entertaining book recounts the random incidents and sould searching that inspired a reluctant party boy to devote his life to a cause, without ever abandoning his sense of mischief and fun.

Meet Brad Warner: Soto Zen priest, author, blogger, documentarian and punk rock bass guitarist. Brad will present and sign his book Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye, a collection of musings that explore the Zen ... (more)teachings as they apply to contemporary alternative issues.

Prioleau Alexander reads from his book, You Want Fries with That? a laugh-out-loud true story of a white-collar burnout experiencing life at minimum wage. Stephen Colbert tells us "Prioleau Alexander's comic tales of quitting the rat race to find meaning have a deep lesson for all of us-get back ... (more)in that race and run like hell!" A booksigning will follow the reading.

Meet Angela Shelton as she signs copies of Finding Angela Shelton, her memoir of triumphing over a history of sexual abuse.

Meet Janet Lembke!

Meet Jennifer Lowe-Anker!

1-3pm: booksigning
7pm:Slideshow and talk

Celebrate Mother's Day with author Tony Earley!

Join host Mary Park Ford for a discussion of Out Stealing Horses

Meet Dot Jackson!

Meet Ann Wright!

Meet local author Gari Carter!

Meet actor and activist Mike Farrell!

Meet authors Shirley Hayden and Joy Jordan-Lake!

Meet Nava Lubelski!

Join us every 1st Sunday for Poetrio, poetry readings
by three poets. Today’s featured poets are Gail Peck, author of From Terezin, Ed Francisco, author of Alchemy of Words, and Chris Vitiello, author of Irresponsibility.

Asheville Citizen-Times columnist and author of Not Tonight Honey, Wait ‘Til I’m a Size 6 and Don’t Sleep with a Bubba Unless Your Eggs are in Wheelchairs, Reinhardt returns with Dishing with the Kitchen Virgin. Booklist calls her “a modern-day, southern-fried ... (more)Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry.” Be prepared for a good laugh.

Join host Mary Park Ford for a discussion of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

Meet Nina de Gramont!

The Bridging Differences Bookclub discusses Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, with host Patti Digh.

Selections from Making Notes: Music of the Carolinas will be presented by editor Ann Wicker and contributor Kent Priestly, of the Mountain Xpress. Rolling Stone publisher Terry Hummel calls Making Notes, “ a rollicking road trip . . . an amazing collection of memories from people who ... (more)lived the music life and still remember it like it was only yesterday.”

Asheville’s own Wayne Caldwell reads from Cataloochee, now available in paperback. Charles Frazier (author of Cold Mountain) calls Caldwell’s historical novel, “A brilliant portrait of a community and a way of life long gone, a lost America.”

DIY expert Forest Gregg will read from his book, SVO: Powering Your Vehicle with Straight Vegetable Oil. A practical handbook for those interested in exploring this alternative fuel, SVO is also a technical resource for those who want a deep understanding of how vegetable oil interacts ... (more)with a modern diesel engine.

For first-time and aspiring writers, Shelley Lieber will present and discuss her “4 Ps for Publishing Success” in a seminar titled “The Mistakes, Myths & Miracles of Book Publishing.” Please join us for this informative evening!

Actor Gene Hackman and Dan Lenihan will read from their Civil War novel Escape from Andersonville. THIS EVENT IS TICKETED. Purchase a $10 ticket to the reading and reception and receive a $5 coupon toward one of the authors’ books. Each tickets admits two, so bring a date ... (more)and share a ticket!

Meet Greg Barrett, author of The Gospel of Father Joe.

Meet local author Jeanne Chartres!

Hear Eric Weiner read the excerpt on Asheville!

Meet Charles Price!

Meet Mary Alice Monroe, the author of Time is a River.

Meet Mary Alice Monroe!

The Bridging Differences Bookclub discusses The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter by Albie Sachs, with host Patti Digh.

The Malaprop’s Bookclub discusses Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, with host Mary Park Ford.

Meet Jeannie Ralston!

Beach to Bluegrass: Places to Brake on Virginia's Longest RoadThe Marble and Other Ghost Tales of Tennessee and VirginiaVirginia Beach native Joe Tennis is discussing his two latest books, including “Beach to Bluegrass: Places to Brake on Virginia’s Longest Road,” and signing copies on July 12, ... (more)10 a.m.

Featuring more than 100 photos, “Beach to Bluegrass” follows the path of U.S. Highway 58 from Hampton Roads, across the Dismal Swamp, and on to the Blue Ridge Mountains at Mabry Mill and the Cumberland Gap.

This trail of tales explores legends and lore of Cape Henry; Portsmouth’s Commodore Theatre; stories of the Elizabeth River; the April Fool’s Day joke that went awry at Mount Trashmore; the ghost of Adolph Coors at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach; the “Wreck of the Old ‘97” at Danville; Civil War stories from Suffolk, Emporia, Norfolk, and Portsmouth; Bacon’s Rebellion on the Roanoke River; Mount Rogers and the Appalachian Trail; and old-time mountain music on “The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.”

In Port Folio Weekly (June 10), writer Bill Ruehlmann noted: “There are 58 vivid chapters in 'Beach to Bluegrass.' The one on Johnny Cash, June Carter and their Clinch Mountain home alone is worth the price of admission. The book succeeds as a geographical journey, a compendium of local lore and an adventuresome motorist’s guide.”

On July 12, the author is also discussing and signing copies of his recently released collection of Appalachian ghost tales, “The Marble and Other Ghost Tales of Tennessee and Virginia,” published by Backyard Books. This spirited collection explores the legend of Andrew Jackson walking the streets of Jonesborough,. Tenn.; whether a ghost can be seen smoking cigarettes in Honaker, Va.; how the founder of the Barter Theatre might still be lurking in Abingdon, Va.; and how a ghost allegedly communicates with young children at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

A graduate of Radford University, Joe Tennis writes regularly for the Bristol Herald Courier. He is also the author of Southwest Virginia Crossroads: An Almanac of Place Names and Places to See.

Discussion and Book Signing: Saturday, July 12 at 10 a.m.

Gay and muslim. Despite Iran's claims to the contrary, gays and lesbians exist throughout the Arab world and are found in all major world religions, including Islam. This thought-provoking book tells both Muslim and non-Muslim gay men's stories of traveling in the Middle East during these difficult times. ... (more)The true and very personal tales in Gay Travels in the Muslim World reveal gay men celebrating their lives and meetings with local men, including a gay soldier's story of his tour of duty in Iraq. Insightful and at times sexy, this intelligent book goes beyond 9/11 and the present political and cultural divides to illustrate the real experiences of gay men in trouble zones in an effort to seek peace for all.

Meet Nick Taylor, author of The Disagreement, (Simon & Schuster $24.95), a remarkable debut novel which follows the story of John Alan Muro, a Virginia medical student who must choose between family and ambition in the crucible of the American Civil War.

Nick has received fellowships from the Virginia ... (more)Commission for the Arts, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

A graduate of the MFA program at the University of Virginia, he is assistant professor of English and Comparative Literature at San Jose State University.

The wait is almost over!
In Breaking Dawn questions will be answered and the fate of Bella and Edward will be revealed! Breaking Dawn (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, $22.99), is Stephenie Meyer's fourth book in the internationally bestselling Twilight Saga.
Breaking ... (more)Dawn is scheduled for release at 12:01am, on Saturday August 2nd.
To celebrate, Bookshop Benicia is hosting a Breaking Dawn midnight release party the night before, on Friday August 1st, starting at 9:30pm.
Join us for a fun book discussion, costume contest, raffle, scary movie viewing (with possible preview of....yes...the upcoming Twilight Movie!)...
Come dressed as your favorite Twilight Saga character!
The ONLY way to get into this party is to prepay for your copy of Breaking Dawn.

Call 707-747-5155. Quantities are limited.

Meet James Nolan!

Hear authors Doris Reichardt and Marianne Berkes read from their children's books! (Ages 3-8)

Diesel Bookstore has partnered with Naomi Epel Presents as bookseller to an evening of dinner and discussion with the acclaimed author, Thomas Frank (bestselling author of What's the Matter With Kansas?)!

This event will take place at Garibaldis Restaurant (5356 College Ave., Oakland, CA 94618) ... (more)at 6:30 p.m..

$75/guest includes dinner, wine pairing, tax and tip. There is no corkage fee if you'd like to bring your own.

For more information, or to register for the event, please contact Naomi Epel at (415) 282-3900.

For online registration, visit Dinner & Discussion with Thomas Frank.

Books will be available for sale at Garibaldis courtesy of Diesel Bookstore.

Please note this event is NOT taking place at Diesel Bookstore. It's an offsite event located at Garibaldis Restaurant just down the street from the store.

ABOUT THE RESTAURANT:
Comfortable yet chic, elegant yet lively, Garibaldis has set the standard for sophisticated neighborhood dining in the Bay Area for over 20 years. At its core lies a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, brought to life by spirited cocktails, seasonal Mediterranean cuisine, and an exquisite wine list.
Visit Naomi Epel Productions at www.naomiepel.com.

Meet Joshua Henkin!

Meet Barry Kitterman!

Waynesville author Martin Dyckman will read from his latest book in the Florida History and Culture Series, A Most Disorderly Court: Scandal and Reform in the Florida Judiciary. During Dyckman’s 40 years as an editor at the St. Petersburg Times he wrote about the scandals surrounding elected judges, ... (more)which led to major reform in the Florida court system. He brings that deep knowledge of his subject matter to this compelling book.

The Magic Flute: An Opera by Mozart and other books.This adaptation of Mozart’s opera contains all of the classic fairy tale elements. Prince Tamino must save Princess Pamina from her evil mother, the queen. Three beautiful ladies give him a magical flute that will charm both animal and human to help ... (more)him on his quest. With the help of his flute and his jovial friend Papageno, he overcomes the trials of silence, patience, and courage. Will he be able to win Princess Pamina’s hand in marriage?

Kyra Teis began her artistic career while majoring in folklore as an undergraduate. Drawn to symbolic and mythological imagery, she studied folktales and other stories from many different cultures. During this time, she identified that writing and illustrating children's books would be a perfect way for her to combine many of the things she loved. While she went to graduate school, she worked to build a portfolio of artwork and started getting jobs as a professional illustrator.

She learned her distinctive paper collage technique from her father, Dan Teis, who was a contemporary artist. Her father's studio was always open to her, and she had unlimited access to paper, paint, and other art supplies. In high school, Kyra sat in on many of her father's classes that he taught while serving as Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Delaware.

Now, Kyra draws inspiration from her extensive travels, her husband and young daughter. She enjoys designing creative workshops for school visits and speaking to students about making stories and images of their own. Kyra lives near Albany, New York.Book Signing: Tuesday, August 19, 11 am- 12 noon.

Meet David Crow!

Meet Bill Curry!

Meet Martin Clark!

It has been 1o years since Julia first came to the store and now she is back with a stunning new book about her Dad, Babe Ruth. If you could only have just one book on the Babe - this is the one you need to have!

Learn Tai Chi and Qigong techniques from four professionals: The Tao Brothers, Accem Scott and Michael Clarke, Eleanor Hancock who specializes in working with women and Sandra Clark, who specializes in working with seniors. Accem’s book American Barefoot Doctor’s Manual will be available.

Meet Steven and Rebekah Hren as they present their book, The Carbon-Free Home: 36 Remodeling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil-Fuel Habit, a thoughtful and empowering work with practical solutions for reducing your dependence on fossil fuels.

Glenis Redmond is a 2005-2006 North Carolina Arts Council Literary Award
recipient and a Denny C. Plattner Award winner for Outstanding Poetry
sponsored by the Appalachian Heritage journal. She has been inducted in the
Mt. Xpress' Hall of Fame for Best Poet in Western North Carolina after
winning for ... (more)over seven years. She is a Kennedy Teaching Artist and her work
has aired on National Public Radio. She is a past winner of the Southern
Fried Slam and a finalist of National Poetry Slam.

She has been published most recently in Meridians, African Voices, EMRYS,
The Asheville Poetry Review, 2006 Kakalak: A Journal of Carolina Poets,
Appalachian Heritage and the Appalachian Journal. Glenis is a native of
Greenville, South Carolina. She presently resides in Asheville, North
Carolina with her twin daughters Amber and Celeste. When she is not writing Redmond frequently travels the country teaching poetry to all age levels. Visit her at www.glenisredmond.com or send her an email at glenisredmond@earthlink.net

Nancy Whitney-Reiter leads a free workshop to teach you to unplug.
"A creative guide to discovering your dreams." --Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist

For those inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s soul-searching journey in Eat, Pray, Love who then wished they could do the same, Nancy Whitney-Reiter wants to help with her new book Unplugged: How to Disconnect from the Rat Race, Have an Existential Crisis, and Find Meaning and Fulfillment. Whitney-Reiter, ... (more)a former economist and corporate market analyst, left her job, set out to find a new path, and, now, shares her experiences and some how-tos in this “creative guide to discovering your dreams.” (Paolo Coelho, author of The Alchemist)

The Bridging Differences Bookclub, with host Patti Digh, will discuss T.C. Boyle's The Tortilla Curtain.

Join Diesel Bookstore as investigative journalist & author, Nena Baker presents and signs her compelling new book, The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being.

Nena spent a quarter century in the trenches of journalism before writing THE BODY TOXIC. ... (more) She began her career in New York as a copy editor for GQ magazine, later moving on to positions at TV Guide and a jewelry trade magazine, where she exposed the illegal disposal of toxic chemicals by retail jewelers.

She also worked as a reporter and editor on the national financial desk of United Press International in New York before returning to her home state of Oregon, where, as an awrd-winning staff writer for The Oregonian, she was the first U.S. reporter to investigate deplorable conditions at Nike's Indonesian factories.

Her writing has appeared in SELF, Town & Country, Seventeen, and Mademoiselle. A graduate of Lewis & Clark College, Baker currently lives in Portland, OR, where she is a licensed private investigator specializing in interviewing, database, and public-records research.

Meet Kendall Hale!

Malaprop's Bookclub, with host Mary Park Ford, will discuss Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel.

The monthly Mystery Book Club will be discussing Cypress Grove by James Sallis - please come if you're interested whether you have read the book or not. Who knows - you might like it!

Meet Paul Austin!

Joshua Henkin joins us to read from Matrimony, a novel "in the tradition of John Cheever and Richard Yates...about love, hope, delusion, and the intricate ways in which time's passage raises us up even as it grinds us down...a beautiful book," according to Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours.

Meet Joshua Henkin!

Jeff Volk and Robert Gilbert present a lecture on Cymatics and Biogeometry. Poet, producer and publisher, Jeff Volk, has been popularizing the science
of Cymatics for 25 years. In 2001, he re-issued Jenny's
long out-of-print Cymatics books as a single deluxe edition, and he recently
published an English ... (more)translation of Water Sound Images, the stunning work of
contemporary German Cymatics researcher, Alexander Lauterwasser. Dr. Gilbert also
holds the distinction of being the first non-Egyptian ever granted
permission to teach Egyptian BioGeometry®; today he teaches both the
Foundation and Advanced Trainings in that field.

Topics of this talk include:

* The Hidden Energy Effects of Geometric Forms and Vibrational Patterns

* Keys to the Ancient Egyptian Temple Science

* The incredible findings of the Egyptian National Research Centre's study
on the "Effects of Geometric Forms on Life Functions"

* Research Discoveries of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture

* Recent International Breakthroughs in Vibrational Medicine

* The Lost Science of the Masons: How to Energy Balance any Building or
Location

* Modern Techniques of Earth Healing and Environmental Restoration

* Scientific Validation of BioGeometry benefits for Human Beings: The
Egyptian Government's "National Hepatitis C Project"

Join us in welcoming author/illustrator Graeme Base to Malaprop's to celebrate his latest book, Enigma: A Magical Mystery. A former advertising executive who left for the creativite freedom and challenge of writing, Base has written and illustrated numerous children's books, including the bestsellers ... (more)Anamalia and The Eleventh Hour. A special event for all ages!

Meet our Bridging Differences Bookclub host Patti Digh!

Diesel Bookstore is proud to welcome back Irvine Welsh, the bestselling author of Trainspotting as he presents his newest book, Crime.

As Welsh's very first novel set in the U.S., CRIME is a shocking and gripping story about the corruption and abuse of the human soul, and the possibilities for redemption.

Meet William Conescu!

Beloved funnyman Steve Almond comes to Malaprop’s to read from his recent nonfiction book, (Not that You Asked), now out in paperback! The author of Which Brings Me to You, Candyfreak, The Evil B.B. Chow, and My Life in Heavy Metal will no doubt entertain with his infamous wicked wit. Don’t miss ... (more)it!

Meet Steve Almond!

Diesel Bookstore and KPFA are pleased to present BBC television and radio broadcaster, frequent contributor to The Nation, The Guardian, and The London Review of Books, historian, film-maker, and author Tariq Ali as he discusses the topics of his newest book, The Duel:Pakistan on the Flight Path of American ... (more)Power.

Please note this event is NOT taking place at Diesel Bookstore, but instead will be located at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.

Books will be available for sale courtesy of DIESEL BOOKSTORE.

Boom thinker and business visionary (as well as Asheville local!) Cheri Britton will
discuss and sign copies of her book, Boom Thinking: The Gutsy Guide to Breaking Out of
Old Mindsets. Britton is a professional speaker, coach and trainer committed to
reinvigorating business owners, executives, managers, ... (more)employees, and entrepreneurs.

Haydon, the author of The Floating Island and The Thief Queen’s Daughter, will join us to discuss her third book in The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme series, Dragon’s Lair. A fantasy author often compared to Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, and J.R.R. Tolkien, Haydon incorporates her interests in ... (more)history, anthropology, and Medieval music into her writing.

Meet Anna Hayes, biographer of Susie Marshall Sharp, a pioneering jurist.
"Even handed and perceptive, Without Precedent tells us much about a notable woman. In addition, it informs about a wealth of other twentieth-century topics: legal education, the practice of the law, party politics, the ... (more)courts, feminism, North Carolina, and the South." --Jane Sherron De Hart, co-author of Sex, Gender, and the Politics of ERA.

Today's featured poets are Holly Iglesias, Carol Peters and Al Maginnes.

Meet Greg Melville!

A special program led by the Revs. Mary and Doug Earle in preparation for the visit to San Antonio of the Rev. Dr. J. Philip Newell. This program will be based on the book by Philip Newell: Christ of the Celts (John Wiley, $19.95 hc.)
Saturday, October 11th, 10 a.m. - 12 noon. No charge.

Meet Ron Rash!

The Bridging Differences Bookclub and host Patti Digh discuss Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuusisto.

The Malaprop’s Bookclub discusses Matrimony by Joshua Henkin, with host Mary Park Ford.

The brand-new DIESEL, A Bookstore in Brentwood is proud to welcome Caldecott Medalist & Macarthur "Genius" Grant recipient, David Macauley, as he shares from his dazzling, ambitious and encyclopedic new work: The Way We Work.

He's the LA Times and New York Times-bestselling children's author/illustrator ... (more)of such classic books as The New Way Things Work,
Black and White, Building the Book Cathedral, Pyramid, and City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction among many others. His books are used widely in school classrooms & libraries, and parents everywhere have raised their kids on his fascinating works of literary art!

Now is your chance to hear him speak up close and personal, so join us at the new DIESEL, A Bookstore in BRENTWOOD on Thursday, October 16 at 11am!!

Teachers & educators, if you're interested in bringing your classroom to the event, please contact Robyn Kamimura at events@dieselbookstore.com.

Meet Arjuna Ardagh!

In conjunction with the Crafts Fair of the Southern Highlands weekend, Malaprop’s is offering two unique evenings with local artisans. 20-year stained glass veteran and owner of Stevenson Stained Glass, Christine Stevenson will join us to discuss her work and her book, Creative Stained Glass: Modern ... (more)Designs and Simple Techniques. The book includes 27 projects, all from Stevenson’s own designs.

Join Clare Langley-Hawthorne at Diesel Bookstore as she presents the second book in her fantastic new historical mystery series! Featuring the strong, outspoken, intelligent and sassy Ursula Marlow, THE SERPENT AND THE SCORPION is a thrilling story of scandal and betrayal that's richly detailed and ... (more)action-packed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Clare Langley-Hawthorne was raised in England and Australia. She practiced law in Melbourne until 1995 when she emigrated moved to the United States and began work as a health economist. Clare has since put her pursuit of a PhD on hold to focus on her career as a writer. She lives in the San Francisco bay area with her husband and twin sons. This is her second novel.

For more information, visit her web site at www.clarelangleyhawthorne.comPURCHASE OF THE BOOK RESERVES YOU A SEAT AT THE EVENT!

Where is North Carolina's economy headed next? Michael Walden is William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and extension economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at North Carolina State Universtity. He is author of seven books, incluging Smart Economics: Commonsense ... (more)Answers to Fifty Questions about Government, Business, and Households. He also produces a daily radio program and writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column. Tonight he discusses his new book, North Carolina in the Connected Age.

Meet children's author Graeme Base!

Meet William Conescu!

Laurel Snyder’s slightly creepy, yet gorgeous picture book (illustrated by Jaime Zollars), Inside the Slidy Diner, is a delightful treat for the young and the young at heart. Don’t miss hearing her read from Inside the Slidy Diner and, if that’s not enough for you, join us again at 2pm for her ... (more)booksigning event!

Join us as Snyder signs copies of her young adult novel, Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains.

Learn about the ghost cats!

Join host Rich Rennicks for a discussion of Un Lun Dun by China Mieville.

Karen Levin Coburn, co-editor of Letting Go, describes Writin' on Empty: Parents Reveal the Upside, Downside, and Everything in Between When Children Leave the Nest perfectly in her glowing review: "This collection of essays about the universal experience of children leaving home is guaranteed to strike ... (more)a chord—to make you smile and laugh out loud—and yes, even shed some tears. It will confirm what you've been thinking as well as challenge you to think a bit differently."

Now, DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland is proud to welcome local authors and editors of Writin' on Empty, Risa Nye, Joan Taylor Cehn and Julie Renalds, to the store as they discuss a topic that is sure to pull at the heartstrings of every parent out there, whether you've already gone through this experience yourself or are about to.

Head down to DIESEL, A Bookstore on Thursday, October 30 at 7pm and mingle & meet other parents in the perfect opportunity to share your own stories at this wonderful event!PURCHASE OF THE BOOK RESERVES YOU A SEAT AT THE EVENT!

Meet author Qanta Ahmed.

Meet Peter Barr

DIESEL, A Bookstore is excited to welcome legendary surfer, Laird Hamilton to the store! He'll share more from his highly anticipated book, Force of Nature, and open a window into the unique physical regimens, mental strategies, and spiritual beliefs that has allowed him to do what he loves, while being ... (more)surrounded by family and radiating peak health and fitness.PURCHASE OF THE BOOK RESERVES YOU A SEAT AT THE EVENT!

Giving voice to a population rarely acknowledged in writings about the South, Sweet Tea collects life stories from black gay men who were born, raised, and continue to live in the southern United States. E. Patrick Johnson challenges stereotypes of the South as "backward" or "repressive," suggesting ... (more)that these men draw upon the performance of "southernness"--politeness, coded speech, and religiosity, for example--to legitimate themselves as members of both southern and black cultures. At the same time, Johnson argues, they deploy those same codes to establish and build friendship networks and to find sexual partners and life partners.

Traveling to every southern state, Johnson conducted interviews with more than seventy black gay men between the ages of 19 and 93. The voices collected here dispute the idea that gay subcultures flourish primarily in northern, secular, urban areas. In addition to filling a gap in the sexual history of the South, Sweet Tea offers a window into the ways that black gay men negotiate their sexual and racial identities with their southern cultural and religious identities. The narratives also reveal how they build and maintain community in many spaces and activities, some of which may appear to be antigay. Ultimately, Sweet Tea validates the lives of these black gay men and reinforces the role of storytelling in both African American and southern cultures.

Reviews:
"Sweet Tea is an amazing book. Engaging from the very start, it is well written and thought provoking throughout. There were times I simply could not put it down."--E. Lynn Harris, New York Times bestselling novelist

"A variety of biases, oversights, and material circumstances have conspired to push the narratives of southern black gay lives to the margins. Sweet Tea makes a monumental achievement by getting these stories out into the world. Every subsequent, serious engagement with the topic will have to address Johnson's work. This book is certain to be consulted, referenced, and discussed for many years to come."--John Howard, author of Men Like That: A Southern Queer History and Concentration Camps on the Home Front: Japanese Americans in the House of Jim Crow

Meet the authors of this definitve guide to the people, recipes, and lore of N.C. barbecue. John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed are members of the Southern Foodways Alliance and the North Carolina Barbecue Society. They have collaborated on other books, including 1001 Things Everyone Should Know ... (more)about the South and Cornbread Nation 4: The Best of Southern Food Writing.
"Brimming with factoids, field intelligence, received wisdom, and fine art, Holy Smoke is a harmonic convergence that resonates with good-natured humor. It is as entertaining as it is informative." -John Egerton, author of Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History.

Author Maggie Bishop signs copies of her new Appalachian mystery, Perfect for Framing.

Howard Lee tells about his childhood on a sharecropper's farm in Georgia during segregation. He tells about the hurdles he faced, as well as the triumphs and the people who helped him during his college and army days and his long and respected political career in North Carolina.

Book Group #3 meets to discuss Howard Norman's The Bird Artist. This event is free and everyone is encouraged to attend!

DIESEL, A Bookstore is delighted to have Clark V. Poling, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Emory University, join us to discuss his new book, Andre Masson and the Surrealist Self.

During his 33 years teaching at Emory, he served as chair of the Art History department, director of the Michael C. ... (more)Carlos Museum, and Faculty Curator of Works of Art on Paper. He has also published books & articles on the Bauhaus and Surrealism, and has organized various exhibitions of modern & contemporary art. His publications include Surrealist Vision and Technique, Kandinsky's Teaching at the Bauhaus, Contemporary Art in Southern CA, and Bauhaus Color. He currently lives in Oakland and teaches courses at the California College of the Arts, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco.

Meet local author Dana Lyons.

Join us for kid-friendly stories, based on the classic Living Stories of the Cherokee.

Barbara Duncan is education director at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC.

Meet Stephen Crimi, editor of Performance in the Garden. Englishman Alan Chadwick was a trained Shakespearian actor, painter, and musician, who
combined the artistic, mystic, and practical like no other horticulturalist. We'll
discuss his fascinating life and unique approach to gardening and biodynamics, ... (more)with some
passages from the book and a short recording of him speaking.

Local mystery writer, Vicki Lane, signs copies of her popular Appalachian mysteries.

Joel Berg will read from his new book All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America?. Sponsored by MANNA Food Bank!

The Hollis author will autograph her new book, "Women at the Table: 40 Intimate Profiles of Political Women of the Northeast". How do they manage to run for office, balance family, responsibility, and future aspirations? What do they think their legacy will be? Get their side of what it's ... (more)like to be a role model.

What to do on vacation....
How about learning to become the best spy ever?? Come to our Spyology party, hosted by Sue, and discover what it takes to be a secret agent. For kids ages 10-14. Please sign up in advance because there will be snacks and prizes! !uoy eeS

Today's poets are Mary Hutchins Harris (Tongue Full of Yeses), Barbara Duncan (Crossing Cowee Mountain) and John Campbell, (January Snow and Other Poems).

The Bridging Differences Bookclub and host Patti Digh discuss How Race is Lived in America: Pulling Together, Pulling Apart by New York Times correspondents.

Host Mary Park Ford will lead a discussion of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

The Malibu Book Group meets and discusses Out Stealing Horses by Per Peterson. This event is open to the public and free to attend. Books will be available for purchase at the store.

Ages 3-6
Every day is a Penguin day at the Penguin Bookshop and even more so today! Join us for all things Penguin...a penguin story, free penguin stickers, a cool penguin craft, and a chance to play in the Penguin Bookshop igloo.

Minister Candace Chellew-Hodge presents her book Bulletproof Faith.

DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland welcomes back Susie Bright as she discusses and signs her newest collection of erotic literature, X: The Erotic Treasury. As a special treat, there will also be several contributors from the book joining her for the event, including Greta Christina (editor of Best Erotic ... (more)Comics), Donna George Storey (author of Amorous Woman), and Pam Ward (author of Bad Girls Burn Slow). We'll see you here at DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland! ABOUT THE BOOK:
If there's only room for one book on your bedside table, 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.

John Isles’s new book of poems is Inverse Sky; Donald Revell praises it: “The poems of Inverse Sky transpire in a magic climate conducive to old Edens and new evangels. Here are wantoness and water-lights written starkly. And here, too, are tender shades I have not met before, in a further America.” ... (more)John Isles’s first poetry collection was Ark. He received an NEA fellowship and an award from The Los Angeles Review. Rusty Morrison’s new book of poems is the true keeps calm biding its story; winner of the 2007 Sawtooth Prize from Ahasahta Press, it was also chosen by Rae Armantrout, Claudia Rankine, and Bruce Smith for the 2008 James Laughlin Award for most outstanding second book of poetry
published in America that year. Claudia Rankine says of it, “. . .the poem transforms into a machine for transmitting lines across impossible distances. . . .In the end we, as readers, are left with a stunning collection, written into the silence of everlasting loss.” Her first book, Whethering, won the 2004 Colorado Prize for Poetry, and also received the Poetry Society of America’s Alice Fay DiCastagnola Award, among other honors. Rusty Morrison is the co-publisher of Omnidawn.

Join host Rich Rennicks fora discussion of Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow.

DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to welcome the editors of the Project Censored series, Peter Phillips and Mickey Huff, as they discuss and sign Censored 2009: The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2007-08.

Hear fascinating stories of Buncombe County's architectural history as told by John Ager, Talmage Powell,and Mary Joe Brezny, contributors to Cabins and Castles, an indispensible book of regional architecture. Natives, tourists, transplants, historians and preservationists will all enjoy this event!

The Bridging Differences Bookclub, with host Patti Digh, will discuss Linda Hogan's The Woman Who Watches Over the World: A Native Memoir.

DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to welcome the award-winning author, Yiyun Li, as she discusses and signs her beautiful new novel, The Vagrants. The San Francisco Chronicle named Yiyun's previous book, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers the "Best Book of 2005", and her newest novel is set to ... (more)be just as intriguing. Don't miss your chance to meet this highly-acclaimed author as she presents her fantastic new novel!

Ages 6 months – 2 years Join Sandra Freisen for a very interactive winter story time with stories, finger plays, and lots of songs. Get suggestions for the just-right books to share with your baby.

You're invited to join DIESEL, A Bookstore in Brentwood as we host the Book Launch Party for George Mastras and his thrilling new novel, Fidali's Way! ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
George Mastras has worked as a criminal investigator for the public defender service, a counselor at a juvenile correctional facility, ... (more)and a litigator in New York and Los Angeles. After ten years of practicing law, he quit his job, sold his belongings, and spent several years backpacking around the globe and trekking in the Himalayas, Karakorams, and Hindu Kush. Since returning to the United States, he has worked as a screenwriter and has written for several television series, including The Evidence, The Dresden Files, and currently the Emmy Award-winning drama Breaking Bad, for which he was nominated for a Writers Guild Award in 2008. Born in Boston, he is a graduate of Yale, UCLA Law, and Outward Bound. He was awarded the competitive Disney-ABC Writing Fellowship for Television Drama in 2005. He lives in Los Angeles.

For All Ages
Come on in for a little youthful yoga! We'll be reading Babar's Yoga For Elephants and striking a few poses. This will be fun for the whole family!

For the first time in history CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a third profile on the same subject! Thirteen year-old Malibu resident Rex Lewis-Clack, who was first profiled by the celebrated newsmagazine when he was only 7, recently completed the filming for his third profile which aired on CBS on November ... (more)16, 2008. A portion of the segment was filmed at Malibu Middle School, where Rex is in eighth grade. His third profile ran in conjunction with the recent release of his mother Cathleen Lewis’ book, REX: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed their Lives. Rex has been labeled a musical savant, with an extremely rare combination of blindness, autism, and musical genius. The complexity of his development simultaneously as a child and musician takes the study of the brain along with the associated humanity and societal implications of it into uncharted territory. Show your support for a fellow Malibu resident and mother by joining us at DIESEL, A Bookstore in MALIBU on Sunday, February 8 at 3pm!

Bring your knitting project and join hostess Patty Poisson for an informal evening of chatting, knitting and tea. Exquisite tea is generously provided by Danielle Beaudette of The Cozy Tea Cart in Brookline. (www.thecozyteacart.com). Please note that the group is open to all experienced knitters. They ... (more)meet on the 2nd Monday each month.

Malibu Book Group meets to discuss David Dickinson's Goodnight Sweet Prince. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Join us for our monthly Penguin Pot-Luck Book Club Meeting!

DIESEL, A Bookstore in BRENTWOOD is pleased to welcome New York Times-bestselling author, Val McDermid to the store as she discusses her superb new psychological thriller, A Darker Domain. If you have a book lover for a partner or spouse, this is the perfect gift for Valentine's Day, so don't miss out ... (more)on the fun! Check out these great reviews she's gotten so far:
'Absorbing modern mystery... McDermid's mix of historical and literary clues with modern detection is handled with panache' - The Times 'One of the world's leading mystery writers... Thomas Harris crossed with Agatha Christie, if you will... a great read' - Observer 'A cleverly plotted thriller. It should gain her a crowd of new fans' - Guardian 'One of her best’ - Literary Review 'A real page-turner and another McDermid triumph' - Observer 'McDermid's plot is a classic, and she pulls out all the stops to achieve a sense of mounting anguish, as her hero juggles multiple red herrings, mixed loyalties, differing police agendas and complicated family ties. Impeccable' - Guardian 'Reminiscent of one of Ruth Rendell's Barbara Vine thrillers – a few more sly, old-fashioned whodunits like this and she'll join the sturdy ranks of the queens of crime, on course to become Dame Val or Baroness McDermid' - Sunday Times

For All Ages
Come on in for a little youthful yoga! We'll be reading My Daddy is a Pretzel and striking a few poses. This will be fun for the whole family!

Peterborough author and illustrators Becky Ances and Ryan Wilson will stop in to sign, discuss and perhaps draw in support of their new chapter book for early readers, "Sword of the Ramurai".

Book Group #1 meets to discuss Samuel Richardson's Pamela. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Book Group #3 meets to discuss Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

River Guerguerian lectures on music for meditation and its effect on brainwave states.

Won't you come for a spot of tea and snacks with VT author Chris Bohjalian; celebrating the release in paperback of his novel "Skeletons at the Feast". We expect quite a crowd, please call ahead to let us know you (and your book group?) are attending. Everyone is welcome to meet the NYT bestselling ... (more)author and take part in the chat!

Nan Watkins and Thomas Rain Crowe present their book, Rare Birds.
ARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES Sathima Bea Benjamin -- Discovered in 1963 by Duke Ellington in the Club Africana in Zurich, and known to many as “The African Songbird,” she has been compared to Billy Holiday and Dinah Washington. Her first CD ... (more)(which was lost after recording for 30 years until it was discovered and released in 1997) includes musicians such as Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington and Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) is a modern jazz classic. Today, in her sixties, and one of the jazz genre’s best-kept secrets, she continues to record. Eugene Friesen -- Known, primarily, as the long-time cellist for the Paul Winter Consort, he has taken the cello (and the electric cello) into the stratosphere of possibility and cosmic nuances in his solo recordings and in his collaborations with a multitude of modern musicians, dancers, poets, and avant-garde artists. Originally a classically-trained cellist who studied at the Yale School of Music and then immediately became a member of the world-renown Delos String Quartet, he is one of the most passionate solo performers of his instrument playing today. Charles Lloyd -- Thought by many to be the heir to the throne of John Coltrane, Charles Lloyd took the jazz world by storm in 1966 with his recording of Forest Flower, which was the first jazz album in the U.S. to sell a million copies. After playing with such jazz greats as Cannonball Adderly, Keith Jarret, Chico Hamilton, Jack DeJohnette and Cecil McBee, he struck out on his own, and amidst appearances and disappearances from the scene, he has created a mythos that surrounds him and his music to this day. Philip Glass -- One of the classical worlds truly significant modern composers, he is also considered, along with Terry Riley and a couple lesser-known musicians, as one of the founders of Minimalism. As a musician/composer, he has composed for film, written symphonies, performed as part of small ensembles, written operas, and is a prolific recording artist. Abdullah Ibrahim -- From South Africa, and originally going by the stage name of Dollar Brand, he was discovered by Duke Ellington, who produced the recording that would introduce him to a world audience. Since 1965, he has recorded over 100 albums and CDs. Known for his soft touch as a keyboardist, and for his haunting rhythms, he is among the aristocracy of jazz composers and performers--concretizing in halls and festivals all over the world. Steve Reich -- a student, early on, of world music and studying in Europe and Asia, he was quickly identified with the World Music scene. He embraced Minimalism and became a household word with the recording and performances of “Different Trains.” He has performed with his 18-member ensemble in Carnegie Hall and at almost all the major music festivals in the U.S. and Europe. At 70 years of age, he still performs around the world.

Author Marie Bartlett is joined by actress and storyteller RoseLynn Katz.

On November 2, 1965, Norman Morrison, in protest of the Vietnam War, lit himself on fire outside of Robert McNamara’s Pentagon office, inciting controversy across the nation. His widow, Anne Morrison Welsh, chronicles that event and the family’s subsequent struggle for recovery in her powerful memoir, ... (more)Held in the Light: Norman Morrison’s Sacrifice for Peace and His Family’s Journey of Healing.

Join host Patti Digh for a discussion of China Galland’s Love Cemetary: Unburying the Secret History of Slaves.

Local author Christina Sunley will host a book launch party for her new book, The Tricking of Freya. A beautifully-written debut novel that deftly weaves together Iceland’s distinctive history, ancient mythology, reverence for language, and passion for genealogy, The Tricking of Freya is a powerful ... (more)exploration of kinship, loss and redemption.About the Author:
Christina Sunley was born in New York City, raised on Long Island, and has lived for the past twenty years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended Wesleyan University, got a BFA in Film from New York University, and received her Masters in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. She currently works fulltime in the nonprofit sector.Christina grew up hearing stories about her Icelandic relatives and their journey to North America, following the 1875 volcanic eruption that decimated much of Iceland's farmland. To write The Tricking of Freya, she spent several years researching Icelandic history, mythology, and genealogy, including three trips to Iceland and a stint as writer-in-residence at Klaustriđ (The Monastery), a stone farmhouse in a remote area, near where her grandfather had lived.

Malaprop’s is honored to welcome celebrated author and translator Coleman Barks as he presents his latest book of poetry, Winter Sky: New and Selected Poems 1968-2008. Barks is the author of numerous acclaimed Rumi translations and is a featured poet and translator in Bill Moyers's poetry special, ... (more)"Fooling with Words."

Shelley Lieber, author of 4Ps to Publishing Success, will conduct a seminar concerning all aspects of the writing and publishing process. Lieberman is a publishing consultant and former editor whose experience will prove invaluable to the beginning or seasoned wordsmith.

The Malaprop’s bookclub and host Mary Park Ford will discuss Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns.

We are pleased to welcome Sonja Sones to our Brentwood store where she will discuss and sign Violet and Winston. This event is free and all are welcome!

March 1st marks the 15th anniversary of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning open gays from the military. New attention has focused on this explosive culture war issue, as Democrats renew promises to lift the ban, perhaps as soon as this year.
 
With UNFRIENDLY FIRE: How the Gay Ban Undermines ... (more)the Military and Weakens America, Dr. Nathaniel Frank, the mostly widely-recognized expert on gays in the military and the writer who broke the story of the firing of gay Arabic linguists, has written the definitive story of “don’t ask, don’t tell” at a pivotal moment in the debate on gay service.  Dr. Frank, an historian and Senior Research Fellow at the Palm Center, has spent ten years explaining the ins and outs of this policy on television, radio, blogs and in print, and now more than ever, his expertise is in demand to help the nation understand this complex, fast-moving issue.
 
Based on hundreds of exclusive interviews, this much-anticipated book reveals behind-the-scenes discussions by the top players responsible for the current policy, and shows how a campaign of misinformation by military officials and the religious right conspired to steamroll the gay ban into place. UNFRIENDLY FIRE also answers pressing questions people are now asking about what lies ahead: How is the current policy really working? How do gay and straight troops currently get along? What happened when other nations lifted their gay bans? What will happen if the U.S. follows suit?  And more.
The new book shows that:
·         Military officials admit they misrepresented the threat posed by gays to unit cohesion, while minimizing the true source of resistance to gay service: religious and cultural opposition to homosexuality.
·         Evidence was repeatedly concealed or suppressed by the military when research concluded there was no rationale for the gay ban.
·         The team of military generals that created “don’t ask, don’t tell” did not even understand what “sexual orientation” meant when they were tasked with formulating the policy. The general who headed that team now opposes the policy and admits in the book that the group “didn’t have any empirical data” about gay service and its position was based on fear, politics and prejudice.
·         The former Navy Judge Advocate General reversed his support for a gay ban and now calls the policy a “moral passing of the buck.”
·         Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff circulated an inflammatory anti-gay video produced by the religious right, and used it to argue that openly gay service would undermine the military.
 
Clearly and lucidly argued, UNFRIENDLY FIRE is a lively and compelling narrative that is sure to play an important role in the debate over this policy.  As a new presidential administration takes office, and our country’s military commitments around the globe continue to expand, the issue of gays serving in the military is certain to be a key topic of debate. Join Dr. Frank at Lambda Rising in DC as he answers your questions and discusses his insightful work on this vital issue. NATHANIEL FRANK is a 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 of Individualized Study.  His publications on gays in the military and other topics have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Slate, the Los Angles Times, The Huffington Post, and other publications.  His research and opinions have been cited on the Congressional floor and in syndicated columns, the blogosphere, the New York Post, The National Review Online, the AP, and other venues.

Local author MariJo Moore will read from and sign her books, The Diamond Doorknob and its sequel, When the Dead Dream. Moore is an award-winning writer and poet whose works focus on indigenous issues and her commentaries on the subject have aired on NPR. “MariJo Moore is a rare spirit and a real writer. ... (more)Listen to her.”- Michael Malone, author of Handling Sin

Local author Leanna Sain will read from and sign her romantic time travel mystery, Gate to Nowhere. Sain resides in Hendersonville, NC and is also an accomplished painter and illustrator. Julie Korzenko (pictured) will present her "eco-adventure,"Devil's Gold. "From genetic mutations to murder and execution, ... (more)this is an edge-of-your-seat ride no one will want to miss."-Medallion Press, for Devil's Gold

Meet Julie Landsman.

Suzie Gilbert tells the story of how she turned her family life upside down to pursue her unusual passion for rehabilitating wild birds.

Children’s author Keith Patterson will sign his book, Maybelle, Bunny of the North, which follows the spirited Maybelle as she experiences nature during all four seasons.

We are pleased to welcome Biff Levy to our Malibu store where he will discuss and sign his newest book, Die, Decorator, Die. This event is free and all are welcome!

Join host Patti Digh and the Bridging Differences Bookclub for a discussion of Chris Bohjalain’s Trans-Sister Radio.

We are pleased to welcome Michael Wertz, the illustrator of Curious Collection of Cats. This event is free and all are welcome!

Malaprop's welcomes celebrated author Augusten Burroughs as he reads from and signs his book, A Wolf at the Table. Burrough's latest memoir explores the dark relationship he had as a boy with his father. **This is a ticketed event. Each purchase of A Wolf at the Table receives one ticket. Unfortunately, ... (more)we cannot mail tickets out but can hold paid tickets until the end of the event. Please ask a bookseller if you have any questions.**

Asheville author Josh Dorfman will present his book, The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget: Save Money. Save Time. Save the Planet. Dorfman’s latest book offers tips and insights about current green innovations and how you can easily save money as you reduce your environmental impact. Join us at 6:00 ... (more)pm for a wine and cheese reception before the event!

At the height of their career, just off their successful tour with Green Day, Pansy Division dropped by Lambda Rising’s DC bookstore, set up their instruments in our front window, and honored us and our customers with a raucous, rocking free concert. Now founding Pansy Jon Ginoli returns to Lambda ... (more)Rising to meet his fans, sign his new book, and maybe even play a song or two. Join us for this exciting event! The Inside Story of the First Openly Gay Pop-Punk Band Just a few short years ago, the stereotype for gay men involved loving disco and show tunes. Jon Ginoli decided to do something about it. Deflowered is Jon Ginoli’s journey of self-discovery, musical passion, and drive to become the founding member of Pansy Division, the first out and proud queer core 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. Featuring behind-the-scenes photographs and 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. Jon Ginoli is a guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of Pansy Division, a punk rock band whose cd's include Undressed, Deflowered, Wish I'd Taken Pictures, and more. An Illinois native, he's played both dive bars and arenas, and his favorite color is purple. When not on tour with the band he lives and works in San Francisco.

Meet bestselling author Kate Jacobs! Treats courtesy of Sisters McMullen and sponsored by Short Street Cakes and Stovetrotters Culinary School.

Meet author Todd Johnson.

Book Group #3 meets to discuss Gardens of Water by Alan Drew. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Author and international marketing consultant Andrea Adler will sign her book, The Science of Spiritual Marketing. Adler is the founder of Holistic PR and Marketing and works to prove that spirituality and business sense can coexist and thrive in today’s culture.

Meet Illustrator Charles Vess!

Meet author and birder John Yow.

Join host Rich Rennicks and the What If…? Bookclub for a discussion of T.A. Pratt’s Dead Reign.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Malibu is thrilled to present Lama Tsultrim Allione as she discusses and signs her new book Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict.
Tsultrim Allione brings an eleventh-century Tibetan woman's practice to the West for the first time with Feeding Your Demons, ... (more)an accessible and effective approach for dealing with negative emotions, fears, illness, and self-defeating patterns. Allione - one of only a few female Buddhist leaders in this country and comparable in American religious life to Pema Chodron - bridges this ancient Eastern practice with today's Western psyche. She explains that if we fight our demons, they only grow stronger. But if we feed them, nurture them, we can free ourselves from the battle. Through the clearly articulated practice outlined in Feeding Your Demons, we can learn to overcome any obstacle and achieve freedom and inner peace.Don't miss the special appearance!!

Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to welcome novelist John Wray to the store in celebration of his third novel, Lowboy. It has been garnering some generally excellent praise, and we are very excited for him to read, discuss and sign copies of his latest work!About the Author:
John Wray grew up ... (more)in Buffalo, New York, and in Friesach, a small town in the southern Austrian province of Carinthia. When he was a boy, his mother began reading Penguin Classics at a rate of exactly one per week, as a way to improve her English. One of his fondest memories of childhood is of having the entirety of The Pickwick Papers read to him at far too young an age, and understanding next to nothing, but loving the sound and mood of it regardless.
Wray’s first novel, The Right Hand of Sleep, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and won a Whiting Award in Fiction. For his second novel, Canaan’s Tongue, he traveled down the Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans on a raft made out of Home Depot surplus, giving readings in towns along the way. This past year, Granta magazine selected him as one of the best American novelists under the age of thirty-five. For the last seven years, Wray has lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn, across the street from the Prospect Park Bandshell. He has no intention of moving.About the Book:
“Lowboy sucks you into the tunnels under New York City and doesn’t let you go until its perfect ending. Wray effortlessly portrays the cracked and distorted mind of his teenage hero. What a beguiling novel.” —Tim Pears, author of In the Place of Fallen Leaves “America’s most original young writer has given us a book for the ages. Compelling, compassionate, and deeply unsettling, Lowboy introduces us to the brilliant sixteen-year-old Will Heller, a hero as three-dimensional as any in recent fiction, a Holden Caulfield for our troubled times.” —Gary Shteyngart, author of The Russian Debutante’s Handbook and Absurdistan

Susan Rebecca White reads from her novel, Bound South.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is excited to present another installment of the always enjoyable Poetry Flash series, featuring Carol Moldaw, Julia B. Levine and Ruth L. Schwartz. Join us for a wonderful afternoon!

The Malaprop’s Bridging Differences Bookclub and host Patti Digh will discuss Chris Bohjalian’s Trans-Sister Radio.

Durham, NC, author Michael Malone will discuss his latest book, The Four Corners of the Sky. This, his eleventh book, is a richly textured novel about the bonds and secrets between family members. Annie, whose con artist father abandoned her at age 7, must deal with his abrupt return to her life and ... (more)weigh her feelings about his betrayal against the answers to family mysteries that only he can reveal. Malone has also received critical acclaim for his contributions to the soap opera, One Life to Live, and his novels Foolscap and Handling Sin have been best-sellers.

Celebrate Mother's Day with Ann B. Ross and Miss Julia.

The Malaprop’s Bookclub, with host Mary Park Ford, will discuss Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood is delighted to present Columbia University Press author and local resident Siddharth Kara to discuss and sign his new book, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. This event is free and all are welcome!About the Book:
Every year, millions of women and ... (more)children are abducted, deceived, seduced, or sold into forced prostitution, made to service hundreds if not thousands of men before being discarded. Generating huge profits for their exploiters, sex slaves form the backbone of one of the world's most profitable illicit enterprises, for unlike narcotics, which must be grown, harvested, refined, and packaged, the female body requires no such "processing" and can be repeatedly consumed. In this first-of-its-kind journey, Siddharth Kara investigates the mechanics of the global sex trafficking business across four continents and takes stock of its devastating human toll. Drawing on his background in finance and economics, Kara provides a rare business analysis of sex trafficking, focusing on the local drivers and global macroeconomic trends that gave rise to the industry after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Kara supplements his analysis with a riveting account of this unconscionable industry, sharing the moving stories of victims and revealing the shocking conditions of their exploitation. The author will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to the organization Free the Slaves.About the Author:Siddharth Kara is a former investment banker and business executive with an MBA from Columbia University. He set aside his corporate career to pursue anti-slavery research, advocacy, and writing, and, more recently, a law degree. He currently serves on the board of directors of Free the Slaves, an organization dedicated to abolishing slavery worldwide. In 2005 he was invited to testify on contemporary slavery to the United States Congressional Human Rights Committee.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood is please to welcome store-favorite Barry Gifford to the shop to discuss and sign, The Imagination of the Heart: Book Seven of the Story of Sailor and Lula. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!About the Book:
The Imagination of the Heart is ... (more)the final chapter in the saga of Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune, the "Romeo and Juliet of the Deep South." Their story began in Barry Gifford's novel Wild at Heart, which in 1990 was made into a Palme d’Or–winning feature film by David Lynch. Following Sailor’s death at the age of sixty-five in New Orleans, Lula moved back to her home state of North Carolina. This novel begins fifteen years later when Lula, at age eighty, decides to write a memoir in diary form, reflecting on her life with Sailor while also keeping a journal describing her last road trip: a journey with Beany Thorn, her best friend since childhood, back to New Orleans.
Like a contemporary book of Revelations, dutifully recorded by Lula as a dialogue between self and soul, it becomes a bittersweet, often dangerous journey into the imagination of the heart, and what may lie beyond.About the Author:
The author of more than forty published works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, which have been translated into more than twenty-five languages, Barry Gifford is an American writer in the European tradition, and one of the few contemporary American writers whose characters are familiar to audiences around the world. He has also received awards from the ALA, PEN, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Gifford lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson as they discuss and sign The Scavengers' Manifesto. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!About the Book:
Call it scavenging, freeganism, or just plain affordable living. A movement is afoot, ... (more)one that marries the tenets of affordable living with green living. And with the economic downturn, scavenging is no longer just the province of treasure seekers and do-it-yourselfers. Instead, it has become a fun, creative lifestyle choice for families and individuals looking to do less with more.
Combining tips and strategies with science and philosophy, The Scavengers' Manifesto traces the evolution of scavenging — dissolving ancient prejudices that have long tainted it and reclaiming it as a wise, crucial practice in a nation that discards more than 250 million tons of trash every year.About the Authors:
Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson live the scavenging life. Almost everything in their home has been swapped, thrifted or found — that is, not bought new or full-price. Even their garden blooms with a mix of flowers, vegetables and herbs, all from seeds obtained for free.
Rufus and Lawson are also critically acclaimed authors. Rufus is best known for writing Party of One: A Loner’s Manifesto and, recently, Stuck: Why We Can’t (or Won’t) Move On. She has also written for many publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle and Salon.com. Lawson's award-winning book, Darwin and Evolution for Kids, has been published in five languages.

When Joyce called me on the phone, I was immediately taken by her personality. Even over the phone, she was able to convey her vibrancy and her excitement for her book. She calls her experience volun-touring, others call it responsible travel. However you look at it, it just sounds like a lot of fun ... (more)and a great way to get out and learn about the world. I do hope that you will join us at Tin Mountain to meet Joyce - it could be a life-changing experience!

Meet author Tim Josephs as he presents his book, A Camouflaged Fragrance of Decency, a collection of humorous and truthful stories that captures the absurdity of everyday life. "A pop starlet fresh out of rehab, an insurance company middlemanager with an unhealthy appetite for baked goods, a high school ... (more)sophomore with spectacular facial hair -- all sorts of American oddballs turn up in Tim Josephs' sly, off -kilter, very funny fiction. To read these short stories (some of them very short indeed) is to enter a strange territory where Raymond Carver meets The Onion. Brevity, soul, and lots of wit." - Jody Rosen, Slate Magazine

Join host Rich Rennicks and the Malaprop’s Speculative Fiction Bookclub for a discussion of Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie.

Meet author Paul Von Ward.

Join host Patti Digh and the Bridging Differences Bookclub for a discussion of Sandy Tolan’s The Lemon Tree.

Meet best-selling author Elizabeth Cunningham as she reads from and signs the latest volume in the Maeve Chronicles. Bright Dark Madonna continues the story of Maeve, the Celtic Mary Magdalene, during the aftermath of the Resurrection. Cunningham, who is also an ordained interfaith minister, is praised ... (more)for the humor, depth, and historical detail in her books, and her masterpiece Maeve Chronicles are a vivid reflection of her desire to explore her Christian upbringing and her call to explore the sacred feminine.

Today's featured poets are Joseph Bathanti (Land of Amnesia), Debra Daniel (As Is) and Dannye Powell (Necklace of Bees).

Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood is pleased to present local resident and UCLA professor Susan Compo to the store in celebration of her new book, Warren Oates: A Wild Life, the first biography of a man who, though never reaching lead actor status, became known as one of the most memorable supporting ... (more)actors of the 1970s, beloved for both his rebelliousness and his humanity. Come on out and show your support!

Join the Malaprop’s Bookclub and host Mary Park Ford for a discussion of Dara Horn’s The World to Come.

This is the regular meeting of the Classics Group. Reading choice for May: "Mill on the Floss" by George Eliot; June: "Three Daughters of Madame Liang" by Pearl Buck. New readers are always welcome to join!

Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood is pleased to present Gregg Hurwitz as he discusses and signs his new novel, Trust No One. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!About the Author:Gregg Hurwitz is the critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling author of The Tower, Minutes ... (more)to Burn, Do No Harm, The Kill Clause, The Program, Troubleshooter, Last Shot, and most recently, The Crime Writer, an instant international bestseller that was shortlisted for best novel of the year by International Thriller Writers and nominated for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. His novels have been feature selections for all four major literary book clubs, chosen as Book Sense Picks, and translated into fifteen languages. He has written screenplays for Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Paramount Studios, MGM, and ESPN, developed TV series for Warner Studios, written Wolverine, Punisher, and Foolkiller for Marvel, and published numerous academic articles on Shakespeare. He has taught fiction writing in the USC English Department, and guest lectured for UCLA, and for Harvard in the United States and Europe. In the course of researching his thrillers, he has sneaked onto demolition ranges with Navy SEALs, swam with sharks in the Galápagos, and gone undercover into mind-control cults.Hurwitz grew up in the Bay Area. While completing a BA from Harvard and a master's from Trinity College, Oxford in Shakespearean tragedy, he wrote his first novel. He was the undergraduate scholar-athlete of the year at Harvard for his pole-vaulting exploits, and played college soccer in England, where he was a Knox fellow. He now lives in L.A. where he continues to play soccer, frequently injuring himself.

This meeting is only a couple of days after Andre's visit to town. I should think we will have something to talk about!

This is a ticketed event. Please call Malaprop's for more details.

Author and activist bell hooks comes to Malaprop’s to read and present her book, Belonging: A Culture of Place, in which this noted social critic examines the ideas of land ownership, home, and community by exploring her own past as well as the history of gender and racial politics. hooks is a store ... (more)and community favorite, and her brilliant writing encompasses all genres, from scholarly articles to poetry to critical essays.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Malibu is excited to welcome Norman Ollestad to the shop to discuss and sign his book, Crazy fo the Storm: A Memoir of Survival. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Join the Bridging Differences Bookclub and host Patti Digh for a discussion of Between Barack and a Hard Place by Tim Wise.

Join the Bridging Differences Bookclub and host Patti Digh for a discussion of Between Barack and a Hard Place by Tim Wise.

Bring your knitting project and join hostess Patty Poisson for an informal evening of chatting, knitting and tea. Exquisite tea is generously provided by Danielle Beaudette of The Cozy Tea Cart in Brookline. (www.thecozyteacart.com). Please note that the group is open to all experienced knitters. They ... (more)meet on the 2nd Monday each month.

Diane Leslie's Book Group meets to discuss Shilpa Agarwal's Haunting Bombay. Around 6pm, Ms. Agarwal will join in the discussion! There is a $20 entry fee for this event.

The Malaprop’s Bookclub and host Mary Park Ford discuss The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta.

This is the regular meeting of the Classics Group. Reading choice for July: "Winesburg, Ohio" by Sherwood Anderson, and August is TBA. New readers are always welcome to join!

Please meet the author of the new book "Poneasequa: Goddess of the Waters". Native American McKenzie Jones embarks on a journey of self-discovery when she's asked to do a presentation to her class about her heritage; something she know little about. -Recommended by bestselling author Joseph Bruchac.

Chris will visit in support of his nonfiction book, "RoadKill", about his being struck and dragged by an 18 wheeler while riding his motorcycle. Learn to survive and thrive in this harrowing real life adventure.

Meet author Denise Giardina.

Lucille Lang Day's new book of poems is The Curvature of Blue; Alicia Ostriker enthuses about it, "Intelligence enjoying itself, awareness at play, attentiveness dancing through life's minefields smiling at itself in its new black car. . . a wonderful book and I feel lucky to have read it." Lucille Day ... (more)has published four previous books of poetry, including Infinities, Wild One, and Self-Portrait with a Hand Microscope, her first, for which she won the Joseph Henry Jackson Award. She is the founder and director of Scarlet Tanager Books, a literary press in the Bay Area. Roz Spafford's new book of poems is Requiem, winner of the 2008 Gell Poetry Prize, with a foreword by Carl Dennis: "All the poems in Requiem may be read as attempts to confront the presence of death in our lives. . . What is remarkable about this steady focus, which offers no easy consolations, is that it leads to a book that is more challenging than it is querulous or elegiac. . . a book that confronts our limitations in a way that makes us feel larger rather than diminished." Spafford has been a writer, teacher, and activist for the last three decades. She wrote book reviews and a newspaper column of media and cultural criticism called 'Mediations' for much of that time. Her poetry and fiction have been widely published in literary magazines.

Chris Cavender signs copies of his latest mystery, A Slice of Murder.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Malibu is totally stoked to host an afternoon with award-winning journalist and surfer Jaimal Yogis as he discusses and signs his memoir, Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Sea.Fed up with suburban teenage life, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more ... (more)than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard. His journey is a coming-of-age saga that takes him from communes to monasteries and the icy New York shore. Equal parts spiritual memoir and surfer's tale, this is a chronicle of finding meditative focus in the barrel of a wave and eternal truth in the great salty blue.Join us!

Diesel, A Bookstore in Malibu is totally stoked to host an afternoon with award-winning journalist and surfer Jaimal Yogis as he discusses and signs his memoir, Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Sea.Fed up with suburban teenage life, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more ... (more)than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard. His journey is a coming-of-age saga that takes him from communes to monasteries and the icy New York shore. Equal parts spiritual memoir and surfer's tale, this is a chronicle of finding meditative focus in the barrel of a wave and eternal truth in the great salty blue.Join us!

A reading from Southern Appalachian Poetry: An Anthology of Works by 37 Poets edited by Marita Garin.
This collection of 225 poems includes both well-known, established poets (James Still, Robert Morgan, Fred Chappell, Louise McNeill) and newer voices which have carved out a literary reputation in recent ... (more)years (Kay Byer, Ron Rash, Irene McKinney, and Michael McFee, to name a few). Poems along with autobiographical essays explore Appalachian traditions as well as the impact technological change has had on the culture and the subsequent tensions. Beginning with the literary revival movement of the mountains that began in the 1960s and 1970s, this unusual variety of poetry explores in vivid narrative/poetic detail the roots from which Appalachia's newer writers have sprung. Appalachian Heritage spoke of it as "a fabulous resource...the overall impact is quite rich." Robert Morgan is joined by Hilda Downer, Don Johnson, Greg Dykes, and Mary Kratt.

A reading from Southern Appalachian Poetry: An Anthology of Works by 37 Poets edited by Marita Garin.
This collection of 225 poems includes both well-known, established poets (James Still, Robert Morgan, Fred Chappell, Louise McNeill) and newer voices which have carved out a literary reputation in recent ... (more)years (Kay Byer, Ron Rash, Irene McKinney, and Michael McFee, to name a few). Poems along with autobiographical essays explore Appalachian traditions as well as the impact technological change has had on the culture and the subsequent tensions. Beginning with the literary revival movement of the mountains that began in the 1960s and 1970s, this unusual variety of poetry explores in vivid narrative/poetic detail the roots from which Appalachia's newer writers have sprung. Appalachian Heritage spoke of it as "a fabulous resource...the overall impact is quite rich." Robert Morgan is joined by Hilda Downer, Don Johnson, Greg Dykes, and Mary Kratt.

Join host Patti Digh and the Malaprop’s Bridging Differences Bookclub for a discussion of V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas.

The Malaprop’s Bookclub, with host Mary Park Ford, will discuss Mudbound by Hillary Jordan.

Malaprop’s welcomes author Ethan Gilsdorf, who will read from and sign his new book, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms. Gilsdorf’s work weaves interviews with gamers from across the globe with the author’s ... (more)own “geeky” past to explore what lures people to the fantastic world of gaming and how they reconcile the escapism with the responsibilities of adult life. Gilsdorf is a film critic for the Boston Globe and also teaches writing at Emerson College and Boston Grub Street, Inc.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present David Bacon as he discusses and signs the paperback release of his new book, Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants.
For two decades veteran photojournalist David Bacon has documented the connections between ... (more)labor, migration, and the global economy. In Illegal People Bacon explores the human side of globalization, exposing the many ways it uproots people in Latin America and Asia, driving them to migrate. At the same time, U.S. immigration policy makes the labor of those displaced people a crime in the United States. Illegal People explains why our national policy produces even more displacement, more migration, more immigration raids, and a more divided, polarized society.

John Hoppenthaler is reading today as well as two other poets, TBA.

KATRINA KENISON autographing and discussing THE GIFT OF AN ORDINARY DAY: A MOTHER'S MEMOIR in which she finds the times she treasures most are the ordinary unremarkable moments of everyday life.

On Sunday, Sept. 20, starting at 2:00 p.m., Katrina Kenison will sign and talk about her new book, The Gift of an Ordinary Day, an intimate memoir of a family in transition - boys becoming teenagers, careers ending and new ones opening up, an attempt to find a deeper sense of place, and a slower pace ... (more)- in a small New England town. If you've experienced the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers or the desire to hold on while needing to let go, you'll certainly appreciate this.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present local writers Kathy Briccetti, Meilan Carter, and Jasmine Dawson as they discuss their contributions to the national anthology, Who's Your Mama?: The Unsung Voices of Women and Mothers.
Kathy Briccetti has published essays, poetry, and criticism ... (more)in literary and commercial magazines. She received a Pushcart Prize nomination for an essay excerpted from her forthcoming memoir, Blood Strangers, which will be published by Heyday Books in spring 2010. She lives in El Cerrito and works in Oakland.
Meilan Carter is interested in crossing literary genres, documenting family history, and challenging language. The beauty in death, magic, and the complexities of relationships, are some of the themes that appear in her work. A writer of both fiction and creative non-fiction, Meilan recently completed her MFA in Fiction at Mills College. She is currently working on a creative non-fiction novel about the loss of her father titled The Etiquette of Death. She lives in Oakland with her husband David and son Kamau.
Jasmine Dawson is an Oakland native and received her BA from San Francisco State University and MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. She has written and published book reviews, essays, and research. She finished her novel and is currently working for the City of Oakland.

DIESEL, A Bookstore in Brentwood is pleased to have local author Dylan Landis as she discusses and signs Normal People Don't Live Like This. This event is free and all are welcome! Normal People Don't Live Like This will be published Sept. 8 by Persea Books. It is a debut collection of ten linked stories—praised ... (more)by Janet Fitch, Elizabeth Strout and Lisa Glatt— about the hidden lives of a teenager and her mother, and how they struggle to negotiate emotional damage and open themselves to love. The girl, Leah, yearns for belonging and worships the most delinquent girls at school, while her mother, Helen, secretly rents a welfare hotel room that she obsessively decorates. The stories – quirky and darkly humorous -- mostly center on Leah, but they're also about the disturbing, sometimes transformative lives of the girls and women she knows. These stories have appeared in anthologies such as Do Me: Tales of Sex & Love from Tin House; Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003; Women on the Edge: Writing from Los Angeles; and Bestial Noise: The Tin House Fiction Reader, among others, and in literary magazines such as Tin House, Bomb, the Santa Monica Review and others. All were written while she lived in LA, from 2000 to 2008.

Martha Hall is joining us again with her latest book of poetry. "In her commanding second full-length collection, Martha Deborah Hall offers readers more of what they have come to love about her poetry: elegant craft, precise detail, concise language and considerable emotion. These poems are concerned ... (more)with the every day, with the acutely experienced moments that make up a full life, replete with joys and grief. Here "red leaves checker lawns," "a snowplow clangs it's iron song," "lipstick's smeared from so-longs," and "a first dahlia beats through the soil." When you visit My Side of the Street arrive hungry because you'll be treated to a feast of "leftover turkey for supper," "pizza-cake," "purple ice cream," and Hall's thoroughly nourishing verse." Lana Hechtman Ayers
Publisher, Concrete Wolf Poetry Chapbook Series

Meet New York times best-selling author Carole Boston Weatherford.

We are honored to once again welcome the talented Diana Gabaldon to Asheville! Place: Diana Wortham Theatre at 2 South Pack Square Date and Time: Sunday, September 27th at 7PM Doors open at 6:30PM, General Admission Seating A ticket to Diana Gabaldon's reading and booksigning is complimentary with your ... (more)pre-order
of An Echo in the Bone, the 7th book in her phenomenally popular Outlander series! Call
us to pre-pay for your copy. We expect to sell out shortly! Call Malaprop's at (828)
254-6734 or 1-(800) 441-9829. Other details: If you can, please pick up your pre-paid copy of An Echo in the Bone
before the event. If you are unable to get to Malaprop?s before her reading, we will
have your pre-paid book(s) for you at the Diana Wortham Theatre.

Amy Joy Lanou, Ph.D. discusses her new book, Building Bone Vitality.

Meet Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance.

Grace Lin is the author and illustrator of more than a dozen picture books, including THE UGLY VEGETABLES and DIM SUM FOR EVERYONE! Also an author of middle grade fiction, Grace's most recent novel WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON was released with glowing praise garnering 3 starred reviews and was ... (more)the 2009 Parents' Choice Gold Winner. While most of Grace's books are about the Asian-American experience, she believes, "Books erase bias, they make the uncommon everyday, and the mundane exotic. A book makes all cultures universal." See more about Grace and her work at www.gracelin.com.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Malibu is delighted to host an afternoon with psychological horror and suspense writer Richard Christian Matheson as he discusses and signs Dystopia, Created By, and Scars.
Richard Christian Matheson is an acclaimed novelist, short story writer and screenwriter/producer. He has ... (more)written and co-written feature film and television projects for Richard Donner, Ivan Reitman, Joel Silver, Steven Spielberg, Bryan Singer and many others. To date, Matheson has written and sold twelve original, spec feature scripts, considered a record. He has written pilots for comedy and dramatic series for SHOWTIME, FOX, NBC, ABC, TNT, HBO, FOX, SPIKE and CBS and served as head writer and Executive Producer for thirty network comedy and dramatic series. Matheson has had seven feature films produced, including the critically hailed, paranoid satire Three O'Clock High.
Matheson is considered a cutting-edge voice in surreal, psycho-logical horror fiction and master of the short story. His critically lauded fiction has been published in major, award-winning anthologies, including multiple times in Years Best Horror, Years Best Fantasy as well as Penthouse and OMNI magazines.

Join host Patti Digh and the Malaprop’s Bridging Differences Bookclub for a discussion of Louis Alberto Urrea’s The Devil’s Highway.

The Socrates Cafe, hosted by Rick Branch, meets for thoughtful reflection on the first Wednesday each month. Drop-ins always welcome. Call or stop by for details.

Author Allan Combs will read from and sign his newest book, Consciousness Explained Better, a thorough and easy-to-understand exploration of human consciousness from a wide range of viewpoints. Combs, a professor of transformative studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies, has written over ... (more)100 articles and books on consciousness and the brain, and held the UNCA Honorary Ruth and Leon Feldman Professorship in 2003-2004. “Allan Combs has written the finest book on consciousness in modern times, bar none.” –Ken Wilber, author of The Integral Vision

Local author Brian Lee Knopp reads from and signs copies of his memoir Mayhem in Mayberry. Brian Lee Knopp has provided legal support investigations, both criminal and
civil, for over twenty years in North Carolina. His clients have ranged from
huge corporate law firms to the indigent. He is a former ... (more)professional sheep
shearer with an M.A. degree in English Literature from The University of
Texas at Austin. For the past twenty-one years he has lived in the mountains north
of Asheville, North Carolina. His book reviews and essays have been published in
several regional magazines and local media. As a licensed P.I., sheep shearer, and avid
outdoorsman, he has roamed extensively throughout western North Carolina. "I love this author and I love this book! Brian Lee Knopp is one of the most natural writers that I have encountered and he tells this all-too-true story with sinewy wit and sublime grace." -Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
A wine and cheese reception will follow the reading. You may pre-order the book by calling us at (828)254-6734 or stopping by the store.

Join host Mary Park Ford and the Malaprop’s Bookclub for a discussion of Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Artist and author Whitney Ferré will sign copies of her book, The Artist Within: A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit, in which she offers a number of innovative techniques to tap your creative potential and utilize it in your everyday life.

Join Toni Brown and Ed Munson as they sign copies of Relix: The Book, a compilation of the best of Relix magazine and the history of the Grateful Dead.

Cathryn invites young children to The Toadstool for a reading, gardening song, circle game, and a craft! She'll also be signing her new book, Mystery Vine.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present local author Taije Silverman to the store to celebrate the publication of her first book of poetry, Houses Are Fields.
Taije Silverman’s poems have appeared in Poetry, Shenandoah, Ploughshares, Five Points, Massachusetts Review, Prairie Schooner, ... (more)and other journals. The recipient of the 2005–2007 Emory University Creative Writing Fellowship, as well as residencies from the MacDowell Colony and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, she is now Assistant Visiting Professor at Ursinus College, outside of Philadelphia. Her first collection of poems, Houses Are Fields, was published by LSU Press in 2009, and selected as the debut book in their Sea Cliff Series. Thrice nominated for the Puschart Prize, she has received the Anais Nin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and her book has just been translated into Italian. Her own translations of Italian poetry are forthcoming in Pleiades.

Author and founder of Fearless Books D. Patrick Miller will answer your questions about the publishing industry and sign copies of his book, Understanding a Course in Miracles, in which he examines the history and significance of one of the most influential spiritual texts of our time. Miller, a veteran ... (more)of independent, mainstream, and e-book publishing and consultation, will also evaluate your 1-minute book idea pitch.

This is a group for writers of all styles and levels. Hosted by Eric and Tammy, they'll lead you from idea to author signing! Call Tammy here for more information. They meet every Friday evening!

Talented authors Marianne Gingher, Pam Duncan, Katherine Min, and Lawrence Naumoff will give readings in promotion of their new book, Long Story Short: Flash Fiction by 65 of North Carolina’s Finest Writers. According to Gingher, flash fiction refers to fully realized short stories in their most compressed ... (more)form and provides a challenging learning experience for writers of all levels.

Author James Latimore will sign copies of his moving work, Bookwoman: A Cancer Journal, the story of Charlotte bookstore owner Rosemary Latimore, her valiant battle with cancer, the community that loved her.

Meet Steven Aimone!

Larry Thacker will read from his book Mountain Mysteries.

Join us for spooky fun at the Malaprop's Graveyard Book Party on
Halloween evening. Costume and design-your-own-tombstone contests are
just a couple of the fun events we have planned and there will be some fantastic prizes and refreshments. Come meet your fellow enthusiasts for a fabulous celebration ... (more)of books, Halloween, and, of course, Neil Gaiman and The Graveyard Book !!!

Our monthly poetry reading will feature Ed Madden, Judith Infante, and Louis Jenkins.

Please note the new venue for this event: It is no longer at Jubilee, and has been moved to Asheville High School.Malaprop's (and the entire Asheville region!) is honored to welcome one of our favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver, who will present her latest novel, The Lacuna. The event will take place ... (more)at the Asheville High School auditorium at 7 pm on Monday, November 2nd, and one ticket is complimentary with each pre-purchase of The Lacuna from Malaprop's. For more information, please call us at 1-800-441-9849.

Join host Patti Digh and the Malaprop’s Bridging Differences Bookclub for a discussion of Dave Eggers’ What is the What.

Join host Mary Park Ford and the Malaprop’s Bookclub for a discussion of Run by Ann Patchett.

Come meet Holly Robinson with her book "Grebil Farmers Daughter". Journalist Robinson cheerfully recalls growing up with a closeted gerbil-breeder. The author's father was a captain in the Navy, a war veteran and an academy professor. He also raised gerbils, as a hedge against future income needs and ... (more)because he believed, as lab animals, they contributed to the common good. Because Navy officials would have frowned upon this strange sideline business, he had to keep it a secret until retirement, when his initial stash of eight "tiny, caffeinated kangaroos" reached a rotating population of nearly 9,000. Robinson presents a colorful cast of characters: her dad the "Gerbil Czar," her acid-tongued mother, the standard-issue feckless younger brother, a cute but mischievous little sister and a too-smart-for-his-own-good youngest brother. It's a scenario that could have been lifted from a 1960s sitcom, but Robinson invests the narrative with pathos, good-natured moments of absurdity and plenty of keen humor.

Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood is very excited to welcome Mark Weiss to the shop to discuss and sign the anthology of poetry he edited, The Whole Island: Six Decades of Cuban Poetry.
Cuba's cultural influence throughout the Western Hemisphere, and especially in the United States, has been disproportionally ... (more)large for so small a country. This landmark volume is the first comprehensive overview of poetry written over the past sixty years. Presented in a beautiful Spanish-English en face edition, The Whole Island makes available the astonishing achievement of a wide range of Cuban poets, including such well-known figures as Nicolás Guillén, José Lezama Lima, and Nancy Morejón, but also poets widely read in Spanish who remain almost unknown to the English-speaking world - among them Fina García Marruz, José Kozer, Raúl Hernández Novás, and Ángel Escobar-and poets born since the Revolution, like Rogelio Saunders, Omar Pérez, Alessandra Molina, and Javier Marimón. The translations, almost all of them new, convey the intensity and beauty of the accompanying Spanish originals. With their work deeply rooted in Cuban culture, many of these poets - both on and off the island - have been at the center of the political and social changes of this tempestuous period. The poems offered here constitute an essential source for understanding the literature and culture of Cuba, its diaspora, and the Caribbean at large, and provide an unparalleled perspective on what it means to be Cuban.

Food and travel journalists Matt and Ted Lee will sign copies of their new cookbook, Simple Fresh Southern. The siblings are founders of the Lee Bros. Boiled Peanuts Catalogue, a mail-order catalogue featuring Southern pantry staples like stone-ground grits, fig preserves, and, of course, boiled peanuts. ... (more)“These two boys are not only great cooks, I consider them the modern-day Lewis and Clark of Southern cuisine.”- Paula Deen

Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present David Swanson as he discusses and signs his new book, Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union.
Swanson holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and ... (more)as a communications director, with jobs including press secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as communications coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Come to the Malaprops Cafe and sit and talk with critically acclaimed Jeff VanderMeer, author of the perfect holiday gift for the writer in your life: Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st-Century Writer. Part of a five-week tour all across the country, award-winning writer Jeff VanderMeer’s ... (more)in-store appearance coincides with the release of his new Booklife: Strategies & Survival Tips for the 21st-Century Writer, the first book to blend traditional career and creativity advice with the best ways to thrive in our new internet-based world without losing your mind. Funny, blunt, practical, and humane, Booklife is the perfect gift for you or the writer in your life. Says Publishers Weekly, “With anecdotes from VanderMeer's own life as a writer, reviewer and blogger, as well as input from agents, editors and publicists, this guide will surely help writers traverse the often difficult journey from first draft to finished product.” Come out to meet the author and talk about the writing life. How can a Booklife help you? A writer for the New York Times Book Review, Huffington Post, and Washington Post, VanderMeer is the best-selling author of cult classic City of Saints & Madmen. Jeff’s new novel Finch, a noir fantasy thriller that’s gotten rave reviews from the likes of NYT Bestsellers Stephen R. Donaldson and Tad Williams will also be available.

Today we are honored to host Kathryn Stripling Byer, Cecilia Woloch, and Julia Nunnally Duncan.

Mr. Vess will be here to present his new book on FRIDAY, December 11th at 7pm.

COACH WILLIAMS VISITS HOMETOWN ASHEVILLE Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe & the UNCA Athletics Department present a booksigning with UNC Tar Heels Men's Basketball Coach Roy Williams! Coach Williams will be at UNCA’s Justice Center on Sunday, Decemeber 13th from 1:30-2:30 to promote his new book HARD WORK: ... (more)A Life On and Off the Court.
Malaprop's is donating a portion of sales to UNCA's Athletics Department. The booksigning is first come, first served, and only for those with a Malaprop's "Hard Work" receipt. HARD WORK can be pre-ordered here!

Please welcome Peter Kujawinski, half the writing team of the wonderful new quest novel "Dormia". What happens when a young boy sleepwalks his way into destiny to save a foreign land will keep your juvenile reader turning the pages to discover the secrets. Pick up a signed copy just in time for the holidays!

The National Parks, the companion volume to the new Ken Burns film, is a sweeping, magnificently illustrated history of the American national park system from the first sighting by white men in 1851 of the valley that would become Yosemite, to the most recent additions to the 84 million acres that comprise ... (more)this grand national treasure.
Ken and Dayton will be here at 2:00 p.m., Sat., Dec. 19, to sign and talk about their book.

Meet author Katherine Russell Rich!