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Sunriver Books & Music

Sunriver Village Building 25C
Sunriver, OR 97707
United States

541-593-2525; sunriverbookssunrivertelecom.com

New/Used: Not set

Web site: http://www.sunriverbooks.com

Events: http://www.sunriverbooks.com/NAS… (updated February 14)

Description: Wide selection of Fiction, Mystery, History, Biography, Current Events, Travel, Children, Nature, Animals, Hiking, Biking, Fishing, Gardening, Yoga, Golf, Health, Architecture, Journals, Science Fiction, Thrillers, and Local Interest.

Fine pens including Montegrappa, Delta, Montblanc, Monteverde, Namiki, and Acme Studio.

Store is dog-friendly; in fact, the CEO is a dog.

Open Mon 10:30am-7:30pm; Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun 10:30am-5:30pm, Fri 10:30am-6pm, Sat 10:30am-7pm.

Added by: oregonobsessionz.  Contacted: Not contacted.  Venue ID: 8891

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Upcoming events

Holly Robinson here with Gerbil Farmer's Daughter (November 14 at 11:00am)
Holly Robinson , The gerbil farmer's daughter.
Come meet Holly Robinson with her book "Gerbil 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.
Event webpage
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Mark Weiss discusses and signs The Whole Island: Six Decades of Cuban Poetry (November 15 at 3:00pm)
Mark Weiss.
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.
Event webpage
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Fiction Book Club (November 16 at 6:30pm)
Fannie Flagg , Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg is a wonderful choice for the Fiction Book Club’s meeting Monday November 16th at 6:30. Evelyn Couch is a beleaguered, woefully overwhelmed, powerless woman. Visiting her mother in law at a nursing home out of a sense of duty, the woman ... (more)hates her, she meets Ninny Threadgoode. Ninny tells her stories from the 1930’s and listens to her woes. Eveyln begins to feel more empowered more in charge of her life. Ninny’s stores center on Ruth and Idgie. Ruth marries Frank, a handsome man who gives her a son, then beats her. Idgie rescues Ruth and her son from her abusive husband. Idgie and Ruth open the Whistle Stop Café. There are dark secrets, lifelong friendship, and strange justice in the story. The characters are beyond lively; they are drawn with humor, a zesty spirit, and compassion. This is one of those books you will not want to put down.
Event webpage
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David Swanson discusses and signs Daybreak (November 22 at 3:00pm)
David Swanson , Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union.
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.
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Travel Essay Book Club (November 23 at 6:30pm)
Mark Salzman , Iron and Silk.
Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman is the Travel Essay Book Club selection for Monday November 23rd at 6:30. Salzman can definitely write, his works of fiction are powerful stuff. The Soloist was nominated for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize. Lying Awake is set in a convent where a nun must decide if she will undergo ... (more)medical treatment for epilepsy that may take away the raptures she has always believed were her connection with God. What would you do if everything you believed might be an error? Powerful. Iron & Silk is the true story of Salzman’s time in China teaching English at Hunan Medical College. He was able to interact with the Chinese in ways your average traveler would not be able to achieve. Salzman studied Chinese language and literature at Yale. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude in 1982. So he had a few more language skills than most American visitors in China. He was also deeply interested in martial arts, having studied since he was a child. He continues his education in martial arts in China. The writing is beautiful, the story interesting, and the country worthy of interest. The Travel Essay Book Club should have a good time.
Event webpage
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Greg Nokes - Massacred for Gold (November 28 at 5:00pm)
R. Gregory Nokes.
We are very pleased to have Greg Nokes appearing at Sunriver Books & Music. Here is a bit of information about his latest book. R. Gregory Nokes’ book “Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon’’ will be published by Oregon State University Press in October.
The book is the first authoritative ... (more)account of the little-known massacre of as many as thirty-four Chinese gold miners in Oregon’s Hells Canyon in 1887. The killers were a gang of horsethieves and school boys living in what is now Wallowa County, none of whom was ever convicted. The massacre was the worst of the many crimes committed by whites against the tens of thousands of Chinese laborers who immigrated to the American West in the 19th century to mine gold and build the nation’s new railroads. The author goes behind the massacre to explain why the Chinese came, how they were treated and what happened to them.
Nokes has traveled the world as a reporter and editor. He worked for The Associated Press in Salt Lake City; New York City; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Buenos Aires, and Washington, D.C. He joined The Oregonian in 1986, from which he has since retired.
Nokes’ assignments for The AP included Chief State Department Correspondent during which he covered trips abroad by Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan. In Puerto Rico, he served as Chief of Caribbean Services, responsible for AP’s Caribbean news and business operations. His news assignments have taken him to more than fifty countries, including three trips to China.
A native of Oregon, Nokes attended Willamette University in Oregon, graduating in 1959. He was awarded a Nieman Fellowship to Harvard University in 1971-1972. He was a contributing author to The Media and Foreign Policy, published by St. Martin’s Press in 1990.
Nokes was interviewed on-camera about the Chinese massacre for the Bill Moyers’ three-part PBS series, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, which aired in 2003. He also wrote an article about the massacre that appeared in the Fall 2006 issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly entitled “A Most Daring Outrage, Murders at Chinese Massacre Cove, 1887.’’ The article won him an honorable mention for the 2007 Joel Palmer Award from the Oregon Historical Society.
At The Oregonian, he worked in various capacities, including reporter, national correspondent, Oregon roving correspondent, and assistant managing editor. It was during Nokes’ work as a roving reporter that he learned of the discovery of hidden documents, which shed new light on the massacre. He retired from the newspaper in 2003 to research and write his book.
Event webpage
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Non Fiction Book Club (November 30 at 6:30pm)
Ed Viesturs , No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks.
No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs is a fascinating book by a Northwestern author and climbing legend. Viesturs has a saying “Getting to the top is optional, getting down is mandatory.” It is a good philosophy for a man who spends time on the peaks of the world’s highest mountains. He is one ... (more)of only 18 people in the world to have summated all 14 mountains above 8000 meters. He has summated Everest 7 times, yes 7 times up and down the world’s highest peak. Viesturs was on Everest, in the killing zone, when the mountain claimed victims in 1996. Annapurna is not a mountain that takes having its peak climbed peacefully. The mountain claims the life of one climber for every two who reach the summit. The odds are not good. K2 is another difficult mountain; it almost captured Viesturs in an avalanche. He has climbed Mr. Rainier 200 times! This man has a few things to say about climbing the world’s tallest mountains.
Event webpage
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Gesine Bullock-Prado to sign her sweet memoir! (December 4 at 7:00pm)
Gesine Bullock-Prado , Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker.
Mouth watering treats will be on hand when Gesine visits to sign and discuss her delightful memoir "Confections of a Closet Master Baker". One woman's journey from unhappy Hollywood executive to contented country (VT) baker.
Event webpage
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Karen Karbo- The Gospel According to Coco Chanel (December 5 at 5:00pm)
Karen Karbo , The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World's Most Elegant Woman.
Karen Karbo takes biography, self help, and inspiration, whirls them up good and comes up with this delightful take on the life and philosophy of Coco Chanel. You could do worse than learning a few lessons from Coco, born in a French poor house, she rose to rule the fashion industry. She was a determined, ... (more)bright woman who did the most with her life. Karen gives us a fresh, interesting look at this maven of the fashion industry and self made woman. Karen will do an event earlier in the day (2:00 PM) on her Minerva Clark series set in Portland Oregon. We are delighted that Karen is going to do these fabulous events with us. Our events are free and are a lot of fun! There will be refreshments and door prizes. Please call, e-mail, or stop to sign up to attend and be entered in the drawings.
Event webpage
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Mystery Book Club (December 14 at 6:30pm)
Agatha Christie , Murder in Mesopotamia.
Dame Agatha’s Murder in Mesopotamia will be the Mystery Book Club’s selection for December.
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Jessica Maxwell - Roll Around Heaven (December 19 at 5:00pm)
Jessica Maxwell , Roll Around Heaven: An All-True Accidental Spiritual Adventure.
December is the perfect month to think a bit more deeply about what we may be celebrating. Reflection can get lost in the glitz and extravaganza of the season. Some of our customers have asked for an event that takes a refreshing look at the spiritual side of life. Jessica Maxwell’s has written books ... (more)on travel, delightful books that make you feel like you are right along on the trip with her, and fly fishing books that even a non-fisherperson can enjoy. Roll Around Heaven is her exploration of the spiritual side of life. Jessica’s take is a bit closer to David James Duncan than a televangelist or stern religious sect. David James Duncan writes in God Laughs and Plays that he finds his God along the streams, riverbeds and in the mountains. I think Jessica finds her spiritual life in some sacred but unusual spaces too, like the Himalayas. I believe she is going to give everyone something to remember at her event. I hope you can take time this Holiday Season to attend and be refreshed. Our events are free and lots of fun. Refreshments will be served and there will be drawings for prizes. Please e-mail, call or stop by Sunriver Books & Music to sign up to attend. (Her picture is taken and provided by Richard A. Herman).
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Fiction Book Club (December 21 at 6:30pm)
Christine Conrad , Mademoiselle Benoir.
Mademoiselle Benoir by Christine Conrad is a lively, light hearted story about a young professor who moves to France and falls for an aristocratic middle aged woman. It is told in the form of letters with a sense of humor and adventure. It should give our Fiction Book Club an entertaining evening.
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Mystery Book Club (January 4 at 6:30pm)
Robert B. Parker , A Catskill Eagle.
Catskill Eagle by Robert Parker features one of the mystery genre’s most beloved detectives, Spencer. The Mystery Book Club should enjoy re-visiting one of the earlier Spencer novels, they are a treat. We have selected one from the series featuring Spencer, Susan and Hawk up to their eyebrows in action.
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Non Fiction Book Club (January 11 at 6:30pm)
Rick Bragg , The Most They Ever Had.
The Most They Ever Had by Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg may just be the most powerful work of a stunningly gifted author. It was number one on our list of the Top Ten Non Fiction books of 2009. Rick Bragg bears witness to the lives of good, hard working people who worked the cotton mill in Jacksonville ... (more)Alabama. He allows them their dignity and price, his words honor their hard work and sacrifice, he gives them the respect they are due. He conveys their essence with power; “You need not use foul language to damn a man here. Just say a day’s work would kill him, and you tore him down to the bald nothing.” We used to value hard work in this country. The people in this book are proud people, folk who take pride in working hard to provide for their families. They don’t expect much, just a roof over their heads, a newer car every once in a while, and maybe a night at the movies. They are not anticipating easy lives or great wealth. Is it too much to expect a safe working environment and a living wage? Apparently it is. Rick Bragg has written a eulogy to the time in America where we built things rather than chased ever faster after the next deal, the easy dollar, and the fastest way to chase the money. Now a company’s parts are worth more than its whole, the jobs can be done cheaper overseas, and Wall Street needs to be kept happy. We have become a nation of financiers. A nation obsessed with flashy ball players paid mega dollars, CEO’s bringing home checks with so many zeroes it will make your head hurt, starlets wearing next to nothing, and reality shows illustrating the decline of our culture. In this era of bigger is better, more, more, more, Rick Bragg has written a book about the lives of hard working, everyday people who hold their dignity close. Rick reminds us of a set of values and a way of life that defined our country far better than the lust for the deal, and fast money culture of late. This book is a powerhouse! The Non Fiction Book Club will have a rich abundance of material for discussion.
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Travel Essay Book Club (January 25 at 6:30pm)
Rosemary Mahoney , Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff.
Travel Essay will contemplate what it would be like for a woman to row down the Nile. Down the Nile by Rosemary Mahoney should provide an interesting trip for discussion.
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Mystery Book Club (February 15 at 6:30pm)
Charles Finch , A Beautiful Blue Death.
A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch is the first in a series featuring Charles Lenox and his butler Graham. If you like mysteries set in the Victorian era, don’t miss this one, The Mystery Book Club will have a fun evening.
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Fiction Book Club (February 22 at 6:30pm)
Janice Y. K. Lee , The Piano Teacher: A Novel.
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee is a stunning debut! Claire led a sheltered life in England, living with her Mum and Dad. Traveling to Hong Kong as a young bride she is taken into a society for which she possesses no map. She is unmoored. Claire married because that was what young women did with ... (more)their lives. Her husband is a pleasant chap, but not terribly exciting. She takes a job teaching the Chen’s daughter to play the piano. Claire meets Will, the Chen’s Anglo chauffer and begins a torrid affair. Slowly she discovers Will’s past. He arrived in Hong Kong before WWII, fell in love with Trudy, a high spirited woman who will always own his heart. The world was their oyster until the Japanese invaded Hong Kong. Will was interred with the rest of the Brits while Trudy did her best to live under Japanese rule. The story alternates time periods, opening piece by piece like the petals of a rose, each layer slowly revealing the past. The controversy and history in this book should easily fill the Fiction Book Club’s discussion.
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Classics Book Club (March 1 at 6:30pm)
Edward Abbey , The Monkey Wrench Gang.
The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey is one of my personal favorites. Ed was an original! Did he really blow up a bulldozer in the building of Glenn Canyon Dam? Who knows? But what I do know is that Ed Abbey could write! Oh man could he write! The Classics Book Club will step onto the roller ... (more)coaster to discuss The Monkey Wrench Gang!
Event webpage
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Erica Bauermeister (March 6 at 5:00pm)
Erica Bauermeister.
We should have an interesting Saturday evening, with two talented authors giving presentations! Erica Bauermeister’s The School of Essential Ingredients is not only a lovely story; it will give you inspiration for your time in the kitchen. Lillian is a maestro of the kitchen, running a successful restaurant ... (more)and cooking school. Her students come to her eager to learn how to make scrumptious dishes, but they each have emotional challenges and needs that reveal themselves as they bond over the comforting endeavor of preparing meals. The preparation and enjoyment of good food is such a visceral, comforting and familiar part of life, it is the perfect avenue for making new friends. You will want to spend time in Lillian’s kitchen. If you liked The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood you will enjoy this heartwarming book too.
Event webpage
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Mystery Book Club (March 8 at 6:30pm)
James Lee Burke , Half of Paradise.
Half of Paradise is James Lee Burke’s first book in the Dave Robicheaux series. Burke’s writing is all about the words, beautiful phrases just keep rolling along the pages. The Mystery Book Club should enjoy this evening.
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Travel Essay Book Club (March 15 at 6:30am)
Andrew X. Pham , Catfish and Mandala.
Catfish & Mandala by Andrew X. Pham is a new sort of trip for the Travel Essay Book Club to discuss. Pham took a bicycle journey, first along the west coast of the US and then to Vietnam, the land of his forefathers. It is a journey he needed to make peace with his heritage.
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Fiction Book Club (March 22 at 6:30pm)
Hillary Jordan , Mudbound.
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan is a searing tale of life in a small southern town right after WWII. It is told from the shifting perspectives of the main characters. Laura resigned herself to being an aunt, not a mother. She lived with her parents in Memphis and enjoyed her job teaching school. Hope for a ... (more)family and home of her own bloomed when her brother’s friend Henry starts to call. She marries Henry and settles into raising a family. Henry doesn’t share his dream for owning a farm with Laura, it comes as a shock when he announces his purchase of a farm in a lonely part of the Mississippi Delta. It is an even worse shock when she is told her racist father in law will be living with them, making her life a misery. Henry is full of land fever, the need to own it, farm it, make it produce. He is not a bad man, but he has the attitudes of a southern man of his time and background. His younger brother Jamie is a charmer, life away fighting in WWII has both damaged him and freed him from the prevailing attitudes of his southern home. Ronsel is the son of tenants on Henry’s farm. He has been away fighting too. It was a shock to be in Europe where the front door was open to him and he did not have to sit in the back of the bus. It is a shock to return to the south where the back door, down cast eyes, and the back of the bus are his lot. Befriending a white man is dangerous. Their lives intersect in tragedy. The Fiction Book Club will have much to discuss.
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Non Fiction Book Club (March 29 at 6:30pm)
Andrew J. Bacevich , The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.
The Limits of Power will give the Non Fiction Book Club plenty to ponder. It should be a good discussion.
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Mystery Book Club (April 5 at 6:30pm)
Alan Bradley.
This has to be one of the most inventive and lively of mystery debuts. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie should provide the Mystery Book Club with an interesting discussion and a lot of fun!
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Fiction Book Club (April 12 at 2:00am)
Denis Johnson , Tree of Smoke: A Novel.
Denis Johnson won the National Book Award for Tree of Smoke, his epic novel of the Vietnam War. The Fiction Book Club will have plenty to discuss.
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Classics Book Club (April 19 at 6:30pm)
Toni Morrison , Song of Solomon.
Song of Solomon by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison will give the Classics Book Club an interesting discussion.
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Past events

Jane Kirkpatrick Quilting Stories (March 7 at 5:00pm)
Jane Kirkpatrick reads from Stitching Stories: The Quilts and Crafts of the Aurora Colony.
CORRECT DATE IS NOVEMBER 29 - LT IS SAVING DATE OF ENTRY.

Jane Kirkpatrick an Oregon author of Historical Fiction. She is writing the stories of the women whose quilts hang in the Aurora Colony museum.
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Classics Book Club - Treasure Island (March 10 at 6:30pm)
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Fiction Book Club - The Lake, the River & the Other Lake (March 17 at 6:30pm)
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Meg Tilly (March 22 at 5:00pm)
Meg Tilly reads from Porcupine.
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Travel Essay Book Club - Little Things in a Big Country: An Artist and her Dog on the Rocky Mountain Front (March 24 at 6:30pm)
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Molly Gloss (April 5 at 5:00pm)
Molly Gloss reads from The Hearts of Horses.
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Non Fiction Book Club - The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (April 7 at 6:30pm)
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Mystery Book Club - The Interpretation of Murder (April 14 at 6:30pm)
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Fiction Book Club - The Space Between Us (April 21 at 6:30pm)
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Pete Strause Cross Country Bike Adventure (April 26 at 5:00pm)
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Classics Book Club-Don Quixote (April 28 at 6:30pm)
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Book Club for Bend Reads - The World to Come (May 5 at 6:30pm)
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Paul Chasman one man show - The Book of Bob (May 10 at 5:00pm)
$10 - Benefit for Newberry Habitat for Humanity
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Mystery Book Club - Death of a Cad (May 12 at 6:30pm)
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Bend Reads - Dara Horn (May 15 at 1:00pm)
Dara Horn reads from The World to Come.
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Fiction Book Club - The March (May 19 at 6:30pm)
Mary Ann Phillips will share family letters from the Civil War
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Jo Dereske (May 24 at 5:00pm)
Jo Dereske reads from Index to Murder.
The latest in the Miss Zukas Mysteries series
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Mystery Book Club (June 9 at 6:30pm)
Tony Hillerman , The Blessing Way.
Going back to the beginning, the mystery book club will discuss the first of Tony Hillerman’s series featuring Joe Leaphorn set on the Navajo reservation. Tony Hillerman is a master, this should be a good discussion
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Interested: Mkarpovage Added by booksense.
Fiction Book Club - The Law of Dreams (June 16 at 6:30pm)
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Book Club Travel Essay (June 23 at 6:30pm)
Dallas Murphy , Rounding The Horn: Being the Story of Williwaws and Windjammers, Drake, Darwin, Murdered Missionaries and Naked Natives.
Rounding the Horn by Dallas Murphy is a wonderful book! Fun to read, full of adventure and you will learn too! Dallas takes a remarkable trip around Cape Horn. Along the way he reminisces about earlier travels in these waters, like Sir Francis Drake. The Travel Essay Book Club will be reading one ... (more)of my favorite travel books and enjoying a rousing good adventure! We should have a grand time discussing this one,
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Jane Kirkpatrick (June 28 at 5:00pm)
Jane Kirkpatrick reads from A Mending at the Edge .
Mending At the Edge concludes the trilogy started with A Clearing In The Wild
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Classics Book Club (June 30 at 4:30pm)
Evelyn Waugh , Brideshead Revisited.
With a new movie based on the book releasing this year, it seemed like a perfect time to revisit Brideshead Revisited. It is set in the years after WWI with Charles Ryder studying at Oxford. His father has provided a generous allowance; an older cousin provides good advice. Instead of putting his ... (more)nose firmly to the grindstone, Charles develops an intense attachment to Sebastian Flyte, son of Lord Marchmain. Sebastian takes his friend to the family home, Brideshead Castle. Charles is agnostic, the Flyte family are devote Roman Catholics. Sebastian’s father did not return to the family after WWI, preferring life in sunny Italy with his mistress. Sebastian’s mother is devoted to her faith and determined to direct the lives of her four children. The Flyte family embraces dysfunctional with religious fervor. Charles life twines in and out of the Flyte family orbit. As the book opens, Charles is in the military in WWII arriving at Brideshead Castle, now used to billet soldiers and officers. Charles had thought he would never see Brideshead again, his involvement with the family set his feet on a path that has taken his life in unexpected directions. Waugh has a biting, sardonic wit; he writes with an undercurrent of sexual tension. Brideshead Revisited was Evelyn Waugh’s tome about faith. It mirrors much of Waugh’s personal life. He attended Oxford, had a close relationship with another student, married the grand-daughter of an Earl (actually two of them), converted to Catholicism, and served in WWII. Waugh was a Captain in the Marines, but having an impatient nature and lacking any common ground with his troops, his superiors feared he might be shot by his own men. He went on to be a commando and was involved in daring missions in Dakar, Libya and Crete. It was during the war that Evelyn Waugh turned his pen to Bridshead Revisited.
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Mystery Book Club (July 14 at 11:00pm)
Matt Beynon Rees , The Bethlehem Murders.
One of the pleasures of reading is to explore distant lands, to live through the characters for a short while in other cultures. For July the Mystery Book Club is heading to the Middle East, to a land held dear and disputed for ancient holly sites. We will be discussing The Collaborator of Bethlehem ... (more)by Matt Beynon Rees
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Craig Johnson (July 20 at 5:00pm)
Craig Johnson on tour for Another Man's Moccasins.
"Another Man’s Moccasins is Craig Johnson's latest book featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire. Craig’s books started out strong and just keep getting better! Another Man’s Moccasins is the best yet! Walt’s past is about to come calling when a dead Vietnamese girl is found in a roadside ditch. ... (more)Why does she have Walt’s picture in her purse? Henry Standing Bear, Santiago and Vic are all involved and lively as ever. I love the way Craig manages to create intricate plots, beautiful prose, and season the story with humor. He puts on a wonderful event too! Do not miss seeing this fabulous author in person, I promise a good time."
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Fiction Book Club - Consequences by Penelope Lively (July 21 at 6:30pm)
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Lisa Lutz (July 26 at 5:00pm)
Lisa Lutz reads from The Spellman Files .
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Little Bookworms Vampire Ball (August 1 at 10:00pm)
Stephenie Meyer , Breaking Dawn.
Little Bookworms Vampire Ball: Breaking Dawn Release PartyFriday, August 1st from 10 p.m. until midnight Breaking Dawn will be released at 12:01 a.m.
The wait is almost over . . . Join Little Bookworms for an amazing vampire ball to celebrate the midnight release of the final installment in Stephenie ... (more)Meyer’s Twilight Saga. Come in prom attire (if you want) for an unforgettable party — music, dancing, refreshments, trivia contests, photos and activities. Admission is one pre-order of Breaking Dawn ($22.99) per family. Call, visit, or pre-order right now online. If you order online we will send your voucher in the mail. Vouchers will be checked at the entrance. Don’t miss this unforgettable event – pre-order your book today!
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Non Fiction Book Club (August 4 at 6:30pm)
Michael Pollan , The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan has been all over the best seller list. The Non Fiction Book Club is going to see what Pollan has to say about the way we eat. If you think beef just appears shrink wrapped in the local store, you might have gotten too far away from the source of your food. ... (more)It may be time to take stock of the way you approach food. This book has had fabulous reviews, lets see if the Book Club agrees,
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Arlene Sachitano Quilt as Desired (August 9 at 5:00pm)
Arlene Sachitano , Quilt as Desired.
Sunriver is enthusiastically celebrating Quilts with our annual Quilt show. Sunriver Books & Music thought this would be a fine time to hear from Arlene about her delightful Pacific Northwestern mystery series featuring a quilting sleuth. Quilt as Desired is a lively, romp of a book with lots of quilting ... (more)detail and likeable characters. It should be the perfect way to end a day of viewing all the beautiful quilts on display at Sunriver’s Annual Quilt Show. Join us to hear from Arlene! We would greatly appreciate an e-mail or phone call if you plan to attend. It helps us make sure we have the right number of chairs and refreshments on hand
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Mystery Book Club (August 11 at 6:30pm)
Earlene Fowler , The Saddlemaker's Wife (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries).
Earlene Fowler writes a delightful mystery series full of quilting detail. Sunriver puts on a wing-ding quilt show in August; we thought it would be a good month to read an Earline Fowler book. Instead of reading one of her quilting series, we are discussing her new book, The Saddlemaker’s Wife, ... (more)for this month’s Mystery Book Club selection.
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Fiction Book Club Ines of My Soul (August 18 at 6:30pm)
Isabel Allende , Ines of My Soul: A Novel.
Isabel Allende writes beautiful, lyrical, moving books. Her latest is Ines of My Soul is Historical Fiction set in the time of the Spanish Conquistadors. Moving from Spain to Chile and Peru, it is the story of a remarkable woman.
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Travel Essay Book Club (August 25 at 6:30pm)
Michael Pollan , The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.
My Invented Country by Isabel Allende is the story of two countries, Chile and the United States. Isabel went into exile when her uncle was assassinated. She realized the United States was now her home on 9/11. The Book Club should have an interesting evening discussing the landscapes of this fasinating ... (more)woman’s life.
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TNBC - The Post-Birthday World (August 28 at 7:00pm)
Lionel Shriver , The Post-Birthday World.
Safe or sexy? OK - that's a bit of a simplification of the novel, but haven't we always wondered about that decision we didn't make. How would our lives be different? Would it be better or worse? Lionel Shriver has laid out both scenarios and has come up with a fantastic read. As always, ... (more)the group is open to all comers.
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Nena Baker discusses and signs The Body Toxic (September 4 at 7:00pm)
Nena Baker , The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being.
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.
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Fiction Book Club (September 8 at 6:30pm)
Marisha Pessl , Special Topics in Calamity Physics.
Fiction Book Club Selection for September is Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Martha Pessl. This imaginative book should provide a lively discussion.
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Alan Alda discusses and signs Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (September 17 at 7:00pm)
Alan Alda.
DIESEL, A Bookstore is proud to say that former M*A*S*H star, Alan Alda, will be kicking off our event series at the new Brentwood store!! He'll be joining us to share more from his bestselling memoir, THINGS I OVERHEARD WHILE TALKING TO MYSELF, a book that is candid, wise, and as questioning as it ... (more)is inclusive. In it, Alda amuses and moves readers with his unique and hilarious meditations on questions great and small. Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself is another superb Alan Alda performance, as inspiring and entertaining as the man himself.

2006 honors include his 32nd Emmy nomination and winning his sixth Emmy (!) for his appearance on West Wing (Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series) as well as the National Science Board’s Public Service Award, and his induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He has earned international recognition as an actor, writer and director. In addition to The Aviator, films include Crimes and Misdemeanors, Everyone Says I Love You, Flirting With Disaster, Manhattan Murder Mystery, And The Band Played On, Same Time, Next Year and California Suite, as well as The Seduction of Joe Tynan, which he wrote, and also The Four Seasons, Sweet Liberty, A New Life, and Betsy’s Wedding, all of which he wrote and directed.

** Please note that this event will take place in the outdoor courtyard of the new DIESEL, A Bookstore in Brentwood, located at 225 W. 26th St.

For more information, please email events@dieselbookstore.com, or call (310) 456-9961.
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Irvine Welsh discusses and signs CRIME (September 21 at 3:00pm)
Irvine Welsh , Crime: A Novel.
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.
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Mystery Book Club (September 22 at 6:30pm)
Michael Chabon , The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
What if the Jewish homeland was in Sitka Alaska? Now imagine it only had a fifty year right to the land, throw in a murder and you have a hint of The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon. We should have a lively discussion for the Mystery Book Club this month!
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Ghosts walk with Marianne O'Connor. (September 27 at 11:00am)
Marianne O\'connor , Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire.
Why settle for ghost stories around the campfire when you can go to the actual places? Come meet Marianne O'Connor, author of "Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire" and find out about the spirits that inhabit our area. Easy hikes with clear directions and plenty of history will get the curious up and ... (more)outside to explore the paranormal, or simply enjoy a fabulous fall day!
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Classics Book Club (September 29 at 6:30pm)
E.M. Forster , A Passage to India.
Book Club’s month of India begins with one of my personal favorites, A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. Set during the days of the British Raj, it deftly explores the difference between natives and British. Could friendship between the two classes flourish? Or was it futile to even hope for ... (more)fairness?
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Stuart Woods Q & A and Signing (October 2 at 2:00pm)
Stuart Woods , Hot Mahogany.
Stuart Wood's new thriller, Hot Mahogany is the latest in the Stone Barrington series. This is an exciting opportunity to meet this master novelist. He has now had twenty-three straight bestsellers on the New York Times hardcover list.
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Diana Abu-Jaber (October 4 at 5:00pm)
Diana Abu-Jaber reads from Origin.
THIS IS WRONG! CORRECT DATE IS OCTOBER 4! DEFAULTS TO CURRENT DATE UPON SAVING!
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Travel Essay Book Club (October 6 at 4:30pm)
William Dalrymple , City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi.
As part of the Book Club's month of India we will read City of Djinns by William Dalrymple.
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Travel Essay Book Club (October 6 at 6:30pm)
William Dalrymple , City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi.
As part of the Book Club's month of India we will read City of Djinns by William Dalrymple.
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Mystery Book Club (October 13 at 6:30pm)
Paul Mann , Season of the Monsoon (George Sansi Mystery).
Paul Mann writes intelligent mysteries set in India, seasoned with irony and humor. Season of the Monsson is our Mystery Book Club selection for our Book Club’s month of India!
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Why does it smell like french fries when Greg Melville drives by? (October 14 at 12:00pm)
Greg Melville , Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future.
Around Noonish we will be treated to a drive-by from Greg Melville, author of "Greasy Rider", the true story of his quest to convert his Mercedes into a 'green' fry oil burning car and be the first person to make it from the coast to coast without using gas. Joined by his college buddy Iggy, we watch ... (more)in Bill Bryson-like fascination as the two convert the car and head out with nary a clue as to direction or where to obtain grease once on the road. Brian really enjoyed this epic tale of man vs nature and learned a lot along the way. Come see the car!
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Fiction Book Club (October 27 at 6:30pm)
Salman Rushdie , The Enchantress of Florence.
As part of our Month of India, the Fiction Book Cub will have the pleasure of discussing Salmon Rushdie’s Enchantress of Florence.
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Mystery Book Club (November 3 at 6:30pm)
Matthew Pearl , The Dante Club.
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl will take the Mystery Book Club back to 1865 for a series of murders based on Dante’s Inferno. This intelligent, well written mystery should have plenty dark turns to discus..
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Fiction Book Club (November 10 at 6:30pm)
Colm Toibin , The Master: A Novel.
The Fiction and Classics Book Clubs are reading related books this month. The Fiction selection is The Master by Colm Toibin, based on the life of Henry James. The Classics Book Club will read The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James on November 17.
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Classics Book Club (November 17 at 4:30pm)
Henry James , Portrait of a Lady.
In November the Fiction Book Club and the Classics Book Club are reading related books. The Fiction Book Club is reading The Master by Colm Toibin, a fictional version of the life of Henry James. The Classics Book Club will read a work by the master, The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.
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Classics Book Club (November 17 at 6:30pm)
Henry James , Portrait of a Lady.
In November the Fiction Book Club and the Classics Book Club are reading related books. The Fiction Book Club is reading The Master by Colm Toibin, a fictional version of the life of Henry James. The Classics Book Club will read a work by the master, The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.
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Travel Essay Book Club (November 24 at 6:30pm)
Tony Horwitz , Blue Latitudes.
We will join Tony Horwitz following the path of Captain Cook in Blue Latitudes. Should be fun!
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Mystery Book Club (December 1 at 6:30pm)
Dolores Stewart Riccio , The Divine Circle Of Ladies Making Mischief.
Holiday Seasons should be a time for fun! The Mystery Book Club decided to read something light and lively but with a twist. The Divine Circle of Ladies Making Mischief by Delores Stewart Riccio is set in Plymouth Massachusetts. Five good friends, women of a certain age, volunteer at the local no-kill ... (more)animal shelter, run their business, and have good times together. Oh, and by the way, the five are witches. Good witches who get involved up to their eyebrows in solving crime. .
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Fiction Book Club-Christmas at Fairacres (December 8 at 6:30pm)
Miss Read , Christmas at Fairacre.
The Fiction Book Club will spend a gentle evening discussing village life at Christmas in Miss Read’s lovely Christmas at Fairacres.
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Mystery Book Club-The Persian Pickle Club (January 5 at 6:30pm)
Sandra Dallas , The Persian Pickle Club.
The Mystery Book club should have a good time with this month’s selection. The Persian Pickle Club is set in Kansas during the 1930’s, a hard time when the land turned to dust, farmers went bust and people lost everything. Drifters haunt the roads hoping to find work. Queenie is a young wife in a ... (more)farming community. Her husband Grover manages to hold onto his farm but each day he scans the unforgiving hot blue sky, hoping to see a hint of rain. It is a vain hope; the heat and dust are endless. Queenie is the youngest of her quilting group, the Pickles. She is delighted when Tom’s wife Rita joins the Pickles. Rita is about Queenie’s age, and their husbands are best friends. Queenie is certain Rita will become her best friend too; it will be nice to have a friend near her age. The book is about the strength of friendship and the strong ties of a group of women. How far would you go to help a friend?
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Travel Essay Bookclub- A Year in Provence (January 12 at 6:30pm)
Peter Mayle , A Year in Provence.
Travel Essay should be fun! Peter Mayle gives us a good time describing with humor his move to Provence where he remodels an old farmhouse and settles in to the community. We should have a nice evening discussing this lively book.
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Oakland Book Group #1 meets & discusses Call Me By Your Name (January 13 at 7:00pm)
André Aciman , Call Me by Your Name: A Novel.
The Oakland Book Group #1 meets and discusses Call Me By Your Name. This event is open to the public and free to attend. Books will be available for purchase at the store.
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Malibu Book Group meets & discusses Out Stealing Horses (January 14 at 7:00pm)
Per Petterson , Out Stealing Horses.
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.
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Ashley MachEachern author of Lance In France (January 17 at 1:00pm)
Ashley Maceachern , Lance in France.
Finding a more inspirational hero than Lance Armstrong would not be easy! He set the world on fire with his amazing series of wins on the Tour de France. Ashley MacEachern has brought his story to vibrant life on the pages of her new book. It is chock full of zesty, brilliant illustrations and comes ... (more)with a picture of Lance. Ashley will give a presentation on Friday at Three Rivers School followed by a Saturday 1:00 PM event at Sunriver Books & Music. We will have treats and door prizes too! Be sure to bring the whole family to hear Ashley MacEachern’s presentation on her fabulous book, Lance in France! Ashley's photo is courtesy of James WilderHancock
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Fiction Book Club- The Hearts of Horses (January 19 at 6:30pm)
Molly Gloss , The Hearts of Horses.
Fiction Book Club should have an interesting time this month. Molly Gloss will speak about her book on Saturday the 17th of January, giving everyone the chance to hear this very talented author’s perspective on her book. Molly is not scheduled to be with us for book club, we are grateful for her Saturday ... (more)appearance. The Hearts of Horses is a wonderful story. Martha is more comfortable around horses than people. With the men off fighting in WWI she is able to find work in a small Eastern Oregon ranching community breaking young horses. As she teaches the horses what they need to know in life, she gets to know the people and becomes a part of the community.
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee discusses & signs Renegade for Peace and Justice (February 1 at 3:00pm)
Barbara Lee.
DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to welcome Congresswoman Barbara Lee as she discusses and signs her book, Renegade for Peace and Justice. ABOUT THE BOOK:
Barbara Lee's willingness to stand on principle earned her unsolicited international attention when she was the only member of Congress to ... (more)vote against a resolution giving President George Bush virtually unlimited authority to wage war against nations he personally deemed capable of terrorism. Some praised her vote as heroic and inspirational, others called for her death. But this was not her only profile in courage. In addition to being one of Congress' most vocal opponents to the war in Iraq, Lee has been a leader in promoting policies that foster international peace, security, and human rights. Her principled stands include disavowing the doctrine of preemptive war, offering legislation to create a cabinet level Department of Peace, and leading the bipartisan effort in Congress to end the ongoing genocide in the Darfur. But this autobiography is about more than politics. In this candid and self-effacing book, Lee chronicles the challenges she overcame to break the cycle of multi-generational domestic violence, and her rise from being a young, single mother of two to being one of the most progressive, respected voices in Congress. Renegade for Peace and Justice dispels the myth that all members of Congress have led gilded, charmed lives. In this book you'll learn about the work of Congress in the days that followed September 11, 2001, and you'll also be inspired by the story of an African American woman, who rose from segregation and public assistance to become a member of Congress with a deep commitment to peace and improving the lives of the underprivileged.
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The Longevity Factor with Neurosurgeon and Author Dr. Joseph Maroon (February 4 at 7:00pm)
Joseph Maroon , The Longevity Factor: How Resveratrol and Red Wine Activate Genes for a Longer and Healthier Life.
Neurosurgeon and author Dr. Joseph Maroon will be appearing at the Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley, PA to discuss his new book "The Longevity Factor: How Resveratrol and Red Wine Activate Genes for a Longer and Healthier Life". According to Dr. Maroon, Resveratrol, which forms on the skin of red grapes ... (more)during the winemaking process, has the same effect on the body that consuming 60 percent fewer calories a day would have on an individual. In the Longevity Factor, Dr. Maroon discusses how Resveratrol protects against disease, including the common cold and protects against stroke, cancer and heart disease. Dr. Maroon is a practicing neurosurgeon with the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, a member of Team Neurosurgeon with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Senior Vice President of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Doctor Maroon has maintained his athletic interest by competing in over 60 triathlons.
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Mystery Book Club-Murder on the Iditarod (February 9 at 6:30pm)
Sue Henry , Murder on the Iditarod Trail.
February is Iditarod month. What better way for the Mystery Book Club to celebrate than discussing Sue Henry’s Murder on the Iditarod?
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Fiction Book Club-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (February 16 at 6:30pm)
Mary Ann Shaffer , The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
There is only one drawback to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, you will not want it to end. The Fiction Book Club should have fun discussing this delightful book!
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Classics Book Club- Gone with the Wind (February 23 at 6:30pm)
Margaret Mitchell , Gone With the Wind.
Our Classics Book Club is savoring an American classic, Pulitzer Prize winning Gone with the Wind. With its Civil War setting and grand passions, we should have plenty to discuss.
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Karen Mack & Jennifer Kaufman discuss and sign A Version of the Truth (February 25 at 7:00pm)
Jennifer Kaufman , A Version of the Truth.
DIESEL, A Bookstore in Brentwood invites you to join us for a discussion and signing by local authors, Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman (authors of the bestselling Literacy and Longing in L.A.) as they join us for the paperback edition of their delightful new novel, A VERSION OF THE TRUTH. It's a lyrical, ... (more)wise, and mesmerizing story about love, learning, friendship, rare birds and other forces of nature. Set in the wilds of Topanga Canyon, the story is narrated by Cassie Shaw, a nature lover with innate intelligence and charm who reinvents herself with unexpected consequences. The result? An honest, funny and uplifting novel--a modern, provocative twist on the theme of appearance versus reality and the resulting mysteries, difficulties and disadvantages of telling the truth.
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Thor Hanson- The Impenetrable Forest (February 28 at 5:00pm)
Thor Hanson , The Impenetrable Forest.
How many people do you know who have volunteered in the Peace Corps and worked with endangered Mountain Gorillas? Take this opportunity to hear Thor Hanson. He spent time in Uganda as a Peace Corps volunteer where he used his scientific background to help improve Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s ... (more)program to save their imperiled Mountain Gorillas. Thor has written a fascinating book. It is chock a block full of interesting stories, from his exposure to the culture of Uganda, to the beauty of Africa, and the plight of the Mountain Gorilla. Thor has promised lots of slides, we should have a fabulous evening! Please e-mail, call, or stop by to sign up. The event is free with refreshments and drawings for prizes.
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Mystery Book Club- Death at La Fenice (March 2 at 6:30pm)
Donna Leon , Death at La Fenice.
Come spend an evening in Venice with Donna Leon’s Death at La Fenice. The Mystery Book Club will be escaping our Central Oregon winter for the passion of Venice. It should be fun.
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Thor Hanson- The Impenetrable Forest (March 7 at 5:00pm)
Thor Hanson , The Impenetrable Forest.
How many people do you know who have volunteered in the Peace Corps and worked with endangered Mountain Gorillas? Take this opportunity to hear Thor Hanson. He spent time in Uganda as a Peace Corps volunteer where he used his scientific background to help improve Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s ... (more)program to save their imperiled Mountain Gorillas. Thor has written a fascinating book. It is chock a block full of interesting stories, from his exposure to the culture of Uganda, to the beauty of Africa, and the plight of the Mountain Gorilla. Thor has promised lots of slides, we should have a fabulous evening! Please e-mail, call, or stop by to sign up. The event is free with refreshments and drawings for prizes.
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Thor Hanson leads Travel Essay Book Club on The Impenetrable Forest (March 9 at 6:30pm)
Thor Hanson , The Impenetrable Forest.
After attending Thor Hanson’s Saturday slid show and speech, we should be inspired for this book club meeting! Thor will lead the discussion of his book, The Impenetrable Forest. His time working as a Peace Corp Volunteer helping the Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable national Park will give ... (more)us a fascinating topic for discussion. Blending into a new life and culture in Uganda provided Thor with a life time of interesting stories. It will be great fun to discuss this book with the author.
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Diane Hammond leads Fiction Book Club- Hannah's Dream (March 16 at 6:30pm)
Diane Coplin Hammond , Hannah's Dream: A Novel.
Author Diane Hammond will lead the discussion of Hannah’s Dream. Can a man and an elephant share a dream? Sam has been Hannah’s keeper for over forty years. He knows standing on cement floors, living alone in a zoo enclosure is taking a toll on Hannah. He also knows he will have to retire soon, ... (more)then what will happen to Hannah? Can dreams come true? Maybe. Join us for the author led discussion of this lovely book.
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Wild Bird Rehabber Suzie Gilbert with her memoir, Flyaway (March 29 at 2:00pm)
Suzie Gilbert , Flyaway: How A Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings.
Suzie Gilbert tells the story of how she turned her family life upside down to pursue her unusual passion for rehabilitating wild birds.
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Non Fiction Book Club- Stubborn Twig (March 30 at 6:30pm)
Lauren Kessler , Stubborn Twig: Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese American Family.
Stubborn Twig by Lauren Kessler is a uniquely Oregon story. It is also a sad chapter in American History. The Yasui family lived the immigrant’s dream until WWII’s racial policies landed them in an internment camp. Yet they persevered to make their dream a reality. It is this year’s selection for ... (more)Bend’s Novel Idea and the statewide Oregon Reads book. The Non Fiction Book Club should have a great time discussing this important book.
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Mystery Book Club- The Last Kashmiri Rose (April 6 at 6:30pm)
Barbara Cleverly , The Last Kashmiri Rose.
Barbara Cleverly’s inspiration for her delightful series was her husband’s great uncle Brigadier Harry Sandilands. He left them a trunk chock full of letters and diaries from India with detail of life in the British Raj after WWI. The Mystery Book Club should have a good time discussing The Last ... (more)Kashmiri Rose.
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Fiction Book Club- Dreamers of the Day (April 13 at 6:30pm)
Mary Doria Russell.
The Fiction Book Club will discuss Dreamer’s of the Day by Mary Doria Russell. Agnes’s Mum assured her she was too plain to attract a husband, she better train as a teacher. When Agnes finds herself alone, she uses her modest inheritance to head for Egypt accompanied by her Dachshund. She arrives ... (more)just in time to be in the thick of things with Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill. You go girl! We should have fun discussing this one.
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Kathy Ireland discusses and signs Real Solutions for Busy Moms (April 15 at 7:00pm)
Kathy Ireland , Real Solutions for Busy Moms: Your Guide to Success and Sanity.
Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood is pleased to welcome Kathy Ireland to the store to discuss and sign her new book Real Solutions for Busy Moms: Your Guide to Success and Sanity. This event is free and everyone is encouraged to attend!About the Book:Kathy Ireland communicates with moms every day: online, ... (more)at the grocery store, at church, at speaking engagements, and on her company website. She is grateful that her conversations don't center around beauty tips or requests for autographs or advice on how to dress. Rather, she has the honor of hearing from real women who struggle with balancing the responsibilities of marriage, raising children, managing a household or career or both, and finding any time left to take care of themselves.As the involved mom of three very active children, the supportive wife of an emergency room doctor, and a dynamic businesswoman, Kathy knows of these struggles firsthand. She credits her strong faith in God and her parents' love and support for any success she has today and dedicates her days to finding the solutions that can make life easier for busy moms in all phases of life. As she tackles the tough financial concerns families feel today and many other issues, Kathy offers empathy and encouragement. She shares stories from her own life and wisdom she has gained through her years from teenager with a paper route to successful supermodel to mom to entrepreneur with a dream for big business.About the Author:
Supermodel turned supermom and entrepreneur, Kathy Ireland lives in Santa Barbara where she is a supportive wife to her doctor husband, and mother of three children.
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Jennie Shortridge- Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe (April 18 at 5:00pm)
Jennie Shortridge , Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe.
Jennie Shortridge set Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe in the northwest. She writes with verve and humor as her character, Mira, becomes a mite unhinged over a bump in the marital road. No matter, it gives us a good story to read as Mira sorts our love, life, and priorities. Please join ... (more)us to hear Jennie Shortridge, it will be a fun evening!
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Classics Book Club- The Painted Veil (April 20 at 6:30pm)
W. Somerset Maugham , The Painted Veil.
Somerset Maugham’s writing is luminous. The Painted Veil takes us into the heart of a woman who makes some bad choices, haven’t we all. Join the Classics book club for an interesting discussion.
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John Pedersen reads and discusses his first novel, Scroll and Curl (April 26 at 3:00pm)
John Pedersen.
Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present local author, Marin resident and 2007 banjo champ John Pedersen, as he discusses and signs his first novel, Scroll and Curl. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!About the Book:
When the old time string band "Sweet Evening ... (more)Breeze" leaves Saratoga Springs, New
York on their two week tour of the east coast, fiddler Dan Munroe thinks that his only
headache will be controlling his band-mates tendencies for excess. That is until he
buys a unique fiddle at a sidewalk sale in New York and hears the story of the previous
owner’s entanglement with the underworld of the 1930's. After he gets the special fiddle
appraised by a reclusive dealer in Pennsylvania, dangerous and mysterious forces suddenly curl
and swirl through his life.About the Author:
As the grandson of a noted Heldeberg Mountain fiddler and a master luthier, John Pedersen portrays the touring string band life based on
hard-won first-hand knowledge about the shifting nature of relationships and the
dynamics of people on the road whose main connection to each other is the music.
Also, running a retail music store, doing repairs and buying and selling rare instruments
have given him insight into the eclectic and occasionally bizarre world of instrument
buyers and collectors and their motivations. The patrons of the store, run by John and his
wife, range from limos full of rock stars to the lowliest of street people and everyone in
between. As a musician John has won many fiddle contests, playing in the “old time”
style, as well as the California State Old Time Banjo championships in 2007.
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Non Fiction Book Club (April 27 at 6:30pm)
Barack Obama , Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.
President Obama has a far more varied background that our previous presidents. He has lived in Indonesia, spent time in Africa, and worked to help the poor as an organizer in Illinois. Read about this remarkable man’s background in his own words than join us for a lively discussion.
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Poetry Flash featuring Carol Moldaw, Julia B. Levine and Ruth L. Schwartz (May 3 at 3:00pm)
Carol Moldaw , The Widening.
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!About the Poets:Carol Moldaw's new book, The Widening, calls itself a "lyric novel" and ... (more)is written throughout in numbered, prose poem-size sections. Rikki Ducornet says of it, "In this irresistible evocation of an erotic life, Carol Moldaw's juvenile lead - impetuous, unbridled, unexpectedly funny and self-deceiving - is always wildly interesting. I dearly love this book." Carol Moldaw has published four books of poetry, including The Lightning Field, which won the 2002 FIELD Poetry Prize. Among her honors are a Lannan Foundation Marfa Writer's Residency, a Pushcart Prize, and an NEA Fellowship.
Julia B. Levine's new book is Ditch-tender. Dennis Schmitz calls it "a book of longings and healings. Julia Levine doesn't conjure as much as coax the magic to happen by itself. The poems lift and move us in currents-shifts, insinuations and splendid runs, delicate textures, depths." Among her other honors are a Discovery/The Nation Award for Emerging New Writers and the Pablo Neruda Prize. Her previous books include Practicing for Heaven, winner of the 1998 Anhinga Prize for Poetry, and Ask, winner of the 2002 Tampa Review Prize for Poetry.Ruth L. Schwartz has published three books of poetry: Edgewater, selected by Jane Hirshfield for the National Poetry Series 2001; Singular Bodies, winner of the 2000 Anhinga Prize for Poetry; Accordion Breathing and Dancing, winner of the 1994 Associated Writing Programs Award. She's also published a book of memoir, Death in Reverse: A Love Story. She has won over a dozen national literary prizes, including two Nimrod/Pablo Neruda Awards, New Letters Prize in Poetry, and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Jane Hirshfield says of Edgewater, "Ruth L. Schwartz writes with consummate passion, precision, and honesty of the raw hungers that give rise to the world she grapples with her twofold, central question: How can we love fully, open-eyed and open-hearted amid all the flaws and beauty, each other and the world? How could we not?
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Mystery Book Club (May 4 at 6:30pm)
Jacqueline Winspear , Maisie Dobbs.
Maisie Dobbs your go girl! The Mystery Book Club will discuss Maisie Dobbs, the first in this wonderful series.
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Jennifer Riggs Vetter reads and signs Down By the Station (May 6 at 7:00pm)
Jennifer Vetter.
Rockridge resident, mother, former children's book editor and longtime Diesel customer Jennifer Riggs Vetter reads, discusses and signs her debut picturebook, Down By the Station. Come cheer her on!! Down by the depot, early in the morning
See the yellow school buses all in a row
See the school bus driver ... (more)warming up the engine
Vroom vroom beep beep! Off we go! Jennifer Riggs Vetter is a former children's book editor who has always loved to read. She lives with her husband and two sons in Oakland, California. This is her first book.
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Fiction Book Club (May 11 at 6:30pm)
Gail Tsukiyama , The Street of a Thousand Blossoms.
Street of a Thousand Blossoms should give the Fiction Book Club abundant material for discussion.
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Siddharth Kara discusses and signs Sex Trafficking (May 13 at 7:00pm)
Siddharth Kara , Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery.
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.
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Travel Essay Book Club (May 18 at 6:30pm)
Timothy Egan , Lasso the Wind: Away to the New West.
Travel Essay will take a trip around the west discussing Lasso the Wind by Timothy Egan.
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Norm Sperling discusses and signs This Book Warps Space & Time (May 20 at 7:00pm)
Norman Sperling , This Book Warps Space and Time: Selections from The Journal of Irreproducible Results.
Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is excited to host an evening with Norm Sperling, editor of The Journal of Irreproducible Results, as he discuss and inscribes JIR's new anthology, This Book Warps Space and Time. This event is free and will be a total blast, so you should stop by!Here's the Editor in his ... (more)own words:
Hi! I'm Norm Sperling, the editor since 2004. I've subscribed to JIR since the 1970s. I was assistant editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, and Science Editor of AltaVista.com. I teach astronomy in universities around San Francisco, wrote the book What Your Astronomy Textbook Won't Tell You, and co-designed Edmund Scientific's Astroscan telescope. The Journal of Irreproducible Results is a science humor magazine and the new anthology, This Book Warps Space and Time, is a fast-paced frolic of humorous and quirky tidbits in science, math, academe, bureaucracy, and witty wordplay. More than 250 entries ponder and pun the practical and peculiar. JIR targets hypocrisy, arrogance, and ostentatious sesquipedalian circumlocution. JIR is a friendly escape from the harsh and the hassle. JIR makes you feel good
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Susan Kuchinskas discusses and signs The Chemistry of Connection (May 27 at 7:00pm)
Susan Kuchinskas.
Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present local author Susan Kuchinskas as she discusses and signs her book, The Chemistry of Connection. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.About the Author:
Susan Kuchinskas was fascinated when she first read about oxytocin, because ... (more)it offered an explanation for her own difficult path to love and connection. As a journalist covering technology, science and culture, her work has appeared in a wide variety of publications from Art & Antiques to Time to Oakland Magazine and the East Bay Express. She writes the Mind Matters column for WebMD Magazine. She lives in Berkeley with her mate of 13 years, a rescue dog and a frog. She's an organic gardener and beekeeper, and loves getting her hands dirty. She blogs about oxytocin here.About the Book:When you make love, cuddle with a partner, or have coffee with close friends, a powerful brain chemical called oxytocin floods your body with feelings of contentment and trust. This natural "love drug," produced by the hypothalamus, is responsible for human bonding in both platonic and intimate relationships, and is the key to many of the psychological differences between men and women. In The Chemistry of Connection, you'll learn easy ways to increase your natural supply of oxytocin to establish deeper connections with family, friends, and romantic partners. You'll discover: The power of the "cuddle hormone" in relationships How sex and love are deeply entwined for both women and men The chemical differences between lust, romance, and love How to raise children who trust and love in a healthy way.
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Mystery Book Club (June 1 at 6:30pm)
Robert Goddard , Past Caring.
Robert Goddard is an incredibly varied mystery author who writes with elegant prose and involved plots. The mystery book club should have an intriguing discussion.
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Book Group #3 discusses The Brooklyn Follies (June 10 at 7:00pm)
Paul Auster , The Brooklyn Follies.
Book Group #3 meets to discuss Paul Auster's The Brooklyn Follies. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!
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Cheryl Wagner discusses and signs Plenty Enough Suck to Go Around (June 11 at 7:00pm)
Cheryl Wagner , Plenty Enough Suck to Go Around.
Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is excited to present NPR's This American Life contributor Cheryl Wagner to the store to discuss and sign her new memoir about returning home to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Plenty Enough Suck to Go Around.The cliché "New Orleans gets into people's blood" happens ... (more)to be very true - just not always convenient. For Cheryl Wagner (along with her indie-band boyfriend, a few eccentric pals, some ne'er-do-wells, and two aging basset hounds) abandoning the city she loved wasn't an option.Plenty Enough Suck to Go Around is the story of Cheryl's disturbing surprise view from her front porch after she moved back home to find everything she treasured in shambles...and her determined, absurd, and darkly funny three-year journey of trying to piece it all back together again.
In the same heartfelt and hilarious voice that has drawn thousands of listeners to her broadcasts on public radio's This American Life, Wagner shares her unique yet universal story of rebuilding a life after it's flooded, dried, and died...and then the copper thieves moved in...
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Marc Fitten - Valeria's Last Stand (June 13 at 5:00pm)
Marc Fitten , Valeria's Last Stand: A Novel.
Marc Fitten has written a delightful romp of a book! We are looking forward to having Marc’s event. Anyone who could write a book filled with such joy, humor, and sheer fun has got to be wildly interesting. Join us for a fun evening. There will be refreshments and drawings for prizes
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Classics Book Club (June 15 at 6:30pm)
E. Œ. Somerville , Some Experiences of an Irish R.M..
If you look on Best Books ever on our web-site, you will see that the Classic’s Book Club selection for this month is one of Deon’s favorite books. This month is going to be a real treat!
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Non Fiction Book Club (June 22 at 6:30pm)
Laurence Bergreen , Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu.
Marco Polo covered a lot of ground; he will give the Non Fiction Book Club a rich topic for discussion.
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Richard Engeman- author of The Oregon Companion (June 27 at 5:00pm)
Richard H. Engeman.
Richard Engeman was the public historian for the Oregon Historical Society; he knows a few unusual facts about our fascinating state. He will be with us to give a presentation on his new book, The Oregon Companion. It is the perfect companion for anyone traveling around our state, or just interested ... (more)in our history. It should be a fascinating evening!
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Mystery Book Club (July 6 at 6:30pm)
Laurie R. King , The Beekeeper's Apprentice.
Sherlock Holmes is in for some surprises when he meets Mary Russell in his golden years. The Mystery Book Club should have fun with this discussion.
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Fiction Book Club (July 13 at 6:30pm)
Stef Penney , The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel.
What would a mother do to protect her grown son? The Fiction Book Club should have an interesting discussion.
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Travel Essay Book Club (July 20 at 6:30pm)
Tony Cohan , On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel.
Have you ever considered living south of the border? The Travel Essay will investigate life in Mexico!
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Stephanie Duckworth-Elliott signs her novel for middle school readers. (July 25 at 1:00pm)
Stephanie Duckworth-Elliott , PONEASEQUA, Goddess of the Waters.
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.
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Non Fiction Book Club (July 27 at 6:30pm)
T. J. English.
Revolution, the mob, sandy beaches, hot music, the Non Fiction Book club should stay busy with this selection! Viva Cuba!
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Jamie Ford author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet (July 29 at 5:00pm)
Jamie Ford , Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel.
Jamie Ford is surprising us with a July visit to Sunriver Books & Music. We loved his book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and are grateful he has graciously agreed to a presentation for our readers. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is set in Seattle. We hope you are able to join us ... (more)to hear Jamie speak about this moving, heartwarming, complex story.
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Poetry Flash with Lucille Lang Day & Roz Spafford (August 2 at 3:00pm)
Lucille Lang Day.
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.
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Fiction Book Club (August 10 at 6:30pm)
Michael C. White , Soul Catcher.
We should have an interesting discussion, going back to a time when people could be viewed as property.
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Eats, Knits & Leaves (August 10 at 7:00pm)
Kate Jacobs , Knit Two.
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.
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Classics Book Club (August 17 at 6:30pm)
Wallace Stegner , Angle of Repose.
Stegner’s writing is simply beautiful! The Classics Book Club should enjoy this month’s selection.
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Book Group #1 discusses The Secret Agent (August 18 at 7:00pm)
Joseph Conrad , The Secret Agent.
Book Group #1 meets to discuss Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.
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Non Fiction Book Club (August 24 at 6:30pm)
Andrew X. Pham.
Viet Nam is central to a chapter in US history that caused great pain and division in our country. Our involvement in Viet Nam also had repercussions for the Vietnamese. Tonight the Non fiction Book Club discusses Viet Nam from a different perspective, the Vietnamese perspective. The Eaves of Heaven ... (more)by Andrew X. Pham is heartbreakingly beautiful. Pham pays tribute to his father and a country torn asunder by war. It truly should be impossible to write so beautifully about such horrific events. Thong Van Pham’s family ruled for generations in a North Vietnamese rural village. They lived on a vast estate with thousands of acres, a majestic home, and a second home in Hanoi. The eldest son served as magistrate, ruling fairly on disputes, judging criminal acts, and keeping peace in their district through wisdom and good judgment. This was their world from generation to generation, the responsibility and wealth passed on to the eldest son. War will destroy it all, obliterating their way of life. Under French rule the Pham’s thrived, they lived on rich lands with plenty to eat. WWII brought the Japanese eager to defeat the Chinese. Japan wanted food to feed their army and defeat their mortal enemy; they did not care about the Vietnamese. The people starved. As the Japanese were driven from their land, the Vietnamese hoped for independence but a deal was cut with the French and an unwilling nation returned to the yoke of French colonial rule. War broke out again, with freedom fighters and the French clashing. The villagers were caught in the middle; by day the French demanded tribute, by night the resistance came round wanting food, money, and more boys to fight for freedom. Resist either side and death was the reward. Pham’s family experienced the brutality of the communist freedom fighters, when the French left Vietnam they fled to the south away from the communists. It did not take long for the south to be caught up in a new war. Civil war broke out with the Americans helping the ARVN troops resist the Viet Cong. I do not have the words to bring life to describing this story, but Andrew Pham has them, beautiful words that will make Vietnam shimmer on the page. Most of our information on Vietnam comes from the reflections of our soldiers or officials. It is different hearing of one Vietnamese man marked by war; Andrew Pham gives the words needed to make us vividly see his world.
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Mystery Book Club (September 21 at 6:30pm)
Thomas Perry , Silence.
Silence by Thomas Perry is a fast paced mystery that should give the mystery book club a lively discussion.
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A Reading from My Side of the Street by Martha Deborah Hall (September 26 at 11:00am)
Martha Deborah Hall.
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
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Fiction Book Club (September 28 at 6:30pm)
Nathan McCall , Them: A Novel.
Them by Nathan McCall is a well written book that asks difficult questions while telling an entertaining story. It should give the fiction book club a rich topics for discussion.
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Naseem Rakha author of The Crying Tree (October 3 at 5:00pm)
Naseem Rakha , The Crying Tree: A Novel.
Naseem Rakha’s book explores the journey from hate to forgiveness. The Crying Tree should generate strong discussions. The murder of Irene’s son plunges her into a deep despair. As Irene struggles against the bitterness and sorrow in her life she realizes the need to forgive. An evening listening ... (more)to Naseem Rakha’s presentation about this powerful book should be fascinating. We hope you are able to join us. Drop and e-mail or give us a call to sign up to attend and be in the drawing for prizes.
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Anna Thomas discusses and signs Love Soup (October 4 at 3:00pm)
Anna Thomas.
Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood is pleased to host an afternoon with Anna Thomas as she discusses and signs her new vegetarian cookbook, Love Soup: 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes.
Known for her pivotal role in the vegetarian and fresh foods movement, Anna Thomas has inspired generations with her bestselling ... (more)Vegetarian Epicure cookbooks. Brimming with inventive, tasty, nutritious recipes that range from the simple to the sophisticated, Love Soup is full of one-pot meals that can feed an individual, a family, or a whole crowd. This cookbook is ideal for vegetarians and vegans — people who Thomas terms “have stopped eating meat but have not stopped eating” — as well as those among us eager to adapt a healthier diet filled with fresh vegetables without spending much money.
Join us!
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A Month of the Middle East Mystery Book Club (October 5 at 5:00pm)
Zoe Ferraris , Finding Nouf.
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferrarris is the perfect mystery for our Month of the Middle East. Set in Saudi Arabia it will take you behind the chador. Nouf is lost in the desert, when her body is found there are circumstances that nag at the tracker and worry a young woman working in the medical examiner’s ... (more)office. The interaction of these two characters is key to the story. He is a very devout man, put off by her boldness. She is a bright woman who wants to use her mind. What I liked most about this book for our Month of the Middle East is the respectful way it approaches the culture of Saudi Arabia. It will let you see behind the chador, but it will not be a political screed, just a look at people facing the inevitable challenges arising when belief and progress clash.
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Laleh Khadivi featured author for A Month of the Middle East (October 10 at 5:00pm)
Laleh Khadivi , The Age of Orphans: A Novel.
Laleh Khadivi will be our featured author for our Month of the Middle East. We are honored by her presence. Laleh Kadivi’s book, The Age of Orphans, is powerful. She pulls no punches in giving the reader a visceral feeling of the forces ripping Iran’s Kurdish people into pieces. This is a book that ... (more)will disturb you, will stay with you, and will make you think of a land so far away from our own where a people have been violently devalued. Why oh why does the world continue to inflict such pain? Reza is captured as a very young boy during a raid; he watches his father’s brutal death. Taken in by the very troops that killed his father, he is trained to be a good Iranian soldier, to view his ancestors as dirty, illiterate, trouble makers. How deep must the indoctrination go before a human will look on others as less than human? Perhaps deep enough to wear very shiny black boots, march stepping very high, and attempt to annihilate a people. I am looking forward eagerly to Laleh’s presentation. Iran and the Kurdish people are a mystery to many of us; perhaps it is time to lift that veil. One of the ways we can experience other lives, gain respect for other cultures, and understand other ways is through the pages of literature. Each year we try to have one month where books from another country or region are featured. Laleh Khadivi will add immeasurably to our Month of the Middle East.
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A Month of the Middle East Fiction Book Club (October 12 at 6:30pm)
Diana Abu-Jaber , Crescent: A Novel.
A Month of the Middle East will hopefully introduce you to books that open Middle Easter culture, that live through the pages another way of life. Sirine is an Iraqi-American chef nearing forty. She lives with her uncle, a professor, and is pretty content with her life. Han, an Iraqi Professor and refugee, ... (more)turns her world upside down. This is a fascinating look at the intersection of two cultures, American and Iraqi, along with a beautiful love story. The action moves back and forth between California and Iraq. Diana Abu-Jaber is an inventive writer gifted with enormous talent and creativity. At the beginning of each chapter she has added a fable, as the fable grows it captivates as much as the main story (who can resist Omar Shariff?). We hope you enjoy A Month of the Middle East. The books should be enjoyable as well as enlightening.
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A Month of the Middle East Travel Essay Book Club (October 26 at 6:30pm)
Freya Stark , The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels (Modern Library Paperbacks).
We conclude our Month of the Middle East with Freya Stark gamboling around Persia in The Valley of the Assassins. Freya Stark traveled all over the Middle East in the 1930’s. During WWII she was active in persuading the Middle East to remain neutral or side with the west. We use Freya Stark to view ... (more)the Middle East in an earlier time, a time it might still be possible to imagine. Freya Stark led a fascinating life! We hope you enjoyed A Month of the Middle East. Join us again next year when we concentrate for one month on the culture of another country or region. It is interesting!
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Mystery Book Club (November 2 at 6:30pm)
Håkan Nesser , Borkmann's Point.
Monday November 2nd at 6:30 the Mystery Book Club discusses Borkmann’s Point by Hakan Nessar. Scandinavian mystery stories are becoming quite popular. Nessar is an acclaimed author, winner of the Swedish Crime Writer’s Academy Prize of Best Novel of 1994. With his sparse prose, tight plot lines, ... (more)and interesting protagonist, he is sure to be a hit. Borkmann’s Point opens with Chief Inspector Van Veeteren on a long deserved vacation, he is called back to investigate a brutal murder in a small town. An ax toting killer is claiming victims and making the townsfolk jumpy. Van Veeteren’s interactions with the local police are thoughtfully developed. The plot heats up when one of the detectives goes missing, making every minute count. The mystery book club should have an interesting discussion.
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