Imagine the most boring John Hughes film never made…

Why We Broke Up
by Daniel Handler
Art by Maira Kalman
Release date: 12/27/2011

“Dear Ed,

In a sec you’ll hear a thunk.”

So begins Daniel Handler’s (AKA Lemony Snicket) latest YA offering, Why We Broke Up. The aforementioned “thunk” is the sound of a heavy box flung by Min Green hitting the porch of her ex-boyfriend, Ed Slaterton. The 350-page novel is comprised of the long, long, long letter that she includes as she returns to him the minutia of their relationship. This relationship is recounted from start to finish in the letter/novel through Min’s apparently photographic recall. Scattered throughout the text are Maira Kalman’s charming illustrations of the contents of the box, which range from bottle tops to ticket stubs to clothing.

With all the drawings and white space throughout the book, it isn’t really a full 350 pages, and yet it felt longer. It was written as an angsty, teen, stream of conscious rant, and it was chock-full of pointless filler, such as detailed descriptions of dozens of fictional films, made by fictional people, starring fictional stars. You see, Min’s the substantive one in the relationship. She’s “different.” Ed’s a popular jock, co-captain of the basketball team. They’re from different worlds, with different friends! And yet they struggle to make it work.

I’ve never been an adult that had the slightest problem reading and appreciating YA or children’s fiction, but this was just an overly drawn-out, boring, and humorless waste of time. Ultimately, I found it unsatisfying on every level. And that, Daniel, is why WE broke up.

Note to parents: This novel includes frequent obscenities, underage drinking, references to drug use, lack of respect for parents and authority figures, and teen sex.

Peter Orner gets launched San Francisco style

Earlier this week, I spoke of heading over to the Booksmith on Haight Street because novelist Peter Orner had a Wednesday night reading there.  You don't exactly have to twist my arm to get me over to the Booksmith, where everybody knows your name, and you're greeted like Norm every time you walk in the door.  (Do my references date me?)  And independent of my own interest, my BFF Jon called and said, "Have you heard about a reading by Peter Orner..."  So, it was decided.

I left work a little earlier than usual, and arrived at the bookstore about half an hour before the event.  The first person I saw upon entering the store was the charming and delightful Andrew Sean Greer.  I said "hi" to Andy, and we chatted for a moment before another gentleman approached him and I drifted off.  The staff were still setting up chairs--a lot of chairs--and then setting up setting up tables with beer and wine and food and sweets.  I hadn't realized until then that the event I was attending was the official launch party for Love and Shame and Love, and the Booksmith was really making an event of it.

Jon arrived as they were setting the final chairs, and we grabbed seats front and center in the first row.  I was enjoying chatting with Jon and the store staff and owners.  One of them, Christin, introduced me to the gentleman who had been talking to Andy Greer earlier.  His name is Evan Karp of the excellent Litseen website (along with several other media outlets in the city).  He was super friendly, and it was a pleasure to meet him.  I'm only shocked that we'd never met before. 

There's one thing I'll say about the San Francisco literary scene--they support their own.  It seemed like every writer in the city attended Peter's book launch.  The place was packed!  As always, it was fun people-watching.  I haven't read the novel yet--though that may be rectified over the weekend--but it's getting raves everywhere.  Nor had I ever met Peter Orner or heard him speak before, but both Jon and I found him delightful.  His personality comes right through on the video below, and he's kind of adorable.

After the reading and Q & A, Jon and I snarfed some food, and chatted with people we knew and people we didn't.  I found myself talking yet again to the ubiquitous Danny Handler (AKA Lemony Snicket).  When I commented that he's at the Booksmith every time I come there, he made jokes about being held hostage.  He said, "They treat me very well."  So, the Stockholm syndrome has kicked in.  Jon bought a gift book for a friend, and I finally got into the lengthy signing line.  I had a really pleasant chat with Peter when I got to the front of the line.  I apologized for sticking a Flipcam in his face as he was reading, and handed him my blogger card, explaining that I would post the video on Friday.  Peter said very kind things about the role of book bloggers in this day and age, and when he signed my copy of the book, he wrote, "With thanks for the work that you do!"  What a mensch. 

The first segment below is a warm introduction from novelist Tom Barbash.  As Mr. Barbash points out, Love and Shame and Love has been awarded the trifecta of starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist.  And guess what?  If you want a signed, first edition of this novel, I know a great independent bookseller where you can get one.  Other than that, I'm just delighted to share footage from a really enjoyable evening with you...

LITQUAKE 2011: Only in San Francisco... A Tribute to Chris Adrian

This is how the event was billed:

“The Great Night” in Buena Vista Park


October 9, 2011, 4:00 PM


Buena Vista Park Summit
Buena Vista Ave. at Upper Terrace
Free


Co-presented by Booksmith, Buena Vista Neighborhood Association, San Francisco Recreation & Park Department, and San Francisco Parks Alliance


You are cordially invited to a picnic party in Buena Vista Park to celebrate Chris Adrian’s novel The Great Night, with fairies, maypoles, and twinkle lights. Pack a basket, bring a blanket, and join us for magic and revelry at the summit overlooking the city below.


Featured readings and performance by Great Night author Chris Adrian, author Andrew Sean Greer, and emcee Daniel Handler, with fairy-inspired merriment provided by Booksmith’s Literary Clown Foolery troupe, and a dreamy string quartet to set the mood. Signed books will be available for sale at Booksmith, but not at the actual event.


Please note: This is a party en plein air; layered clothing and warm coats suggested.

First, do you see any warnings that great exertion will be needed to reach the location of the event?  Do you see where it says, "Bring your asthma inhaler"?  Yeah, me neither.  All I'm saying is, it's a hike to reach the summit of Buena Vista Park, and straight up altitude-wise.  No wonder I've never ascended it before.  It's definitely the hardest I've ever worked to attend a reading, but of course it was totally worth it in the end, as I knew it would be.

Now, a little background...  Chris Adrian is (as you surely know) a literary novelist who was last year anointed one of the "20 under 40" most talented writers by the New Yorker.  In addition to being a member of that elite group, here's a snippet on Chris's education from his Wikipedia page:

Adrian completed his Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Florida in 1993. He received his M.D. from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2001. He completed a pediatric residency at the University of California, San Francisco, was a student at Harvard Divinity School, and is currently in the pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at UCSF. He is also a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

I have a theory that people this brilliant and talented are actually a different species than the rest of us.  I call them Human 2.0. 

The Great Night is Chris's third novel, published this past April.  Despite my best intentions, I have not read it yet.  But it received rave reviews, such as this one in Library Journal:

“William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream deals with illusion—in particular, the illusion that things can be set aright, as if by magic. This riff by New Yorker 20 Under 40 author Adrian (A Better Angel) is a whole lot darker, declaring that no magic can take away the memory of suffering and that in our self-serving scramble we disdain the pain (and indeed the goodness) of others. On the summer solstice in San Francisco, the fairies come out from under their hill in Buena Vista Park to celebrate Great Night. But this year there will be no celebration, for Oberon has vanished and Titania is thoroughly undone by the death of her Boy, one of the many changelings brought to her by Puck--no mischievous sprite but a malevolent spirit. Even as a rowdy bunch rehearse a play aimed at exposing the mayor's crimes against the homeless, three people are trapped in the park by the fairies’ madness: uptight Molly, lovesick Will, and gentle, obsessed Henry, who still misses decamped lover Bobby and whose tragic past and connections to other characters unfold tantalizingly. Verdict: Inventive and scarily beautiful, this could wipe out casual readers, but it is an extraordinary novel.”—Library Journal (starred review)

With all that said, there's very little more I can say to explain the event that follows.  All I can say is that it's very San Francisco-y, and that everyone in attendance had a fantastic time!  The event was MCed by the ubiquitous Daniel Handler AKA Lemony Snicket, with the assistance of my friend Andy AKA novelist Andrew Sean Greer.  (Yes, they are wearing fairy wings.)  Say what you will about Mr. Handler (and I've said many things about him), the man is entertaining. He made some introductory remarks, followed by a song:





Next it was Andy's turn to take center stage. What can I say? I find this man charming. I enjoyed his silliness and reminiscences. And he gave those present a very, very special treat. He read from his unpublished and highly-anticipated novel, Other Worlds. (After the event, I asked Andy when the book would be out, and he told me that he hasn't even submitted it to his editor yet, so it's still at least a year off--making this an even more special treat.) And he followed his reading with, yes, another song:











Finally, it was Chris Adrian's turn to take the stage for his own reading from The Great Night. First, his introductory comments and a set-up for his reading:





This is unforgivable, but about a minute after Chris started reading, my batteries died! Here's the very beginning:





I located and changed batteries as quickly as I was able, but there is a gap in his reading. Don't try to make sense of it, just start listing again. On the plus side, this interruption allows me to post a warning that there is adult content following. I'm not joking. It was kind of funny, seeing as how there were lots of families with little kids in attendance. I commented on it to Andy later, and I think the organizers of this event--geared towards adults--were surprised by all the kids. Only after the fact did they realize that "Lemony Snicket" is a kid magnet. In any case, the kids I saw were little, and weren't paying the slightest attention to the content of the reading. But they probably enjoyed the dog costume:





And finally, to close the proceedings, and by popular demand, a reprise of the opening fairy song:





After it was over, I told Andy that he's the bravest person I know. He replied, "Oh, I'm not ashamed of anything I've done. That I remember." He was like, "That was weird." But I assured him that everyone in attendance had an absolute blast--and we did! It was such a good, wacky, perfect San Francisco event! It's for days like this that we choose to live in this crazy city. I don't know if any of that translates through my weak video footage, but I'm happy to share this truly fun, joyful event with you.

Kudos to Litquake, the Booksmith, and most of all to Daniel Handler, Andrew Sean Greer, Chris Adrian, and the MFA students for a rousing good time!

Erin Morgenstern brings the circus to town...

On Friday night, September 20th, I had the pleasure of attending one of the most festive author events I've ever seen. It was hosted by the wonderful Booksmith on Haight Street in San Francisco in celebration of Erin Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus. Careful readers of this blog may have seen me mention this book once or twice before. ;-)

Actually, the folks at the Booksmith could see exactly what I see--that The Night Circus is a very special book, Erin Morgenstern a special author, and they deserved a special event. The staff were thinking outside the box. The invited in a tarot card reader and performers from San Francisco's nearby Circus Center, a "circus-oriented performing arts education facility." Every town has one of those, right?  So, even as you approached the bookstore, you could see that something special was going on.  Click the short video above and you'll see what I mean. 

Here's a little more of the festivities before the reading started:








Unfortunately, I never did shoot footage of the tarot card reader (who seemed to stay busy all evening), or the fun decorations and yummy food and libations that were behind the curtains you'll see in the footage below. Some things will have to remain a mystery.

Happily, I did get the entire book event on film. Readers of this blog have watched a lot of sub-par video in the past. For once, I did a fairly good job with the filming.  First, a Booksmith staff member introduced both Erin, and children's book author Lisa Brown. While she's speaking, you'll see a man come out from the curtains behind her. That's Daniel Handler, AKA Lemony Snicket, AKA the husband of Lisa Brown. He was sitting next to me. All of the store's staff were dressed in black--with a red scarf, of course. (Read the book.)





Lisa did her own entertaining introduction of Erin, which included a top ten list of what a book must contain in order for her to want to read it. The man's voice you can hear saying, "Hear, hear!" and other comments is Daniel.





Finally Erin takes the stage, and as she notes, this is only her second reading ever. She does an amazingly good job! After some brief introductory remarks, she reads from the novel. In the second segment she reads the brief prologue. In the third, she reads the first chapter. And in the fourth, she reads a later chapter featuring the secondary character Bailey.














In these last segments you'll see the Q&A session. There's a lot of interesting information about Erin's writing process, the circuitous path the book took while being written, a potential film, Erin's all-time favorite book, and more.











(Oh, and if you wondered why I panned over to the waving, giggling ladies during the final applause, it's because my book group was well represented in the audience that night. Including me, there were six of us in attendance, and so that's who those lovely ladies are.)

We're so lucky to get amazing speakers coming through San Francisco pretty much every day of the week. I'm delighted to be able to share this footage with folks that don't have the advantage of living in a major city. I hope you enjoyed the evening as much as I did!

Oh, one more thing, if you haven't purchased The Night Circus yet, I heartily encourage you to do so. I'm a Reveur; it's my favorite book of the year!  (In addition to my pre-pub galley, I've purchase both an American first edition and the stunning British first edition. And it's only a matter of time before I pick up the audiobook narrated by Jim Dale.)  If you'd like your very own signed copy, I know that the Booksmith will be more than happy to hook you up.

Mailbox Monday: BEA boxes edition

Sorry all, I meant to have this up last night, but my computer froze up shortly before I was about to post it.  Anyway, as promised, here is the full inventory of the boxes I shipped by from BookExpo America in NY.  It's roughly 100 books which weighed 121 pounds and cost a lot to ship back to California.  And of course, add to the cost of these "free" books my travel and other expenses for the trip to NY and you'll see that that aren't so free after all.  But that's okay, I've done this before.  I know the costs involved.

If you're wondering why I grabbed duplicate copies of so many books, well, they're for you, of course.  I'll read and review as many of them as I'm able, and I have reason to believe that will be a fair number of titles.  But in addition to a copies for my own reviewing purposes, I'll share these books with blog readers in the Humpday Giveaways on Wednesday.  If you see a book that you're especially interested in having a chance to win,  please feel free to speak up in the comments section below.  I may be able to schedule it for giveaway sooner, rather than later, and it may also keep me from giving it away to my face-to-face book club.  (I bring a good stack of books to share with them each month, too.

Here's the list:

AUDIOBOOKS:

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (2 copies)
The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS:

Claim of Innocence by Laura Caldwell (signed)
In Desperation by Rick Mofina (signed)
Before Cain Strikes by Joshua Corin (signed)

HARDBACKS:

* In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsson (5 copies)
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (5 copies)
The Whisper by Carla Neggers (signed)

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane (signed)
Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi (2 copies)
The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey (signed)
Phantom Evil by Heather Graham (signed)
Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson (2 copies)
Dogfish Memory by Joseph A. Dane
Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr (signed)

TRADE PAPERBACKS & GALLEYS:

Queen of America by Luis Alberto Urrea (2 copies, 1 signed)
The United States of Banana by Giannina Braschi
* The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman (3 copies, 1 signed)
Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Temporary Perfections by Gianrico Carofiglio (2 copies)
Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain by Jim Lehrer (3 copies)
Crossed by Ally Condie (signed)

Hot Water by Erin Brockovitch with C.J. Lyons (2 copies)
Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield (signed)
Dove Season by Johnny Shaw (signed)
* The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (2 copies, signed)
The Restorer by Amanda Stevens (signed)
* Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (signed)
American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar (2 copies)
Wahoo Rhapsody by Shaun Morey (signed)
Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close (2 copies, signed)
The Pluto Files by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Maid by Kimberly Cutter (2 copies)
Great House by Nicole Krauss
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

The Lost Angel by Javier Sierra (2 copies)
The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
Enthralled by Melissa Marr (signed)
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt (2 copies)
The Inquisitor’s Apprentice by Chris Moriarty
The Soldier’s Wife by Margaret Leroy
Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil, MD (2 copies)
* The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
Defending Jacob by William Landay (2 copies)
The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg (2 copies)
Fallen by Karin Slaughter (signed)
* Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber (2 copies)
Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2 copies, 1 signed)
Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason
* The Magician King by Lev Grossman (2 copies, 1 signed)
The Taker by Alma Katsu
* The Submission by Amy Waldman (signed)
Next to Love by Ellen Feldman (2 copies, signed)
Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo
Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan (signed)
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber (3 copies)
Wisdom’s Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (signed)
* The Bridge to Neverland by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (signed)
The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch

Emory’s Gift by W. Bruce Cameron (2 copies)
How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston
Neon Panic by Charles Philipp Martin
* The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright (4 copies)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (signed)

This list doesn't include the handful of books I carried back in my luggage, but the books with the asterisk are the ten titles I'm most excited about.  The Chuck Klosterman novel I hand carried back would have bumped something above.  So, are you excited about any of these books?  What are your top picks?

Oh, as for my normal Mailbox Monday influx, let's just put those books off for next week.  This is enough.  I did finish Ann Patchett's State of Wonder since I posted yesterday.  I loved it!  What are you reading right now?  Picked up any good books in the past week?