VIDEO: Helene Wecker & Andrew Sean Greer in conversation

Quickly, before my Best of 2013 Week is over, I wanted to share something very cool I've been hanging on to since the fall.

Yes, I know that everyone is sick of me promoting Helene Wecker's debut novel, The Golem and the Jinni, and Andrew Sean Greer's latest, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells.  I can't help it.  They were my two favorite novels of the 225 I read last year. 

And by a staggering coincidence, the two of them were teamed up for a Litquake event last October at San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum.  The video quality is mediocre, but the conversation between these two is fascinating, substantive, and completely charming!  I'm so happy to share it with you.

LITQUAKE 2011: The Lit Crawl... Just in time for Halloween!

Once in a very rare while, the fact that I'm continually behind writing things up for this blog winds up being serendipitous.  Nearly two weeks after the fact, I am finally getting around to posting about the Litquake finale.  You got it--our famous Lit Crawl!  How awesome is our Crawl?  So awesome that they're now holding them in New York and Austin, TX.  For the uninitiated, allow me to share this quote from the New York Times about a past Crawl:

The striking thing about Lit Crawl, actually, was not the variegated writerly menu; nor was it the variety of venues—54 of them, including bookstores, bars, coffee shops, galleries and a bee-keeping supply store. Rather it was the specter of writing and literature—literature!—transforming an ordinary Saturday night in the neighborhood into a carnival of sorts. Up and down Valencia Street, crowds overflowed out of open doorways, and between readings, people hustled from one event to another or gathered on street corners clutching red Lit Crawl maps like participants in a mammoth scavenger hunt.”
—New York Times

This year, there were a whopping 77 different venue sites all over San Francisco's Mission District.  Each venue had between 3 and 9 readers, or in other words, hundreds and hundreds of authors participating.  And the audience is made up of more than 10,000 lit lovers.  Truly, it is a thing of beauty.

I've attended many Lit Crawls in my decade in San Francisco.  I enjoy being a part of the scene, but don't feel as strongly these days about trying to make it to each of the three "phases" of the Crawl.  This year, as noted many times, I was still sort of weak, so after a completely delightful afternoon spend with some pub crawling writer friends, I decided to just cut to the chase.  I skipped ahead to phase three, and parked myself early, so as to acertain a good seat and a good snack.  And with all of the dozens and dozens of readers and venues to choose from, I simply went to my favorite bookstore cafe.  You got it, Borderlands Bookstore & Cafe.  I love those guys!  I love the store, the staff, the events they host, and in recent years, I really love their charming cafe.  So that was the deciding factor, and it turned out to be an excellent way to determine the most entertaining readings.

It's a little bit funny how much I love all things Borderlands.  The store specializes in fantasy, science fiction, and horror.  I dabble in these areas, but I'm not a hard-core reader of any of these genres.  It's just a totally amazing store, and that's all there is to it.  But given the nature of the store, it is not surprising that the following readings that I filmed are just the perfect little literary bon bons to share with you this Halloween weekend.  Hence the serendipity!  I promise you, the following readings are all treats.

First up (after Jude Feldman's charming introductions) is novelist Steven R. Boyett.  The extent of my prior knowledge of Mr. Boyett was seeing him at lit events around town and asking who he was.  While waiting for the readings to start, however, he handed out some bookmarks and postcards describing some of his works.  His apocalyptic fantasy novels Ariel & Elegy Beach would probably be most up my alley.  However, Steve read from his most recent work, Mortality Bridge.  The subject matter and imagery in this reading is disturbing and horrific.  The novel is a sort of Faust/Dante mash-up involving a musician who must travel through hell to save the woman he loves.  So, this is disturbing, but very, very powerful stuff.

The other thing that I would note is that it does no justice to call this a reading.  It's a performance.  I have seen hundreds of authors read from their work, and some are better than others.  Steve Boyett's performance from his novel is among the best I have ever seen.  Video can't capture the full theatricality of the live perfomance, but I urge you to check this out:





Next up is genre-defying novelist Mira Grant. Here's what PW had to say about Feed, the novel from which she reads:

Starred Review. Urban fantasist Seanan McGuire (Rosemary and Rue) picks up a new pen name for this gripping, thrilling, and brutal depiction of a postapocalyptic 2039. Twin bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason and their colleague Buffy are thrilled when Sen. Peter Ryman, the first presidential candidate to come of age since social media saved the world from a virus that reanimates the dead, invites them to cover his campaign. Then an event is attacked by zombies, and Ryman's daughter is killed. As the bloggers wield the newfound power of new media, they tangle with the CDC, a scheming vice presidential candidate, and mysterious conspirators who want more than the Oval Office. Shunning misogynistic horror tropes in favor of genuine drama and pure creepiness, McGuire has crafted a masterpiece of suspense with engaging, appealing characters who conduct a soul-shredding examination of what's true and what's reported.

I'd heard of both author and book at the time of this reading, but had no intention of reading it. In the two weeks since, I've purchased and listended to Countdown, the novella that's the prequel to this novel, and I suspect that I will probably read Feed and its sequels in the not too distant future. Great, just what I need, more books added to my list!

While Mira's novel is about a zombie apocalypse, it seems to be chock full of humor. Or at least this opening chapter is, and she does an excellent job of milking every laugh. It was the perfect palate cleanser after the heavy first reading. This is just plain entertaining, and as it's the first chapter of the book, there's not a thing you need to know:





At this point, I need to apologize to author Kirsten Imani Kasai who read from her novel, Tattoo. She was a great reader, and her novel is completely and totally original. (I may need a copy for the trashy underwater fiction collection!) I'm unable to share her reading with you because I only had a very few minutes of digital recording space left on the FlipCam. In fact, I thought I'd have to quit after Steve & Mira when final reader, Tim Pratt, announced that he'd be reading a series of very, very short pieces. So here are three of them for your viewing pleasure:











You know what's awesome? By visiting Tim Pratt's website in order to link it to this post, I realized the novel Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt that I have on my Kindle is his. Excellent! Clearly, I have some follow-up reading to look forward to after this successful event. If, like me, you feel compelled to explore the work of these writers further, I heartily encourage you to contact Borderlands Books. Their customer service is second to none, and I'm guessing they can get you signed copies of books by these authors.

LITQUAKE 2011: The Art of the Mystery

Juliet Blackwell

Here is how it was billed:

The Art of the Mystery

October 15, 2011, 1:00 PM
Z Space
450 Florida St.

Litquake launches a new series of panels on the craft of writing, starting with thoughts on writing and suspense from four masters of the mystery. Discussion followed by a lively Q&A session.

Juliet Blackwell, Michelle Gagnon, Seth Harwood, Sophie Littlefield
*****

Michelle Gagnon & Sophie Littlefield

After yesterday's sad story, I thought I'd post something happier--from authors who let me record them!  Unfortunately, I arrived just a couple of minutes late, so that's why the first segment begins already in progress.  And, as usual, I'm contending with the narrow focus range of the FlipCam.  But this video isn't too bad, and the panel is more than interesting enough to overlook the technical flaws.

These authors like me a whole lot better than Jeffrey Eugenides does.  I've known Sophie and Michelle for a few years now, but I only met Juliet on the day of this event--which happened to be her birthday.  So after this lovely discussion, the ladies invited me out for drinks, and I joined the three of them and a couple of other girlfriends for a leisurely afternoon of girl talk, lit gossip, and deep-fried food.  My lips are sealed, other than to say that Juliet has a great story about the legendary Octavio Paz, Sophie likes to stir up trouble whenever possible, and that all the lady authors were amused by the Eugenides tale, which had occurred only the night before.

Seth Harwood

And now for your viewing pleasure, I am delighted to share what turned out to be a fun and lively panel discussion from some excellent mystery/thriller/YA authors.  What I like best is the casual interaction between the panelists because, as they themselves note, every one knows everyone else in this community.  On top of that, each of these panelists is knowledgeable, personable, and a darn good storyteller.  Between them, they have published an incredible spectrum of fiction, and I defy you to listen to them talk about their work and not be tempted to read one or more of them.  (Personally, I'm salivating for Michelle's forthcoming YA trilogy!)  Above, I've added links to each of their websites for your convenience.  Enjoy!

LITQUAKE 2011: My Evening with Jeffrey Eugenides, or Some Days It Doesn’t Pay to Get Out of Bed

There have been several allusions on the blog to some recent health woes. I’m fine now, but two weeks ago, not so much. I’d been at home in bed for days, and Friday the 14th was my first day back at the office and back on my feet. I was weak. I should not have even been considering going out after work that evening. But it was Jeffrey Eugenides! The awesome Jeffrey Eugenides, out with his first novel in eight years! And I’d already read and loved The Marriage Plot. I wanted to be there.

I knew that the bookstore would be packed, not only because Mr. Eugenides is a major literary talent, but also because the signing was part of Litquake. That means it was on the radar of thousands more people than the average bookstore event. Just thinking about the potential mob scene made me want to pass out. So, this is what I did… I called the bookstore, explained that I was recovering from a medical procedure (true), that I was very weak (true), and was it possible to have a seat reserved for the reading? I said, “I know it’s a lot to ask.” I was pretty embarrassed to be asking for special consideration. And Corry at the Books, Inc. at Opera Plaza simply could not have been kinder. His response, “It’s nothing to ask.” He was so sweet. He made me want to be a customer for life. Really, such genuine kindness.

So, I got through the most unproductive work day of all time, and got over to Books, Inc. I grabbed a copy of the book and went to pay for it at the counter. (Because supporting our local independent booksellers is super-important!) As it happens, Corry was the very first person I saw at the counter. When I told him who I was, he smiled and told me there was a slip of paper with my name holding a seat in the front row. The store was already filling up, and I was so grateful for his intervention. I had arrived early, and just having a quiet place to sit until the event started made all the difference.

I was chilling out, reading a book, when I was approached by my friend Sue. What a happy surprise! We kibitzed until start time, and then went out for food and drinks next-door afterwards. By that time, there was plenty to postmortem. As expected, the store filled to a capacity crowd, and the event started right on time. Now, you know that whenever possible, I try to grab video for the blog. My excellent seat put me in a position to do just that. I was four feet away from the man, so for once, I had fantastic footage!

Mr. Eugenides started the evening with a few introductory remarks, including him telling the crowd that he spent his first several post-college years living in San Francisco, shopping in that very store. He then further ingratiated himself with the audience by explaining that it was the worst time of his life. He told a funny story about a psycho-roommate. I think we all have a story like that. He spoke for just about five minutes before he began reading from Madeleine’s narrative at the beginning of the book. He read well, and he read for a long time—nearly 25 minutes—in one long sequence. The novel is very funny, and he got a lot of laughs along the way.

After the reading, Mr. Eugenides spent about 15 minutes answering questions, many of which were unusually good questions. One that particularly impressed me came from a woman who noted that Mr. Eugenides had published a short story years earlier with a character with a name and story very similar to one of the three main characters in The Marriage Plot. She asked about the relationship, if any, between the earlier and more recent character. Mr. Eugenides did acknowledge that the earlier Mitch was a sort of prototype of the character in the current novel’s love triangle, and further acknowledged the relationship between that character and himself.

I think the most amusing answer came from a question regarding the audiobooks of his novels, and whether he would like to read them. (Yes, but it’s not going to happen.) He then told a story about a forthcoming film being made starring—of all people—Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogen as mother and son. I guess it’s a road trip movie, and he was contacted because the screenplay had them listening to CD after CD of the audiobook of Middlesex. He was contacted for permission, and he said he wanted to see how much humor at his expense was written in to the screenplay. And this also is what forced him to listen to the audiobook for the first time. He was quite surprised by some of the choices made by actor and director. Anyway, it was an awesome story, and I wish you could hear it in its entirety, but the reason you can’t will soon be clear. (Oh, but you will hear the Middlesex audiobook in the Streisand movie.)

I do not habitually ask questions at literary events, but sometimes I do. I had a question, and I was not trying to ambush Mr. Eugenides in any way. I was certainly not trying to make him feel uncomfortable. And I did not have an agenda. I just had a question. I thought it was a legitimate question then, and I still think so now. Let me back up a moment. As noted earlier, it was likely that I was one of the few people in the room that had read the novel which had only been on sale for a few days. I had enjoyed it immensely! The Marriage Plot is beautifully written, but it bears some resemblance to (I hope you’ll forgive me for saying) literary chick lit. The rich, flawed characters are beautifully drawn, the writing is gorgeous, and the story has plenty of substance and its share of pathos. But still, at its heart, it is a comic novel about young 20-something’s in a love triangle. You see my point?

So, the trouble started before I even got my question out. I was holding the microphone in my right hand, as the left had been balancing my little FlipCam propped against my knee all evening. I opened with a comment about how much I’d loved the novel, to which Mr. Eugenides responded, “Are you filming me?” I said, “Yes. Is that a problem? I’m happy to turn it off.” The visibly uncomfortable author replied that it was fine. It was just that technology had really changed. That he’s arrived at his first book signing in a horse and buggy. (Laughter.) He noted that I was lucky that he wasn’t Stephen Sondheim, cause he’d seen the octogenarian almost “rip someone’s head off” recently for a similar offense. I admitted that I’d actually filmed him at BEA, too (laughter) and again offered to turn off the camera. Again he declined and urged me to ask my question.

This is what I asked: When Jonathan Franzen published Freedom last year, there was a brief buzz in the media about male novelists writing about traditionally female subject matter (i.e. families and relationships) getting more review attention, press, and general acclaim than their female counterparts. I said that as another acclaimed male author, did he have an opinion on this matter? I asked this question in a friendly and positive manner, not because I already knew the answer, or I was presuming that the very premise of the question was correct, but because I was genuinely curious to hear his thoughts on the subject—which, whether a true premise or not, seems to me to be a subject worthy of discussion.

At that point, Mr. Eugenides looked significantly more uncomfortable. I again offered to turn off the camera, and he again declined. He said, “That was Jodi Picoult, right?” And I answered that it was a broad-ranging public dialogue that went far beyond any comments made by Jodi Picoult. Mr. Eugenides then noted, though, that there had been one or two very best-selling female novelists that had been outspoken on the subject. (And his memory was correct. Jennifer Weiner and Jodi Picoult were much quoted.) Mr. Eugenides continued that given the number of books they sold, he really didn’t know what they had to complain about. And besides, he has plenty of female writer friends (he named Lorrie Moore and Jumpha Lahiri) who get plenty of attention when they publish. He supposed it really just depended on the writer and the quality of the work. So, he answered the question, looking incredibly uncomfortable the entire time, and noted at the very end of the evening that Jodi Picoult “would hate him now.”

Now, had I had the opportunity to respond to Mr. Eugenides’ answer to my question, I would have pointed out that by necessity the most successful and best-selling among female authors must broach these questions, because for anyone less successful to do so looks like sour grapes. So, frankly, I find that part if his response to be somewhat naive. The second part of his answer is more legitimate, because he did name two highly acclaimed female literary novelists who do make a very large splash when they publish—although, two token women do not exactly prove parity. Nor do they disprove it. Like I said, I just think it’s a subject worthy of consideration and discussion. And finally, regarding his comment that it just depended on the quality of the work, it did come off as slightly condescending in my opinion.

Well, by the time this was all over, I felt completely terrible about making someone I admire greatly feel so uncomfortable in such a public way! As luck would have it, because of my excellent seat, I was also the first person in the signing line. Great. There was a short break while everything was organized, and during which time Mr. Eugenides left the room. Once he came back, I approached him and handed him my books to sign. I apologized for putting him on the spot, told him that had not been my intention. I explained that most authors were very happy for the publicity that came with film of their events. I explained that readers outside of major cities were always excited to be able to attend vicariously. I then offered to not post the video of the Q & A to the Internet. He agreed that would probably be best. I told him I understood. I then asked if he’d like me to at least post his reading. At first he said yes to this, but a few moments later changed his mind. So, for that reason, I’m not including links to any of the footage I shot that evening. And, no, you can’t find it online either, though there is plenty of other footage from other Eugenides events. He’s correct; the technology has changed. Now all you need is an iPhone, and I’m hardly the only blogger/fan making amateur films to share. So, it’s a shame, but of course I’m keeping my word.

I waited for quite a while for my friend Sue to make her way through the long signing line. While I was waiting, several people approached me and told me that it was a good question I’d asked, including a bookstore employee. It was nice of them because I was really quite bummed out. Writers always like me. I’m a serious, appreciative reader. I think that is possibly the first and only negative encounter I’ve ever had with a novelist on tour. Lovely Sue and I went out afterwards, and she did her best to make me feel better, and life moved on.

Now nearly two weeks have passed since my uncomfortable encounter with Mr. Eugenides. Having had some time to reflect on things, and quite frankly, having had time to review the taped interaction, I’m feeling a little less badly, and a little more irked about the whole incident. Simply put, at all times I tried to do the right thing. I wasn’t attempting to trip him up or push my own agenda. It was an awkward interaction, but no harm was intended. Jeffrey Eugenides let me walk away feeling like shit. I’m sure that my feelings weren’t his highest priority, but after all I did to apologize and make the situation right, he could have thrown me a bone in the form of a smile or a conciliatory word. But he really didn’t.

So, that’s what happened between Jeffrey Eugenides and me. I’m still a huge admirer of his work, and I don’t have significantly bad feelings about the man. Book tours are brutal. I think we were both having an off night. Probably I should just keep my big mouth shut. But you know what? This is my blog, and my life. I’m allowed to write about what happens to me, and so I get to tell my story. There you have it.

LITQUAKE 2011: Christopher Moore in Collision: Whales, Comedy, and The Impressionists

Sorry to be posting about this event ten days after it took place.  What can I say?  I'm a delicate flower.  I was having health woes last week.  The other thing is, the quality of the video below is so dreadful, part of me wonders if it's even worth the effort--but already people are already finding this blog doing Google searches looking for the video.  I situated myself as best I could in the cavernous space to be close to the chairs set up in the center of the room.  You know how much time they spent in those chairs?  None.  Instead, both Chris and Flip thought it would be a great idea to take the mike and move as far away across the space from where I was a possible.  I try, people.  [Note: And now that I've looked at the footage on a screen larger than two inches, it's not quite as bad as I though.]

So, what was this wacky event, you ask?  This is how it was billed:

Christopher Moore in Collision: Whales, Comedy, and The Impressionists

October 10, 2011, 6:00 PM
Z Space
450 Florida St., San Francisco
With Christopher Moore and Flip Nicklin

About ten years ago, New York Times bestselling comic novelist Christopher Moore decided to find out if there was more to write about whales, other than that they were "big and wet." And that's when he encountered National Geographic photographer Flip Nicklin. Then things got weird. The result was Moore's 2004 novel Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, which featured a marine biologist named Clay Demodocus inspired by Nicklin, as well as a whale with the words "BITE ME" written on its fluke.


Now bosom buddies for over a decade, Moore and Nicklin get together at Z Space to showcase Nicklin's new book Among Giants: A Life with Whales, and give Moore fans a taste of Sacré Bleu, his 2012 novel set in France and featuring Vincent Van Gogh's murder as a jumping-off point. Moore will talk about art history, with a slide show of comics created from fine art. Nicklin will provide a slide show of his astonishing photographs of whales. What do they have in common? Nicklin's photos have been described as "painting with light." And the Impressionists' artistic quest was to "capture the moment" by "capturing the light." Otherwise, it will just be a good time and a lot of fooling around between two old friends.

The funny thing is that this strange juxtuposition brings together two very big parts of my own life.  Once upon a time, I was the editor of Discover Diving, a magazine for scuba divers.  I dealt with underwater photographers all day, every day--including Flip's dad, Chuck, himself a renowned underwater photographer and pioneer in the field.  Now, instead of photo spreads of undersea critters, I keep my editorial skills honed by dabbling with novelists.  In fact, I've been doing some proof-reading for Christopher Moore for years, starting with the novel--you guessed it--Fluke.  It all comes full circle.

As it happens, I have read Chris's forthcoming novel, Sacré Bleu.  It's wonderful!  And one of these days I'll get around to writing a review.  Without question, my favorite thing about the book was the tremendous information he included about the art and the artisits.  Frankly, I didn't even need the plot.  I could have read about these people and their work all day long.  It was fascinating; and I've been resisting jumping on a plane to Paris since putting the novel down.  Here's your chance to hear about some of that straight from the author's mouth.  It's an awesome art history lecture with that special Christopher Moore spin.  He won't be doing this on book tour, so here it is, for better or worse, semi-preserved here for you.  Enjoy!

A quick update

Hi readers,

Sorry to go AWOL this week.  My week was derailed by some unexpected and unpleasant medical issues.  During Litquake week, of course.  Grrr.

The good news is that I did make it out to see Christopher Moore and Flip Nicklin on Monday night, and I shot some notably bad video of their talks.  I'll try to post it in the near future.  I also got out to hear the awesome Chuck Klosterman speak, but alas, I was too far away to even attempt video.  I will tell you that the single most interesting thing I learned is that his surname is pronounced with a long "o."  Klost rhymes with toast.  Who knew?  I've been saying it wrong for years.

I was out of commission for Wednesday and Thursday, and I'm not confident I'll make it out to hear Jeffrey Eugenides tonight.  (A bookstore employee kindly offered to reserve me a seat, so we'll see.)  If I don't get video tonight, I've still got his talk from BEA up my sleeve.  And there are still several Litquake events tomorrow, including the final Lit Crawl.  So, I'll continue my coverage next week when I'm feeling a bit stronger.

Oh, two more good things...  A winner has finally been selected for The Dovekeepers giveaway.  Please check the posts' comments section if you entered.  Also, tonight I'll be posting a link to not only my next giveaway, but links to more than 50 other book blogs around the world hosting giveaways! 

So, that's all for now.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

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!

Mailbox Monday: The slacker September edition

I've been quite the slacker lately!  This is the first Mailbox Monday post I've done all month.  Plus, I did almost no blogging at all last week--though the one video post I did was pretty awesome.  So, nothing is up.  Fall is just a very busy time for me.  I work for a university; the new semester is starting.  And San Francisco is chock full of exciting events and activities this time of year.  Also, it's our best weather of the year.  Finally, I'm really behind writing my book reviews.  I'm reading at a ridiculous pace, but I'm having trouble getting my thoughts on paper.  That's the whole story.  I will try to do better, 'kay?

Here's the good news...  There is so much exciting stuff coming up in October!  There are more amazing authors on tour, and hopefully, I can videotape a few of them.  Also, San Francisco's awesome literary festival, Litquake, begins soon.  Hundreds of authors participate (850+ according to their website!), and I will be attending as many events as I can manage.  And it's quite late this year, but at the end of the month, I'll be attending the Northern California Independent Booksellers' Association Trade Show, and it looks like they've got a great lineup this year.

Oh, I also just learned that I'll have a guest blogger post from novelist Jeremy Robinson on October 5th, as part of a month-long blog tour that he's doing.  And, if the above weren't enough, somehow I just got approval to upload videos in excess of 15 minutes to You Tube (and hence this blog).  Does anyone know, was that system-wide, or just my account?  Anyway, I've had some great video from BEA that I wasn't able to share, lengthy talks by film critic Roger Ebert, actress Jane Lynch, and novelist Jeffrey Eugenides that you can look forward to seeing in the next few weeks.  Also on the multimedia front, the awesome folks at MacMillan Audio are setting me up with some audiobook clips I can post alongside reviews for your listening pleasure.  How cool is that?  I just need to figure out the technology...

Clearly, this not the time for me to be slacking off.  As for books acquired this month, who can remember them all?  Here are some quick lists:

From the Audible.com $4.95 book sale (which you know I can't resist):

• The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
• The Callahan Chronicles by Spider Robinson
• Nemesis by Philip Roth
• Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
• True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
• To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
• Stiff by Mary Roach
• Replay by Ken Grimwood
• The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
• The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
• Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Electronic Galleys:

• Marineman: A Matter of Life & Death by Ian Churchill
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
• Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain by Jim Lehrer
• Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong
• Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie
• Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship by Gail Caldwell
• The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault
• The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen by Thomas Caplan
• Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg
• Me and You by Niccolo Ammaniti
• The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
• Death in the City of Light by David King
• The Night Swimmer by Matt Bondurant
• 1222 by Anne Holt
• Heft by Liz Moore

Paper Galleys and Finished Books:

• When She Woke by Hilary Jordan
• I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck
• The Night Circus (American first edition) by Erin Morgenstern
• The Night Circus (British first edition) by Erin Morgenstern
• The Time In Between by Maria Duenas
• The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
• The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

And there were surely others, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head.

Books finished since the last update:

• 1222 by Anne Holt
• Heft by Liz Moore
• Sanctus by Simon Toyne
• Darkness, My Old Friend by Lisa Unger
• Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
• The Black Stiletto by Raymond Benson
• Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch
• Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber
• The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
• The Submission by Amy Waldman
• One Day by David Nicchols
• The Leftovers by Tom Perotta

Currently reading:

• The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
• The Callahan Chronicles by Spider Robinson
• The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
• I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck

And, I haven't asked in a while, but what books have you acquired?  What have you been reading?  Please let us know in the comments!