Same Page SF | A powerful anthology, a massive cookbook sale, and two silent reading parties
Plus, a local bookstore gem turns ten đ
Welcome back to Same Page SF, your home for all things local and literary!
I'm Christina, your friendly, well-informed, and unabashedly nerdy bookseller. Each week, I share and signal-boost author events, book clubs, new releases, and community gatherings happening across our city.
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On to the goings-on!
Itâs another great week to be a reader, writer, or book-lover in San Francisco. Hereâs what youâll want to attend if:
1) You love dark humor and a meaningfully morbid take
Spencer Henry and Madison Reyes on Obitchuary at The Dairy via Green Apple Books on the Park. Wednesday 8/21, 7pm, $33 (includes book).Â
Join podcasters and best friends Spencer Henry and Madison Reyes as they âtalk, revel, and answer audience questionsâ about Obitchuary: The Big Hot Book of Death, a funny but ~deadly~ serious look at how Americans handle mortality, mourning, and the commemoration of people they love.
2) You want to celebrate the legacy of the Black Arts Movement
Reading and book-signing for Black Fire-This Time, Volume 2 at SFPL Main. Sunday 8/25, 1-2:30pm, free.
Celebrate Black Fire-This Time, Volume 2, an anthology featuring more than seventy-five works of poetry, fiction, essays and drama on the theme âBlack is Beautiful, Black is Powerful, Black is Home.â There will be readings by Judy Juanita, Michael Warr, Tureeda Mikell, Sheila Smith McKoy, Mark Allan Davis, Lakiba Pittman and Thurman Watts, followed by book-signings.
3) Youâd like to read alone, together
Youâve got options! First up is Booksmithâs Silent Reading Party (Tuesday 8/20, 7pm, $5) - their last two sold out well in advance, so if your ideal evening involves getting cozy at a bookstore after-hours, snag your ticket now. Later in the week, Silent Book Club - aka Introvert Happy Hour - is meeting at Obscenity Bar & Lounge (Sunday 8/25, 4:30-6:30pm, free).
4) You adore Green Apple Books on the Park đ
Green Apple Books on the Park 10th Anniversary Party. Saturday 8/24, 10am-6pm, free.
Local gem Green Apple Books on the Park is celebrating their 10th anniversary with a full day of festivities, including but not limited to free beer, live music, galley giveaways, and 10% off everything - and if that hasnât convinced you, did we mention the dog costume contest?!
5) You can never have enough cookbooksÂ
Omnivore Books on Food is holding their annual sale Saturday 8/24 and Sunday 8/25, with all books 20-50% off (!) to make space for fall arrivals. Discounts are in-store only; if youâve never been, their sweet space is well worth a visit. And if all those cookbooks make you hungry, Chloeâs Cafe is just a block away!
AlsoÂ
MONDAY Environmental and political activist Craig Rosebraugh on his memoir Burning Rage of a Dying Planet: The FBI vs. the Earth Liberation Front at Green Apple Books on the Park | Stacey DâErasmo on The Long Run: A Creative Inquiry, âone practitionerâs conversations, anecdotes, confidences, and observations about sustaining a creative life,â via City Lights Zoom
TUESDAY Eugene Lim on the latest edition of his debut Fog & Car via City Lights Zoom | Kiano Moju on AfriCali: Recipes from My Jikoni at Omnivore | Zinething, a monthly LGBTQIA zine-making meetup, at SFPL Main
WEDNESDAYÂ Meeting of KQED Climate Book Club for Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World by John Vaillant at The Commons
THURSDAY Intimate dinner with local author Annalee Newitz to raise funds for Litquake | Reading with Two Way Mirror authors, followed by a set by experimental band Warm Spell, at Bird & Beckett | Two-time James Beard nominee Renato Poliafito on Dolci!: American Baking with an Italian Accent at Omnivore | Poolside Poets at the Phoenix Hotel via Decentered Arts | Launch party for issue 3 of TURKOSLAVIA, an online journal of literary translation from Turkic and Slavic languages, at Et al.Â
FRIDAYÂ Launch party for Bird of Four Hundred Voices: A Mexican American Memoir of Music and Belonging with Eugene Rodriguez and friends in Kerouac Alley
SATURDAY Patrick Fontes on his vampire novel Blood Set at Medicine for Nightmares | Book-signing with Sara Calvosa Olson for ChĂmi Nu'am: Native California Foodways for the Contemporary Kitchen at the Ferry Market Plaza
SUNDAY Launch party for Too Much Too Young, the 2 Tone Records Story: Rude Boys, Racism, and the Soundtrack of a Generation at The Make Out Room | Meeting of the Parenting Book Group to discuss Brain-Body Parenting at Black Bird Bookstore & Cafe
Local & literary news
SF Zine Fest is seeking volunteers for their main festival and a series of lead-ins | Berkeley-based Transit Books is celebrating Women in Translation Month with 30% off applicable titles | The Racket is seeking submissions for narrative essays  | Black Bird Bookstore & Cafe is accepting proposals from local artists for 2025 art shows
Book-adjacent gatheringsÂ
Not *about* books, but around them
đş Watch the Democratic National Convention live and in community at Mannyâs every evening from August 19-22. Tickets for Night 1, Night 2, Night 3, and Night 4 run $10 apiece, but as always, complimentary ones are available if you need them.Â
đĽ Swing by the back courtyard of the Marina SFPL for Shanta Nimbark Sachaorffâs talk on summer pickling, complete with a hands-on demo of refrigerator pickling methods and a tasting of some tangy treats. Saturday 8/24, 2-4pm, free.Â
âş The Glen Park SFPL is holding a camping-gear swap. Bring your gently used items - nothing in need of major repairs - and take anything you need. Sunday 8/25, 2-3pm, free.Â
đ¨ď¸ Medicine for Nightmares is hosting Dr. Jacqueline Arellano and James Cordero of Border Kindness for a discussion about the US/Mexico border - an in-depth look at its evolving challenges and humanitarian needs. Sunday 8/25, 2-4pm, free.
â If youâre looking for more beyond-book fun, I canât recommend
highly enough. Devon Youngbloodâs excellent newsletter highlights opening receptions, performances, and everything in between, and I look forward to reading it each week.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this issue of Same Page - and value receiving it each week! - please consider supporting with just $5/month.
You can also show some love by passing it along to a bookish friend or two - or more, but letâs be honest, weâre all introverts here!
As always, if you have questions, ideas, or events to share, Iâd love to hear! Just reply to this email.
Cheers,
Christina
Book recommendations are my love language.
A bonus for paid subscribers: each week I feature a book Iâve recently read and loved. This week, Iâm excited to rave about a short story collection in translation, with one of my favorite covers of the year.
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