Same Page SF | A provocative debut, a Greek-myth retelling, and an evening with Michael Pollan
Plus, a hot new summer reading challenge enters the villa 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) Youâre into contemporary fiction that centers connection
Kat Tang on Five-Star Stranger at Booksmith. Monday 8/12, 7pm, free with RSVP.
Join Kat Tang for the launch of her highly anticipated debut novel Five-Star Stranger. A âsharp page-turner of our cultureâs commodification of everything,â it follows an unnamed person-for-hire, available for everything from public proposals to funeral attendance - and, every Thursday for the last eight years, fake fatherhood. Sheâll discuss it with Kate Folk, whose short story collection Out There also explores the paradox of isolation in a hyperconnected world.
2) You love a feminist retelling
Caro de Robertis on The Palace of Eros at Booksmith. Tuesday 8/13, 7pm, free with RSVP.
Join award-winning author and translator Caro de Robertis to celebrate their new book The Palace of Eros, a feminist retelling of the myth of Psyche and Eros that centers queer joy and freedom; Kirkus praised it as âa vulnerable, sensuous, and joyous journey about living and loving in oneâs truth.â Theyâll be in conversation with fellow author and local favorite Ingrid Rojas Contreras.
3) Youâre a *little* focused on politics right now
Nancy Pelosi on The Art of Power: My Story as Americaâs First Woman Speaker of the House at the Orpheum Theatre. Tuesday 8/13, 7:30pm, $55+ (includes book).
Just 22 days ago, President Joe Biden was still very much the Democratic nominee and most of us had never heard of Tim Walz. To repurpose the new VP candidateâs favorite phrase: WEIRD! Thereâs never been a more dynamic time to hear from Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who will discuss her memoir in a one-night-only event in partnership with Broadway SF and Book Passage.
4) You like to read and reflect in communityÂ
Rasheed Newson on My Government Means to Kill Me at SFPL Main. Wednesday 8/14, 6pm, free.Â
Every two months, the SFPL selects a city-wide read for their One City, One Book initiative. The current choice: My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson, a Black and queer coming-of-age story set in â80s NYC amidst the AIDS epidemic. The New York Times called it âextraordinary ⌠It bring[s] history to life in a way history lessons cannot.â Newson will be in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Andrew Sean Greer.Â
5) Youâd enjoy a low-key chat with a big name in nonfictionÂ
Michael Pollan on âall of the thingsâ at Mannyâs. Thursday 8/15, 7pm, $10.Â
Mannyâs is hosting a casual catch-up with acclaimed nonfiction author Michael Pollan, who will âdiscuss all the thingsâ from how to eat, to the latest advances in psychedelics for therapeutic use, to his thoughts on the world today. Proceeds will support Mannyâs civic work, so think of the event as a combination author talk and fundraiser, with books available for purchase and signing.
⨠BONUS: You want to read books and win prizes
If youâve been a part of Same Page for a while, you know about SFPLâs Summer Stride, but what about Friends & Neighborsâ 18+ Summer Reading Challenge? Pick up a Reading Log from them or their partner Green Apple Books (Clement Street location) to start tracking - the readers with the most hours will win a prize, with additional goodies for bonus categories and mini-challenges. And if youâre free Sunday, stop by their Reading Together Extravaganza on the Richmond Library Lawn!
AlsoÂ
MONDAY Bimonthly meeting of Babes Who Book at Sour Cherry Comics | Meeting of the Cookbook Club featuring Maria Finnâs Forage. Gather. Feast at the Mechanicsâ Institute | Virtual talk with poet Robert Hass via the Pacific Zen Institute
TUESDAY Joshua Jennifer Espinoza on her poetry collection I Donât Want to Be Understood, a work of resistance against the conventional trans narrative, at Green Apple Books on the Park | Virtual launch party for Women & Psychedelics: Uncovering Invisible Voices via City Lights Zoom | Food journalist Trevor Felch on City Eats San Francisco: 50+ Recipes from the Best of the City by the Bay at Omnivore Books | Poetic Tuesdays with MoAD at Yerba Buena Gardens | Open Mic Night at SFPL ParkÂ
WEDNESDAY Open Mic Night at Black Bird Bookstore & Cafe | Spencer Fleury on his short story collection I Blame Myself But Also You at Green Apple Books on the Park | Virtual launch party celebrating the newest work from Kate Gale, Helen Benedict, and Denise Frost via City Lights Zoom | Author Gary Kamiya (Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco) in a âvisual collaborationâ with artist Paul Madonna at KALW
THURSDAY Speaking Axolotl, the Bay Areaâs long-running Latinx reading series, featuring Katherine Bahena-Benitez and Josiah Luis Alderete reading the poetry of Ricardo Teall | Elisabeth Eaves on her debut psychological thriller The Outlier at Booksmith | Book Bingo at Books Inc. Laurel Village | Launch party for Kate Sweeneyâs This Is Not a Dead Girl Story at ClioâsÂ
FRIDAYÂ â
SATURDAYÂ Christopher Pollock, SFâs first historian-in-residence for all the cityâs parks, on the aptly titled San Franciscoâs Parks at SFPL Glen Park
SUNDAY Literary fundraiser for East Bay Booksellers | Poetry in the Alley with Josiah Luis Alderete, soledad con carne, Rusty Morrison, Achy Obejas, Carlos Quinteros III, and Maw Shein Win | Meeting of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club for The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean at Borderlands | Virtual meeting of the African Book Club for Call and Response: Stories by Gothataone Moeng via MoAD | Found Poets: mOody bLaCk, Tongo Eisen-Martin, and more at The Lost Church | Maisie Ganzler of Bon AppĂŠtit on You Can't Market Manure at Lunchtime! at Books Inc. Opera Plaza | An evening of poetry to celebrate Tureeda Mikellâs The Body: Oracle of Memory at Medicine for Nightmares
Local & literary news
East Bay Booksellers has reached their fundraising goal and plans to rebuild after a devastating fire | 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 | Sign-ups are open for Serrana Laure Gayâs Little but Fierce writing intensive, which explores the pleasures and pitfalls of micro-fiction (Iâve taken a class with her and it was excellent!)
Book-adjacent gatheringsÂ
Not *about* books, but around them
âď¸ The presidential election is dominating headlines and memes (as someone on the Internet put it, wouldnât we all rather find ourselves in an episode of Veep than Handmaidâs Tale!?), but thereâs lots happening on the home front too. Mannyâs is holding a panel with political journalists from the Chronicle and Mission Local for a discussion on San Franciscoâs mayoral race. Tuesday 8/13, 6-7pm, $10.Â
đŁ The SFPL is hosting a series of walking tours throughout the summer; this weekend, theyâre focusing on North Beach. Learn about the food, culture, and history of San Franciscoâs Little Italy! Saturday 8/17, 10:30am-12pm, free with reservation.
đľ Telegraph Hill Books is welcoming Sofar Sounds, a community that connects artists and audiences through live music in intimate spaces, for a surprise-lineup show. Saturday 8/17, 7:30pm, $34.
Thanks for reading!
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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 wholeheartedly loved. This week, Iâm highlighting a quietly cutting coming-of-age novel that sent me straight back to sixteen.
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