Same Page SF | Silent reading, songwriting, and a summer reading challenge
Plus, a debut short story collection that's creepy in the best way
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!
It’s another great week to be a book-lover in San Francisco. Here’s what you’ll want to attend if:
1) You’re looking for a “rollicking far-future adventure”
Robin Sloan on Moonbound at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom. Monday 6/10, 7pm, free.
Join local author Robin Sloan, whose Sourdough and Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore are perpetual Bay Area bestsellers, for a pre-publication celebration of his newest book Moonbound, a “rollicking far-future adventure in the tradition of C. S. Lewis and Ursula K. Le Guin … mixing science fiction, fantasy, and good old-fashioned literary storytelling.” He’ll be in conversation with Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram - not your everyday author interviewer!
2) You gravitate towards memoirs like Unorthodox and Educated
Sara Glass on Kissing Girls on Shabbat at Book Passage. Thursday 6/13, 5:30pm, free.
Growing up in the Hasidic community of Brooklyn’s Borough Park, Sara Glass knew from a young age that what was expected of her and what she wanted were impossibly opposed. She’s written about the agony of that conflict - and her decision to leave her arranged marriage and, ultimately, to embrace her queerness - in Kissing Girls on Shabbat, which Kirkus called “searching and provocative … a courageously candid memoir.”
3) You want to read alone, together
Silent Reading Party at Booksmith. Tuesday 6/11, 7-9pm, $5.
Booksmith’s Silent Reading Party is back! Bring a book (or browse and buy one there), curl up somewhere cozy, and treat yourself to a glass of wine. At the end of the evening, folks will have a chance to share what they’re reading and hear from others. There are only a few tickets left, but if it’s sold out, you can try your luck at the door - or snag a spot now for next month.
4) You love music as much as you love books
SongWriter Live with Susan Orlean and Diana Gameros at The Commons. Thursday 6/13, 7pm, $29.
In partnership with Litquake, KQED presents a live recording of SongWriter, the podcast that turns stories into songs - featured guests have included Questlove, Joyce Carol Oates, and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. This time, bestselling author Susan Orlean will share a story from her latest collection On Animals, and local songwriter Diana Gameros will play a brand-new song written in response.
5) Your favorite short stories are delightfully eerie
Zach Williams on Beautiful Days at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom. Tuesday 6/11, 7pm, free.
Join Zach Williams to celebrate the launch of his debut collection Beautiful Days, which the Washington Post called “one of 2024’s superlative debuts … a glorious creepfest reminiscent of speculative collections by Carmen Maria Machado and Mariana Enríquez” (!!). He’ll be in conversation with Kate Folk, whose Out There was a finalist for the California Book Award in First Fiction.
6) You’re nostalgic for a summer reading challenge 🍕
Remember the days when meeting your reading goals would earn you a personal pizza? While there’s no cheese or pepperoni involved, the SFPL is once again running its Stride program from June through August - open to readers of all ages! Complete the challenge by tracking 20 hours of reading or completing any row in Bingo to win this year’s tote bag.
Also
MONDAY LA-based chefs Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson on Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes at Omnivore Books
TUESDAY Meeting of the Manga Book Club at Sour Cherry Comics | Bestselling mystery writer Jacqueline Winspear on The Comfort of Ghosts (Maisie Dobbs #18) at Bookshop West Portal | Poetry and music open mic at SFPL Park
WEDNESDAY Dual launch celebration for poets Jennifer Tseng (Thanks for Letting Us Know You Are Alive) and Katie Peterson (Fog and Smoke) at Green Apple Books on the Park
THURSDAY Philosopher Judith Butler on Who’s Afraid of Gender? at Sydney Goldstein Theater via City Arts & Lectures | June Martin on her debut Love/Aggression, a “lightly-surreal novel of queer community conflict, surreal architecture, and two roommates deciding they fucking hate each other,” at Booksmith | Maryam Kashani on Medina by the Bay: Scenes of Muslim Study and Survival at Medicine for Nightmares | David Ciminello on The Queen of Steeplechase Park, the “almost-true story of infamous burlesque queen and magic meatball maker Belladonna Marie Donato,” at Fabulosa | Readings to celebrate the latest issue of Sinister Wisdom at SFPL Main
FRIDAY Meeting of the Book Club Italiano at Libreria Pino
SATURDAY Babylon Salon featuring Katie M. Flynn, Grace Loh Prasad, Elizabeth Stix, Sasha Vasilyuk, and more | Pride Month Storytime with local author/illustrator Michael Genhart at Black Bird | Meet and greet with Micah Siva for Nosh: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine at the Ferry Building Farmers’ Market | Kids’ Swiftie Scavenger Hunt at Books Inc. Chestnut
SUNDAY Meeting of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club at Borderlands
ALL WEEK Former Folio Books owner and staff are raising funds to bring a bookstore back to Noe Valley | SF Art Book Fair is looking for volunteers for its July festival | The Ruby, an arts and letters–focused community for nonbinary, transfeminine, and woman-identified creatives, is accepting applications for its Creatives-in-Residence Program through June 15 | SF Zine Fest is accepting exhibitor applications for its 23rd Annual Zine Fest through June 16
Book-adjacent gatherings
Not *about* books, but around them
😻 The Glen Park branch of the SFPL is screening Mye Hoang’s debut documentary Cat Daddies, a “heartwarming and tender portrait of a diverse group of men whose lives have been forever changed by their love of cats.” Wednesday 6/12, 6-7:30pm, free.
🎶 Brickhouse and Book Passage are partnering to host the first Tiny Desk Concert of the summer, featuring acoustic sessions with local musicians Aisha Sharif and Jolene Lozano. Wednesday 6/12, 6-8pm, $5-15 donations appreciated.
🎂 Black Bird Bookstore and Cafe is turning 7! Get festive at their birthday party, which will feature drinks, locally made pizza, 16mm film screenings, and more. Friday 6/14, 6pm, free.
👣 The SFPL is partnering with City Guides for a historical walking tour. Learn about the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires - and how the city rebuilt itself. Saturday 6/15, 10am-12pm, free with RSVP.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this issue of Same Page, please pass it along to a bookish friend or two (or more, but let’s be honest, we’re all introverts here!).
As always, if you have questions, ideas, or events to share, I’d 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 I’ve recently read and wholeheartedly loved.
This week’s recommendation, a sophomore publication by a British-Palestinian author, won the Aspen Words Literary Prize and was shortlisted for a number of other awards. Accolades can be tricky - they sometimes inflate expectations to the degree that a book I might have otherwise enjoyed feels disappointing - but in this case, it was even better than I hoped.
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