Same Page SF | If you love books and gardens, it's your week đđ·
Plus Matthew Desmond, TĂ©a Obreht, Colin Winnette, and more
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 the great things happening across our city - author events, book clubs, new releases, and community gatherings.
Thanks to feedback from a recent survey, Iâm excited to try a new perk for paid subscribers: at the start of each month, Iâll send a âsneak peekâ of events most likely to sell out. The first one will hit inboxes next weekend!
If youâre already a paid subscriber (thank you!), I hope youâll find it useful - and if youâre on the fence, I hope it inspires you to consider upgrading for $5/month. That works out to just over $1/newsletter - and for both our sakes, I hope you feel each gives you well above that value!
Same Pageâs continued existence is made possible by the generosity of paid subscribers, who get perks like weekly book recommendations and regular book giveaways to support local and visiting authors - not to mention the warm fuzzies of knowing youâre helping make Same Page sustainable.
On to the goings-on!
Itâs another great week to be a book-lover in San Francisco. Hereâs what youâll want to attend if:
1) You want to dismantle myths about poverty
Matthew Desmond via City Arts and Lectures & the SFPL at Sydney Goldstein Theater. Wednesday 3/27, 7:30pm, $39.
As author and researcher Matthew Desmond put it, âTens of millions of Americans do not end up poor by a mistake of history or personal conduct. Poverty persists because some wish and will it to.â In other words: poverty is a feature, not a bug. Hear more in a fireside-style interview conducted by Bernice Yeung, managing editor of Berkeley Journalismâs Investigative Reporting Program. (If cost is a barrier, SFPL has some free tickets!)
2) Youâre looking for a dystopian book with âan undercurrent of hopeâ
TĂ©a Obreht on The Morningside at The Booksmith. Wednesday 3/27, 7pm, free.Â
Join bestselling author TĂ©a Obreht, in conversation with R. O. Kwon, to celebrate the release of her new novel The Morningside. Set in a dystopian future and inspired by Serbian folktales, itâs a story of identity, displacement, and magic - and itâs getting rave reviews. As someone whose favorite overly-specific subgenre is âdystopian fiction about resilience and joy,â Iâm excited to get my hands on this one!
3) Youâre in the mood for a launch party
Colin Winnette and friends on Users at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom. Tuesday 3/26, 7pm, free.
Celebrate the paperback release of Colin Winnetteâs Users, a deceptively slim novel (recently shortlisted for the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction) about relationships, start-up culture, and the unchecked power of tech. Thereâll be readings by the author and fellow local writers Kate Folk, Daniel Pearce, Natalie So, and Suzanne Wang, plus music by April Magazine and general merriment.
4) Youâd like to learn about the first Asian American Hollywood star
Katie Gee Salisbury on Not Your China Doll at Book Passage Ferry Building. Thursday 3/28, 5:30pm, free.
Hear from
about her debut biography Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong, an in-depth study of the life and times of the groundbreaking actress. I learned about this book through Anne Helen Petersen of , who sold me when she wrote:âYou donât have to be well-versed or even ostensibly interested in Classic Hollywood to find this work compelling. You just have to want to think more about how popular media is created, negotiated, and comes to endure â and about the stories those in power tell themselves and others to justify a deeply exclusionary status quo.âÂ
5) You love books and gardens - ideally at the same time
Youâve got two great options!
Marie Mutsuki Mockett on The Tree Doctor at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom. Wednesday 3/27, 7pm, free.
Join Marie Mutsuki Mockett, along with Shanthi Sekaran, to celebrate the release of The Tree Doctor. Set at the start of the COVID pandemic, it follows a middle-aged woman who, stranded at her childhood home, throws herself into reviving her motherâs garden - and an affair with a local arborist. (I loved it, and Iâm in good company; Kirkus called it âan affecting story of personal transformation, as broody as it is eroticâ in a starred review.)
Sonja Swift on Echo Loba, Loba Echo at the SF Botanical Garden with Green Apple Books. Saturday 3/30, 1pm, free for SF residents and members.
For the latest installment of the Books on the Garden series, join poet Sonja Swift for readings and reflections from her collection Echo Loba, Loba Echo: Of Wisdom, Wolves, and Women, a unique look at the cultural, environmental, historical, literary, metaphorical, and political role of the wolf.
Also
Bay Area Book Festival is looking for volunteers - reply to this email if youâd be interested in getting a Same Page cohort together! | Fort Point Beer will give you a $5 draft special any time you buy a book from an indie shop | The Writers Grotto is hosting their spring quarter open house Tuesday | Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Diane Seuss celebrates the launch of her new collection Modern Poetry via City Lights Zoom Tuesday | Three travel writers on their latest books at Bird & Beckett Tuesday | Antonella Vitale on The Girl Who Said No at Telegraph Hill Books Wednesday | Literary speakeasy at Martuniâs Thursday | Judith Butler on Whoâs Afraid of Gender? via City Lights Zoom Thursday | Bookworm trivia night at Book Passage Corte Madera Thursday | Alex Schumacher on his middle-grade graphic novel The Effects of Pickled Herring at the Cartoon Art Museum Saturday | Arielle Johnson on Flavorama: A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor at Omnivore Saturday | Comix Experience hosts its 35th anniversary party Saturday | City Lights, Locus Magazine, and PM Press celebrate the life and work of Terry Bisson Saturday
Book-adjacent gatheringsÂ
Not *about* books, but around them
đïž Mannyâs is holding a talk on the future of Market Street on Market Street itself. Brainstorm possibilities with expert panelists amongst the skyscrapers, transit routes, and tourists - then head to Harringtonâs Bar + Grill for drinks and mingling. Thursday 3/28, 5-7:30pm, $15 (includes one drink).
đŠ Black Bird Bookstore and Cafe is hosting Caldecott-winning author and illustrator Shawn Harris for childrenâs storytime. Heâll be reading from his newest book The Teeny Weeny Unicorn, a delightfully modern fairy tale celebrating difference and self-confidence. Saturday 3/30, 9:30am, free.
đČ SFPL Visitacion Valley is offering a free bike repair workshop in partnership with Bay Area Bike Mobile. Mechanics will be on hand to provide tune-ups and fix flat tires, adjust brakes and gears, and even replace chains, seats, and tires. Even better, theyâll explain exactly what theyâre doing so youâll know what to do next time! Saturday 3/30, 10am-1:30pm, free.
PSA: Litquake wants you!
Litquake, San Franciscoâs largest literary festival, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this October - and theyâre seeking submissions for all programs, including Lit Crawl. If you hear âepic literary pub crawl through the Mission Districtâ and think âit would be so fun if that meantâŠ,â nowâs your time to shine! Theyâre especially interested in ideas that go beyond a standard slate of readings - think literary games, write-offs, and other interactive experiences that fit Lit Crawlâs creative, irreverent, and festive vibes.
Thanks for reading!
Howâd you like this issue of Same Page? Take 30 seconds to share your feedback!
And if youâre so inclined, please pass 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 or message me on Instagram.
Cheers,
Christina
Same Page SF
Book recommendations are my love language.
A bonus for paid subscribers: each week I feature a book Iâve recently read and wholeheartedly loved.
This weekâs recommendation comes from an author whoâll be visiting this week - so if youâre looking for extra encouragement to attend an event, read on!
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