Same Page SF | Burn books, launch parties, and "a night of literary splendor"
Plus, an erotic writing workshop and some very sexy novels 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 book-lover in San Francisco. Hereâs what youâll want to attend if:
1) Youâre in the mood for âa night of literary splendorâ
Launch party for Exhibit by R. O. Kwon at the Verdi Club, presented by Green Apple Books and Litquake. Monday 5/20, 7pm, $5-50.Â
Join bestselling author R. O. Kwon for a celebration of her highly anticipated novel Exhibit, which Time called âa hypnotic queer love story full of lust and longing.â Hosted at a historic dance hall with a full bar, festivities will include a reading by Kwon, a conversation with National Book Award finalist Ingrid Rojas Contreras, and a signing line. If youâre feeling really fancy, a VIP ticket gets you access to the pre-event soiree, a special photo opportunity, and a drink ticket.
2) Youâre looking for an inspiring, inclusive travel guide
Mark Jason Williams on Out in the World at Fabulosa Books. Thursday 5/23, 7pm, free (RSVP recommended).Â
Join award-winning travel writer Mark Jason Williams for a discussion of his co-authored guide Out in the World. Organized by theme, from Romantic Rendezvous to Boozy Trips & Trails to Fun Haunts & Spooky Spirits, it features robust itineraries for inclusive destinations where LGBTQIA+ travelers and friends can have a âmemorable, meaningful, and uncensored vacation experience.â Hooray!
3) Youâre interested in a coming-of-age, coming-out memoir
Curtis Chin on Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant at the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco in partnership with the SFPL. Saturday 5/25, 1-3pm, free.Â
In celebration of APA Heritage Month and Pride Month, join Curtis Chin - writer, filmmaker, and cofounder of the Asian American Writersâ Workshop - for a book talk and library pop-up. His memoir traces his journey through 1980s Detroit as he navigated rising xenophobia, the AIDS epidemic, and the Reagan Revolution - all set against the backdrop of his familyâs restaurant. The SFPL will provide complimentary copies (and run a AANHPI Queer Book Giveaway!) while supplies last.
4) You canât resist tech tea and a Mean Girls throwback
Kara Swisher on Burn Book: A Tech Love Story at Mannyâs. Thursday 5/23, 6pm, $40+ (includes book).
Join award-winning reporter Kara Swisher - âthe bad-ass journalist and OG chronicler of Silicon Valley,â as Booklist described her in a starred review - for a chat with Casey Newton about her instant bestseller Burn Book. Part history and part memoir, itâs a witty, scathing, and compulsively readable account of the tech industry and founders who wanted to change the world (and did ⊠but not necessarily for the better).
5) Youâre feeling frisky đ„
Youâve got options!
Join O. Henry Prize winner K-Ming Chang to celebrate the launch of Cecilia, a surreal novella about an erotic girlhood friendship, in conversation with Jemimah Wei via City Lights Zoom. Tuesday 5/21, 7pm, free (RSVP required).
Visit Sour Cherry Comics for an erotica writing workshop with Natalie Sierra, open to folks 18+ of all genders and sexualities. Come prepared to write - sharing isnât required, but it is recommended! Wednesday 5/22, 6:30-8:30pm, $20.
Join writer and filmmaker Miranda July for a fireside-style chat about her latest book All Fours - a remarkably explicit tale NYT Magazine called âthe first great perimenopausal novel.â I got an advance copy, and itâs one of the most discomfiting, provocative, and unique stories Iâve ever read! Thursday 5/23, 7:30pm, $49 (may include book).
Also
MONDAY Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Nicholas Kristof on Chasing Hope: A Reporterâs Life at Calvary Presbyterian in partnership with Book Passage | Celebration of the life and work of Neeli Cherkovsi at City Lights and via Zoom
TUESDAY Pioneer of the riot grrrr movement and lead singer of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre Kathleen Hanna on Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk via City Arts & Lectures  | Virtual book discussion with veteran New York Times journalist Ernesto Londoño on Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics | Celebration of the life and craft of QR Hand Jr at Medicine for Nightmares | British-Bangladeshi food writer Dina Begum on Made in Bangladesh: Recipes and Stories from a Home Kitchen | ZineThing, a monthly LGBTQIA zine-making workshop presented by SF Zine Fest, at SFPL Main
WEDNESDAY Cartoonist Kaitlin Chan on graphic novel Ericâs Sister at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom | Launch party to celebrate Kit Schluterâs Cartoons and Garret Caplesâ Proses: Incomparable Parables! Fabulous Fables! Cruel Tales! at City Lights and via Zoom | Steven Rowley on sequel The Guncle Abroad at Book Passage | Justice Stephen Breyer on Reading the Constitution via City Arts and Lectures
THURSDAY Launch party for Spring 2024 issue of CCSFâs Forum Magazine | Celebration and panel discussion for Corky Leeâs Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice at SFPL Main | Jessica Shattuck on historical novel Last House at Book Passage | Designer and illustrator Craig Frazier on Drawn. at Letterform Archive | Journalist Sasha Vasilyuk on Your Presence is Mandatory at Telegraph Hill Books | The Racket presents I'M IN MY POET ERA with guest host Baruch Porras-HernandezÂ
FRIDAYÂ Sophie Appel on The Worldâs Largest Cherry Pie at Et al.
SATURDAY  Understudy: Discovering Asian-American Radicals Through Poetry at Medicine for Nightmares | TRICKSHOT Magazine Release at Adobe BooksÂ
SUNDAY Sebastian Junger on memoir In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife at Books Inc Opera Plaza | Mystery author Stacie Grey on She Left at Book Passage | Justice-oriented open mic series OddVerse featuring Lidia Rodriguez and Darius Simpson | In-person gathering of the Silent Book Club at Obscenity Bar & Lounge
ALL WEEK Bookshop West Portal Anniversary Sale
Book-adjacent gatheringsÂ
Not *about* books, but around them
đȘ§ San Francisco Center for the Book (SFCB) is holding a talk on handheld rubber stamps in activism. Historically regarded as utilitarian tools for bureaucracy and regulation, in the hands of artists stamps can become vehicles of protest and calls to action. Wednesday 5/22, 6-8pm, donation-based.Â
đ„ Looking to get involved in building a more just, sustainable, and holistic food system? Black Bird Bookstore and Cafe is hosting a backyard meet-and-greet with Food and Agriculture Coalition Toward Sovereignty (FAACTS). Appropriately, food will be served! Thursday 5/23, 3-5pm, free.Â
âïž The Presidio branch of the SFPL is hosting local artist Amy Koehler for a science illustration workshop, where youâll learn to sketch a Great Blue Heron. Itâs free to attend, but reservations are required, and youâll need to bring your own pencils and sketchbook. Saturday 5/25, 1-3pm.Â
đŒïž Speaking of art and the SFPL, the Potrero branch is hosting an opening party for the 63rd Potrero Hill Artistsâ Exhibition - purportedly the longest-running annual art show in San Francisco - with live music, light refreshments, and craft projects for kids. Saturday 5/25, 6-9pm, free.Â
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 recommending a just-published novel, or maybe itâs better described as a novel-in-stories where each chapter is set in a new version of the protagonistâs world. If you know me, you know I love a good multiverse tale, and this is a standout.
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