Same Page SF | Soulful beach reads, candid memoirs, and lots of live readings
☀️ If you don't know what "analemma" means, you're about to!
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.
Same Page is a labor of love, but it’s still very much a labor - one that’s made possible by paid subscribers. By opting to pay just $5 per month, you’re saying that each issue gives you at least $1 worth of value. (For both our sakes, I hope that’s true!)
Paid subscribers get perks like curated sneak peeks, thoughtful book recommendations, and early access to book giveaways to support local and visiting authors - not to mention the warm fuzzies of knowing you’re helping make Same Page sustainable.
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 summer read with substance
Emma Copley Eisenberg on Housemates at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom. Monday 6/24, 7pm, free.
Join Emma Copley Eisenberg, in conversation with local author (and Same Page reader!) Nina LaCour, to celebrate the launch of Housemates. A coming-of-age story about art, friendship, and chosen family, it follows two housemates on a road trip; Kirkus called it “emotionally rich and quietly thought-provoking … simply stunning” in a starred review.
2) You’re into public health and inside scoops
Dr. Anthony Fauci on On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service at Manny’s. Tuesday 6/25, 2:30-3:30pm, in-person ($40-$60, includes book) and via Zoom ($5).
Dr. Anthony Fauci needs no introduction - but while he’s best known for his role in the COVID pandemic, he was also pivotal in navigating the Ebola, SARS, West Nile, and anthrax crises. In his memoir, he recalls decades of caring for critically ill patients and advising seven presidents (though I’m pretty sure only one of them peddled direct-injection disinfectant as a miracle cure).
3) Your favorite book of 2022 was Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin on the power of fiction at Sydney Goldstein Theater via City Arts & Lectures. Tuesday 6/25, 7:30pm, $41+.
In a roundabout but very real way, Gabrielle Zevin inspired me to start Same Page - so I can only imagine the ideas she’ll spark when she discusses the power of fiction with local author Rebecca Handler via City Arts & Lectures! Some $49 tickets include a paperback copy of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.
4) You’re craving a memoir that “makes an irresistible case for life”
Carvell Wallace on Another Word for Love at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom. Wednesday 6/26, 7pm, free.
Join writer, journalist, and podcaster Carvell Wallace to celebrate the launch of his highly anticipated memoir Another Word for Love, in which he excavates layers of his own history, situated in the struggles and beauty of growing up Black and queer in America. He’ll be in conversation with R. O. Kwon, whose newest novel Exhibit is also top of my TBR.
5) You're into live readings and literary festivity
Hope you’re around Thursday evening! All three are free.
Adobe Books is holding the fourth installment of NO WORRIES IF NOT, a poetry series curated by Scott Faller, at 6:30pm.
For a “fabulous evening of words, martinis, and prizes” in celebration of Pride and Foglifter Press, join Literary Speakeasy at Martuni’s at 7pm.
In celebration of Elizabeth Stix’s debut short-story collection, Things I Want Back From You, The Racket presents an evening of writers on the topic of “woeful inadequacy” (juicy!) on The Sycamore’s patio at 7pm.
✨ BONUS ✨ You want to hear from local community-builders
I’m excited to share that Same Page - which exists to inform, nourish, and celebrate the readers, writers, and book-lovers of San Francisco - has been participating in Build IRL’s pilot program, an accelerator for groups working to create in-person communities in the SF Bay Area.
As the capstone, Build IRL is hosting a public showcase on Thursday 6/27 - come by to hear from me and 20+ other organizers!
Also
MONDAY Rescheduled from May: Editor Angie Sijun Lou and contributor Karen Tei Yamashita on anthology Dark Soil: Fictions and Mythographies at Booksmith | Vérane Frédiani, Alexis Steinman & Georgina Viou on Taste the World in Marseille: Marseille Cuisine by the Marseillais at Omnivore Books | Virtual talk with Stephanie Harrison on New Happy: Getting It Right in a World That’s Got It Wrong via Book Passage | Bimonthly meeting of Babes Who Book at Sour Cherry Comics
TUESDAY Madeleine Cravens on Pleasure Principle, a poetry collection about desire and the chaos of youth, at Green Apple Books on the Park | Guzman, an award-winning husband-and-wife photography duo, on Family Values: Kurt, Courtney & Frances Bean at Book Passage | Dawn Tripp on Jackie, a novel about Jackie Kennedy Onassis, at Bookshop West Portal | Local authors celebrate their latest work: Tara Sim (We Shall Be Monsters) and Katy Rose Pool (Masquerade of the Heart) at Books Inc. Laurel Village | Michelle T. King on Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food at Omnivore | Khushbu Shah on Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora at JCCSF
WEDNESDAY An evening of reading and discussion with K-Ming Chang and Jennifer Tseng at Booksmith | Local Chinese-American author Rosalie M. Lin on Daughter of Calamity, an atmospheric reimagining of 1930s Shanghai, at Book Passage | Virtual talk with bestselling author Joyce Maynard How the Light Gets In via Book Passage | Fireside chat with Kasley Killam on The Art and Science of Connection at SHACK15 in partnership with Book Passage
THURSDAY Leslie Stephens on her debut You’re Safe Here, a tech- and wellness-centered thriller, at Book Passage | LGBTQIA Book Swap at SFPL Main | Virtual lunch & learn with the SF chapter of the Women’s National Book Association on how to follow up with a literary agent
FRIDAY 2024 Small Plate Publication Party to celebrate the Bay Area artists selected to produce a limited-edition artist book for the Small Plates imprint program
SATURDAY 8th birthday celebration for Illustoria, a San Francisco-based creativity magazine for kids, at the SF Botanical Garden in partnership with Green Apple Books and the SFPL | Claire Dederer on Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma via City Arts & Lectures is sold out
SUNDAY Reading together extravaganza with Friends & Neighbors for their Summer Reading Challenge in partnership with Green Apple Books
ONGOING Fabulosa and their excellent Books Not Bans program made the front page of the LA Times | Litquake is hosting a series of intimate fundraising dinners with authors now through September - tickets aren’t cheap, but they’re for a good cause! | 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 SFPL’s Summer Stride reading challenge is off and running
Book-adjacent gatherings
Not *about* books, but around them
🎶 Green Apple Books on the Park is celebrating their June Record of the Month, Al Harper’s The Analemma Observation League, with a live performance by Al herself. (New word alert: an analemma is the figure-8 shape the sun makes in the sky when viewed from the same spot at the same time over the course of a year.) Friday 6/28, 7pm, free.
📷 Black Bird Bookstore & Cafe is holding an opening party for San Francisco-native film photographer Charles “Chuck” Fabiani III, aka 35mmpelicula. His work will be on display through the end of July. Friday 6/28, 6-9pm, free.
🪻The Bernal Heights SFPL is welcoming artist and writer Ocean Escalanti for a workshop on urban foraging. Learn to identify and responsibly harvest local plants, harnessing their natural dyes for vibrant pigmentations. Saturday 6/29, 3-4pm, free.
Looking ahead: Two asks and a gift
🍷 In generous partnership with local venues and merchants, Same Page SF is hosting its first event - a Wine & Short Story Pairing - this July. If you’re a published author interested in participating, please reach out!
🎨 Calling all graphic designers - I’m looking to review and improve Same Page’s logo and branding. Reply if you’re able to help!
🎁 Good news: I received an advance copy of Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Brazilian-American author Ananda Lima, and it’s exceptional - surreal, intimate, intensely memorable. (Plus, feast your eyes on that cover!) Without a doubt, it’s my favorite short story collection I’ve read this year.
Even better news: she’ll be celebrating its publication at Green Apple Books on the Park next Monday, and we’ve got five copies to gift to Same Page readers! If you’re a fan of interlinked short stories and the work of Carmen Maria Machado, Kelly Link, or V. E. Schwab, enter the giveaway here. It’s open to everyone, but paid subscribers get priority and free shipping.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this issue of Same Page, please share it with 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.
This week, instead of sharing a book recommendation, I’m flipping the script: tell me what you’re looking for and I’ll send personalized suggestions!
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