Welcome to the second issue of Same Page SF, your home for all things local and literary. Think of us as your friendly, well-informed, and unabashedly nerdy source for book discussions, author talks, writer meet-ups, new releases, and other relevant happenings.
We research, curate, and highlight gems you might have otherwise missed; we can’t cover everything, but our hope is that we’ll feature something of interest to every reader. For real-time updates - and details about the many great things we can’t squeeze in! - follow our fledgling Instagram account.
To that end, here are five bookish goings-on this week:
1) If this tweet strikes a chord
NightLife Book Fair @ Cal Academy. Thursday 11/16, 6-10pm. $22.
A bibliophile’s dream of an evening! Embrace the nostalgia of a book fair while hearing from a spectrum of literary voices - because diversity isn’t optional. (Backstory: After mounting backlash from educators and authors, Scholastic has reversed course on its plan to separate “diverse stories” for school book fairs in 2024.) Featuring local booksellers, Drag Story Hour, and unexpected cameos from your favorite childhood characters.
2) If your favorite podcast is 99% Invisible
John King on Portal @ Book Passage Ferry Building. Tuesday 11/14, 5:30pm. Free.
Hear from two-time Pulitzer finalist and architect aficionado King, whose new book tells the story of American waterfront urban design through the lens of our iconic Ferry Building - satisfyingly, from a bookstore within the Ferry Building.
3) If you know what I mean when I say “space opera”
Martha Wells on System Collapse @ Bethany United Methodist Church, in partnership with Folio Books. Saturday 11/18, 7pm. $22 (includes book).
Join Wells to celebrate the release of System Collapse, book 7 in her Hugo-, Nebula-, Locus-, and Alex-award-winning series (whew!) The Murderbot Diaries. Per Publishers Weekly in their starred review, “Anyone who enjoys humor-infused space operas won’t want to miss this.”
4) If alternate histories are your jam
Ed Park in conversation with Natalie So @ The Booksmith. Monday 11/13, 7pm. Free.
Hear Park and So discuss his kaleidoscopic new novel Same Bed Different Dreams, which imagines an alternate secret history of Korea. Hua Hsu, author of Stay True, hailed it as a “feverish, mind-altering marvel of a book.”
5) If you want to read in community - and in silence
Silent Reading Party @ Adobe Books. Monday 11/13, 5:30–7pm, free.
Bring whatever you’re currently reading and cozy up on a couch at Adobe - affectionately known as “the living room of the Mission” - for a peaceful evening of quiet camaraderie.
While you’re there, congratulate them - in hushed tones! - for 10 years on 24th St. And if you’re an artist, consider donating work for their fundraiser this Friday.
In addition:
Not one, not two, but three free poetry readings this Monday, all live-streamed or hosted virtually | Art historian Katy Hessel’s talk and book-signing (The Story of Art without Men) is sold out, but you can add yourself to the waitlist | BookShop West Portal is running a pre-holiday sale: buy 5+ items and get 20% off your purchase | Retro Game Books is holding its first-ever pop-up shop Sunday on Cortland Ave | This week alone, the SFPL is hosting nine (!) different book clubs
Book-adjacent gatherings:
Not *about* books, but around them
🎶 Live jazz with Grateful Brass in the parklet at Manny’s to kick off your weekend. Friday 11/17, 5-7pm, free.
📜 Opening reception for SFCB’s exhibition Paper is People: Decolonizing Global Paper Cultures. Friday 11/17, 6-8pm, free.
🍰 Pastry pop-up by traveling bakery Blooms End at Black Bird Bookstore and Cafe. Saturday 11/18, 10am.
🎨 Block party with Keep Oakland Beautiful (KOB) and Marcus Books to unveil their latest mural - a community celebration of brand-new art at the nation’s oldest black-owned bookstore. Sunday 11/19, 1-3pm, free.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d be grateful if you’d let me know by sharing it with a bookish friend or two (or more, but let’s be real, we’re all introverts here).
Have an upcoming event you’d like me to include? Want to share an idea or ask a question? I’d love to hear from you! Just reply to this email.
Cheers,
Christina
Same Page SF
Book recommendations are my love language.
A bonus for those who reach the bottom of the newsletter: each week I’ll feature one book - sometimes more! - I’ve recently read and wholeheartedly loved.
At LitQuake’s opening party, I got to talking with a woman who invited me to join her book club (hooray for literary community!), and WOW was I blown away by their pick. I genuinely can’t believe Idlewild* is Thomas’s debut - his precision of language and command of storytelling are stunning. It’s billed as a darkly funny story of two adults looking back on their intense teenage friendship in a queer, trans, and early-Internet twist on the Manhattan prep school novel; if the terms “fanfic” or “LiveJournal” or “theater drama” ring a bell (and strike fear into your heart), it’ll take you back in time.
*That link will bring you to my Bookshop.org page, and I’ll earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase - but I’ll be delighted if you buy directly from one of our indie booksellers or borrow from the SFPL. If you do, please send me a note to let me know - it’ll make my day!