Same Page SF | Tommy Orange, late-night lit, and Reddit rabbit holes
We're gonna need a bigger bookshelf.
Welcome back to Same Page SF, your home for all things local and literary!
I'm Christina - local bookseller, literary entrepreneur, and unreasonably avid reader. Each week, I share and signal-boost the great things happening across our indie bookstores, library branches, cultural centers, and third spaces - a delightfully varied set of author events, book clubs, new releases, and community gatherings.
If you find that worthwhile, consider supporting with $5 per month, which works out to just over $1 per issue. Because while Same Page is a labor of love, it’s still very much a labor! Paid subscribers get access to weekly book recommendations and regular 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 part of our literary community. Here are five events you’ll want to attend if…
1) You’d like to hear from one of the greats
Tommy Orange at Sydney Goldstein Theater via City Arts & Lectures. Tuesday 2/27, 7:30pm, $49 $44.
Join Tommy Orange on publication day for his “shattering and wondrous” sophomore novel Wandering Stars, which follows multiple generations of an indigenous family in a wraparound to There There. In conversation with Dave Eggers, he’ll discuss the impact of his early success on his second book and life as a writer. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Tommy Orange speak before, and I can’t recommend it enough. Use SAMEPAGESF for $5 off your ticket - if you’re lucky, it’ll include a copy of the book!
2) You want to better understand San Francisco
David Talbot at Manny’s. Wednesday 2/28, 7:30pm, $15+ (complimentary tickets available).
Spend an evening with bestselling historian David Talbot reflecting on San Francisco’s past, present, and future. If you haven’t read his hefty classic Season of the Witch, which Kirkus called “an ambitious, labor-of-love illumination of a city’s soul” in a starred review, now’s the time: it’s Manny’s March book-club pick!
3) You’re in the mood for an immersive fantasy
Kelly Link on The Book of Love at Green Apple Books on the Park and via livestream. Tuesday 2/27, 7pm, free.
Join Kelly Link - short-story virtuoso deemed “our greatest living fabulist” by Carmen Maria Machado - to celebrate her first novel The Book of Love, the saga of three back-from-the-dead teenagers who become pawns in a supernatural power struggle. She’ll be interviewed by Kate Folk, author of the deliciously eerie collection Out There.
4) You might have enough books will never have enough books
Friends of the SFPL Book Sale. Friday 3/1 and Saturday 3/2, 12-5pm, free entry.
These library book sales are always delightful, and this time around, they’ll feature an eclectic and eminently browsable mix of literature, comics, children’s books, and art books - all for $5 or less! Plus, Friends members save 10% on all purchases.
5) You love a subtle, provocative thriller
Kate Brody on Rabbit Hole at Books Inc. Chestnut. Friday 3/1, 7pm, free.
Join Kate Brody to celebrate her debut Rabbit Hole, the twisty tale of a high school English teacher who becomes obsessed with Reddit conspiracy theories about her older sister’s cold-case disappearance. If you’re into a slow-burn thriller that’s less blazing whodunnit and more thoughtful commentary on grief in the Internet age - think Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin - this is right up your alley.
Also
A sad and final reminder it’s your last chance to say goodbye to Folio Books - they’re closing this week after 10 years | Ashleigh Greene Wade on Black Girl Autopoetics: Agency in Everyday Digital Practice via City Lights Zoom Tuesday | Gretchen Sisson on Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood with Susan Kiyo Ito at Manny’s Tuesday | Margaret Wilkerson Sexton on On the Rooftop with Dorothy Lazard - with giveaways! - at the SFPL Tuesday | Lucas Hilderbrand on The Bars Are Ours at Fabulosa Tuesday | Lyzette Wanzer on Trauma, Tresses, & Truth: Untangling our Hair through Personal Narratives at The Ruby Wednesday | Virtual talk with Joanne McNeil of Wrong Way via the Authors Alliance and Internet Archive Thursday | Amy Kurzweil on Artificial: A Love Story at The Ruby Thursday | Major Jackson at City Lights via Undisciplining the Fields Thursday | Manjula Martin on The Last Fire Season at Green Apple Thursday | Literary speakeasy at Martuni’s Thursday | USF presents Wordnight at Booksmith Thursday | Babylon Salon at The Sycamore Saturday | Toriano Gordon on Vegan Mob: Vegan BBQ and Soul Food at Omnivore Sunday | Ryan Grim on The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution at Book Passage Sunday
Book-adjacent gatherings
Not *about* books, but around them
🪡 Looking for a crafty new hobby? Visit Sequoia Fabrica, a new community workshop in Potrero Hill, for an evening of textile inspiration. See their machines in action and start dreaming about what you can knit, sew, embroider, or quilt! Tuesday 2/27, 7:30-9pm, donation requested.
🌃 Stay up past your bedtime with the SFPL for their Night of Ideas 2024. They’ll have sound baths and stand-up, film screenings and zine-making, dance parties and panel discussions - something for everyone! Saturday 3/2, SFPL Main, 4pm-1am, free.
🍵 Stop by Black Bird Bookstore and Cafe for a back-garden pop-up with Song Tea and Tiny Sesame Bakery. Song Tea works directly with producers at origin to source rare tea, and Sesame Tiny Bakery offers delectable seasonal treats. Sunday 3/3, 12pm until sold out.
I Have Some Questions for You (but unlike Rebecca Makkai’s novel, they’re short!)
Substack recently rolled out a survey feature - which makes feedback quick and easy! Please take 30 seconds to let me know what you thought of this week’s issue.
As always, if you have questions, ideas, or events to share, I’d love to hear from you! Just reply to this email or message me on Instagram.
And if you enjoyed this newsletter, please pass it along to friend or two (or more, but let’s be honest, we’re all introverts here).
Cheers,
Christina
Same Page SF
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 comes directly from an event last week - one of three I attended. (It would have been four, but my people-meter was at capacity! I’m an outgoing introvert, and I get such joy from connecting with other book-lovers, but when my social battery is depleted, it’s GONE.)
All the events were spectacular, but I particularly loved hearing from one new-to-me author, and I devoured her book within 24 hours. If you’re looking for nonfiction that’s educational, provocative, and compulsively readable, this is for you.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Same Page SF to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.