Book Passage, along with The Marin County Free Library, City Public Libraries of Marin County and Dominican University of California, is pleased to announce the 2012 One Book One Marin reading program with the selection of The Oracle of Stamboul (pb $13.99; hc $24.99) by Michael David Lukas. Join us for the launch of this county-wide celebration with a talk and signing by the author.
A girl changes the course of an empire in The Oracle of Stamboul, Lukas’ lyrical novel set in 19th-century Turkey. It is beautifully written, passionate, and fragrant with political intrigue, historical upheaval and Eastern mysticism. Booklist calls this bestseller “a bold portrait of an empire precariously poised on the chasm between an old and a new world.”

Oakland-born Michael David Lukas has been a Fulbright scholar in Turkey, a proofreader in Tel Aviv, and a Rotary scholar in Tunisia. He birngs a raconteur’s sense of storytelling and a traveler’s eye for detail and history to his novel One Book One Marin provide readers with a shared reading experience that leads to open dialogue and celebrates the joy of reading. Previous authors celebrated in this program have included Isabel Allende, Amy Tan, Michael Chabon, Abraham Verghese, and Dave Eggers. For more information see www.onebookonemarin.org.

Join us for lunch as Lisa See presents her novel Dreams of Joy. She returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed 19-year-old daughter, Joy. Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers. Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost.

Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at our Marin store. These events are catered by the outstanding Insalata’s Restaurant of San Anselmo.

Priority seating with book purchase
Sebastian Junger discusses War ($15.99). Junger turns his empathetic eye to the reality of combat—the fear, the honor, and the trust among men whose survival depends on their absolute commitment to one another. His on-the-ground account follows a single platoon through 15 months in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. Junger is the author of The Perfect Storm.

Tickets $35 (includes a signed copy of Ensler’s book)
Call (415) 927-0960, ext. 1 to reserve

Eve Ensler, Tony Award winning author of The Vagina Monologues and founder of V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, comes to Marin for a very special conversation with author and journalist Isabel Allende. Ensler’s newest play Emotional Creature will world-premiere at Berkeley Rep in June 2012. In I Am an Emotional Creature, Ensler offers a call to action for girls everywhere to become the women they’re meant to be.

Priority seating with purchase of the book
The former governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm and her husband Dan Mulhern present A Governor’s Story: The Fight for Jobs and America’s Economic Future ($27.99). In January, 2002, Granholm became the first woman governor of Michigan. This a first-hand account of her battle to create jobs and to repair healthcare, education, and infrastructure systems—issues that are now sweeping the country. Granholm is host of the new show about politics the War Room with Jennifer Granholm on Current TV.

Admission $120 per person/ $195 per couple

Call (415) 927-0960, ext. 1 to reserve

Plats du Jour has been called a love letter to Sonoma County, a travelogue, and a celebration of the bounty of Northern California. Sondra Bernstein, proprietor of The Girl and the Fig and Estate restaurants along with her partner, Executive Chef John Toulze, share a passion for French-country cooking and feature over 100 recipes and wine pairings in this new, full color table cookbook. There are 28 three-course menus arranged by season, as well as pantry recipes and wine pairings. Sondra reveals intimate stories and tributes to the local farmers, artisans, and food perveyors, all who bring a tremendous amount to the table. Don’t miss this amazing luncheon in one of the prettiest restaurants in Sonoma, just off the historic square. The price includes the meal, wine, coffee, tax, tip & a signed copy of the author’s book.

Can't attend the event? Order a signed copy - Email orders@bookpassage.com

Join us for the culminating event for One Book One Marin 2012. Marin County residents started reading and discussing the 2012 selection, Michael David Lukas’ The Oracle of Stamboul in January. Michael Krasny is an author, professor of English, and host of KQED’s Forum.

Join Julia Alvarez for lunch as she discusses A Wedding in Haiti, a story about three of Alvarez’s most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti. A teenager when Julia first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage and charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia’s promise is tested. Alvarez is the author of In the Time of the Butterflies and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents.

Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at our Marin store. These events are catered by the outstanding Insalata’s Restaurant of San Anselmo.