Events

« Week of November 14, 2010 »
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
14 Class: Karen Benke - Rip the Page (Poetry for Girls 8-10 Years Old!) Start: 12:00 pm End: 2:30 pm Corte Madera store, $45 Register for Class An imaginative writing workshop for kids 8-12 years-old who want to create poems they can take home to share. Karen Benke has inspired kids’ creative journeys in the form of poem-making for 16 years as a California Poet in the Schools and authoring a free writing guide for adults. She’s the author of Rip the Page! Adventures in Creative Writing. Frances Lefkowitz - To Have Not Start: 2:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Frances Lefkowitz discusses her memoir To Have Not ($14.50). Lefkowitz reflects on her own life of poverty. A poor white girl from 1970s San Francisco, she tries to escape her upbringing through an Ivy League scholarship, only to realize that upward mobility is not all it’s cracked up to be. Gary Noy & Rick Heide - The Illuminated Landscape Start: 4:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Gary Noy & Rick Heide present The Illuminated Landscape: A Sierra Nevada Anthology ($19.95). Noy and Heide present the literary Sierra Nevada as seen by writers from Muir to Twain to Stegner and Snyder. This work collects more than 50 inspired pieces, from Indian tale to modern story. Writing Mamas Salon - Mary Mackey Start: 5:00 pm Corte Madera store Speaker: Mary Mackey, author of The Year the Horses Came A Writing Group • Led by Dawn Yun 2nd Sunday each month • 5:00-8:00 pm. • $120 per year The Writing Mamas is where motherhood meets writinghood and finds a happy neighborhood at Book Passage. Improve your writing! Meet great mothers who are writers! Learn to perform your work before the public! Get published! We will write, workshop, gab, and hear speakers. Many members have gone on to be published. Why not you? Let the other mothers/writers help you, while the speakers inspire you. This year lots of Writing Mamas are getting their books, articles, and blogs published. Inspiration is found in the fabulous speakers we have lined up. For a complete list of all speakers, go to www.writingmamas.com. A Moveable Feast - with Don George, Amanda Jones, Jim Benning & Larry Habegger Start: 7:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Join us as famed travel writers present Lonely Planet’s A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Encounters Around the World ($14.99). This collection of travel tales set around the world transforms the planet into an endless all-you-can-eat buffet for mind, soul, and stomach!	15 Class: Kim Hermanson - From the Visible to the Invisible: Entering Imaginal Space Start: 6:30 pm End: 8:30 pm Book Passage Class Four Mondays: Nov. 15-Dec. 6 Corte Madera store, $120 Register for Class The ancient Sufis believed there are three worlds: the intellect, the senses, and a world they called the “imaginal world,” which was the place where they received visions and creative insights. As we immerse in winter’s darkness, the portals to the imaginal are more available. In this course, we employ myth, metaphor, innovative exercises, and visual imagery to explore the imaginal realm. Kim Hermanson, Ph.D. teaches at several universities and at Esalen Institute. Her most recent book is Getting Messy. Joel Richard Paul - Unlikely Allies Start: 7:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Joel Richard Paul talks about his biography Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution ($16.00). Paul presents the story of three remarkable historical figure—Silas Deane, Caron de Beaumarchais, and Chevalier d’Eon—who successfully used espionage and sexual deception to win the American Revolution.	16 Kathryn Otoshi - Zero Start: 10:00 am Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Special for kids! Kathryn Otoshi presents Zero ($17.95). As budding young readers learn about numbers and counting, they are also introduced to accepting different body types, developing social skills and character, and learning what it means to find value in one’s self and in others. Otoshi is the author of One and Simon and the Sock Monster. Simon Winchester - Atlantic Start: 1:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Simon Winchester discusses Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories ($27.99). Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, the author of Krakatoa and The Professor and the Madman tells the saga of the magnificent Atlantic Ocean. Thomas Sanders - The Last Good War Start: 7:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Thomas Sanders talks about The Last Good War:The Faces and Voices of World War II ($45.00). Sixty years after World War II, a young Sanders began traveling the country photographing hundreds of veterans. Veronica Kavass, a writer and interviewer with StoryCorps, joined the project and spent countless hours with these men and women, recording their vivid accounts as Sanders recorded their storied faces. World War II magazine praises The Last Good War, "hits home like a one-two punch." Full praise: Nearly 12 million Americans served in the armed forces during World War II; about 2 million are still with us. Here are some of their stories. With heartfelt, perceptive variety, the remarkable portraits that distinguish this book reflect the range of their subjects’ experience. The concise text recounting each veteran’s reminiscences amplifies the impact. The combo hits home like a one-two punch Starred Review from Publishers Weekly: "Just the cover of this book can break your heart: an aged man in closeup, every wrinkle and blemish visible, holding a U.S. Navy emblem to his forehead, and he appears above the title: The Last Good War. The veterans of that war, WWII, are captured in Sanders's debut—in their 80s and 90s, male and female, black and white. Some wear parts of their original uniforms; others hold artifacts of the time, like battalion photos, newspapers, or canteens. One sailor, dressed in white shirt and tie, still wears his cap at a jaunty angle. Oral historian Kavass has collected brief reminiscences from the veterans that don't underplay the horrors of war, from the Bataan march to the deaths of friends. But most memorable are the faces: solemn, proud, occasionally smiling, some looking directly into the camera, others looking off to the distance as if remembering the events of long ago. Anyone who is close to a member of the "greatest generation" will treasure these wizened faces captured before the entire generation is gone. (Oct.)	17 Literary Luncheon with Stacy Schiff Start: 12:00 pm The ticket price of $55 includes lunch and a signed book Call (415) 927-0960 ext. 1 to reserve Corte Madera store Can't attend the event? Order a signed copy Join Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Stacy Schiff for lunch as she talks about her book Cleopatra: A Life. Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Along the way, Cleopatra’s supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. Schiff boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Schiff is the author of Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Saint-Exupéry, a Pulitzer Prize finalist; and A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, winner of the George Washington Book Prize and the Ambassador Book Award. 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. The ticket price of $55 includes lunch & an autographed copy of the book. Call (415) 927-0960 ext. 1 to reserve. SARK - Glad No Matter What Start: 7:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy SARK presents Glad No Matter What: Transforming Loss and Change Into Gifts and Opportunities ($18.95). When grief, sadness, and other strong emotions seem overwhelming, this book shows how to skillfully work with those feelings and access their significant healing power. Michael Caine EVENT CANCELED Start: 7:00 pm This event is canceled. Signed copies still available. Because of actor Michael Douglas' illness, Sir Michael Caine has replaced him in an upcoming film and will be filming in November. We will, however, still have autographed copies of The Elephant to Hollywood. You may order a signed copy by clicking the order button below.	18 Class: Kerrin Meis - Modernism: Matisse to Mondrian, Art for Art's Sake Start: 2:00 pm End: 4:00 pm Book Passage Class Four Thursdays: Nov. 18-Dec. 17 (no class Nov. 25) Corte Madera store, $60 Register for Class What exactly was Modernism? From our vantage point a century later we shall be examining the avant-garde movements in the visual arts in Europe from 1900 to 1940. Modernism had its roots in the late nineteenth century when artists like Cezanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh began a move toward abstraction. We will begin with the Austrian Secession; Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka and move on to Germany: The artists of Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter. We'll encounter the Fauves in France: Matisse, Derain, et al. The pioneers of Cubism: Braque and Picasso, Orphism and the Delaunays will be followed by a study of the Italian Futurists. A special emphasis on the Women artists of the Russian Avant-Garde will be followed by a study of the Surrealists whose notion of reality fell entirely outside traditional views of reality versus the artists of Neue Sachlichkeit who addressed the problems of Weimar society. Kerrin Meis taught art history at SFSU for ten years, lectured for the College of Marin, Exploritas, Dominican University, and leads study tours in France. Kelly Corrigan - Writing Mamas Salon Mama Monologues Start: 6:30 pm Corte Madera store Tickets $25 (plus ticket service fee) Order Tickets YOU Deserve an Evening of Fabulous Food, Wonderful Wine and LOL Laughter Attend the MAMA MONOLOGUES!!!!!!!! Join our nationally renowned group of mothers, The Writing Mamas, who meet monthly at Book Passage to write, whine and wine, and our very special guest, Kelly Corrigan!!!!! the New York Times best-selling author of Lift and The Middle Place. Let us entertain you with stories of REAL-life parenthood. (Otherwise known as—survival!) Leave the kids at home, bring your special someone, your BFFS, or meet new ones during this friendly, hilarious, LOL party created just for YOU! Fabulous Puerto Rican cuisine will be lovingly prepared and donated by Sol Food, one of Marin's most popular and hippest restaurants, along with complimentary wine, red or white, maybe both? And the entertainment—OMG!!!!! ALL profits are donated to charity. Meet Kelly—she is one very funny mama—and have her personally sign a book for you! Cost: An amazingly low $25 (plus ticket service fee) for EVERYTHING—Food, Wine, Entertainment!!!! Buy now. Tickets will sell out! Questions: Contact Writing Mamas and Mama Monologues Founder, Dawn Yun, @ dawnyun1@gmail.com, or (415) 233-2483. Robert Michael Pyle - Mariposa Road: The First Butterfly Big Year Start: 7:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Robert Michael Pyle talks about Mariposa Road: The First Butterfly Big Year ($27.00). Part road-trip tale, part travelogue of lost and found landscapes, all good-natured natural history, this volume tracks Pyle’s journey across the United States as he races against the calendar in his search for as many of the 800 American butterfly species as he can find.	19 Buddy Valastro - Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia Start: 12:00 pm San Francisco store Order a signed copy Buddy Valastro presents Cake Boss : Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia ($25.99). Television viewers have fallen in love with Valastro, master cake maker, and his funny and fiery family, proprietors of Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, on the smash hit television series Cake Boss. In this heartfelt memoir, Valastro tells his inspiring story. Adair Lara - Naked, Drunk, and Writing Start: 7:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Adair Lara discusses Naked, Drunk, and Writing: Shed Your Inhabitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay ($14.99). The material is right there in front of you. You’ve known yourself for, well, a lifetime—and you finally feel ready to share your story with the world. Yet when it actually comes time to put pen to paper, you find that you’re stumped. Enter Adair Lara—beloved writing coach.	20 Ann Louise Gittleman - Zapped ADDED EVENT! Start: 11:00 am Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Ann Louise Gittleman presents Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution ($25.99). We’re being zapped: Today 84 percent of Americans own a cell phone, 89 million of us watch TV beamed in by satellite, and we can’t sip a cup of coffee at our local cafÉ without being exposed to Wi-Fi. The very electronic innovations that have changed our lives are also exposing us, in ways big and small, to an unprecedented number of electromagnetic fields. Invisible pollution surrounds us twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, interrupting our bodies’ natural flow of energy. And for some, that pollution has reached the point of toxicity, causing fatigue, irritability, weakness, and even illness. But we don’t have to simply surrender. Ann Louise Gittleman brings forth the latest research into electromagnetic fields to create this groundbreaking guide for every citizen of the wireless age. With the proactive, levelheaded approach that has made her one of our most respected health experts, she not only clarifies the risks but also offers specific, step-by-step information for how anyone can minimize them. Judith Redwing Keyssar - Last Acts of Kindness Start: 2:00 pm Corte Madera store Cosponsored by Hospice by the Bay Judith Redwing Keyssar presents Last Acts of Kindness: Lessons for the Living from the Bedsides of the Dying ($15.95). In these chronicles of a midwife to the dying, Keyssar speaks eloquently and from her heart about her extensive experience in the field of palliative care. Gary Kamiya (Shadow Knights) & David Talbot (Devil Dog) Start: 4:00 pm Corte Madera store Gary Kamiya presents Shadow Knights ($19.99). Kamiya reveals the exhilarating illustrated story of Britain’s secret Special Operations Executive and the everyday men and women who risked their lives to sabotage Hitler. David Talbot discusses Devil Dog ($19.99). Talbot shares the thrilling illustrated tale of Smedley Butler, a Marine who fought across the globe, restored order to Philadelphia, and foiled a plot against FDR. Anne Germanacos - In the Time of the Girls Start: 7:00 pm Corte Madera store Order a signed copy Anne Germanacos presents her novel In the Time of the Girls ($14.00). Set in Greece, this innovative debut uses discrete, telling moments to create fast-paced stories that are richly pleasurable to read. Germanacos has lived between Greece and San Francisco for thirty years. Her stories are just as strange and tragic as the Greek myths they riff on. Catch Anne's interview with Michael Krasny on November 17, 10:30-11:00 am on KQED-FM 88.5!

Order a Signed Copy Today!

Can't make it to an event? Want an autographed copy?

Order a signed book by adding it to your cart and noting "Signed Copy" in the comments field at checkout. Signed copies available at no extra charge while supplies last.

WE SHIP GLOBALLY!
Questions? Email orders@bookpassage.com
or call (415) 927-0960

Shopping cart

View your shopping cart.