Kim Wong Keltner - Tiger Babies Strike Back
Kim Wong Keltner is a Tiger Baby all grown up with a daughter of her own . . . but is she a Tiger Mother? Heck, no. This book describes--in hilarious, and sometimes heartbreaking, detail--exactly why not.Traversing the choppy seas of American and Chinese traditions, Keltner dives into the difficulties facing women today--Chinese American and otherwise. At once deeply relevant and playfully honest, Tiger Babies Strike Back ($13.99) combines personal anecdotes and tough love advice for a humorous, provocative look at how our families shape--and sometimes shake--our personal foundations.
In the fourth grade, Kim Wong Keltner won a cutthroat spelling bee, which encouraged her aspirations as a writer. Over the years, she honed her ear for dialogue by listening to elderly Chinese women dish dirt over endless games of mahjong. She met her husband at a Chaucer seminar when she stretched out her hand and said, "Come with me if you want to live." They now reside in San Francisco's Sunset District, where all the other Chinese people live.
- Street:
- 51 Tamal Vista Blvd
- City:
- Corte Madera ,
- Postal Code:
- 94925
- Country:
- United States
Left Coast Writers® - Our Favorite Travel Writers
Left Coast Writers Launch®
Join us in a celebration of stories from the road as some of our favorite travel writers share their funny, daring, exciting, and outrageous travel tales.
- Street:
- 51 Tamal Vista Blvd
- City:
- Corte Madera ,
- Postal Code:
- 94925
- Country:
- United States
Khaled Hosseini - And the Mountains Echoed
Corte Madera store
Admission: $35 (includes signed copy of And the Mountains Echoed)
Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. And the Mounains Echoed is a tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.
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“And the Mountains Echoed is a masterwork. I loved every one of the characters. This is storytelling at its best. As Khaled Hosseini brilliantly weaves the lives of each of the diverse characters into a gorgeous quilt, we are transported to a different world, yet we feel a part of each character's experience. I cried in the beginning and again in the end but after I read the last page, I felt so fortunate to have spent several days in Afghanistan, Greece and the Bay Area with these people.”—Elaine Petrocelli, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA
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A Q&A with Khaled Hosseini from Riverhead Books
What most excites you about meeting your readers across America?
Meeting the wide range and diversity of people who have responded to my books, people from all walks of life, all religions, races, cultures, from varsity wrestling team members to hipsters to CEOs to middle-aged accountants to octogenarians. It is always a reminder to me, when I meet these kaleidoscopic demographics, of the ability of fiction to connect people through the expression of basic, common human experiences.
You’ll be on the road for five weeks—what are you planning to bring to read on your tour?
I have already bought a few books for just that purpose and they are now sitting on my desk! Some are new, some are older books that I have always meant to read and never got around to. They are:
Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
Dear Life by Alice Munro
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Not sure I will get through all of them, but I will knock off a few.
What do you like to do with your downtime during your book tour?
I read. I exercise, if I can find the time. I watch parts of movies. I call home. I try to write but never can. I end up reading a lot.
What do you pack in your suitcase that might surprise us?
I always pack—though I never end up wearing it—my SF 49ers cap, which I consider my good luck hat. Also, I have started taking guitar lessons (as a show of solidarity, really, with my son), and sometimes I will pack a small travel guitar for practice on the road. (A bit of parental trickery is at work here, of course; i.e., if I can find time to practice on a national book tour, then my son can find twenty minutes in his day to do the same. Sometimes you have make people feel so bad that they’ll do the right thing.)
What are your children reading right now?
My daughter, who is ten, is reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. My son, twelve, just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
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- Street:
- 51 Tamal Vista Blvd
- City:
- Corte Madera ,
- Postal Code:
- 94925
Christian Kiefer - The Infinite Tides
Keith Corcoran has spent his entire life preparing to be an astronaut. At the moment of his greatness, finally aboard the International Space Station, hundreds of miles above the earth’s swirling blue surface, he receives word that his sixteen-year-old daughter has died in a car accident, and that his wife has left him. The Infinite Tides ($15.00) by Christian Kiefer follows his return back to earth, and to his now empty suburban home, where he finds himself alone with ghosts, memories and feelings he can barely acknowledge, let alone process. He is a mathematical genius, a brilliant engineer, a famous astronaut, but nothing in his life has readied him for this.
Christian Kiefer earned his Ph.D. in American literature from the University of California, Davis, and is on the English faculty of American River College in Sacramento. His poetry has appeared in various national journals including the Antioch Review and Santa Monica Review. He is also an accomplished songwriter and recording artist. He lives in the hill country north of Sacramento with his wife and five sons.
- Street:
- 51 Tamal Vista Blvd
- City:
- Corte Madera ,
- Postal Code:
- 94925
- Country:
- United States
NoViolet Bulawayo & Anthony Marra - In Conversation
May Signed First Edition Club author Anthony Marra speaks with June Signed First Edition Club author NoViolet Bulawayo.
Bulawayo's debut novel, We Need New Names ($24.99) is set in Zimbabwe, where ten year-old Darling and her friends steal guavas, try to get the baby out of young Chipo's belly, and grasp at memories of "before." Before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for dangerous jobs abroad. But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America. She travels to this new land in search of America's famous abundance only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few.
Anthony Marra is the winner of a Whiting Award, a Pushcart Prize, The Atlantic's Student Writing Contest, and the Narrative Prize, and his work was anthologized in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012. He holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and is currently a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena ($26.00) is his first novel.
- Street:
- 51 Tamal Vista Blvd
- City:
- Corte Madera ,
- Postal Code:
- 94925
- Country:
- United States
Class: Andrea Alban - Critique Circle for Developing and Revising your Children's Book
2nd Sunday of Every Month, 5:00 - 8:00pm
$40 per session
Critique Circle for Developing and Revising your Children's Book is a monthly workshop led by Andrea Alban for children's writers to deepen the craft of fiction, from initial concept through finished manuscript. Included is plotting a page-turning story structure, developing quintessential characters, creating vivid story worlds, and practicing the art of revision. Writers learn how to give and receive feedback in the spirit of generosity. The mission of this university-level workshop is to guide writers to publish their work. Included is research into publishing houses and literary agencies, and the art of writing cover/query letters, synopses and sample chapters that stand out from the crowd.
Testimonials:
What I most appreciate about Andrea is her optimism and support--a self-described "cheerleader." She has been like a college professor giving me valuable lessons in picture book creation. Her honesty and writing exercises helped me find my voice. It's been an incredible journey with Andrea as my story midwife!
Andrea Alban is the author of nine books, including the YA novel, Anya's War, (shortlisted for China's 2012 Panda Awards and an ALA honor book), and the bestseller, The Happiness Tree. She is a dynamic speaker at schools, writing conferences, and literary festivals. Andrea edits manuscripts and coaches writers in manuscript development and revision as well as how to prepare submissions to editors and agents.
- Street:
- 51 Tamal Vista Blvd
- City:
- Corte Madera ,
- Province:
- California
- Postal Code:
- 94925
- Country:
- United States
