April 2021... News, Events and What We are Reading
Celebrate Spring
Here’s to celebrating poetry this month, as well as Springtime. The sun is shining, the skies are blue and all the Spring blooms are bursting forth, fragrant and radiant. Spring is a season that dares us to be joyful. (Even frivolous!) So stop and savor it as one of my favorite poets does. - Cheryl
April Is National Poetry Month
Penguin Random House has announced that the hardcover version of Gorman’s poem has broken all records with the highest first-week sales of any poetry book ever published. She is also on the cover of Vogue magazine this month (shot by the one and only Annie Leibovitz) and has reputedly turned down over $17 million in endorsement & speaking opportunities in an attempt to remain true to herself and her conscience. Not bad for a 23-year old Harvard grad. A hugely gifted young woman.
If you weren’t one of the 170+ people who joined us for the live Facebook feed which we were streaming from the bookstore, here is a link to the tour and interview.
Whenever someone tells me they “don’t have time to read”, I suggest poetry. In just a few minutes, a few verses, a few pages, a few lines, can arouse your senses and transport you to other places. Come browse our curated poetry section this month and don’t miss the highly anticipated Sausalito Woman’s Club/Sausalito Library annual Poetry Night produced by the inimitable Barbara Holmes.
Earth Day Is April 22
Savor it, save it, protect it.
It’s the only Earth we have. Worship all the wonder it brings to our lives. Be wise. Don’t let it get away.
We are very proud of our EARTH / ECOLOGY / WILDLIFE collection of environmental books – from oceans, to elephants, climate change and conservation.
Independent Bookstore Day Is April 24
Meet Local Authors, Live Music by Trio Viva, Complimentary Beverages!
All pandemic protocols enforced… Please mask and socially distance.
Upcoming Events
Virtual Online Author Event
April 17th, 11am
Nancy Johnson James
Nancy Johnson James is a poet, educator, activist and children’s book author. Her most recent book, “Brown: The Many Shades of Love:” is a loving and lovely ode to the color brown, a boy describes the many beautiful hues of his family, including his own—gingerbread.
Virtual Online Author Event
April 20th, 5:30pm
Book Launch Celebration
Jonathan Marshall
Dark Quadrant
Jonathan Marshall is an award-winning journalist and the author of 5 other books including the Iran-Contra Connection and Cocaine Politics. Drawing on extensive research, including new and original sources, Dark Quadrant provides riveting insights into how well-protected criminals and their business allies have led to the systemic corruption of American national politics since WWII. Marshall offers judicious conclusions and valuable historical context.
A sobering wake-up call.
April 24th 1-5pm
Independent
Bookstore Day
Join us for an Outdoor
Open House / Dock Party!
• Meet local authors
• Live music by Trio Viva
• Complimentary Beverages
May 1–9
7th Annual
Bay Area Book Festival
This is the most amazing Bay Area book event of the year. Even though it has to be virtual this year, it promises to be dazzling with the most subversive and spellbinding award-winners on the literary scene. There’s something for every taste, mood, and brand-new beginning. Sign up now to experience the authors and special programs brought to you by Cherilyn Parsons and her amazing team. Free & ticketed events.
Sausalito Books By The Bay Photo Gallery
Thanks to author Vendela Vida who came by to sign copies of her great new book We Run the Tides.
We partnered with the Women Lit team at Bay Area Book Fest to host debut author Alka Joshi in a discussion about her first book The Henna Artist which has already been translated into 23 languages and will be part of a Miramax television series featuring Freida Pinto. (Henna Artist was one of my personal favorites last year.) It has just been released in paperback and we have signed copies. If you missed this very engaging conversation here is a link: https://youtu.be/Vjvdepjlorg
Alka’s new book The Secret Keeper of Jaipur publishes in June. We can’t wait!
I was joined by four intrepid female nomads discussing their journeys and tales as told in the latest edition of the The Best Women’s Travel Writing. If you can’t get on a plane quite yet and traipse across continents, reading about it is the next best thing!
Upper row: Lavinia Spaulding, Cheryl Popp, Erin Byrne Below: Diane LeBow, Tania Romanov Amochaev
Wines of The Month
Since the days are warmer and the sun is mostly shining, we’re featuring Chardonnay’s this month; something for everyone from everywhere! Two of my favorite “big” California Chardonnays are:
Three Sticks Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2018 – a luscious, rich wine from acclaimed winemaker Bill Price and the Gap Crown Vineyard.
Frank Family 2019 Carneros Chardonnay – full-bodied, creamy, toasted brioche!
For a more European Chardonnay experience (French to be exact) try one of my favorite “house” wines ( something I serve at home for sipping):
Jean-Claude Boisset Les Ursulines Chardonnay Bourgogne 2018
What We're Reading
Klara and the Sun
Kazuo Ishiguro
Klara is an Artificial Friend. But don’t be put off. She is perhaps more observant than most Real People. And like us all, she wants to be loved. When I first heard about this book I thought “AI, Sci Fi? Not for me”. Hah! I’m so glad I didn’t miss it. A fascinating and thought-provoking tale by the Nobel Prize Winner in Literature who also brought us Remains of the Day. Cheryl P.
The Consequences of Fear
Jacqueline Winspear
It’s 1941 and London private detective Maisie Dobbs is as relentless as ever investigating several suspicious murders despite the fact she is weary from her work as an undercover agent for British intelligence. You won’t be disappointed! Cheryl P.
Mike Nichols: A Life
Mark Harris
There is no single person who has so impacted my life, while remaining so personally invisible, as Mike Nichols. Do you remember: Mother, I want to become a registered nurse.? From the improv of Nichols and May, to Broadway, to films, he was an inescapable presence in American creative culture from 1958 to 1971. Neil Simon lives on in his interpretations, but it is his early cinematic efforts which have seared themselves into my psyche: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Catch-22 and, finally, Carnal Knowledge. If possible, I appreciate him even more after reading this. Jeff B.
Infinite Country
Patricia Engel
The opening line of the book -- “It was her idea to tie up the nun” – sets the pace. Welcome to Bogota, Columbia, the lives of undocumented immigrants in America, and the worlds of Elena and Mauro and Talia, a family torn asunder. A heart wrenching and heartwarming tale vividly portrayed. Cheryl P.
Butter Honey Pig Bread
Francesca Ekwuysi
After the death of their father and the “bad thing”, the closeness of Nigerian twins Kehinde and Taiye is severed in grief and shame. Traveling through three continents, we follow Taiye exploring food to become a chef and Kehinde’s progress as an artist, all the while exploring relationships as they move into adulthood. Reuniting in Lagos with their mother Kambirinachi, who sees the spirits of her ancestors guiding her through life, the women explore the trauma they lived through as teens. This wonderfully told tale has been long listed for the Canadian Giller Prize and is an All-Canada reads listing. It should be getting more attention in the US. Angela K.
The Hemingway Stories
Ernest Hemingway
A collection of his best-known classics as featured in the new PBS documentary film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. No one summarizes the book better than Tobias Wolff who selected the stories and wrote the book’s introduction: “How I loved these stories….their exactitude, their purity of line, their trust in the reader…I am struck most forcefully by their humanity.” To Papa. Cheryl P.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Somewhere in the backstreets of Tokyo, there's a coffee shop that will send the patrons back in time, provided that they stick to a very strict time limit. The time travel operates on a unique set of rules and circumstances that force the user to carefully consider their reasons for going back to the past. Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a novel about friendships, family, and that which is most important. The story is sincerely heartwarming and down to earth. I was immediately sold on caffeinated time travel, and I was further hooked in by the intriguing story structure that sees the protagonist change from chapter to chapter. Matthew K.
Minor Feelings – An Asian American Reckoning
Cathy Park Hong
This accomplished poet brings us a collection of essays that are part memoir, part social criticism based on the systemic racism she has experienced as the daughter of Korean immigrants. Her “minor feelings” will leave you with major feelings. A poignant, unforgettable must-read. Cheryl P.
The Rock From The Skyd
Jon Klassen
The newest book from Caldecott Medal author Jon Klassen is full of cheeky humor and droll chit-chat between three main characters through five short stories. With lovely illustrations, this book will delight both the adult reader and children alike. Angela K.
The Eyre Affair
Jasper Fforde
This is the first book in the Thursday Next series, but I found it works well as a stand-alone story. Set in an alternate version of England where law enforcement has a branch for time warps and another for werewolves, The Eyre Affair depicts a delightfully weird world and a quirky cast of characters that are great fun to explore. The story centers on Thursday Next, an investigator of literature-related crimes, and her particularly weird new case involving the original manuscript of Jane Eyre. Fford's novel is extremely zany and full of great escapist entertainment. Beyond the whimsey and the intrigue, this is a book about loving books, and the ties we form with the fiction we experience. Matthew K.
Hawking Hawking: The Selling of a Scientific Celebrity
Charles Seife
I think we all have a sense of Stephen Hawking, and his work, and how these intersect with our understanding of the big questions of physics. But why? And why him? And is any of this warranted? Respected science journalist Charles Seife dares to ask these questions, and his conclusions, though scathing, ring true. I tore through this book in a few days, barely noticing that it chronicles Hawking's life and career in reverse chronological order! Jeff B.
You Dont Have To Be Everything
Edited by Diana Whitneyz
In celebration of National Poetry Month Diana Whitney brings together poems from 68 writers, from known voices like Maya Angelou to the newer voices of Natalie Diaz and Amanda Gorman. The poetry is grouped by emotions (such as loneliness, rage and seeking) and urges young readers to accept their own emotions of the teenage years. Angela K.
Sea of Rust
C. Robert Cargill
A fast-paced and suspenseful page-turner, one part gritty western and the other existential robot apocalypse. The story follows Brittle, a sentient android who scavenges the remains of civilization and dodges part-hunters in a dustbowl world. Sea of Rust is full of moral ambiguity and nuanced relationships. It offers a keen exploration of emotions and human nature, despite the fact that humans are extinct for much of the narrative. The witty dialogue and the sardonic narration give some great moments of levity to offset the initially bleak setting. Matthew K.
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