October 2020... What we're doing and what we're reading!
Our One-Year Anniversary…
and what a year!
Wow. Quite a milestone – especially under adverse circumstances entirely out of our control!
Pandemics, power outages, wildfires, mandated closures, masks and quarantines, smoke-clogged air, social distancing, presidential politics, social unrest and a shortage of toilet paper…
What more could someone want their first year in business?
We officially opened October 11th last year in the middle of one of many extended power outages and raging wildfires. Six months later we were forced to close for 4 months. Who knew?!
While we were closed to the public, we managed to remain operational. With staff reductions and reducing hours of operation to 4 hours a day, we processed online and phone orders, shipped books and delivered to doorsteps.
We became virtual booksellers and personal shoppers, curating from afar. On any given day I felt a like a FedEx delivery service.
We continue to reinvent ourselves daily, pivoting to all things digital including virtual author events and programs in the ubiquitous Zoom Room. For better or for worse, we are soon joining the masses on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. We continue our Facebook posts. If you aren’t already besieged by these social media platforms, please follow us.
By the end of the year we will have migrated to our own online book sale platform. In the interim you can order books online from us via our partner Bookshop.org and we get a small percentage of those sales. We will soon offer more merchandise online and specially curated gift “boxes” for special occasions.
All of these marketing tools & projects take time and money to manage in an era where we have less of both resources. We are a very small, independent community bookstore that needs your very big support – now more than ever before
There is, sadly, no end in sight. Despite what we all hoped. Uncertainty persists. Still, we remain resilient and are learning to see things from a new perspective. Call this a “gap year” if you will. We’re poised for the next 12 months hoping to capture opportunities where we can amidst all the rubble.
Books do help us survive. They can instill us with the power of imagination, they can delight, rejuvenate and renew our outlook on a weary world. So at the very least, let’s all keep reading.
Meanwhile, we’ve got one very memorable year under our belt. Thanks to many of you, we made it! Despite all obstacles.
We think we have something to celebrate. So please join us this Sunday, October 11, 2020/
May you be safe and well.
Cheryl
We are open SEVEN DAYS A WEEK
Monday- Saturday 10am – 6pm
Sunday Noon – 6pm
Fulfilling special orders via phone 415.887.9967
or email staff@sausalitobooksbythebay.com
FREE Home Delivery – right to your doorstep
FREE Shipping Anywhere in the U.S
TAKE-OUT – order books, jigsaw puzzles, or gifts for PICK UP CURBSIDE
FREE DOWNTOWN PARKING
Be Sure to REGISTER & VOTE November 3rd
Go to the following link to make sure you are registered:
https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/
You will also find a link to sign up for text and email updates about your ballot status
TAKES 2 MINUTES!
Join Our Community Supported Bookstore Program
By opening a CSB account with us -– or adding money to your existing
account – you provide us with valuable working capital to help make ends meet
during this dramatic economic downturn.
For more information CSB program
Happy Hour Virtual Event Series
Unless otherwise indicated all events are public and there is no charge to attend.
October 7 – 5:30pm
Lucinda Watson
The Favorite
Book Launch Celebration!
The Favorite is a touching & poignant book of poetry by local Sausalito author Lucinda Watson whose poetry has appeared in various literary journals. Her new, first collection of poems has been called "an arrow to the heart". Sixty-four poems are offered in three chronological parts from childhood to later life.
The talented poet portrays her elite, upper crust, East Coast childhood of social privilege and the psychological costs associated with it. Kirkus Reviews says this: "Thoughtful, well-crafted poems that trace a path to self-discovery." Lucinda holds two master's degrees and was an instructor at U.C. Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
October 11 – 2-5pm
Our One Year Anniversary Celebration!
Enjoy music by Trio Viva and complimentary libations.
Meet our Artist-in-Residence
Eric Von Berg.
20% OFF Everything
Prepare to engage in all pandemic protocols:
Wear a mask; stay away from others; sanitize your hands and hydrate heavily...
October 18 – 1pm
2 New Books to Celebrate!
with Tracy Tandy
Activities, Live Music, Book Drawings!
Marin County local Tracy Tandy is the author of 5 books. Her new picture book Druk and Mita takes children to the remote Himalayan country of Bhutan. Her mid-grade fantasy Moonwitch of Crushtide Island is Book II in the Dreamhaven series.
Be the first to hear 3 new songs written just for these books, as jazz musicians Keith Saunders and Lisa Lindsey join us (the voice of Princess Leia!)
REGISTER HERE
October 29 – 5pm
Donna DiGiuseppe
Lady in Ermine
The dramatic story of Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1535-1625) – the woman who painted the Renaissance. A brilliant artist who was mentored by Michelangelo, praised by Giorgio Vasari... and largely overlooked by history. As a lady in waiting at the Spanish court of Philip II, she painted the Spanish Habsburg reign and later traveled the Mediterranean, painted the Medici court, mentored Rubens and Anthony van Dyck.
A captivating biographical novel for lovers of Italy, art and history. Donna was inspired to write this impressive debut novel based on her Italian heritage. She went on to study the northern Italian Renaissance at UC Berkeley, spent a year in Venice, and also earned a Masters in history from SF State University. She splits her time between Sausalito and Abruzzo, Italy.
October 31 – 5pm
Happy Haunting!
Just think! A Halloween where EVERYONE will be wearing a mask!! Our staff will be in costume and we will have pre-packed, COVID-safe, trick ‘o’ treat bags for any kids who come by.
November 3
Election Day!
November 7 – 10:30am
Book Launch Celebration for Muffled with Jennifer Gennari
In conversation with Alison Green Myers Highlights Foundation Program Director & children's book writer
Meet Amelia, who is sensitive to sound yet has to learn to play an instrument, or, as she sees it, make noise on purpose. Tune in for the story behind Muffled, learn about the work of the Highlights Foundation, and listen to a trombone!
Publishers Weekly says: "Gennari effectively works Ameliaʼs experience onto nearly every page, making each of her hard-won victories resonate powerfully." Muffled is a Junior Library Guild selection. Jennifer is also the author of My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer.
Register now & preorder your signed copy!
November 18 – 5pm
In Conversation With a
Formidable Forum of Authors
“Women in War:” The Resilience,
Fortitude and Bravery of Women
in WWII.
Kristin Hannah (The Nightingale)
Ciji Ware (Landing by Moonlight)
Jill Barnett (Sentimental Journey)
Kim Ostrom (The Gold In Broken Places)
October is National Bully Prevention Month
We are proud to partner with NO BULLY in a series of panel discussions that will be live-streamed on their website. One in 3 students is bullied by their peers; minority students are 2-3x more likely to get bullied. Bullying is a timely and critical topic to address today.To register for these events and more information https://nobully.org/ If you’d like to learn more about curbing this crisis in our schools and online, we have a suggested reading list available at the store.
What We're Reading
The Exiles
by Christina Baker Kline
As a young woman of education but lesser means, governess Evangeline is seduced by her employers’ older son and finds herself pregnant and thrown in Newgate prison on a trumped-up charge to get rid of her. She is finally exiled to a penal colony in Australia to serve her sentence. While on the months-long boat ride on a former slaving ship to the colony, she meets young Hazel who has been convicted of stealing a single silver spoon and strikes up a friendship. Based on true events, Kline re-creates in sweeping details the beginnings of a new society in a challenging land.
Angela K.
Fifty Words for Rain
by Asha Lemmie
Eight-year old Nori is left at the imposing doorsteps of her grandparents with the admonition “do not question, do not fight, do not resist.” The love child between an aristocratic Japanese and an African American GI, Nori has no place in post-war Japan other than behind closed doors. Her grandmother is frightful and abusive, and Nori finds little happiness until she meets her older half-brother Akira. In an epic story of societal changes in Japan after the war, this book will stay with you long after you have read the last page.
Angela K.
Squeeze Me
by Carl Hiaasen
Kiki Pew is a prominent member of Palm Beach high society, and an outspoken supporter of the President. When she disappears without a trace, everybody scrambles to discover what happened. This gives rise to outlandish conspiracies, political statements, and opportunists hoping to solve the mystery and cash in on a reward. At the heart of it all, there's a strong-minded animal control specialist who means to find the answers, and the unctuous property owners who will stop at nothing to cover up the truth. Vintage Hiaasen, the book is a tome of ludicrously escalating situations, smart and snappily written. Full of the usual outrageous cast of characters spanning the human spectrum. Murder, intrigue, raunchiness and biting cynicism await. Welcome to the Florida Everglades!
Matthew K.
P.S. our owner lived in South Florida for a decade, knew Hiaasen, and is a huge fan of his truly disturbing, highly hysterical books.
Lady in Ermine
by Donna DiGiuseppe
A biographical novel about a remarkable woman who painted the Renaissance – an exceptionally talented woman you’ve likely never heard of – Sofonisba Anguissola. Michelangelo saw her genius, Vasari praised her talent. She was in fact the most successful female artist of her era, yet long overlooked. Sausalito author Donna DiGiuseppe brings Sofonisba to life amid court upheavals, family squabbles and political upheavals. I love historical fiction and this does not disappoint, especially if you are a lover of Italy and art.
Cheryl P.
If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation
Invented the Future
by Jill Lepore
This will sound ridiculous, but I knew of Simulmatics only because there were two novels written in the sixties based on this company's extravagant, even outrageous claims, and one of them was the source for one of my favorite films ever: Fassbinder's World On a Wire. Did I know this company existed? Did I know they forced themselves upon presidential elections, race relations, and the attempt to overthrow Vietnam? No. That they were a harbinger of the "People Machines" we know now as Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc., there is no doubt. The best book of 2020, hands down.
Jeff B.
Caste: The Origins of our Discontents
by Isabel Wilkerson
A must read. Brought to us by the Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns which I also highly recommend. Wilkerson examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions. A timely portrait of caste systems that go beyond race, class and other factors. A beautifully written book about people and history that may well change the way you think about how you live your life.
Cheryl P.
We Are Not Free
by Traci Chee (Young Adult)
Fourteen Nisei (second generation) teens who have grown up in San Francisco’s Japantown have their lives overturned when the are forcibly removed from their homes and forced into desolate incarceration camps. They must rally together as racism and injustice threaten to pull them apart. Long-listed for YA National Book Award 2020.
Angela K.
Girl on a Motorcycle (Children’s picture book)
by Amy Novesky
I love all of local author Amy Novesky’s children’s books, but this one really resonated with me. Based on the true story of the first woman to ride a motorcycle around the world, this biographical tale is beautifully illustrated by Julie Morstad. It’s about traveling the world but also getting back up when you fall off your bike. An inspiration for young girls.
Cheryl P.
A shout out (again) to our first responders on the healthcare front
and (again) on the public safety / fire fighting front.
Thank you for risking your lives to protect ours.
The Best Little Bookshop On The Bay!
Wishing everyone health and wellness!
“”Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.””