The litter in littérateur. Ricky Opaterny on Books, Music, Art, and Sports

6/8/2005

Literary events for June 2005

Filed under: Books,General — Ricky @ 9:04 am

Here are some listings for local literary happenings during the remainder of the month, which we selected carefully and posted haphazardly. Events are free unless otherwise noted.

Wednesday, June 8
Nicole Krauss reads from her novel, The History of Love, at 7 pm at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books on Van Ness in San Francisco.

Thursday, June 9

David Sedaris reads at 7 pm at Booksmith on Haight in San Francisco.

Nicole Krauss reads at Kepler’s in Menlo Park at 7:30 pm.

Sunday, June 12
826 Valencia hosts a seminar on writing and publishing poetry from 6 until 9 pm. Panelists include Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Joyce Jenkins, and Genny Lim . James Kass, the executive director of Youth Speaks, will moderate. Cost is $100 per person.

Monday, June 13
David Ewing Duncan reads from his new book, The Geneticist Who Played Hoops With My DNA, at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books on Van Ness in San Francisco.

Tuesday, June 14

The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco hosts the California Book Awards at 5 pm. Tickets are $15. Location: 595 Market St., Second Floor.

Wednesday, June 15
Paul Theroux reads from his new novel, Blinding Light, at Kepler’s in Menlo Park at 7:30 pm.

Michael Cunningham does a City Arts & Lectures event at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco at 8 pm. Tickets are $20.

Friday, June 17
Michael Cunningham reads from his new novel, Specimen Days, at Kepler’s in Menlo Park at 7:30. Tickets are $30 at Kepler’s and include a copy of Specimen Days.

Monday, June 20
Nick Hornby reads from his new novel, A Long Way Down, at 7 pm at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books on Van Ness in San Francisco.

Tuesday, June 21
Nick Hornby reads from his new novel, A Long Way Down, at 7:30 pm at Kepler’s in Menlo Park.

Kaui Hart Hemmings reads from her first collection of short stories, House of Thieves, at 7 pm at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books on Van Ness in San Francisco.

Friday, June 24
Daniel Clowes reads from his new graphic novel, Ice Haven, at Booksmith on Haight at 7 pm.

Saturday, June 25
Salvador Plascencia reads from his first novel, The People of Paper, and Eli Horowitz unveils Issue 16 of McSweeney’s at 7 pm at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books on Van Ness in San Francisco.

Tuesday, June 28
Frank Deford discusses the creation of modern baseball at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Tickets are $18 for non-members and $12 for members. Get there at 5:30 pm for the wine reception or 6 pm for the program.

New York Times on class in fiction

Filed under: Books,General — Ricky @ 8:20 am

Charles McGrath provides today’s installment in the Times’ mostly excellent series on class in America. His essay about class in fiction offers little that we haven’t heard before and includes this horrendous paragraph:

Celebrities, in fact, have inherited much of the glamour and sexiness that used to attach itself to the aristocracy. If Gatsby were to come back today, he would come back as Donald Trump and would want a date not with Daisy but with Britney. And if Edith Wharton were still writing, how could she not include a heavily blinged hip-hop mogul?

6/6/2005

Books on Monday

Filed under: Books — Ricky @ 9:20 am

Books bought:
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The Working Poor by David Shipler
The Numbers Game by Alan Schwartz

Books read:
Oh the Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
House of Thieves by Kaui Hart Hemmings

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