December Events Round-Up

Even the scroogiest Scrooge would have to admit that the holiday season brings along with it nice things. Piney things are nice things. Books wrapped up in paper are nice things. Candles are nice things. But sometimes, especially in retail-world, don't you get tired of hearing about things? If so, then that's good, because this post is about experiences. Free experiences. Free experiences that sometimes include booze. That's right, even in the retail madness that is December, we've got some events going on, so mark your calendars for these shopping reprieves:

On December 8th, we'll be heading down the street to the Rockit Room with author Chris Gullibeau to hear more about his new book, The Art of Non-Conformity. Based on his popular online manifesto "A Brief Guide to Wold Domination" The Art of Non-Conformity defies common assumptions about life and work while arming you with the tools to live differently. Topics include how to fight authority and win, graduate school vs. the blogosphere (did you know that the latter was an alternative to the former? I didn't, but look at me now), how to build your own small army (admit you're curious) and travel tips and tricks.

We're also looking forward to hosting local new writer Ethel Rohan on the 9th as she reads from her debut collection of short stories, Cut Through the Bone. Victor LaValle, author of The Big Machine says, “Cut Through the Bone is full of phantom limbs and phantom lives. These stories create a sense of loss in the reader, an ache, but thankfully they avoid dull cynicism. Instead, they bear witness to the difficulty of living for oneself while sacrificing for others... Ethel Rohan is one hell of a writer.” So come out to support a local talent with a searing new voice and enjoy some complimentary wine or perhaps some Irish whiskey (Rohan originally hails from Ireland).

Finally, on December 11th we're proudly welcoming Pulitzer Prize winner David Rohde and magazine editor Kristen Mulvihill, authors of a new memoir about Rohde's time in captivity in Pakistan, A Rope and a Prayer. Invited to an interview by a Taliban commander, New York Times reporter David Rohde was kidnapped in November 2008 and spirited to the tribal areas of Pakistan. They found that Pakistan's powerful military turned a blind eye to a sprawling Taliban ministate that trained suicide bombers, plotted terrorist attacks, and helped shelter Osama bin Laden. In New York, David's wife of two months, Kristen Mulvihill, his family, and the New York Times struggled to navigate the labyrinth of issues that confront the relatives of hostages. A Rope and a Prayer is the story of those seven months, what they revealed about American efforts in the region, and a story of love and a very human triumph. Don't miss what is sure to be a spell-binding, eye-opening firsthand account of this chilling story.

Oh yea, we've got 'em. . .and then some!

Infinite City is Rebecca Solnit's reinvention of the traditional atlas, examining the many layers of meaning in one place, in this case the San Francisco Bay Area. It's one of Green Apple's favorite books this holiday season, we've got plenty of hardcover copies in stock (unlike many other stores), and as an extra bonus for our wonderful customers, we have also partnered-up with MOMA to distribute 6 FREE POSTER-SIZED MAPS as they become available. Each poster is a two-sided reproduction of a map from the book, as well as selected text from Rebecca Solnit, and others. We currently have 4 different maps in the store - yours for the asking.

Aided by artists, writers, cartographers, and twenty-two gorgeous color maps, each of which illuminates the city and its surroundings as experienced by different inhabitants, Solnit takes us on a tour that will forever change the way we think about place. She explores the area thematically--connecting, for example, Eadweard Muybridge's foundation of motion-picture technology with Alfred Hitchcock's filming of Vertigo.

Across an urban grid of just seven by seven miles, she finds seemingly unlimited landmarks and treasures--butterfly habitats, queer sites, murders, World War II shipyards, blues clubs, Zen Buddhist centers. She roams the political terrain, both progressive and conservative, and details the cultural geographies of the Mission District, the culture wars of the Fillmore, the South of Market world being devoured by redevelopment, and much, much more.

Infinite City is a real gem, the sort of book that you want to give as a gift, and yet greedily keep for yourself. If that seems like the kind of problem you might run into, allow me to suggest that you get a couple of extra copies (book or posters or both) to share. Problem solved!

The day after Thanksgiving

Ad Reinhardt, Abstract Painting

A RED BALLOON

Click the image to enlarge.

- Green Apple Books and Music / 506 Clement Street / San Francisco / California
- November 18th, 2010 / Around 10:00 p.m.

Get 'em While You Can

In yesterday's New York Times was this article about the book that is shaping up to be the literary Tickle-Me-Elmo of the season, The Autobiography of Mark Twain. The article is about how the University of California Press has had a difficult time keeping up with demand. Just so you know, over here at Green Apple we've got a pretty good stack, but they are selling at a brisk clip, so if you think you want to put one under the tree, or want to pick one up for yourself to while away a long cold winter, you might want to act sooner than later. Here is what Green Appler Martin had to say about the book: "An appropriately oversized book (and just the first volume!) for an oversized personality, this long-awaited (100 years to be exact) tome arrives just in time for settling down for some serious - in a manner of speaking - winter reading. Full of Twain's signature wit, irreverence, and sarcasm, this is a book for anyone interested in one of the great American writers - and personalities."