Talking has nothing to do with conversation.
GERTRUDE STEIN

 

Events

 

 

 

 

Thursday, December 2nd at 7:30 p.m.
Terrie M. Williams, Ph.D
The Hunter's Breath: On Expedition With the Weddell Seals of the Antarctic
(M. Evans and Company)

The only mammal on earth able to survive year-round in the most extreme Antarctic temperatures is the Weddell seal, and it holds a wealth of knowledge for scientists. In the course of their Antarctic journey, this intrepid group led by UCSC professor Williams, learned that every day in this harsh climate brings with it the possibility of blizzards, frostbite, and high winds. On the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on the planet, there is scant room for error -- but their discoveries are worth the danger. A power-point presentation will be shown.

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Sunday, December 5th at 7:30 p.m. *
Marianne Williamson
Gift of Change: Spiritual Guidance for a Radically New Life
(Harper San Francisco)

This bestselling author of Everyday Grace and A Return to Love delves deeply into the role of change and transition in our lives. The most difficult times often bring the most wisdom, an inherent resistance to change still leads us to recklessness when faced with it, and yet within grief and fear that such transitions bring us, there can always be hope and healing.

* Event Procedures: This is a FREE event. Beginning on 11/9, the first 50 customers who purchase one copy of Gift of Change from the Book Cafe will have one seat reserved for the event. Please line up outside of the store prior to the event. Seating will begin at 6:30 pm. Reserved ticket holders will be asked in first, in the order of the line. Then general admission will begin, in order of the line. See store for additional details.

Reserved seats will be held until 7 pm ONLY.

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Monday, December 6th at 7:30 p.m.
Matt Lawrence and
Like a Splinter in Your Mind: The Philosophy Behind the Matrix Trilogy
(Blackwell)

The Matrix films are not just about Kung Fu and special effects. Rather, they are about knowledge, reality, consciousness, freedom, fate, foreknowledge, good, evil, faith, enlightenment, and the very meaning of existence. In short, they are about philosophy -- with some great effects on the side. Long Beach College Philosophy Professor Lawrence focuses squarely on the film, yet shows us how these questions relate to our own lives and our own philosophical journeys. The author will be joined by illustrator Scott Mayhew.

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Wednesday, December 8th at 7:30 p.m.
Martin Cruz Smith
Wolves Eat Dogs
(Simon & Schuster)

"Riveting. Smith's melancholy, indefatigable Senior Investigator Arkady Renko has been exiled to some bitter venues in the past -- including blistering-hot Cuba in Havana Bay and the icy Bering sea in Polar Star -- but surely the strangest (and most fascinating) is his latest, the eerie, radioactive landscape of post-meltdown Chernobyl." -- Publisher's Weekly, starred review. This master of the international thriller and author of Gorky Park brings readers into the new reality of the former Soviet Union in an intelligent, harrowing page-tuner.