Wednesday, September 5th at 7:30pm
Ruthanne Lum McCunn
God of Luck (Soho) 
and
Fan Wu
February Flowers (Atria)
Tonight we celebrate two Chinese American authors and their latest works. According to Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, with God of Luck, Ruthanne Lum McCunn (Thousand Pieces of Gold, Moon Pearl) again “opens a window onto another little-known chapter in the history of Chinese experience in the Americas…Ah Lung's story will keep readers spellbound and cheering to the final page." Ah Lung and his beloved wife, Bo See, are separated when, like thousands of other Chinese men in the nineteenth century, he is kidnapped, enslaved, and shipped to the deadly guano mines off the coast of Peru.
Fan Wu’s debut novel, set in modern China, tells the story of two young women with very different lives, their unexpected friendship, and their growing understanding that their society is still torn between tradition and modernity, dogma and freedom. February Flowers is “an exquisitely beautiful book about that uncertain border between girlhood and womanhood, between passion and desire”—Sandra Cisneros.
September 6th at 7:30pm
Music Lover's Poetry Anthology (Persea)
With live flute and harp music *
Poetry and music share countless virtues, affecting us in many of the same ways. We respond to their lyricism, move to their rhythms, and anticipate their refrains and, of course, the two forms were once one and the same, performed together as inseparable aspects of a single piece. The Music Lover's Poetry Anthology celebrates this timeless connection with more than 150 poems written with music as their muse. We experience the power of music—from Jazz to Opera to just singing along—to enthrall and inspire.
* Come by 7:15 to enjoy live flute and harp music by Lars Johannesson and Jesse Autumn, and, later, readings from poets Nils Peterson, Dorianne Laux, Maureen Draper, and Ken Weisner
Saturday, September 8, 2007
SECOND SATURDAY SALE
You saved. You raved. The SECOND SATURDAY SALE is back!
20% OFF ALL HARDCOVERS*
10% OFF ALL PAPERBACKS*
*Inventory items only. Not valid with any other offer
Next Sale: Saturday, October 13.
September 9th at 7:30pm
Diana Gabaldon
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
(Delacorte)
Diana Gabaldon has enthralled, wooed and wowed readers through her wildly bestselling Outlander series, novels that bend the genre barriers and dance between historical fiction, romance, and just great fiction. Lord John and the Private Matter gave one of her most compelling Outlander characters a starring role of his own, and now he is back! Lord John Grey is a soldier, gentleman, and no mean hand with a blade. Gabaldon weaves together juicy historical details about 18th century London and Lord John’s secret and public lives—a family mystery, a love affair with disastrous consequences, and a war that stretches from the Old World to the New—into another irresistible novel for lifelong and new fans alike.
September 12th at 7:30pm
Saul Landau
Bush and the Botox World
(AK Press)
In a phony world where Botox is considered a realistic option to aging, it is no wonder we look at elected officials like a cheap circus act. Internationally known scholar, author, and filmmaker Saul Landau (Business of America, Pre-Emptive Empire, We Don’t Play Golf Here) travels from the stress-filled cultures of Southern Californian businesspeople and poor towns in Texas, to the booming streets of Hanoi and temples of Angkor Wat, to muse on just how low we have sunk. The book explores the ironies of a time in which science explores the genetic code while bible thumpers advocate medieval crusades against infidels. Gore Vidal provides a scabrously funny introduction to a book by an author he says he "loves to steal ideas from."
Monday, September 17th 7:30pm
Scott Kennedy & Contributors
Peace, Justice and Jews: Reclaiming Our Tradition
(Bunim & Bannigan Ltd)
The choice between extolling uncritically whatever Israel decides to do to others, and maintaining the Jewish commitment to justice, has created, for Jews, a profound moral crisis. Are Jews retaining their ancient belief that only where human rights are respected for all can Jews themselves find true security and equality? This collection of contemporary Jewish thought draws on the work of a wide variety of thinkers and activists in Israel and the US, including charity workers, conscientious objectors, mothers and fathers, rabbis, soldiers, journalists, and professors. Scott Kennedy is the Coordinator of the Middle East Program of the Resource Center for Nonviolence.
Tuesday, September 18th at 7:30pm
Gayle Ortiz, Marybeth Varcados, Pat Pease, Judy Feinman, & Tomi Newman
The Jewel Box: A Capitola Mystery
Since 1992, The Women of Mystery Book Club have been reading and discussing books. Five years ago, they decided to write one of their own, and their labor of love and literature overcame conflicting vacations, serious life interruptions, and demanding work schedules of members like Gayle Ortiz, owner of Capitola’s fabulous bakery, Gayle’s. The result of this impressive writing effort by some of Capitola’s finest readers is a tale of murder starring the colors and sights of Capitola. Mystery and mayhem, plot and Gayle’s pastries for everyone who attends!
Wednesday, September 19th at 6:30pm *
Book Club
MacGregor Tells the World by Elizabeth Mckenzie
(Random House)
This month’s selection is MacGregor Tells the World by Elizabeth Mckenzie. Twenty-two-year-old MacGregor West, orphaned as a boy, is on a quest: to understand the circumstances of his mother’s untimely death. On a foggy San Francisco evening, guided by an old stack of envelopes, Mac finds himself at the mansion of cultural icon Charles Ware, where he encounters the writer’s beautiful and enigmatic daughter, Carolyn, trapped in a fold-up bed. Upon freeing her, Mac plunges headlong into the world of the eccentric Ware family and a love affair with a woman whose murky history may be closely linked to his own.
MacGregor Tells the World is a poignant and often hilarious ride through present-day San Francisco, a city brimming with memorable characters who help Mac discover just what story is his to tell. Please read the book and join the discussion.
* Please Note Time
Thursday, September 20th at 7:00pm *
Craft Café Night
20% OFF all Craft titles tonight
Join Capitola Book Café for an informal gathering of customers who enjoy craft work of all types and who are interested in exchanging ideas and advice with like-minded folks. Bring your project, meet in the café and come and go as you please.
* Please Note Time
Monday, September 24th 7:30pm
Peg Kingman
Peace, Not Yet Drown'd (W. W. Norton)
With music by Santa Cruz Pipes & Drums *
Catherine MacDonald is astonished to receive from her twin brother—who had reportedly drowned a year earlier in India’s monsoon floods of 1821—a kashmiri shawl, a caddy of unusual tea, and a sheaf of traditional bagpipe music in his handwriting. Irresistibly, Catherine is drawn to India to search for answers, following an obscure trail of tea, opium, and bagpipe sheet music all the way from Scotland. Botanists, smugglers, engineers, soldiers, and artists—as well as love and betrayal—line her path. By a player of bagpipes and a grower of tea, this compelling historical novel is also a surprising and rich exploration of Scottish and Indian painting and music, tea traditions, and a romance that cannot be limited by culture or even death.
* At 7:00pm, Jay Salter and members of Santa Cruz Pipes & Drums will set the musical mood!
Wednesday, September 26th 7:30pm
Bill Bryan
Keep It Real
(Bleak House)
"If you like to laugh, and you hate reality TV, you will love this wonderfully, viciously hilarious book."—Dave Barry. Hollywood writer Bryan was enjoying a successful career in TV comedy, writing and producing shows like Night Court and Coach. Then a rude and uninvited guest called Reality TV came along. So, in addition to getting mad, Bryan gets even with his hilarious first novel. Set in the surreal worlds of reality TV and gangsta rap, Keep It Real is a contemporary and sometimes startlingly politically incorrect satire that is also a first-rate murder mystery. Ted Collins, formerly a Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter, has been reduced to slumming as a producer of the inexplicably successful show “The Mogul.” Unlike his viewers, he takes no joy in the vapid “reality” he helps create and edit for ratings. That is, until it lands him in the middle of a murder investigation.
Thursday, September 27th at 7:00pm *
World Affairs Book Club
Nemesis by Calmers Johnson
(Metropolitan Books)
This month’s selection is Nemesis by Chalmers Johnson.In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA’s clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored the ways in which the growth of American militarism has jeopardized our stability. Now, in Nemesis, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically. From plans to militarize outer space to Constitution-breaking presidential activities, Nemesis offers a striking description of the unintended consequences of our dependence on a permanent war economy. For more information, email jenn_ramage@yahoo.com or call 462.4415.
* Please Note Time
Thursday, September 27th at 7:30pm
Michael Olson
Tales From a Tin Can
(Zenith Press)
44 sailors tell 424 stories about 1 small ship in 1 big war. Tales From a Tin Can is the true story of the destroyer USS Dale (DD 353) in the words of the sailors who served on her. These colorful first-person accounts recreate every aspect of service on this WWII destroyer as it served from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. Michael Olson, whose father served on the Dale from 1942-1945, is an agriculturalist and journalist who has produced pieces for San Francisco Chronicle, NBC, ABC, and KQED. He is the executive producer and host of “Food Chain Radio” which originates at KSCO here in Santa Cruz.
Upcoming Events….
Tom Brokaw
Boom: Personal Reflections of the 60’s and Today
Thursday, November 8
Anthony Bourdain
No Reservations
Friday, November 16
ALSO…
Susan Faludi, Terror Dream: Tuesday, October 2
Gail Tsukiyama, Street of a Thousand Blossoms: Wednesday, October 10
Michael Krazny, Off Mike: A Memoir of Talk Radio and Literary Life: Tuesday, October 23
Mollie Katzen, The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without: Monday, October 29
&
Weekly Story Hour with British Actress Billie Harris
