READER'S CALENDAR FOR DEC. 1

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

 

December 3, 2013 (San Diego) – For complete Calendar including Authors Events, go to www.SDWriteWay.org

FOR ALL SAN DIEGO COUNTY LIBRARY EVENTS, go to: http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/index.shtml

December 3 (Tuesday, 7:30 pm) — Warwick's will host Fannie Flagg, the bestselling author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, as she discusses and signs her new novel The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion. This event is free and open to the public, however Reserved Seating is available. Please call Warwick's for details. Only books purchased from Warwick's will be signed.

Background: Mrs. Sookie Poole of Point Clear, Alabama, has just married off the last of her daughters and is looking forward to relaxing and perhaps traveling with her husband, Earle. The only thing left to contend with is her mother, the formidable Lenore Simmons Krackenberry. Lenore may be a lot of fun for other people, but is, for the most part, an overbearing presence for her daughter. Then one day, quite by accident, Sookie discovers a secret about her mother's past that knocks her for a loop and suddenly calls into question everything she ever thought she knew about herself, her family, and her future.

Sookie begins a search for answers that takes her to California, the Midwest, and back in time, to the 1940s, when an irrepressible woman named Fritzi takes on the job of running her family's filling station. Soon truck drivers are changing their routes to fill up at the All-Girl Filling Station. Then, Fritzi sees an opportunity for an even more groundbreaking adventure. As Sookie learns about the adventures of the girls at the All-Girl Filling Station, she finds herself with new inspiration for her own life. Fabulous, fun-filled, spanning decades and generations, and centered on a little-known aspect of America's twentieth-century story, The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion is another irresistible novel by the remarkable Fannie Flagg.

For more information regarding the event, please contact Warwick's Books | 7812 Girard Avenue | La Jolla, Ca | 92037 | Ph. (858) 454-0347 | www.warwicks.com.

December 3 (Tuesday, 5:00 pm) — Join us for a special reading and signing with local author Shelley Moore Thomas, author of the Good Knight series of picture books and the Young Reader novel, The Seven Tales of Trinket. Thomas, known as The Story Queen, will read and perform a play based on her books. Thomas is an elementary teacher in the Carlsbad Unified School District.

Barnes & Noble, Oceanside, 2615 Vista Way, Oceanside: Lisa Kovach - Community Relations Manager, at 760-529-0270 or crm2153@bn.com for additional information.

December 6 (Friday, 6:00 pm) — Join us for a signing with children authors Shannon Messenger and Salina Yoon. Messenger is the author of the middle grade series Exile, the sequel to Keeper of the Lost Cities, as well as the young adult novels, Let the Sky Fall and Let the Storms Break. Yoon is the author/illustrator of Penguin and Pinecone, Penguin on Vacation, Penguin in Love, plus many more. She has written and/or illustrated more than 100 books for children.

Barnes & Noble, Oceanside, 2615 Vista Way, Oceanside: Lisa Kovach - Community Relations Manager, at 760-529-0270 or crm2153@bn.comfor additional information

December 6 (Friday, 7:00 pm) — All aboard The Polar Express! On Friday, December 6 at 7:00 pm, enjoy a reading of the holiday classic The Polar Express, along with fun activities and holiday treats.

Barnes & Noble, Oceanside, 2615 Vista Way, Oceanside: Lisa Kovach - Community Relations Manager, at 760-529-0270 or crm2153@bn.com for additional information.

December 7 (Saturday, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm) — A double book signing and fundraiser for the Edible Schoolyard Project at the Chino Farm with two pioneers of the California food revolution, Alice Waters and Kermit Lynch. Alice will be signing her newest cookbook, The Art of Simple Food II, and her friend and wine merchant, Kermit Lynch, will be signing his 25th anniversary edition of Adventures on the Wine Route. To honor the occasion, East of Echo will be playing a soulful music mix for steel pedal guitar, banjo, bass and trumpet; Bottaro Woodfired Pizza will be making custom pizzas using seasonal Chino produce; Kermit Lynch selected wine samples will be served and Ballast Point Brewery will pour beer tastings.

As the founder of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse Restaurant, Alice Waters has been a leading light of the farm-to-table movement for four decades. With her emphasis on sustainable agriculture and locally sourced seasonal ingredients she helped revolutionize the way American’s think about food. In her newest cookbook, The Art of Simple Food II, a beautiful vegetable-focused book with 200 new recipes, Ms. Waters shares her passion for the many delicious varieties of vegetables, fruits, and herbs that one can cultivate in their own kitchen garden or find at a local farmer’s market.

Outdoors, rain or shine. Free admission. Chino Farm: 6123 Calzada del Bosque, Rancho Santa Fe.

December 9 (Monday, 7:30 pm) — The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla, and Warwick's and Words Alive will present New York Times bestselling author Amy Tan as she discusses her newest novel The Valley of Amazement with Seth Lerer, the Dean of Arts and Humanities at UCSD. Tickets are $35 and available online at www.warwicks.com. Tickets include admission for 1 and a copy of The Valley of Amazement.

Background: Shanghai, 1912. Violet Minturn is the privileged fourteen-year-old daughter of the American madam of the city's most exclusive courtesan house. But when the Ching dynasty is overturned, Violet is separated from her mother in a cruel act of chicanery and forced to become a "virgin courtesan." Half-Chinese and half-American, Violet grapples with her place in the contradictory worlds of East and West – until she is able to merge her two halves, empowering her to become a shrewd courtesan who excels in the business of seduction and illusion. But privately she continues to struggle to understand who she is and where she belongs in the world.

Back in 1897 San Francisco, Violet's mother, Lucia, chooses a disastrous course as a sixteen-year-old, when her infatuation with a Chinese painter compels her to leave her home for Shanghai. There she is shocked by her lover's adherence to Chinese traditions and her inability to change them despite the unending amount of American ingenuity she possesses.

Both Violet and Lucia are fueled by betrayals and refuse to submit to the Chinese ideas of fate and societal expectations. They persist in their quest to recover what was taken from them: respect; a secure future; and, most poignantly, love from mothers, fathers, lovers, and children. To reclaim their lives, they take separate journeys – to a backwater hamlet in China, the wealthy environs of the Hudson River Valley, and, ultimately, the unknown areas of their hearts, where they discover what remains after their many failings to love and be loved.

Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement resurrects pivotal moments of the past: the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty; the beginning of the Republic; the explosive growth of both lucrative foreign trade and bouts of anti-foreign sentiment, which would have ramifications into the future. The lost world of old Shanghai is recaptured through the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreign "Shanghailanders" living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II. This deeply evocative narrative exposes the profound connections between mothers and daughters, which returns readers to the compelling territory Amy Tan so expertly mapped in The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic insight and humor, she conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and obstinacy of love.

For more information regarding the event, please contact Warwick's Books | 7812 Girard Avenue | La Jolla, Ca | 92037 | Ph. (858) 454-0347 | www.warwicks.com.

Tuesday, December 10 (6:00 to 7:30 pm) — Writers Read at Fallbrook Library presents Raymond E. Feist, reading from his final book in the Riftwar Cycle, Magician’s End. At Fallbrook Library, 124 S. Mission, Fallbrook, CA.

For more information, contact K-B Gressitt at kbgressitt@gmail.com or 760-522-1064, or visit www.excusemeimwriting.com/writers-read/.

December 10 (Tuesday, 6:00 pm) — Join us for The Elf on the Shelf: A Holiday Tradition, featuring a special Storytime, activities and an Adopt-an-Elf event.

Barnes & Noble, Oceanside, 2615 Vista Way, Oceanside: Lisa Kovach - Community Relations Manager, at 760-529-0270 or crm2153@bn.com for additional information

December 10 (Tuesday, 4:00 pm) — Warwick's will host author/illustrator Frans Vischer, as he reads from and signs his children's book A Very Fuddles Christmas. This event is free and open to the public. In order to be signed the book must be purchased from Warwick's.

Background: Fuddles-the fat, pampered cat-weathers a wintry wonderland in this holiday story of merry misadventures! The way Fuddles, the overly indulged feline, sees the world, it's better to receive than give! And what better gift for Fuddles than Christmas? One winter day, he wakes up to the smells and sights of the holiday: a juicy turkey dinner, sweet gingerbread, and a tree decorated with shiny, glittering toys – all for him! But when Fuddles tries to climb the tree, his family chases him away. He runs outside to escape, smack into cold and ice and snow! Will Fuddles ever make it back home in time to celebrate the merriest time of the year?

For more information regarding the event, please contact Warwick's Books | 7812 Girard Avenue | La Jolla, Ca | 92037 | Ph. (858) 454-0347 | www.warwicks.com.

December 19 (Thursday, 7:00 to 9:00 pm) — Annual Holiday Party for members of the San Diego Writers/Editors Guild. For additional information, go www.SDWritersGuild.org.

ATTENTION AUTHORS: Have your book featured in Local Authors Books. Go to Local Writers Lounge for details.

Sam Warren is the publisher and editor of www.SDWriteWay.org. Visit the site for additional news and calendar events for both Readers and Writers. Sam now lives in Tijuana, Mexico, and is available for tours.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.