Upcoming Events

For the time being, our main website is going to be forwarding to the blog (until we get a new webmaster). That being said, here are our upcoming events:

Sunday, June 8th, 2:00 p.m.
Brian Copeland
Not A Genuine Black Man: My Life as an Outsider

Based on the longest-running one-man show in San Francisco history -- now coming to Off-Broadway -- a hilarious, poignant, and disarming memoir of growing up black in an all-white suburb. In 1972, when Brian Copeland was eight, his family moved from Oakland to San Leandro, California, hoping for a better life. At the time, San Leandro was 99.4 percent white, known nationwide as a racist enclave. This reputation was confirmed almost immediately: Brian got his first look at the inside of a cop car, for being a black kid walking to the park with a baseball bat. Brian grew up to be a successful comedian and radio talk show host, but racism reemerged as an issue -- only in reverse -- when he received an anonymous letter: "As an African American, I am disgusted every time I hear your voice because YOU are not a genuine Black man!" That letter inspired Copeland to revisit his difficult childhood, resulting in a hit one-man show that has been running for nearly two years -- which has now inspired a book. In this funny, surprising, and ultimately moving memoir, Copeland shows exactly how our surroundings make us who we are.


Wednesday, June 11th 7:00 p.m.
Andrew Sean Greer
The Story of a Marriage: A Novel

It is 1953 and Pearlie, a dutiful housewife, finds herself living in the Sunset district of San Francisco, caring not only for her husband’s fragile health but also for her son, who is afflicted with polio. Then, one Saturday morning, a stranger appears on her doorstep and everything changes. All the certainties by which Pearlie has lived are thrown into doubt. Does she know her husband at all? And what does the stranger want in return for his offer of $100,000? For six months in 1953, young Pearlie Cook struggles to understand the world around her, most especially her husband, Holland.

Pearlie’s story is a meditation not only on love but also on the effects of war—with one war just over and another one in Korea coming to a close. Set in a climate of fear and repression—political, sexual, and racial—The Story of a Marriage portrays three people trapped by the confines of their era, and the desperate measures they are prepared to take to escape it. Lyrical and surprising, The Story of a Marriage looks back at a period that we tend to misremember as one of innocence and simplicity.


Friday, June 13th 7:00 p.m.
Susan Urquhart-Brown
The Accidental Entrepreneur: The 50 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Starting a Business

Like many business owners, Susan-Urquhart Brown never expected to end up as an entrepreneur. Launching her own business spoke to her passions, but she soon realized there was much more to being a successful owner than she ever expected. In The Accidental Entrepreneur, she takes all the mystery out of going solo. For those who are just beginning to consider starting a venture as well as those who want to take their organization to the next level, she offers advice on what works and what doesn’t. With hard-won wisdom and empathy, she shows readers:
• the 8 questions everyone should ask up front
• the top 10 traits of the successful entrepreneur
• how to obtain a license and sellers permit
• the best way to create a business plan
• 10 simple ways to get referrals
• the 6 secrets of marketing a business
• smart tips for investing and finance
• ways to avoid burnout
• how to avoid the 7 biggest pitfalls in business
Starting one’s own business should be exciting, not scary. This is the one book that will show readers how to create a successful and fulfilling venture they can be proud of.


Sunday, June 15th 11:00 a.m.
Ray Marshall
The Castaway Pirates: A Popup Tale of Bad Luck, Sharp Teeth, and Stinky Toes

In this pop-up pirate adventure, five pirates try to avoid being eaten by a shark when their ship springs a leak. They try to plug the hole with everything from the captain's coat to his rope, but in the end it's their smelly feet that turn the shark away. Each spread features a colorful, intricate pop-up designed by a master paper engineer, and the pop-ups grow more elaborate with each turn of the page.

About the Author: Ray Marshall began his paper-engineering career in 1980, and in 1985 he won England's Smarties Prize for Children's Books Award for Watch It Work: The Car. He lives with his wife and two daughters in San Francisco. The Castaway Pirates is his twenty-fifth book and the first one he has written. Wilson Swain (illustrator) lives in Glendale, California. This is his first book.


Please join us for these events!