Events

The
Book Works is teaming up with educators from Connected Parenting to offer a book club (with pizza!) that
fosters a love of reading and also helps to develop strong communication
skills.

The boys will read Masterpiece,
by Elise Broach.  

This workshop has two main features:

1.
Boys connect with a book -
they use their curiosity and imagination
to explore themes and character development. They are encouraged to
think deeply about how elements of the story
connect with their own thoughts and experiences. The boys read one book
across the 4-week program (tba).

2. Boys connect with each other- the literacy
discussion is used as a platform for building
confidence and enriching communication
skills: listening, asking questions, offering and soliciting opinions,
responding to and respecting the thoughts and ideas of others, and
sharing speaking time.

Dates:
Monday evenings in June from 5:30-6:45 pm: June 7, 14, 21, and 28. Each session will start with
pizza and soft drinks.
Participants:
Boys currently in 3rd or 4th grade. Minimum 10 participants.  
Instructors: Connected
Parenting Coaches Rebecca Lindsay and Kelly Parisa will guide
the book group. Rebecca is also a 3rd Grade teacher at The Children's
School, La Jolla. Kelly is also a behavior and learning specialist.
Fee: $100 per child for the
four-week program (20% discount for siblings). Includes a copy of the
book club book, and pizza and soft drinks at each session.
Registration:
Please reserve a place for your child by pre-paying at The Book Works
(by check please, to Connected Parenting).

Questions? Please contact Rebecca
Lindsay (rebeccalindsay@connectedparenting.com).

Connected Parenting is
a highly regarded professional organization founded by
Canadian social worker and therapist Jennifer Kolari. Connected
Parenting helps families develop and maintain strong bonds, and helps
children develop strategies for navigating through their
ever-complicated social networks. The team teaches parenting courses and
provides workshops to schools and organizations across the U.S. and
Canada.

Keep your eyes out for
notices about other upcoming children's activities -- we are putting
together additional children's book groups and are developing a fabulous
Summer Saturdays program. More soon!

JOIN
THE BOOK WORKS CHILDREN'S MAILING LIST

Reading and Book Signing
with Bestselling Author Claire Cook!

 JUNE 21 IS THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!

Celebrate
the beginning of Summer with
Bestselling Author Claire Cook

Monday,
June 21, 7:00 p.m.

Author Claire Cook will present and read from her new book, Seven Year Switch, and will be followed by a wine and cheese reception.  This event is free and open to the public!

Claire
Cook is
the bestselling author
of six novels, The Wildwater Walking
Club, Summer Blowout, Life's a Beach, Multiple
Choice, Ready to Fall,
and Must Love Dogs, which
became a Warner Bros.
movie starring Diane Lane and John Cusack.
Her seventh novel is Seven Year Switch. More information
about Ms. Cook can be found here.

Claire
Cook is an inspiration for writers and, well, all of us: Read about Ms.
Cook and her theme of reinvention
here.

Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook*

Kick off the summer with Claire Cook's new perfect beach read novel!

"Jill Murray is content
living a man-free existence. She's got Anastasia, her ten-year-old
daughter, and a sweet little bungalow to call home. Life as a cultural
coach didn't turn out quite the way she planned, but between answering
phones for Great Girlfriend Getaways and teaching Lunch Around the World
classes, the dust in this Jill-of-all-trades life is starting to
settle.

Then her ex husband comes back.

They say that every seven
years you become a completely new person, and Jill has long ago stopped
wishing her deadbeat husband would return. Now she has to face the fact
there's simply no way she can be a good mom without letting Seth back
into their daughter's life. But why can't she seem to hold herself
together around him? And then there's Billy, the free-spirited,
bike-riding entrepreneur who hires Jill as a consultant. When their
business relationship seems destined for something more, Jill's
no-boys-allowed life is suddenly anything but."

- "With wit and
tenderness, Claire Cook sweeps us into
the life of Jill Murray, a feisty single mom trying to stitch together a
future after being abandoned by her husband. This is a delightful story
of love, loss, and the surprising events that healed her heart. I
cheered for Jill the entire way." -- Beth Hoffman, NYT bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

"A
perfect beach read. Claire Cook once again demonstrates that she's a
master in creating funny, warm, relatable characters you root for from
the very first page." -- Allison Winn Scotch, NYT best selling author of Time of My
Life and The One That I Want    

Claire Cook is the bestselling author of six novels, The
Wildwater Walking Club, Summer Blowout, Life's a Beach, Multiple
Choice, Ready to Fall,
and Must Love
Dogs,
which became a Warner Bros. movie starring Diane Lane and John
Cusack. Her seventh novel is Seven Year Switch. More information at www.clairecook.com

A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif*

"Pakistan's ongoing political turmoil adds a piquant edge to this
fact-based farce spun from the mysterious 1988 plane crash that killed
General Zia, the dictator who toppled Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, father of
recently assassinated Benazir Bhutto. Two parallel assassination plots
converge in Hanif's darkly comic debut: Air Force Junior Under Officer
Ali Shigri, sure that his renowned military father's alleged suicide was
actually a murder, hopes to kill Zia, who he holds responsible.
Meanwhile, disgruntled Zia underlings scheme to release poison gas into
the ventilation system of the general's plane. Supporting characters
include Bannon, a hash-smoking CIA officer posing as an American drill
instructor; Obaid, Shigri's Rilke-reading, perfume-wearing barracks pal,
whose friendship sometimes segues into sex; and, in a foreboding cameo,
a lanky man with a flowing beard, identified as OBL, who is among the
guests at a Felliniesque party at the American ambassador's residence."

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Older Girls' Book Group 10:00-10:45 AM

Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach

Starting sixth grade at a new school is never easy, especially when your
name is Hero. Named after a character in a Shakespeare play, Hero isn’t
at all interested in this literary connection. But when she’s told by
an eccentric neighbor that there might be a million dollar diamond
hidden in her new house and that it could reveal something about
Shakespeare’s true identity, Hero is determined to live up to her name
and uncover the mystery.

Younger Girls' Book Group 11:00-11:45 AM

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo 

One summer day, Opal goes into a supermarket and comes out with a
scraggly dog that she names Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, her
preacher father finally tells her ten things about her absentee mother,
and Opal makes lots of unusual friends in her quirky Florida town. And
because of Winn-Dixie, Opal grows to learn that friendship -- and
forgiveness -- can sneak up on you like a sudden storm. Now available in
a delightful tie-in edition, here is the original Newbery Honor-winning
book that inspired the major motion picture.

The
Book Works is teaming up with educators from Connected Parenting to offer a book club (with pizza!) that
fosters a love of reading and also helps to develop strong communication
skills.

This workshop has two main features:

1.
Boys connect with a book -
they use their curiosity and imagination
to explore themes and character development. They are encouraged to
think deeply about how elements of the story
connect with their own thoughts and experiences. The boys read one book
across the 4-week program (tba).

2. Boys connect with each other- the literacy
discussion is used as a platform for building
confidence and enriching communication
skills: listening, asking questions, offering and soliciting opinions,
responding to and respecting the thoughts and ideas of others, and
sharing speaking time.

Dates:
Monday evenings in June from 5:30-6:45 pm: June 7, 14, 21, and 28. Each session will start with
pizza and soft drinks.
Participants:
Boys currently in 3rd or 4th grade. Minimum 10 participants.  
Instructors: Connected
Parenting Coaches Rebecca Lindsay and Kelly Parisa will guide
the book group. Rebecca is also a 3rd Grade teacher at The Children's
School, La Jolla. Kelly is also a behavior and learning specialist.
Fee: $100 per child for the
four-week program (20% discount for siblings). Includes a copy of the
book club book, and pizza and soft drinks at each session.
Registration:
Please reserve a place for your child by pre-paying at The Book Works
(by check please, to Connected Parenting).

Questions? Please contact Rebecca
Lindsay (rebeccalindsay@connectedparenting.com).

Connected Parenting is
a highly regarded professional organization founded by
Canadian social worker and therapist Jennifer Kolari. Connected
Parenting helps families develop and maintain strong bonds, and helps
children develop strategies for navigating through their
ever-complicated social networks. The team teaches parenting courses and
provides workshops to schools and organizations across the U.S. and
Canada.

Keep your eyes out for
notices about other upcoming children's activities -- we are putting
together additional children's book groups and are developing a fabulous
Summer Saturdays program. More soon!

JOIN
THE BOOK WORKS CHILDREN'S MAILING LIST

"As entertaining as it is thoughtful....Few contemporary writers have
Weatherford's talent for making the deep sweep of history seem vital and
immediate."
-- THE WASHINGTON POST

After 500 years, the world's huge
debt to the wisdom of the Indians of the Americas has finally been
explored in all its vivid drama by anthropologist Jack Weatherford.
He
traces the crucial contributions made by the Indians to our federal
system of government, our democratic institutions, modern medicine,
agriculture, architecture, and ecology, and in this astonishing,
ground-breaking book takes a giant step toward recovering a true
American history.

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Jazz Guitarist Tony Taravella will be playing from 8:00 to 10:00 pm in
Pannikin Coffee and Tea. Come join us!

http://tonytaravella.com/

The Classics Book Group Movie Night will be viewing the 1957 film 12 Angry Men starring Henry Fonda.

$3 for technical support.

Brown Bag Writing Group
Every
2nd and 4th Friday, 12:00 to 1:00 pm.
 
This is an
ongoing, drop-in writing group sponsored by San Diego Writers, Ink and held at The Book Works.
It's fun, low stress, and facilitator/writer Victoria Melekian is
wonderful!

A drop-in writing practice group for North County writers. In
the tradition of the original Brown Bag group and Thursday Writers, San
Diego Writers, Ink is pleased to offer this regularly scheduled drop-in
group where all you have to do is show up and write. No need to
pre-register, just bring your notebook and join leader Victoria
Melekian for an hour of free-writing fun and writerly camaraderie.
We'll supply the prompts, you do the writing. It's fast, it's fun and
there's no critique. But there are always surprises. Brown Bag is a
friendly, safe group for writers of all genres and all levels of
experience. Bring a friend and join us.

Victoria Melekian
writes poetry and short fiction. Her work has appeared in various
anthologies including A Year In Ink,
SDWI's anthology, ONTHEBUS, Pearl, Magee Park Poets, and Passager
(Winners on the Web). You can hear her on First Friday: CD of Year
3 audio compilation. She has received two San Diego Book Awards
and currently serves on the board of San Diego Writers, Ink.

Click here for more information.

Jazz and Blues musician Billy Watson will be playing from 8:00 to 10:00
pm in Pannikin Coffee & Tea.

http://www.billywatson.com 

A History of Writing by Steven Roger Fischer*

"Fischer traces the history of writing with intensity and pleasure as he explores the astonishing tectonic shifts and catastrophes that have gone to make up the geography of the written
world. The history of writing is as full of dramatic accelerations as it is of
intriguing gaps, mysterious vanishings and tragic obliterations. Fischer's book is at its most fascinating when probing the darker
intimacy of writing and power."

Receive 10% off your reading group book from the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

Home by Marilynne Robinson*

"Marilynne Robinson returns to the small town in Iowa where her Pulitzer
Prize–winning novel, Gilead, was set. Home is an entirely
independent novel that is set concurrently in the same locale, this time
in the household of Reverend Robert Boughton, Ames’s closest
friend. Glory Boughton, aged thirty-eight, has returned to Gilead to
care for her dying father. Soon her brother, Jack—the prodigal son of
the family, gone for twenty years—comes home too, looking for refuge and
trying to make peace with a past littered with ongoing trouble and
pain. Jack, a bad boy from childhood, an alcoholic who cannot hold a
job, is perpetually at odds with his surroundings and with his
traditionalist father, though he remains Boughton’s most beloved child.
Brilliant, lovable, and wayward, Jack forges an intense bond with Glory
and engages painfully with Ames, his godfather and namesake.  Their
story is one of families, family secrets, and the passing of the
generations, about love, death, faith, and healing. "It is a book
unsparing in its acknowledgement of sin and unstinting in its belief in
the possibility of grave.  It is at once hard and forgiving, bitter and
joyful, fanatical and serene.  It is a wild, eccentric radical work of
literature that grows out of the broadest, most fertile, most familiar
native literary tradition.  What a strange old book it is.”—The
New York Times Book Review

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Guitarist George Svoboda will be playing from 8:00 to 10:00pm in Pannikin Coffee & Tea.

http://www.georgesvoboda.com/

Little Money Street by Fernanda Eberstadt*

"After moving outside the French town of Perpignan--home to the largest
Gypsy population in Western Europe--Eberstadt, a fan of Gypsy music,
undertook a quest to interview members of the renowned Gypsy band
Tekameli. After 18 months of rebuffs, she finally managed to wangle an
invitation to visit with Tekameli's lead singer, Moise Espinas, inside
his home. Personally introduced to the elusive Gypsy culture, she does
readers a tremendous service by providing them with an intimate glimpse
into the vibrant social life, customs, and music of one of the world's
most reviled, misunderstood, and richly textured societies."

Receive 10% off your reading group
book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups who meet at The Book
Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL
NOT be present.

Justine by Lawrence Durrell*

"The city of Alexandria, Egypt, in the years between the First and Second
World Wars is hauntingly evoked in Justine, the first novel in
Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet. In fact, it might be more
accurate to describe Alexandria as a central character in Justine rather
than as a setting. The emphasis on place pervades the novel's formal
qualities. Durrell, like a number of his fellow modernists, does not
rely on a conventional linear narrative—within
Justine or within the quartet—but shifts continuously
between past and present. One result is that the story seems to have
substantial physical, but not temporal, boundaries. The novel achieves
many of its effects with images, so that it often reads more like poetry
than narrative. The foregrounding of place in the novel encourages us
to consider the extent to which our actions, and even our natures, are
determined by our surroundings. Insofar as these features of Justine
represent the patterns of memory, the book is an exploration of how we
understand and recall experience. Also central to the novel is Durrell's
notion of love. Justine, whose title alludes to the Marquis de Sade's
novel by the same name, attempts to redefine love, or to define it in
modern terms. But in many ways, the relationships the narrator describes—in which sexual desire as well as knowledge and
narcissism play a large part—raise more questions
than they answer about the nature of love."

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

BOOK AN EVENING WITH THE BOOK WORKS

• PLEASE JOIN US ON MONDAY, JULY 19TH AT 7PM FOR AN EVENING WITH THE BOOK
  WORKS TALENTED BOOKSELLERS.....

• OUR AMAZING KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF WILL MAKE SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR BOOKCLUBS

• WE WILL ASSIST YOU IN SELECTING CHOICES THAT WILL LEAD TO MEANINGFUL
  DISCUSSIONS

Brown Bag Writing
Group
Every
2nd and 4th Friday, 12:00 to 1:00 pm.

This is an
ongoing, drop-in writing group sponsored by San Diego Writers, Ink and held at The Book Works.
It's fun, low stress, and facilitator/writer Victoria Melekian is
wonderful!

A drop-in
writing practice group for North County writers. In
the tradition of the original Brown Bag group and Thursday Writers, San
Diego Writers, Ink is pleased to offer this regularly scheduled drop-in
group where all you have to do is show up and write. No need to
pre-register, just bring your notebook and join leader Victoria
Melekian for an hour of free-writing fun and writerly camaraderie.
We'll supply the prompts, you do the writing. It's fast, it's fun and
there's no critique. But there are always surprises. Brown Bag is a
friendly, safe group for writers of all genres and all levels of
experience. Bring a friend and join us.

Victoria Melekian
writes poetry and short fiction. Her work has appeared in various
anthologies including A Year In Ink,
SDWI's anthology, ONTHEBUS, Pearl, Magee Park Poets, and Passager
(Winners on the Web). You can hear her on First Friday: CD of Year
3 audio compilation. She has received two San Diego Book Awards
and currently serves on the board of San Diego Writers, Ink.

Click here for more information.

Jazz Guitarists Tony Taravella and Mark Lopez will be playing from 8:00 to 10:00 pm in Pannikin Coffee and Tea. Come join us!

http://tonytaravella.com/

http://www.myspace.com/marklopezguitarist

Exiles by Ron Hansen*

"In Hansen's vivid fiction, English poet Gerard Hopkins is a promising Oxford graduate who
writes verse throughout college, converts to Roman Catholicism in his
early 20s and takes church orders. Those acts ostracize him from his
family and silence his poetry. In parallel with Hopkins's story, Hansen
explores the event that jolts Hopkins back into writing in 1875: the
sinking of the Deutschland—whose victims include five Catholic
nuns exiled from Germany by Bismarck—at the mouth of the Thames.
Delivering a deft blend of literary biography and disaster tale, Hansen wrings a white-knuckled drama out of the lives of
the poet/priest and five extraordinary German women, who were headed to
St. Louis, Mo., to lead the American branch of their order. As for
Hopkins, his poetry is poorly received for its unconventionality, and
his Jesuit superiors punish him for his oddities."

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Jazz and bebop group the Joseph Angelastro Trio will be playing in Pannikin
Coffee and Tea from 8:00-10:00pm.

http://www.myspace.com/josephangelastro

Older Girls' Book Group will be discussing "Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat" by Lynne Jonell

"Emmy was a good girl. At least she tried very hard to be good. She did
her homework without being told. She ate all her vegetables, even the
slimy ones. And she never talked back to her nanny, Miss Barmy, although
it was almost impossible to keep quiet—some days. Honestly, Emmy really
was a little too good. Which is why she liked to sit by the Rat. The
Rat was not good at all. . . ."

Younger Girls' Book Group will be discussing "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies

"As the final days of summer heat up, so does a sibling showdown over a
high-stakes lemonade stand business. Jessie and Evan Treski compete to
see who will make $100 first off of their respective lemonade stands.
Full of surprisingly accessible and savvy marketing tips for running a
stand (or making money at any business) and with clever mathematical
visuals woven in, this sensitively characterized novel subtly explores
how war can escalate beyond anyone's intent."

Amberly is the new Girls' Book Group facilitator. Amberly
is completing her 3rd year as an undergraduate student at UCSD this
spring. She is majoring in Human Biology with a minor in Health Care and
Social Issues. She has worked with Rebecca Lindsay at TCS as a 3rd
grade reading and math tutor. She also worked for the after school Kid's
Club Program for two years. She currently has an internship at the
Shiley Eye Center and works on the EyeMobile helping low-income San
Diego populations by providing free exams to preschool children. She
hopes to graduate and study to be a pediatric nurse practioner.

Fee: $10 per session. Pay on the
day of.
No need to sign up!
10% discount on book group books. 
Questions? Call Book Works: 858.755.3735 

Jazz guitarists Tony Taravella and Mark Lopez will be playing at Pannikin Coffee & Tea from 8-10pm.  Come join in the fun!

http://tonytaravella.com/

http://www.myspace.com/marklopezguitarist

The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson*

"In the 1780s, Joseph Priestley had established himself in his native England as a brilliant scientist, a prominent minister, and an outspoken advocate of the American Revolution, who had sustained long correspondences with Franklin, Jefferson, and John Adams. Ultimately, his radicalism made his life politically uncomfortable, and he fled to the nascent United States. Here, he was able to build conceptual bridges linking the scientific, political, and religious impulses that governed his life. And through his close relationships with the Founding Father-Jefferson credited Priestley as the man who prevented him from avandoning Christianity- he exerted profound if little-known influence on the shape and course of our history."

Receive 10% off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Colorman by Erika Wood*

In this debut work, a young artist attempts to make her mark in
Manhattan's art world. As she makes her professional ascent, a string of
set-backs and betrayals send her down a path of self-discovery--both
personal and as a painter.

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Book Works Author Event with reknowned science author Mary Roach! Tuesday, August 10th at 7:00pm.

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for Packing for Mars!!!

There will be fun and interesting treats served along with our wine and cheese reception in theme with the book! Don't miss this great opportunity to learn about space, the necessities we forget we can't live without here on earth, and Mars!

"Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air,
gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, and beer. Space exploration
is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much
can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to
you when you can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What
happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible
for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour? To
answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical
and startlingly bizarre space simulations. As Mary Roach discovers,
it’s possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the
space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new space
capsule, Roach takes us on a
surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space
on Earth."

For more information on Mary, visit her website:

http://www.maryroach.net/

Jazz and Blues musician Billy Watson will be playing from 8:00 to 10:00
pm in Pannikin Coffee & Tea.

http://www.billywatson.com 

Jazz Pianist Chase Morrin will be playing from 8:00-10:00 pm!

http://www.chasemorrin.com/

Nomad's Hotel: Travels in Time and Space by Cees Nooteboom*

"This collection gathers journeys of the past 40 years to Ireland,
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, West Africa, Iran, and Australia. In them,
descriptive travelogue ranks second to considerations of the
destinations as repositories of the past. Whether in Venice, Isfahan, or
Timbuktu, Nooteboom sees a place through its physical relics and
literary associations. The traveler’s innate foreignness, however well
informed before arrival in a new place, burgeons with significance for
Nooteboom. A traveler arrives, sees, and departs, not likely to return. Nooteboome intrigues seekers of a reflective
style in the travel genre, in particular."

Receive 10% off your reading group
book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups who meet at The Book
Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL
NOT be present.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley*

"I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing
he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched
out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of
life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion." A summer evening's
ghost stories, lonely insomnia in a moonlit Alpine's room, and a
runaway imagination--fired by philosophical discussions with Lord Byron
and Percy Bysshe Shelley about science, galvanism, and the origins of
life--conspired to produce for Marry Shelley this haunting night
specter. By morning, it had become the germ of her Romantic
masterpiece, Frankenstein.

Written in 1816 when she was only nineteen, Mary Shelley's novel of
"The Modern Prometheus" chillingly dramatized the dangerous potential
of life begotten upon a laboratory table. A frightening creation myth
for our own time, Frankenstein remains one of the greatest
horror stories ever written and is an undisputed classic of its kind.

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Runaway by Alice Munro*

"The incomparable Alice Munro’s bestselling and rapturously acclaimed Runaway
is a book of extraordinary stories about love and its infinite
betrayals and surprises, from the title story about a young woman who,
though she thinks she wants to, is incapable of leaving her husband, to
three stories about a woman named Juliet and the emotions that
complicate the luster of her intimate relationships. In Munro’s hands,
the people she writes about–women of all ages and circumstances, and
their friends, lovers, parents, and children–become as vivid as our own
neighbors. It is her miraculous gift to make these stories as real and
unforgettable as our own."

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

The Book Works book launch author event featuring John O'Melveny Woods for his new book Return to Treasure Island. Monday, August 23rd, at 7:00pm.

"Three years after his triumphant return from Treasure Island, Jim Hawkins learns that Long John Silver has been captured and

sentenced to hang. Jim's fateful decision to help Silver propels them
into a dangerous search for the greatest treasure of all time The
Pharaoh's Gold. A cryptic map, secret codes and puzzling

clues all lead back to Treasure Island where courage, cunning, and mutual trust are the only weapons that can save Hawkins and

Silver from a horrific death and help them in their quest to find the treasure"

Jazz and bebop group Joseph Angelastro Trio will be playing in Pannikin
Coffee and Tea from 8:00-10:00pm.

http://www.myspace.com/josephangelastro

Books TBA

Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix*

Run For Your Life

Jessie lives with her family in the
frontier village of Clifton, Indiana, in 1840 -- or so she believes.
When diphtheria strikes the village and the children of Clifton start
dying, Jessie's mother reveals a shocking secret -- it's actually 1996,
and they are living in a reconstructed village that serves as a tourist
site. In the world outside, medicine exists that can cure the dread
disease, and Jessie's mother is sending her on a dangerous mission to
bring back help.

But beyond the walls of Clifton, Jessie
discovers a world even more alien and threatening than she could have
imagined, and soon she finds her own life in jeopardy. Can she get help
before the children of Clifton, and Jessie herself, run out of time?

About the author

Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many critically and
popularly acclaimed teen and middle-grade novels, all published by
S&S. She lives in Powell, Ohio, with her husband and two children. A
graduate of Miami University (of Ohio), she worked for several years as
a reporter for The Indianapolis News. She also taught at the Danville (Illinois) Area Community College. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio.

Praise for Running out of Time:

Joan Lowery Nixon: "Running Out of Time is a highly imaginative, absolutely terrific first novel."

School Library Journal (starred
review): "Absorbing...gripping...convincing and compelling. Fans of
time-travel or historical novels...will look forward to more stories
from this intriguing new author."

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl*

To the Gregg family, hunting is just plain fun. To the girl who lives
next door, it's just plain terrible. She tries to be polite. She tries
to talk them out of it, but the Greggs go too far, and the little girl
turns her Magic Finger on them.

About the author

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) is one of the most beloved storytellers of all
time. He wrote many award-winning books for children, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda.

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
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*Author will NOT be present.

1434 by Gavin Menzies*

The New York Times bestselling author of 1421 offers
another stunning reappraisal of history, presenting compelling new
evidence that traces the roots of the European Renaissance to Chinese
exploration in the fifteenth century

The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation of the modern
world. Textbooks tell us that it came about as a result of a rediscovery
of the ideas and ideals of classical Greece and Rome. But now
bestselling historian Gavin Menzies makes the startling argument that in
the year 1434, China—then the world's most technologically advanced
civilization—provided the spark that set the European Renaissance
ablaze. From that date onward, Europeans embraced Chinese intellectual
ideas, discoveries, and inventions, all of which form the basis of
western civilization today.

Florence and Venice of the early fifteenth century were hubs of
world trade, attracting traders from across the globe. Based on years of
research, this marvelous history argues that a Chinese fleet—official
ambassadors of the emperor—arrived in Tuscany in 1434, where they were
received by Pope Eugenius IV in Florence. The delegation presented the
influential pope with a wealth of Chinese learning from a diverse range
of fields: art, geography (including world maps that were passed on to
Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan), astronomy, mathematics,
printing, architecture, steel manufacturing, military weaponry, and
more. This vast treasure trove of knowledge spread across Europe,
igniting the legendary inventiveness of the Renaissance, including the
work of such geniuses as da Vinci, Copernicus, Galileo, and more.

In 1434, Gavin Menzies combines this long-overdue historical
reexamination with the excitement of an investigative adventure. He
brings the reader aboard the remarkable Chinese fleet as it sails from
China to Cairo and Florence, and then back across the world. Erudite and
brilliantly reasoned, 1434 will change the way we see ourselves, our history, and our world.

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
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purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

Jazz guitarists Tony Taravella and Mark Lopez will be playing at Pannikin Coffee and Tea from 8-10pm.  Come join the fun!

http://tonytaravella.com/

http://www.myspace.com/marklopezguitarist

Come listen to the music of guitarist George Svoboda from 8-10pm!  All are welcome!  

www.georgesvoboda.com

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell*

Chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock
III as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking
clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a
dragon.

Cressida Cowell is the good friend and confidante of Hiccup Horrendous
Haddock III, Viking warrior and hero of The Heroic Misadventures. When
she is not visiting with Hiccup to document his latest memoir, she lives
in the UK. She is also the author of The Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby? and numerous other picture books.

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the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

Red Pizzas for a Blue Count by Geronimo Stilton*

Who Is Geronimo Stilton? That's me! I run a newspaper, but my true
passion is writing tales of adventure. Here on Mouse Island, my books
are all best-sellers! What's that? You've never read one? Well, my books
are full of fun. They are whisker-licking good stories, and that's a
promise!

Red Pizzas for a Blue Count

When Trap got mouse-napped in
Transratania, it was up to Thea and me to rescue him. Little did I know
that Transratania is the land of vampire mice! Oh, would I ever make it
back to my nice, safe mousehole alive?

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purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee*

Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and
injustice in the deep South -- and the heroism of one man in the face
of blind and violent hatred

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird
has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than
thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously
popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the
twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping,
heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South
poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and
savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a
crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man
unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

About the author:

Harper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama and is best known for her Putltzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, her only major work. In 1999, it was voted "Best Novel of the Century" in a poll by Library Journal.
Ms. Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her
contribution to literature in 2007. She attended
Huntington College and studied law at the University of Alabama. She
has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Pulitzer Prize,
and many other accolades.

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

 A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage*

"A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity
from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine,
spirits, coffee, tea, and cola. Beer was first made in the Fertile
Crescent and by 3000 B.C.E. was so important to Mesopotamia and Egypt
that it was used to pay wages. In ancient Greece wine became the main
export of her vast seaborne trade, helping spread Greek culture abroad.
Spirits such as brandy and rum fueled the Age of Exploration, fortifying
seamen on long voyages and oiling the pernicious slave trade. Although
coffee originated in the Arab world, it stoked revolutionary thought in
Europe during the Age of Reason, when coffeehouses became centers of
intellectual exchange. And hundreds of years after the Chinese began
drinking tea, it became especially popular in Britain, with far-reaching
effects on British foreign policy. Finally, though carbonated drinks
were invented in 18th-century Europe they became a 20th-century
phenomenon, and Coca-Cola in particular is the leading symbol of
globalization."

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who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon*

The wildly popular gothic novel- now
in a stunning new package

"A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept,"
begins Carlos Ruiz Zafon's astounding novel of postwar Barcelona. But
more than four years after its initial paperback publication, the secret
is out-the novel remains a favorite of booksellers and readers alike.

About the AuthorCarlos Ruiz Zafón lives in Barcelona with this wife. Lucia
Graves is the author and translator of many works and has overseen
Spanish-language editions of the poetry of her father, Robert Graves.

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off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Book Works Author Event featuring Jennifer Ouellette! Thursday, September 16th, at 7:00pm.

"Were you traumatized by high school calculus? Does the mere mention
of integrals and derivatives make you queasy?

Jennifer Ouellette feels your pain. She never took math in college,
mostly because she — like most people — assumed that she wouldn’t need
it in real life. But then the
English-major-turned-award-winning-science-writer had a change of heart
and decided to revisit the equations and formulas that had haunted her
for years. And she’s here to tell you that the mysteries of calculus
aren’t nearly so scary when they’re faced head on.

The Calculus Diaries is the fun and fascinating account of
her year spent confronting her math phobia head on. With wit and verve,
Ouellette shows how she learned to apply calculus to everything from gas
mileage, diet, and the rides at Disneyland, to shooting craps in Vegas,
and warding off zombies famished for tasty fresh brains. Along the way,
she proves that even the mathematically challenged can learn the
fundamentals of the universal language."

For more information about the book and Jennifer CLICK HERE

Chef by Jaspreet Singh*

Kirpal Singh is riding the slow train to Kashmir. With India passing by
his window, he reflects on his destination, which is also his past: a
military camp to which he has not returned for fourteen years. Kirpal,
called Kip, is shy and not yet twenty when he arrives for the first
time at General Kumar's camp, nestled in the shadow of the Siachen
Glacier. At twenty thousand feet, the glacier makes a forbidding
battlefield; its crevasses claimed the body of Kip's father. Kip
becomes an apprentice under the camp's chef, Kishen, a fiery mentor who
guides him toward the heady spheres of food and women. In this place of
contradictions, erratic violence, and extreme temperatures, Kip learns
to prepare local dishes and delicacies from around the globe. Even as
months pass, Kip, a Sikh, feels secure in his allegiance to India,
firmly on the right side of this interminable conflict. Then, one muggy
day, a Pakistani "terrorist" with long, flowing hair is swept up on the
banks of the river and changes everything. Mesmeric, mournful, and
intensely lyrical, Chef is a brave and compassionate debut
about hope, love, and memory set against the devastatingly beautiful,
war-scarred backdrop of occupied Kashmir.

Jaspreet Singh is a former research scientist who holds a Ph.D.
in chemical engineering from McGill University. His debut collection of
short stories, Seventeen Tomatoes: Tales from Kashmir won the 2004 McAuslan First Book Prize, and his stories have appeared in The Walrus and Zoetrope. Born in Punjab and brought up in Kashmir, Singh now lives in British Columbia. 

Awards and Praise for Chef:

Winner of the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction
Shortlisted for
the Hugh Maclennan Prize for Ficttion, the Canadian Authors Association
Literary Award, and the City of Calgary W. O. Mitchell Book PrizeLonglisted for the 2010 International Impac Dublin Literary Award

Chef is a brave and compassionate debut about hope, love, and
memory set against the devastatingly beautiful, war-scarred backdrop of
occupied Kashmir. "The Siachen exists . . . in a no man's land where
India, Pakistan, and China each claim primacy . . . This is the world
in which Kip finds himself in the two interwoven narratives of Chef . . . [But] he finds his true calling amid the redolent spices of the kitchen . . . [An] exotic locale and savory backdrop."—The New York Times Book Review

"[Singh] writes lyrically about that majestic, impossibly beautiful,
and quixotic place, wedged between India and Pakistan, and doomed, it
seems, to be forever caught up in their ongoing conflict, fueled by
centuries-old sectarian violence...The rippling effects of religious
and cultural prejudice infuse this whole, complex story, leaving no
character in Singh’s poetic, thought-provoking tale untouched." - Booklist

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off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Jazz pianist Chase Morrin will be playing from 8-10pm at Pannikin Coffee and Tea!  Come join in the fun!

http://www.chasemorrin.com/

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins*

Wilkie Collins’s
spellbinding tale of romance, theft, and murder inspired a hugely
popular genre–the detective mystery. Hinging on the theft of an enormous
diamond originally stolen from an Indian shrine, this riveting novel
features the innovative Sergeant Cuff, the hilarious house steward
Gabriel Betteridge, a lovesick housemaid, and a mysterious band of
Indian jugglers.

Receive 10% off your reading group
book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups who meet at The Book
Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL
NOT be present.

Guitarist Billy Watson will be playing from 8-10pm!  Come join us for great music and fun.

http://www.billywatson.com/

 
This September, the Younger and Older Girls' Book Clubs will be reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart* together!

"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"

When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children
enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you,
dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end
just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a
secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children
could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the
Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that
there are no rules.

As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest
imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support.
But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass
the most important test of all?

Welcome to the Mysterious Benedict Society.

About the authors:

Trenton Lee Stewart, graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and author of the adult novel Flood Summer, lives in Arkansas with his wife and two sons. This is his debut children's novel.

Carson Ellis received her BFA from the University of Montana and has
established a loyal following for her artistic collaborations with the
band the Decemberists. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization's Rough Landscape by Harm De Blij

 "The world is not as mobile or as interconnected as we like to think. As
Harm de Blij argues in The Power of Place, in crucial ways--from the
uneven distribution of natural resources to the unequal availability of
opportunity--geography continues to hold billions of people in its grip.
We are all born into natural and cultural environments that shape what
we become, individually and collectively. From our "mother tongue" to
our father's faith, from medical risks to natural hazards, where we
start our journey has much to do with our destiny. Hundreds of millions
of farmers in the river basins of Asia and Africa, and tens of millions
of shepherds in isolated mountain valleys from the Andes to Kashmir, all
live their lives much as their distant ancestors did, remote from the
forces of globalization. Incorporating a series of persuasive maps, De
Blij describes the tremendously varied environments across the planet
and shows how migrations between them are comparatively rare. De Blij
also looks at the ways we are redefining place so as to make its power
even more potent than it has been, with troubling implications."

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your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell*

"In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her
vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts
at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her
great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from
Cauldstone Hospital—where she has been locked away for more than
sixty-one years.

Iris’s grandmother Kitty always claimed to be an only child. But
Esme’s papers prove she is Kitty’s sister, and Iris can see the shadow
of her dead father in Esme’s face. 

Esme has been labeled harmless—sane enough to coexist with the rest
of the world. But she's still basically a stranger, a family member
never mentioned by the family, and one who is sure to bring
life-altering secrets with her when she leaves the ward. If Iris takes
her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit?

A gothic, intricate tale of family secrets, lost lives, and the
freedom brought by truth, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox will
haunt you long past its final page."

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

Come join us from 8-10pm for the music of jazz guitarist Joseph Angelastro!  All welcome!

http://www.myspace.com/josephangelastro

Co-Author Thomas Reifer will be coming to The Book Works on Thursday, October 7th to discuss The Torturer in the Mirror.

"Look in the mirror: Do you see a torturer there?"—Former attorney general Ramsey Clark

The torturer used to be the other. He was a man whose job it was to
impose pain and extract information. Today we think of torture in a
different way. Today, anyone, man or woman, who joins the army or writes
a law that legitimizes torture can be a torturer. Today, anyone who
looks in the mirror could be a torturer.

The Torturer in the Mirror shows us how when one of us
tortures, we are all implicated in the crime. These three sharp essays
by former attorney general Ramsey Clark, Iraqi dissident Haifa Zangana,
and professor of sociology Thomas Ehrlich Reifer, expose how
psychologically insidious torture practices are, how deep a mark they
leave, and how necessary it is for us as a society to hold torturers
accountable.

Ramsey Clark was the US attorney general during the Johnson administration and is founder of the International Action Center.

Haifa Zangana is an Iraqi political commentator and former prisoner of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Thomas Ehrlich Reifer is an associate professor of sociology at the University of San Diego and an associate fellow of the Transnational Institute.

For information on Thomas:

Click Here

Come listen to the music of guitarist George Svoboda from 8-10pm!  All are welcome!

www.georgesvoboda.com

An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage*

"More than simply sustenance, food historically has been a kind of
technology, changing the course of human progress by helping to build
empires, promote industrialization, and decide the outcomes of wars. Tom
Standage draws on archaeology, anthropology, and economics to reveal
how food has helped shape and transform societies around the world, from
the emergence of farming in China by 7500 b.c. to the use of sugar cane
and corn to make ethanol today. An Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying account of human history."

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who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

American Rust by Philipp Meyer*

"Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel
town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the
desperation—as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love—that
arise from its loss. From local bars to trainyards to prison, it is the
story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility,
inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the
factories and abandoned homes.

Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits
suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life
beyond his hometown. But when he finally sets out to leave for good,
accompanied by his temperamental best friend, former high school
football star Billy Poe, they are caught up in a terrible act of
violence that changes their lives forever.

Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great
Depression, American Rust takes us into the contemporary American
heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the
future. It is a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak
realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love
and friendship to redeem us."

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off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

"What causes a child to grow up gay or straight? In this book,
neuroscientist Simon LeVay summarizes a wealth of scientific evidence
that points to one inescapable conclusion: Sexual orientation results
primarily from an interaction between genes, sex hormones, and the cells
of the developing body and brain.
LeVay helped create this field in
1991 with a much-publicized study in Science, where he reported on a
difference in the brain structure between gay and straight men. Since
then, an entire scientific discipline has sprung up around the quest for
a biological explanation of sexual orientation. In this book, LeVay
provides a clear explanation of where the science stands today, taking
the reader on a whirlwind tour of laboratories that specialize in
genetics, endocrinology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology,
evolutionary psychology, and family demographics. He describes, for
instance, how researchers have manipulated the sex hormone levels of
animals during development, causing them to mate preferentially with
animals of their own gender. LeVay also reports on the prevalence of
homosexual behavior among wild animals, ranging from Graylag geese to
the Bonobo chimpanzee.
Although many details remain unresolved, the
general conclusion is quite clear: A person's sexual orientation arises
in large part from biological processes that are already underway before
birth. LeVay also makes it clear that these lines of research have a
lot of potential because--far from seeking to discover "what went wrong"
in the lives of gay people, attempting to develop "cures" for
homosexuality, or returning to traditional explanations that center on
parent-child relationships, various forms of "training," or early sexual
experiences--our modern scientists are increasingly seeing sexual
variety as something to be valued, celebrated, and welcomed into
society."

For more information on Simon: http://www.simonlevay.com/

Come join us for an evening of music!  Jazz pianist Chase Morrin will be playing from 8-10pm. 

http://www.chasemorrin.com/

On Tuesday, October 19th, at 7:00pm The Book Works will host Dr. Gary Small as a special author in our Brain-Mind Speaker Series once again for his new book The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head! Don't miss this great opportunity to probe through the human brain!

"During his career, Dr. Gary Small has witnessed some of the strangest of human behaviors, and, for the first time, he opens the doors to his office for all to see. Combining elements of Sherlock Holmes and House, The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head is a spellbinding record of the doctor's most bewildering cases, from naked headstands and hysterical blindness to shrinking penises and self-amputations. It is also an illuminating journey into the mind of a practicing psychiatrist and his life in medicine as it evolves over time- a behind-the-scenes look at the field and a variety of mental diseases as they've never been seen before.

Often funny, sometimes tragic, and always compelling, The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head moves from the halls of a crowded inner-city Boston emergency room to the luxurious suites of a multimillion-dollar mountaintop ski chalet and introduces a strange cast of true-life characters and conditions. Whether it is a sociopath leading two lives with two wives or a hysterical pregnancy, the potential of the mind is always in question. Throughout, Dr. Small sheds light on the human condition in both healthy and disturbed individuals, and provides touching moments sure to resonate with every reader."

For more information on Dr. Gary Small or his previous books, visit his website:

http://www.drgarysmall.com/

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe*

Between 1841 and 1844, Edgar Allan Poe invented the genre of detective
fiction with three mesmerizing stories of a young French eccentric named
C. Auguste Dupin. Introducing to literature the concept of applying
reason to solving crime, these tales brought Poe fame and fortune to
live on. Years later, Dorothy Sayers would describe “The Murders in the
Rue Morgue” as “almost a complete manual of detective theory and
practice.” Indeed, Poe’s short mysteries inspired the creation of
countless literary sleuths, among them Sherlock Holmes. Today, the Dupin
stories still stand out as unique, utterly engrossing page-turners.

Receive 10% off your reading group
book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups who meet at The Book
Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL
NOT be present.

Jazz guitarists Tony Taravella and Mark Lopez will be playing from 8-10pm at Pannikin Coffee and Tea.  Come join us for an evening of music!

http://tonytaravella.com/

http://www.myspace.com/marklopezguitarist

"As the California borderland newspaper where they work prepares to
close, three reporters are oddly given assignments to return to stories
they've covered beforeeach one surprisingly personal. The first
assignment takes reporter Aaron Klinsman and photographer Rita Valdez to
an abandoned motel room where the mirrors are draped with towels, bits
of black tape cover the doorknobs, and the perfect trace of a woman's
body is imprinted on the bed sheets. From this sexually charged
beginningon land his family used to ownKlinsman, Rita, and their
colleague, Oscar Medem understand that they are supposed to uncover
something. They just don't know what.

Following the moonlit paths
their assignments reveal through the bars, factories and complex
streets of Tijuana and Otay, haunted by the femicides that have spread
westward from Juarez, the reporters become more intimately entwined.
Tracing the images they uncover, and those they cause and leave behind,
they soon realize that every move they make is under surveillance.
Beyond this, it seems their private lives and even their memories are
being reconstructed by others.

Panopticon is a novel of dreamlike
appearances and almost supernatural memories, a world of hidden
watchers that evokes the dark recognition of just how little we can
protect even our most private moments. It is a shadowy, erotic novel
only slightly speculative that opens into the world we all now occupy."

For more information on David: http://www.davidbajo.com/

The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant*

"Orange Prize winner and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2008,
Linda Grant has created an enchanting portrait of a woman who, having
endured unbearable loss, finds solace in the family secrets her
estranged uncle reveals. In vivid and supple prose, Grant subtly
constructs a powerful story of family, love, and the hold the past has
on the present.

Vivien Kovacs, a sensitive, bookish girl grows up
sealed off from the world by her timid Hungarian refugee parents, who
conceal the details of their history and shy away from any encounter
with the outside world. She learns how to navigate British society from
an eccentric cast of neighbors -- including a fading ballerina, a
cartoonist, and a sad woman who wanders the city and teaches Vivien to
be beautiful. She loses herself in books and reinvents herself according
to her favorite characters, but it is through clothes that she
ultimately defines herself.

Against her father's wishes, she
forges a relationship with her uncle, a notorious criminal and slum
landlord, who, in his old age, wants to share his life story. As he
exposes the truth about her family's past Vivien learns how to be
comfortable in her own skin and how to be alive in the world.

Grant
is a spectacularly humanizing writer whose morally complex characters
explore the line between selfishness and self-preservation."

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

Guitarist Billy Watson will be playing from 8-10pm!  Come join us for a great evening of music.

http://www.billywatson.com/