Everybody's worried about the future of books. E-books, chain stores, Amazon, bankruptcy, electronic readers, tablets, pads. Frankly, trying to read the future is tiring! First of all it's impossible. Trying to do the impossible wears me out. Secondly, there is so much more important and more interesting stuff to talk about. I'd much rather talk about the new
Nina Revoyr book than talk about what device to read it on. A book is a device. You know what I could be doing instead of trying to figure out the future? Reading. I'm not trying to start something. I'm just feeling nostalgic for the days when bookstores were a given. Like cake on a birthday, like the sky.
Actually what I have been thinking about lately is people. Being in a bookstore is a very human experience (even for our cat). I'm lucky that I work with interesting and smart people that like to think and read and talk. Some are in bands, some are writing books, some are carving leather into sharks and bats. When I come into work I get to be around some pretty fun folks. Then there are the customers and people of Vermont Avenue. Every one a story, a possible enlightenment, a life. We have our regulars - some crazy, some brilliant, many both. The humanness of the bookstore is special. I worked in a hardware store when I was in high school. You know what I used to think was so cool about working in a hardware store (besides sticking my hands in a bucket of new bolts and learning to fix a toilet)? Seeing the range of humanity in America. But the bookstore is even better - people go to a bookstore to escape, to learn, to be inspired, to explore, to be turned on, and mostly because they want to, not because the faucet leaks or a sprinkler head broke. These are the people I want to surround me!
See you soon!
~ Steven Salardino, Manager
steve@skylightbooks.com
Upcoming Events at Skylight Books
Fiction:
NINA REVOYR
Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Wingshooters (Akashic)
Nina Revoyr returns to Skylight to launch her new novel, Wingshooters. We're really excited about this new book and thrilled to be holding the launch party!
"Revoyr does a remarkable job of conveying [protagonist] Michelle's lost innocence and fear through this accomplished story of family and the dangers of complacency in the face of questionable justice." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
Teen readers from the WriteGirl program will read from their work, recently published in the WriteGirl anthology Beyond Words.
WriteGirl is a creative writing and mentoring non-profit for teen girls (www.writegirl.org). The book concludes with a full chapter of innovative writing activities and advice for aspiring writers at any level, and covers a wide range of themes and genres, all told through the unique voices and perspectives of this diverse group. Join us. Get inspired!
Monte Schulz, author of This Side of Jordan, returns to Skylight to read and sign his follow-up novel The Last Rose of Summer!
Praise for This Side of Jordan: "Beautifully written and thoroughly researched, a veritable time-machine that whirled me through time to the dirty back roads of the American midwest in the year before the Depression. ... Did I mention how good the writing is? The writing is excellent... a masterpiece of setting and storytelling." -Cory Doctorow
Look! Look! Feathers (Word Riot Press) The Book of Freaks (Future Tense Books)
These two authors make the last stop on their West Coast tour here at Skylight to read, discuss, and sign their latest books, out now from the awesome indie presses Word Riot and Future Tense!
Mike Young is the author of We Are All Good If They Try Hard Enough (Publishing Genius (2010) and Look! Look! Feathers (Word Riot Press 2010). He co-edits NOÖ Journal, runs Magic Helicopter Press, and writes for HTMLGIANT.
Jamie Iredell is the author of The Book of Freaks (Future Tense Books 2011) and Prose. Poems. A Novel. (Orange Alert Press 2009). He lives in Atlanta, where he co-curates the Solar Anus Reading Series.
This River: A Memoir by Brown This Vacant Paradise: A Novel by Patterson (both books published by Counterpoint)
James Brown and Victoria Patterson visit Skylight to read and sign their new books: Brown's memoir (This River) about his struggle with sobriety and Patterson's novel (This Vacant Paradise) about the upwardly mobile in Newport Beach in the '90s. Light snacks and drinks will be served. All attendees will automatically be entered into a raffle for a chance to take home a free copy of each author's book!
Andrew Foster Altschul will read and sign his new, highly acclaimed novel about a reality show gone awry, Deus Ex Machina.
"Brilliant... one of the best novels about American culture in years." --NPR
"Deus Ex Machina was a book waiting for someone to write it, and luckily Andrew Foster Altschul took on the job... this is a heady, fast-paced novel." --The Wall Street Journal
Walking through a River of Fire: 100 Years of Triangle Fire Poetry
Over the last 100 years a huge literature of poems, dramas, and fiction has been written about the Triangle factory fire tragedy. This book is the first anthology ever of this important literature. This event features Julia Stein, editor/poet/anti-sweatshop activist; Lee Boek, writer, actor, activist, and artistic director of Public Works Improvisational Theatre project, and Lynne Bronstein, who has written four books of poetry--Astray From Normalcy, Roughage, Thirsty in the Ocean, and Border Crossing.
The Magnificent Minotaur of Pueblo Los Diablos by Rochlin (URM Studio) The Boy with the Torn Hat by Scully ( Word with You Press)
Michael Jacob Rochlin, who has appeared at Skylight several times before to present his nonfiction books on Los Angeles, returns to read and sign his novel, The Magnificent Minotaur of Pueblo Los Diablos. He will be joined by Thornton Harriss Scully, author of the novel The Boy With the Torn Hat.
Blowout!: Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice (University of North Carolina Press)
Mario T. Garcia and Sal Castro will discuss and sign this fascinating oral history, transcribed and presented in Castro's voice by historian Garcia, about Castro's historic leadership in the school walk-outs of 1968, the largest civil rights protests by Mexican Americans in U.S. history.
In honor of what would have been the 100th birthday of playwriting great Tennessee Williams, Skylight Books and the Skylight Theater are celebrating with live performances (in the theater) and more! Stay tuned to the webpage below for more details.
"Comments and insight from people who spend a lot of time underneath a tree surrounded by books."
Our blog is going strong with inspired posts:
You might think of us for books but do you ever think of us for original music? Well grab the neck of your winged horse and hold on as Staff Juice soars with you to the end of a rock and roll rainbow. Remember the television commercial where the egg was your brain and when it hits the frying pan it becomes your brain on drugs? The grease that is left in the pan after you eat the egg - that's Staff Juice. Listen on the blog if you dare.
And goodbye to Borders? The bookstore landscape is constantly changing and this has a lot of people asking what the heck is going on. Check out Emily's thoughts on the subject.
We've also started a Tumblr page to post some of the interesting stuff we have found at the intersection of art and books. This accompanies our stronger dedication to carrying a selection of artist's books and art zines. These books are mostly printed in small editions and contain some of the most original work happening right now.
Check on our blog regularly here, Tumblr here, and join the discussion on Twitterby following skylightbooks. We're also on the Facebookas Skylight Books.
BOOK GROUPS
Some of the books the Book Groups registered with Skylight Books are reading include: Wittgenstein's Mistress by David Markson Beige by Cecil Castellucci and Southland by Nina Revoyr (reading here March 3!).
If you have a book group but you're not registered with the store, remember that book groups that do register get 15% off their pick each month. E-mail Emily at emily@skylightbooks.com now to find out how to register your book group! You can check out our registered book groups here.
Skylight Books
1818 N Vermont Ave (between Hollywood Blvd and Franklin)
Next door to the Los Feliz Cinema and across the street from the Post Office (where you can park after 6pm)
We are about 4 blocks north of the Vermont/Sunset subway stop and directly on many bus routes, including the Hollywood DASH. Bicycle racks are in front of the store.
Nina Revoyr returns to Skylight to launch her new novel, Wingshooters. We're really excited about this new book and thrilled to be holding the launch party!
These two authors make the last stop on their West Coast tour here at Skylight to read, discuss, and sign their latest books, out now from the awesome indie presses Word Riot and Future Tense!
James Brown and Victoria Patterson visit Skylight to read and sign their new books: Brown's memoir (This River) about his struggle with sobriety and Patterson's novel (This Vacant Paradise) about the upwardly mobile in Newport Beach in the '90s. Light snacks and drinks will be served. All attendees will automatically be entered into a raffle for a chance to take home a free copy of each author's book! 
Mario T. Garcia and Sal Castro will discuss and sign this fascinating oral history, transcribed and presented in Castro's voice by historian Garcia, about Castro's historic leadership in the school walk-outs of 1968, the largest civil rights protests by Mexican Americans in U.S. history. 
In honor of what would have been the 100th birthday of playwriting great Tennessee Williams, Skylight Books and the Skylight Theater are celebrating with live performances (in the theater) and more! Stay tuned to the webpage below for more details.
