Each month, we heartily recommend our favorite new book.  This month's choice was again endorsed by multiple Green Applers (and Petterson's first book Out Stealing Horses was ASTOUNDINGLY fantastic).  Here's a truly evangelical video, and here's Molly's "shelf-talker."

This novel caught and held me for an immersive three days of reading. It takes place in roughly that span of time in a journey through Norway and through memories, told via the monologue of a man whose most basic truths are crumbling around him. In his signature hauntingly precise prose and dreamlike narrative structure, Petterson subtly unfolds multiple stories that could have easily fallen to cliches (divorce, familial class struggles, cancer) in a unique, poignant, and inexplicably hopeful way. As with most books I love, when I finished this one I felt something like relief - not that it was over, but that it exists. --MP

Sportswriter, author, and NPR correspondent Howard Bryant will be joining us in the side room to read from his newest book, Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron. Based on meticulous research and interviews with former teammates, family, two former presidents, and Aaron himself, The Last Hero chronicles Aaron's childhood in segregated Alabama, his brief stardom in the Negro Leagues, his complicated relationship with celebrity, and his historic rivalry with Willie Mays--all culminating in the defining event of his life: his shattering of Babe Ruth's all-time home-run record.  Eloquently written, detailed and penetrating, Bryant's biography is a revelatory portrait of a complicated, private man who became an
enduring American icon.

Join us for this special opportunity to meet the author, hear him read some of his
favorite moments from the biography, and pick up a signed copy of The Last Hero. See you there.

DETAILS:  7:00pm, Thursday, August 5
at Green Apple Books
506 Clement @ 6th Ave.


August 11: HOWARD NORMAN, author of What is Left the Daughter

We're thrilled to be hosting one of our favorite authors, Howard Norman, as he reads from and signs copies of his newest novel, What Is Left The Daughter.

Norman, widely regarded as one of this country's finest novelists, has returned to the mesmerizing fictional terrain of his major books with this stirring and morally complex story of seventeen-year-old Wyatt Hillyer. Wyatt's account of his life--starting with the double suicide of his parents and leading up to the birth of his daughter--unfolds in a confession that speaks profoundly of the mysteries of human character in wartime.
 
Howard Norman is a three-time winner of NEA fellowships and a winner of the Lannan Award for fiction. His 1987 novel, The Northern Lights, was nominated for a National Book Award, as was his 1994 novel, The Bird Artist (a long time staple of our Staff Favorites display). We can't wait to welcome Howard to Green Apple, and hope you'll join us to meet and mingle and grab your signed copy of What Is Left the Daughter.

DETAILS: 7:00 pm, Wednesday, August 11
at Green Apple Books
506 Clement @ 6th Ave.


August 12: MATT STEWART, author of The French Revolution

Local writer and microblogger extraordinaire Matt Stewart will be paying us a visit at Green Apple to read from and sign copies of his new book, The French Revolution, the hilarious, tragic, and deeply imaginative story of a San Francisco family forging its place in history. In this debut novel, first published in 140 character bursts on Twitter, Stewart blends vibrant prose, unforgettable characters, and a multi-layered plot based on the extremes of the historical French Revolution for a relentlessly entertaining debut novel. And, as Andrew Leland wrote in a recent review of the book for SFGate, "the real tour de force comes when he lets his sentences run off-leash through the streets of San Francisco. The city Stewart describes will be instantly recognizable to anyone who lives here."

We hope you'll join us on August 12th to celebrate the City, the combined power of social networking and good old fashioned publishing, and of course, la revolution.

DETAILS: 7:00 pm, Thursday, August 12
at Green Apple Books
506 Clement @ 6th Ave.


August 19: ROBERT ELIAS, author of The Empire Strikes Out

Join us as Robert Elias slides into Green Apple Books to celebrate his newly released investigation into the history of baseball, The Empire Strikes Out: How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy and Promoted the American Way Abroad.

From the Civil War to George W. Bush and the Iraq War, Elias has tracked baseball's role in developing the American empire, first at home and then beyond our shores. Elias assesses the effects of this relationship both on our foreign policies and on the sport itself. Driven by compelling stories, unusual events, and unique individuals, the seamless integration of original research and compelling analysis makes this a baseball book that's about more than just sports.

Come meet Robert Elias, talk a little baseball, and pick up a signed copy of The Empire Strikes Out, a must have for lovers of the great--and complex--American game.

DETAILS: 7:00 pm, Thursday, August 19
at Green Apple Books
506 Clement @ 6th Ave.


August 25: LORETTA STINSON, author of Little Green

Portland author Loretta Stinson will be journeying south to Green Apple in celebration of her debut novel, Little Green.

Little Green is a spellbinding and often harrowing story of a sixteen year old girl named Janie who, at the start of the novel,  is on the run from her troubled past into an even more troubled young adulthood in mid 1970s America. Stinson captures the particular daemons of the era's drug culture, sex work, and abusive relationships with unnerving precision. But despite all its darkness, this novel manages to be, at its core, a story of redemption, recovery and hope.

Please join us to hear Stinson read from her dramatic debut and sign copies of Little Green on August 25th.

DETAILS: 7:00 pm, Wednesday, August 25
at Green Apple Books
506 Clement @ 6th Ave.

Wanted: The Perfect Pet by Fiona Roberton (Putnam)
Henry has 27 varieties of frogs, but what he wants most is a pet dog. Duck lives alone, way, way up on a hill and yearns for a friend. When the two meet an unexpected friendship is formed...


Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder (Yearling)
This is a perfect summer read! Roy, Susan, Emma and Henry discover a magic wall that can take them to any place during any period in time. Adventurous and magical, with illustrations by Leuyen Pham of Alvin Ho fame.


The Books of Elsewhere: The Shadows by Jacqueline West (Dial)
When Olive moves into the rickety, old house on Linden Street, she couldn't be more disappointed in the dusty place. That is, until she realizes (with the help of a found pair of old-fashioned glasses) she can travel inside the paintings on the walls to the strange place of Elsewhere.


The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams (Chronicle)
In her debut novel, local author Katie Williams offers the story of a young girl who is learning to deal with the truth, no matter how difficult that may be. Haunting and honest, The Space Between Trees, is a refreshing coming-of-age novel.




PS, it's not too late for young readers to earn a $5 Green Apple credit! Just visit THIS PAGE on our website to print out the paperwork, and get reading!