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Greetings!
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Hi, readers. Ah, springtime. Magnolia leaves have already fallen, the water is warming up, and the books keep pouring in our doors. Is it time to dip your toes into a new (or used!) book? In today's newsletter we offer:
- the Book of the Month;
- several upcoming events, including WTF, SF?;
- a reminder about our t-shirt contest; and
- more teasers for California Bookstore Day.
And remember: you can read digitally AND shop locally. Our partnership with Kobo allows you to read eBooks on any device (except Kindle). Sign up here and Green Apple will forever get a cut of your eBook purchases.
Read on!
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March's Book of the Month
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Each month, Green Apple presents a truly excellent book, one that we guarantee you'll love. This month's pick comes from Green Apple co-owner Kevin H. Drumroll, please. . . . .
In the life of an independent bookseller, there are a few "rights of passage" discoveries before we truly earn our stripes: Jack Black's You Can't Win, The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks and heck, everything by Jim Thompson. But when I came up at Green Apple,  some 20+ years ago, nothing rung my bell quite as loudly as Kem Nunn's surf-mystery, Tapping the Source which was originally published in 1984. And almost better than the joy of discovery is when that 'cult author' stays the course, and manages to refine their craft into a wholly unique style - much the way that Kem Nunn has done with Chance, his first novel in 10 years!
Set in San Francisco, Chance is sharp and gritty noir, involving multiple personality disorder, rare furniture forgeries, abusive and corrupt police detectives, sexy sexy sex, and the forensic psychiatrist who delves deep into the dark side in an effort to hold all of this together.
Like a drunken tryst between the film 'Ghost Dog' and the dark novels of Georges Simenon, Chance is a novel of bad decisions, made for the right reasons, and the heavy-duty repercussions of messing with the wrong people. You will dig it - I guarantee it!
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Upcoming events
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As always, if you can't attend a reading, you can pre-order a copy that we'll get inscribed for you. Just call 415-387-2272 or order online.
TONIGHT, March 11: Scott O'Connor
Join Green Apple Books at the Glass Door Gallery in North Beach TONIGHT at 7:00 p.m. to hear Scott O'Connor reading from his newest book, Half World.
From its official sanction in 1953 to its shutdown in 1973, the CIA clandestinely conducted methods of mind control on unwitting American and Canadian citizens. This covert and illegal operation, Project MKUltra, eventually made national headlines upon the declassification of thousands of documents in 2001. Inspired by these events, Scott O'Connor's Half World is the story of Henry March, a fraying CIA analyst who conducts secret mind-control experiments in San Francisco. With each passing day, Henry's existence becomes a nightmare, his identity withering as he works over the hapless men lured into his facility.
Thursday, March 13: Saul Austerlitz
Please join us here on Thursday, March 13th at 7:00 p.m. as we welcome Saul Austerlitz for a reading and book signing. Austerlitz will be reading from his newest book Sitcom: a History in 24 Episodes from I Love Lucy to Community.  A carefully curated tour through TV comedy series, this mixtape of fondly remembered shows surveys the genealogy of the form, the larger trends in its history, the best of what the genre has accomplished, and the most standard of its works. From "I Love Lucy," "The Phil Silvers Show," and "M*A*S*H" to "Taxi," "The Larry Sanders Show," and "30 Rock," this guide presents the sitcom as a capsule version of the 20th-century arts--realism giving way to modernism and then to postmodernism, all between the hours of 8 and 10pm on weeknights. Each chapter springs from an individual representative entity, including "The Simpsons"' "22 Short Films About Springfield," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"'s "Chuckles Bites the Dust," "Seinfeld"'s "The Pitch," and "Freaks and Geeks"' "Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers," where Martin Starr's nerdy Bill takes comfort in--what else--the pleasures of laughing at TV.  Tuesday, March 18: Erik Noonan
Join us at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18th at Green Apple Books as we host Erik Noonan, who will be reading from his latest collection of poems Stances, published by Bird & Beckett Books. Erik Noonan hails from Southern California; he lives and writes in San Francisco. Tuesday, April 1: Molly Antopol (no fooling!)
Please join us at Hotel Rex on April Fool's Day at 7:00 p.m. when we welcome Molly Antopol as she reads from her book of short stories, The Unamericans. 
An absentee father, a former dissident from communist-era Prague, needles his adult daughter for details about her newly commissioned play when he fears it will cast him in an unflattering light. An actor, imprisoned during the Red Scare for playing up his communist leanings to get a part with a leftist film director, is shamed by his act when he reunites with his precocious young son. An Israeli soldier, forced to defend a settlement filled with American religious families, still pines for a chance to discover the United States for himself. A young Israeli journalist, left unemployed after America's most recent economic crash, questions her life path when she begins dating a middle-aged widower still in mourning for his wife. And in the book's final story, a tour de force spanning three continents and three generations of women, a young American and her Israeli husband are forced to reconsider their marriage after the death of her dissident art-collecting grandmother. Again and again, Molly Antopol's deeply sympathetic characters struggle for footing in an uncertain world, hounded by forces beyond their control. Their voices are intimate and powerful and they resonate with searing beauty. Antopol is a superb young talent, and The UnAmericans will long be remembered for its wit, humanity, and heart. Wednesday, April 2: WTF, SF? From Goldrushers to "Glassholes": Community in The Changing Landscape of San Francisco. The Conversation Begins. . . Please join Green Apple and The San Francisco Elks on Wednesday, April 2nd from 6:30PM - 8:30PM at the SF Elks Lodge when we welcome five of the Bay Area's most outstanding cultural historians for a 'town hall meeting' to discuss the issues facing San Francisco's communities today, while also providing an illuminating framework of The City's extraordinary history of culture and adaptation.  Enjoy a rare opportunity to visit a San Francisco jewel, the normally private Elk's Lodge, opened in 1925 on Union Square. Take part in the discussion with notable panelists: Gary Kamiya (San Francisco Magazine Executive Editor and author of Cool Gray City of Love), Reverend Cecil Williams (pastor emeritus of Glide Memorial Church and co-author of Beyond the Possible), Julia Flynn Siler (author of House of Mondavi and Lost Kingdom), John Law (co-founder of Burning Man Festival and co-author of Tales of San Francisco Cacophony Society) and Joel Selvin (Chronicle culture editor from 1972-2009 and best-selling author). Or just kick your heels, enjoy a cocktail, and take it all in-this will be a conversation that you won't want to miss! Book sales and author signings will occur before and after the panel discussion, with a percentage of the proceeds going to selected charities. A $3.00 charitable donation will be requested at the door for this event, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
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T-Shirt Contest
| Green Apple is looking for a new t-shirt design. We don't have deep enough pockets to spend thousands on a branding company, nor is that our style. So in our tradition of turning to emerging artists and the Green Apple community, we're running a contest.
Grand prize is $250 plus a $200 gift card. Second place is a $100 gift card. Third place is a $100 gift card.
Details are here.
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California Bookstore Day is May 3!
| The very first California Bookstore Day is fast approaching. We urge you to save the date for this statewide party. While we hope you celebrate here at Green Apple with us, please spread the word to other booklovers throughout California. There's a store-find er here. And a 90-second video with yours truly here.
At Green Apple, we'll be peddling all 13 of the unique books and art pieces that are for sale ONLY in indies, only on Bookstore Day. Many are signed. No pre-orders, no holds. First-come, first-served. Since we had to order these months ago sight unseen, quantities will be limited.
Take a look. The selection includes works by George Saunders, Dave Eggers, Lisa Brown, Neil Gaiman, Three Fish Studios, Wendy MacNaughton, Lemony Snickey and Seth, Brian Selznick, Michale Pollan and McSweeney's. PLUS a joke book for kids and a Don DeLillo graffiti stencil.
Beyond that, in the store that we will have: Dave Eggers, Wendy MacNaughton, a workshop for kids with 826 Valencia, an editor and several contributors from McSweeney's, Beth Lisick, plus free beer, a food truck, live music and balloons. Yes, balloons!
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Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
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Pete et al
Green Apple Books and Music
415-387-2272
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