I am combining two wonderful weekly features: Stacking The Shelves (hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews) and Sunday Post (hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer).  But of these features allow people to blog hop to dozens of great book blogs and see what books they acquired, and what everyone is excited about this week.

If you like what you see, please consider following me.  Just let me know the method you use in the comments (Bloglovin, GFC, Networked Blogs, or email subscription), and I pinky promise to follow you back!

As always, all book covers are linked to GoodReads, to if you want to learn more, just click away...


It's been a fun week for me as I got to go to a book launch on Tuesday, in Oakland.  Then, my daughter and I got to go away to Napa for a short break with my friend, Kimberley.  We've been friends for five years and watched our girls grow up from fifth grade to now being sophomores in high school.  So much has changed but we still can talk for hours and hours.  Good friends are a treasure!

Sunday, Jenny and I get to go to the Adele concert!!!  I am beyond excited.  Tomorrow we will go shopping and get some pampering in for our big day out!  Will it be rude if I belt out the tunes while Adele singing?  I will try mightily to restrain myself (maybe Jenny can tap me on the shoulder when I make a fool of myself!)

                  
via GIPHY


I was super productive and wrote about nine posts for the coming weeks!  I have two regular posts:  Monday's SF Bay Area Book Events, and this one.  Then I hope to have two to three other posts per week.  I hate being stressed out or reaching for topics, so I am not going to freak out if I don't post every day.  

Saturday:  Stacking The Shelves #40 & Sunday Post #3

Monday:  Bay Area Book Events #5

Tuesday:  ARC Review:  Valley Of The Moon by Melanie Gideon.

Wednesday:  Review:  Ghostbusters

Thursday:  Book Review:  Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes





The big thing I read this week was Super Sushi Ramen Express, by journalist Michael Booth.  This is a serious exploration of Japanese cuisine.  Since I lived in Japan for over three years, I found this book totally engrossing.  But I think it will be tiresome for people who are not Japan geeks (as I am).






I have decided to research my Mexican roots, so two of these books deals with chicano folklore and legends.  I also got two audiobooks, The Queen, by Kiera Cass, and The Flood Girls.  The Queen was very short, so I finished that one quickly.  The Flood Girls is good, but I can't listen to it with my kids in the car (too adult!).


I bought two copies of this wonderful book at the launch party for the author, Melanie Gideon. I really enjoy author talks, and this one was really inspiring.  Valley Of The Moon took Melanie four years to complete!  She actually wrote an entire 500 page novel and then threw it out and started over again.  Oh my gosh, I admire her tenacity to keep going.  I don't know if I would.

What books did you get this week?  What other fun, sad, wonderful, surprising, upsetting, things happened this week?  Let's talk!

Synopsis (From GoodReads):
Who cut off Medusa's head? Who was raised by a she-bear? Who tamed Pegasus? It takes a demigod to know, and Percy Jackson can fill you in on the all the daring deeds of Perseus, Atalanta, Bellerophon, and the rest of the major Greek heroes. Told in the funny, irreverent style readers have come to expect from Percy, ( I've had some bad experiences in my time, but the heroes I'm going to tell you about were the original old school hard luck cases. They boldly screwed up where no one had screwed up before. . .) and enhanced with vibrant artwork by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco, this story collection will become the new must-have classic for Rick Riordan's legions of devoted fans--and for anyone who needs a hero. So get your flaming spear. Put on your lion skin cape. Polish your shield and make sure you've got arrows in your quiver. We're going back about four thousand years to decapitate monsters, save some kingdoms, shoot a few gods in the butt, raid the Underworld, and steal loot from evil people. Then, for dessert, we'll die painful tragic deaths. Ready? Sweet. Let's do this.

Review:
We all have some notion of the Greek myths and heroes from school and pop culture.  But if you were to ask me about a specific hero's story, I would be hard-pressed to tell you about it.  This is why Rick Riodan's middle grade books are so important (and why books about other culture's myths need to be published).  They make these stories accessible.  I listened to this as an audio book and I must say it was lots of fun. 
  
If you have read any of the Percy Jackson books, you will instantly feel at home with the breezy style as Riodan's character Percy is the narrator.  How would a teenage boy describe Jason and the Argonauts?  What would he emphasize?  You guessed it:  All the crazy bits!  While the novel tends to gloss over the moral issues these stories were originally designed to showcase, the author did point out the obvious sexism and gender disparity in the stories.  I appreciated this as many girls will read this book.

Most of the stories move along at a quick pace, but the story of Hercules does drag the novel down.  Of the many stories of Hercules Rick Riodan could have told, he chose the ten tasks that he had to perform to atone for killing his family (Yes, those were the good old days where this would excuse mass murder).  Each of the ten (actually twelve) tasks are detailed and it just goes on and on).  
  
I think if I were to read this in print form, I would have skipped around and used this book as a reference when I wanted to know about a particular Greek hero.  If one reads this as a straight up novel, it tends to get tedious.  




Rating:  



Release Date:   August 18th, 2015

Source:  Public Library

Format:  Audio Book

Recommendation:  I would listen to this on a long car trip, or buy the print book to have as a reference that your kids can access.

 

Synopsis (From Flixster.com):
Ghostbusters makes its long-awaited return, rebooted with a cast of hilarious new characters. Thirty years after the beloved original franchise took the world by storm, director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today--Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. This summer, they're here to save the world!

Review:
So much has already been written about this movie, what could I possibly add to the discussion, right?  Well, considering that 11 of the 12 "Top Critics" on Rotten Tomatoes were men,  I would like to add my two cents!  I found this version to be funny and spot on about how women would handle (and be handled by) these situations.  But there were some issues that I couldn't ignore.

In the original 1984 movie, three scientists try to use their ghost catching invention to start a business.  They see it as an opportunity to cash in on people's fears.  Contrast that with this version where the new cast simply wants to do research.  There is never a money making motive for these women (one wonders how they can survive since there is no income coming in).  Perhaps in the next movie they will try to monetize their venture.

I also found it fascinating how in the original movie the guys catch ghosts and become celebrities, while in the new movie the women do the same thing and are given a pat on the back and told to keep quiet.  "We don't want to start a panic", exclaims the mayor's assistant.  Sadly, I think this rings very true to what would actually happen.  Go ahead and do great things, just don't expect to be celebrated for it.

I loved that the African-American in this version, Patty, is an equally contributing member of the team.  She has specialized knowledge of New York that the other women do not.  I loved that this character was not just a placeholder.  Plus, Leslie Jones is just so dang funny!  She makes every scene she is in pop.  I just wanted more and more scenes with Patty.

I also enjoyed the Jillian Holtzmann character, played by Kate McKinnon.  With a wild gleam in her eyes, she is the inventor of the group.  I laughed every time the camera cut to her reactions.  Even without words, this woman is hilarious.  I wanted to know more about her backstory and I hope the next movie will feature her even more.

One of the joys of this film is the secondary characters, particularly Bennie the food delivery man.  Actor Karan Soni makes the most of the running gag of not getting Abby's food order right.  I also thought the antagonist, Rowen North (played by Neil Casey) was just the right amount of creepy.  He didn't overdue being the bad guy.

Strangely, I didn't think the two more established comedy stars, Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, were particularly funny.  They basically played it straight throughout the movie.  I hope the next films will be written to showcase more of their comic talents. 

Another thing that I hope they drop in the next movie is all the cameo appearances by the original cast.  Having a bust of Harold Ramis in the background of one scene was a nice, subtle touch.  But the other pop up cameos were a distraction and took the audience out of the moment.  Did the producers feel the need to show they had the blessing of the creators?  If so, that is a shame.  These new Ghostbusters can carry the movie without the crutch of the veteran players.

What I could do less with was the male secretary Kevin, played by Chris Hemsworth.  The producers obviously paid big bucks for the star of Thor to be in this movie, so they seemed to be compelled to include him as much as possible.  For example, towards the end of the movie there is a scene that seems set up to have Kevin dancing on a giant marquee.  The scene was clearly cut, but must have cost a bundle to produce.  Well, it is included in the long end credits as background.  While Chris Hemsworth does show some impressive dance moves, this was clearly not a good fit and should have stayed on the cutting room floor.  I would have been much more interested in showcasing Holtzmann trying out more cool (and explosive) ghost catching gadgets.  Or other shots of the team working together.  The focus should have been on the main characters.

Overall, I think this is a good first entry for the Ghostbusters series reboot.  Though it did not have the gut-busting laughs of the original 1984 movie, it did have the beginnings of a fun comedy team for future films.   

Rating:



Release Date:  July 15th, 2016

Director:  Paul Feig

Written by:  Paul Feig and Katie Dippold

Run Time:  105 minutes 

Studio:  Sony Pictures

Opening Weekend Gross:  $46,018,755

Please Note:  I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This does not affect the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (From GoodReads):

Lux is a single mom struggling to make her way when she discovers an idyllic community in the Sonoma Valley. It seems like a place from another time until she realizes it actually is. Lux must keep one foot in her world, raising her son as well as she can with the odds stacked against her, but every day she is more strongly drawn in by the sweet simplicity of life in Greengage, and by the irresistible connection she feels with a man born decades before her. Soon she finds herself torn between her ties to the modern world, her adored son and the first place she has ever felt truly at home.

Review:

How can I describe this book?  If I needed to explain it to one of my friends, I would say it has similar elements with The Time Traveler's Wife and Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children.   I would also go on to say that it was wildly entertaining!

The book begins set in a communal farm in Sonoma in 1906.  A whole community with it's joys, along with it's tensions, discovers an unusual fog that seems to trap them on the estate.  What is happening?  How long will they be stuck there?  Fast forward to 1970 San Francisco where Lux, a struggling single mother, goes camping and wanders in to a mysterious fog...

                
via GIPHY

This story is about how the lives of the people in 1906 intertwine with Lux's life.  

I loved how the book mingled the backstories of Lux and Joseph with what was going on around them.  This is more than a fantasy book.  Author Melanie Gideon explores the effects our childhoods have on the kind of people we become as adults.  I was very moved by how Lux's connection with her father changed as she reached her teen years.  Sadly, these can be make or break years in parent-child relationships which take years (if ever) to repair.

I also enjoyed the distinct time periods of 1906 vs. more modern times.  The shock of the differences is felt by both the people on the farm and Lux.  Would you want to know what will happen sixty or seventy years from now?  Would you feel cheated that you missed out, or relieved that you wouldn't live to see what humanity has done to itself?  

                  
via GIPHY

Are you sure about that, friend?

I think the author is trying to show us is that knowledge and growth come at a price.   I don't think she is saying that we shouldn't try to find things out, but that we need to understand that we will change as an outcome of our new realizations.  
I think this is a charming book that will leave you thinking about it for many weeks afterwards.




Rating: 



Release Date:  July 26th, 2016

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  ARC E-Book

Recommendation:  Part fantasy, part family saga, this novel will be hard to put down.  
 

I am attempting to make this a one stop place to find book signings in the San Francisco Bay Area!  I will mostly focus on YA books, but I will also include some general fiction if I think it will be of interest.  I think this is an extensive list, but there is always the possibility that I missed an event (Hey, I'm human).  If you think there is an event that I should include, please leave me a note in the comments section.  Thanks.

All graphics have links to GoodReads so you can check them out.

As always, it is a good idea to call the store a day or two before to confirm that the scheduled event is still on.  I have learned that these events change constantly.

If you want to see this in a calendar, please go to the Events page on my blog: SF Bay Area Events

Updated July 24th, 2016





Book:  Valley of the Moon  
Author:  Melanie Gideon  
Location:  A Great Good Place For Books  
Address:  6120 LaSalle Avenue, Oakland, CA  
Tel: (510) 339-8210

Note:  This author is making multiple appearances throughout the Bay Area.

This is a launch party for this book!  It has some of the elements of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (people living in a time bubble) but the main characters are adults and it's set in Sonoma.
 




Book:  Monstress, Volume 1  
Authors: Marjorie Lui & Sana Takeda
Location:  Books, Inc.  
Address: 1491 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA  
Tel:  (510) 525-7777

This is a steam-punk graphic novel that looks really beautiful.





Book:  Black Jack Ketchum
Authors:  Brian Schirmer & Jeremy Saliba
Location:  Barnes & Noble
Address:  5604 Bay Street, Emeryville, CA
Tel:  (510) 547-0905

This is a graphic novel series that the authors will be discussing and signing.  It looks like a cool mix of Fantasy and Western.






Book:  Valley Of The Moon
Author:  Melanie Gideon
Location:  Books Inc.
Address:   74 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto, CA
Tel:  (650) 321-0600

Note:  This author is making multiple appearances throughout the Bay Area.

This book is a fantasy and has some of the elements of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (people living in a time bubble) but the main characters are adults and it's set in Sonoma.
 







Book: Expect Deception  
Author: JoAnn Smith Ainsworth.  
Location:  Barnes & Noble
Address:  5709 Lone Tree Way, Antioch, CA
Tel: (925) 978-1031

This looks like a cool book with Nazis, spies, and wizards!  Historical fiction mixed with fantasy.

August 2016

  

Book:  Valley Of The Moon
Author:  Melanie Gideon
Location:  Book Passage
Address:  51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA
Tel: (415) 927-0960 (800) 999-7909

Note:  This author is making multiple appearances throughout the Bay Area.
 
This book is a fantasy and has some of the elements of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (people living in a time bubble) but the main characters are adults and it's set in Sonoma.
 




Book:  Sugarland
Author:  Martha Conway
Location:  Book Passage
Address:  51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA
Tel: (415) 927-0960 (800) 999-7909




 
Book:  Into The Valley
Author:  Ruth Galm
Location:  Book Passage
Address:  51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA
Tel: (415) 927-0960 (800) 999-7909




Book:  Enchanted Islands
Author:  Allison Amend
Location:  Book Passage
Address:  51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA
Tel: (415) 927-0960 (800) 999-7909




Book:  You Will Know Me
Author:  Megan Abbott
Location:  Book Passage
Address: 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA 
Tel: (415)0 927-0960 (800) 999-7909 






Book:  Harmony
Author:  Carolyn Parkhurst
Location:  Book Passage
Address: 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA 
Tel: (415) 927-0960 (800) 999-7909

 





Book:  You Will Know Me
Author:  Megan Abbott
Location:  Books, Inc. (Opera Plaza Store)
Address:  601 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA  
Tel: (415) 776-1111








Book:  Pancakes In Paris
Author:  Craig Carlson
Location:  Books, Inc., (Palo Alto)
Address:  855 El Camino Real #74,  Palo Alto, CA
Tel:   (650) 321-0600

 

Book:  The Immigrant Princess
Author:  Variny Yim
Location:  Book Passage
Address:  51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA
Tel: (415) 927-0960   (800) 999-7909

Note:  This author is making multiple appearances throughout the Bay Area. 

This looks like a wonderful story of the culture clash that many children of immigrants face. 





Book:  Girl In The Afternoon
Author:  Serena Burdick
Location:  Book Passage
Address: 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA
Tel:  (415) 927-0960   (800) 999-7909

Art & Paris during the Impressionist age.  Need I say more?









Book:  Reliance, Illinois
Author:  Mary Volmer
Location:  A Great Good Place For Books
Address:  6120 LaSalle Avenue, Oakland, CA  
Tel: (510) 339-8210

 





Book:  Eileen
Author:  Ottessa Moshfegh
Location:  A Great Good Place For Books
Address:  6120 LaSalle Avenue, Oakland, CA  
Tel: (510) 339-8210


This seems like a suspenseful, scary story of a disturbed women working at a juvenile facility in the 60's and how she gets obsessed with  one of the counselors.



Book:  Between Two Fires
Author:  Mark Noce
Location:  Burlingame Public Library
Address:  480 Primrose Road, Burlingame, CA
Tel: (650) 558-7400

Historical novel set in Medieval Wales.  If you like Game Of Thrones, you will probably enjoy the intrigue and settings.







Book:  Here I Am
Author:  Jonathan Safran Foer
Location:  Book Passage
Address: 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA
Tel:  (415) 927-0960   (800) 999-7909

 












Book:  Heroes Of The Frontier
Author:  Dave Eggers
Location:  Book Passage

Address: 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA
Tel:  (415) 927-0960   (800) 999-7909

  September 2016

Book:  The Empress Of Tempera
Author: Alex Dolan
Location: Barnes & Noble
Address:   313 Corte Madera Town Center, Corte Madera, CA
Tel:  (415) 927-9016
 
Set in the art world, this book looks to be great for those who enjoy books such as The Last Painting of Sara deVos. 






 
Book:  Truly Madly Guilty  
Author: Laine Moriarty
Location:  Book Passage
Address:  51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA
Tel: (415)0 927-0960 (800) 999-7909

Oh, I loved Big, Little Lies!  This new book should be awesome.  Since this is an author that lives in Australia (and I doubt she gets to the U.S. often), I will definitely try to attend this event.
 








Book:  Leave Me
Author:  Gayle Forman
Location:  Books, Inc. (Opera Plaza Store)  
Address:  601 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA  
Tel: (415) 776-1111
 
This is Gayle Forman's first adult fiction.  Given the popularity of her many YA books, this should be a big event.






Note: This is a City Arts & Lectures Event.  You must buy tickets.

Book:  Here I Am
Author:  Jonathan Safran Foer
Tickets: City Arts & Lectures
Location:  Nourse Theater
Address:  275 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA
Tel: (415) 563-2463





Book:  The Nightingale
Author: Kristin Hannah
Location:  Book Passage
Address:  51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA
Tel: (415)0 927-0960 (800) 999-7909

This is one of my favorite books that I have read this year, and I am so excited that she will be coming to the Bay Area!!!

October 2016 

 

October 3rd, 2016 at 7:00pm

October 13th, 2016 at 6:00pm

From the author of Gorky Park, this takes place in the closing months of WWII and is about a Jewish woman escaping the Nazis.






Book:  Perfume River
Author:  Robert Glen Butler
Location:  Books, Inc.  
Address: 1491 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA  
Tel:  (510) 525-7777