Kepler's Books

Kepler's News, February 2008

Highlights:

· Don't miss Dominique Renda and Brooks Anderson with their unique collaboration of poetry and photography Monday night. Also, Kelly Corrigan, mother, journalist and first-time author will speak this month about her highly acclaimed new book, The Middle Place.

· We are very pleased to present Pulitzer Prize-winner Geraldine Brooks with her new - and very wonderful and thought-provoking - book, People of the Book.

· Kepler's welcomes several members of the Stanford faculty: Janice Ross will discuss the history of the San Francisco Ballet; senior research scholar and executive director Rafiq Dossani will present an intriguing look at India, the world's fourth greatest economy, and law professor Richard Thompson Ford will give sophisticated legal analysis and commentary on "The Race Card."

· Acclaimed science master and author Bill Hayes presents the never-before-told true story of how the most famous book in the world, Gray's Anatomy, came to be. Stanford Med School Resident Josh Spanogle will introduce him.

· Writers and writers-to-be won't want to miss Natalie Goldberg, one of the foremost teachers of writing, with her new book on writing memoirs.

· In awe of all you see when you look to the sky at night? Dr. Andrew Fraknoi, Astronomy Chair at Foothill College, will both enlighten you and tell you what to look for during the next eclipse. Bring the whole family!

· Local favorite and highly regarded Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Irv Yalom will be on hand to talk about overcoming the fear of death; and award-winning author David Shields also takes a look at mortality, prompting a new and profound appreciation of life.

· Kepler's will be selling books at three terrific offsite events this month: noted economist John Lott and design consultant Don Norman at the Commonwealth Club of Silicon Valley, and well-known humorist, essayist and author David Rakoff at the San Jose Museum of Art.

· Popular local teacher, philosopher, author and nationally known water polo coach Jack Bowen celebrates the new release of Dream Weaver. He will donate the proceeds generated during the week of his event to literacy non-profit, YES Reading.

· Looking for an alternative to local Valentine's Day activities? Come hear Russell Banks talk about his new novel.

· Motivational speaker David Roche shares his hard-earned lessons of being born with a facial deformity, offering profound encouragement in dealing with whatever life brings. And college freshman Blake Edwards will discuss what it's like to grow up with, and overcome, ADHD.

· Kepler's in-store Book Clubs are free and open to the public. See details below.

· Be sure to check out the entire list of February events below.

· To receive the Youth and Children's department e-news blast, please contact Angela Kroner-Grafmiller, angelak@keplers.com

February Programs and Events

· We look forward to seeing you at these exciting programs and events. All of these events are free and take place at Kepler's unless otherwise noted. For more information on Kepler's events, click here.

· A special note on Book Signings: Your purchase of the author's book at Kepler's allows us to bring these events to our store. Thank you for your support!

· To check out the latest book reviews and other news in our Showcase Newsletter, click here!

Author Events:

Dominique Renda and Brooks Anderson
Swimming in Open Water
Monday, February 4, 7:30 p.m.

Dominique Renda is a Menlo Park poet, photographer, parent and life coach. Brooks Anderson is an internationally collected painter, poet, photographer and parent based in Santa Rosa. They join their exquisite artistry and human sensitivity in this unique collection of poetry and photographic art, where individual expression becomes universal truth and our sense of order is tenderly rearranged.

Geraldine Brooks
People of the Book
Tuesday, February 5, 7:30 p.m.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, the journey of a rare illuminated prayer book through centuries of war, destruction, theft, loss, and love.

John Lott
Freedomnomics
Wednesday, February 6, 6:30 p.m.

LOCATION: Menlo Park Council Chambers, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park

For reservations, call 1-800-847-7730 or visit www.commonwealthclub.org/sv.

Noted economist John R. Lott takes a hard-hitting look at the effects of the free market economy in his new book. His counterargument to the 2005 best-selling book Freakonomics by Steven Leavitt and Stephen Dubner, explains why he believes the U.S. economy embodies the most honest and creative aspect of our society and why countries that have stuck with the free market model have prospered.

Bill Hayes
The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy
with introduction by Josh Spanogle, local author and Stanford Med School Resident

Wednesday, February 6, 7:30 p.m.

The classic medical text known as Gray's Anatomy is one of the most famous books ever written. Now, on the 150th anniversary of its publication, acclaimed science writer and master of narrative nonfiction Bill Hayes has written the fascinating, never-before-told true story of how this seminal volume came to be.

Rafiq Dossani
India Arriving: How This Economic Powerhouse Is Redefining Global Business
Thursday, February 7, 7:30 p.m.

Rafiq Dossani, a senior research scholar and executive director at Stanford University's Asian Pacific Research Center, goes beneath the veil surrounding India and explores the many ways it has begun to emerge onto the world stage.

Don Norman
The Design of Future Things
Monday, February 11, 7:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto

For reservations, call 1-800-847-7730 or visit www.commonwealthclub.org/sv.

Want to know what cool new products will be on the market in the next five years? Popular design consultant Donald Norman has an idea and will offer a preview of future home and automobile products.

Richard Thompson Ford
The Race Card: How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse
Tuesday, February 12, 7:30 p.m.

What do Katrina victims waiting for federal disaster relief, Ivy League professors waiting for taxis, and ghetto hustlers trying to find steady work have in common? All have claimed to be victims of racism. These days almost no one openly expresses racist beliefs or defends bigoted motives. So lots of people are victims of bigotry, but no one's a bigot? What gives? Either a lot of people are lying about their true beliefs and motivations, or a lot of people are jumping to unwarranted conclusions-or just playing the race card. Ford, a Stanford Law School professor, brings sophisticated legal analysis, lively and eye-popping anecdotes, and plain old common sense to this heated topic.

Dr. Irvin D. Yalom
Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death
Wednesday, February 13, 7:30 p.m.

Written in Irv Yalom's inimitable story-telling style, Staring at the Sun is a profoundly encouraging approach to the universal issue of mortality. Once we confront our own mortality, Dr. Yalom writes, we are inspired to rearrange our priorities, communicate more deeply with those we love, appreciate more keenly the beauty of life, and increase our willingness to take the risks necessary for personal fulfillment.

Russell Banks -A Valentine's Day Alternative
The Reserve

Thursday, February 14, 7:30 p.m.

Part love story, part murder mystery, set on the cusp of the Second World War, Russell Banks's sharp-witted and deeply engaging new novel raises dangerous questions about class, politics, art, love, and madness--and explores what happens when two powerful personalities, trapped at opposite ends of a social divide, begin to break the rules.

Dr. Andrew Fraknoi
Disney Wonderful World of Space
Friday, February 15, 7:30 p.m.

How many times have you looked up at the stars and been in awe of all you see? Similarly intrigued, Dr. Andrew Fraknoi, chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College and educational consultant for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, has made space his life's work. Recently, he won the Richard Emmons Prize, for a lifetime of contributions to teaching introductory astronomy. With his newest published book, he continues his mission to share his knowledge with a whole new generation of potential space scholars.

David Shields
The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead
Tuesday, February 19, 7:30 p.m.

Mesmerized-at times unnerved-by his 97-year-old father's nearly superhuman vitality and optimism, David Shields undertakes an investigation of the human physical condition. The result is this exhilarating book: both a personal meditation on mortality and an exploration of flesh-and-blood existence from crib to oblivion-an exploration that paradoxically prompts a renewed and profound appreciation of life.

David Roche
The Church of 80% Sincerity
Wednesday, February 20, 7:30 p.m.

The Church of 80% Sincerity shares the inspiring, poignant, wickedly funny, and sometimes heartbreaking story of motivational speaker David Roche's journey from shame to self-acceptance. Born with a severe facial deformity, David's life has been anything but easy. Still, over time, he's learned to accept his gifts as well as his flaws, and to see that, sometimes, they are one and the same.

Philip L. Fradkin
Wallace Stegner and the American West
Thursday, February 21, 7:30 p.m.

Rich in personal and literary detail, and in the sensual description of the country that Stegner loved and that shaped both his work and his life-this is the definitive biography of one of the most acclaimed and admired writers, teachers, and conservationists of our time.

David Rakoff
Don't Get Too Comfortable
Thursday, February 21, 7:30 p.m.

LOCATION: San Jose Museum of Art, 110 S. Market St., San Jose

For reservations, call 408-521-4012 or visit http://sjmusart.org/.

Rakoff is a humorist, essayist, author, and regular contributor to Public Radio International's This American Life and The New York Times Magazine. His New York Times bestsellers, Fraud and Don't Get Too Comfortable, have established him as one of today's funniest, most insightful writers.

Natalie Goldberg
Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir
Saturday, February 23, 2:00 p.m.

Twenty years ago Natalie Goldberg's classic, Writing Down the Bones, broke new ground in its approach to writing as a practice. Now, Old Friend from Far Away -- her first book since Writing Down the Bones to focus solely on writing -- reaffirms Goldberg's status as a foremost teacher of writing, and completely transforms the practice of writing memoir.

Blake E. S. Taylor
ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table
Monday, February 25, 7:30 p.m.

Blake Taylor's memoir, written when he was 17, offers, for the first time, a young person's account of what it's like to live and grow up with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD and Me will be an inspiration and companion to the millions of others like him who must find a way to thrive with a different perspective than many of us.

Blake is a freshman at UC Berkeley and is being considered the youngest American to publish a personal account of his life with ADHD.

Kelly Corrigan
The Middle Place
Tuesday, February 26, 7:30 p.m.

Kelly's beautifully written memoir deftly captures the things that matter: the family you are born with and the family you make, and staking the ground where it all meets. THE MIDDLE PLACE is about where a diagnosis of cancer is only a part of the story-the larger part is what comes before and what one fights to have come after.

Corrigan, mother and Bay Area resident, is a newspaper columnist and a contributor to magazines including O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, Good Housekeeping and Glamour. She launched CircusofCancer.org, a website that teaches friends and family of cancer patients how to love someone through treatment.

Janice Ross
San Francisco Ballet at 75
Wednesday, February 27, 2:00 p.m.

Long renowned as one of the world's preeminent ballet companies, San Francisco Ballet marks its 75^th anniversary with a stunningly beautiful retrospective. It provides insight into the company's illustrious history and tells the story of how San Francisco Ballet has forged a fresh identity for American dance and is now pioneering a new model of internationalism in the dance world.

Join author and Atherton resident Janice Ross, associate professor of dance history at Stanford University, as well as several ballet dancers.

Jack Bowen
The Dream Weaver: One Boy's Journey Through the Landscape of Reality (Anniversary Edition); also A Journey Through the Landscape of Reality: A Reader
Thursday, February 28, 7:30 p.m.

Come explore the Big Issues in a fun and accessible way. Jack will explore the latest on major topics such as morality, the soul, the mind, and science, and provide audience members with the opportunity to take their own journey. In addition, Stanford Philosophy Chair John Perry will share insights from his foreword to Bowen's new edition.

Jack will donate all book sales during the week to YES Reading to aid the effort to eradicate illiteracy and promote critical and creative thinking.

Kepler's is continuing to book many more exciting programs. Please visit www.keplers.com for frequent updates.

February book club meetings at Kepler's

Kepler's Book Groups are free and open to the public.

Speculative Fiction Book Club

Sunday, February 10, 6:00 p.m.

Moderated by Lisa Rose

Kafka on the Shoreby Haruki Murakami

Spanish Book Club

Monday, February 11, 7:00 p.m.

Moderated by Joan Molitoris (conducted in Spanish)

El lápiz del carpinteroby Manuel Rivas

Fiction Book Club