Portland Book Events: August 10-16

From what I could find (please contact me if you have an event you would like me to add to this or future schedules), the local book events for the week of August 10, 2009 through August 16, 2009 are:

Monday August 10-

Three Friends Reading Series (Three Friends Coffee House, @7:00pm): Please join us for an evening of story and music. 3 Friends Reading Series, in conjunction with Show and Tell Gallery and Three Friends Coffee House is happy to present award winning writers Evelyn Sharenov and Megan Kruse, and Beet Roots -100% organic girl duo on guitar and mandolin.

Erica Eisdorfer Reading (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): A debut novel that will surely have readers talking, Erica Eisdorfer’s The Wet Nurse’s Tale (Putnam) is a bright and clever story with a sharp-tongued, adventurous heroine who offers a candid and often funny look at the business of nursing babies in Victorian England. “[E]ntertaining and surprising,” cheers Publishers Weekly.

The Impostor’s Daughter (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): While researching an article on her father’s life, journalist Laurie Sandell makes an astonishing discovery: he’s not the man he says he is — not even close. In her graphic novel memoir The Impostor’s Daughter: A True Memoir (Little Brown), Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them — herself. “A revealing, powerfully strange graphic memoir,” hails Kirkus Reviews.

Crow Planet (Powells Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): There are more crows now than ever. Their abundance is both an indicator of ecological imbalance and a generous opportunity to connect with the animal world. Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness (Little, Brown and Company) weaves Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s own “crow stories” with scientific and scholarly research and the history and mythology of crows, culminating in a book that is sure to make readers see the world around them in a very different way.

Tuesday August 11-

Marvel 70th Anniversary Celebration (Barnes & Noble Clackamas Town Center, @7:00pm): Join us as we celebrate 70 years of Marvel Comics with a panel discussion featuring Marvel celebrity guests Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Origins, Ultimate Spiderman), Jeff Parker (X-Men: First Class) and Rick Remender (Punisher War Journal).

Kat Richardson Reading (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): Harper Blaine had been an average small-time P.I. until she died — for two minutes. Now Harper is a Greywalker, walking the line between the living world and the paranormal realm. The fourth book in Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series, Vanished (Roc), may be Harper’s toughest case yet. Forced by some very demanding vampires to take on an investigation in London, she soon discovers her present troubles in England are entangled with her dark past back in Seattle — and her ultimate destiny as a Greywalker.

Science Fiction Book Group (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): This month we are joined by author Camille Alexa when we discuss her book, Push of the Sky. Join us!

Fixing My Gaze (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): A revelatory account of the human mind’s capacity for change, Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist’s Journey into Seeing in Three Dimensions (Basic Books) presents neuroscientist Susan R. Barry’s remarkable story of how she rewired her own brain and came to see the world anew. “Another exemplary and informative testimony to the probably lifelong plasticity of the brain,” hails Booklist.

Wednesday August 12-

Reading Local Book Club (Northwest Library, @6:30pm): This month G. Xavier Robillard will be joining us to discuss his debut novel Captain Freedom: A Superhero’s Quest for Truth, Justice, and the Celebrity He So Richly Deserves (Harper).  Any and all are welcome to join us!

Boneshaker Volume Three Release Party & Ride! (Reading Frenzy, @7:00pm): Join us this evening to celebrate the release of Boneshaker Volume Three! Featuring the artwork of Jackie Avery and readings by Michael Bussmann, Andrew Bohn, Dan DeWeese, Todd Simmons, and Evan P Schneider. The reading will be followed by a leisurely ride and libation stop!

Book Bags Women’s Book Group (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): This month we meet to discuss Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder. Join us!

Rage against the Meshugenah (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): At turns poignant and uproarious, Danny Evans’s memoir Rage against the Meshugenah (New American Library) vividly traces his journey through the minefield of mental illness from a modern man’s point of view, including his no-holds-barred confrontations with infuriating sexual side effects and his self-medication with beer and porn.

Thursday August 13-

Summer Thursday’s at ACP: Patrick Carman (A Childrens Place Bookstore, @1:00pm): During the bright, fun days of summertime, come join your friends at ACP for “Summer Thursdays.” Each Thursday at 1:00, the store will host various events from sidewalk-chalk art drawing to author workshop visits. Sure to be fun for all. This Thursday ACP invites you to an extra special Summer Thursday event with Patrick Carman, author of the 5th book in the “39 Clues” series.

Not a Muse (Broadway Books, @7:00pm): Four Northwest poets, Barbara LaMorticella, Amy MacLennan, Jane Knechtel, and Kirsten Rian will be reading at the store.These four poets were selected for inclusion in the international anthology of poetry Not a Muse, published by Haven Press in Hong Kong. Each will read from the anthology and from other current work. Barbara LaMorticella was in 1997 a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in poetry. She was the recipient of the first Oregon Literary Fellowship for Women Writers, and in 2005 she was awarded the Stewart H. Holbrook Award by Literary Arts. She hosts Talking Earth, a regular poetry radio show on KBOO. Amy MacLennan‘s poems have been published in numerous anthologies and literary reviews, including Hayden’s Ferry Review, River Styx, Pearl, Linebreak, Cimarron Review, New Plains Review, Folio, and Rattle. Jane Knechtel is the winner of the Donn Goodwin Poetry Prize for 2008. She has master’s degrees in Anglo-Irish Literature and Counseling Psychology and has been studying poetry writing for ten years. Recent publications include poems in the anthologies White Ink: Poems on Mothers and Motherhood and Eating Her Wedding Dress: A Collection of Clothing Poems. Kirsten Rian‘s poetry has appeared in many international literary journals and anthologies. She is poetry editor of Writersdojo.org. Also an independent curator and writer, she has coordinated more than 375 exhibitions, and 65 books and catalogs.

Patrick Carman’s The 39 Clues (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): The 39 Clues is Scholastic’s groundbreaking series, spanning 10 adrenaline-charged books, 350 trading cards, and an online game where readers play a part in the story and compete for over $100,000 in prizes. The fifth installment, The Black Circle (Scholastic) by Patrick Carman, takes Dan and Amy on their most dangerous quest yet, one that brings them face-to-face with the only force capable of scaring the vicious Lucians: the Madrigals.

Deadly Diversions Mystery Book Group (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): This month we meet to discuss Martin Cruz Smith’s Gorky Park. Join us!

Bree Loewen Reading (Annie Bloom’s Books, @7:30pm): Bree Loewen’s Pickets and Dead Men is A funny and sometimes cringe-inducing story of a young woman’s experience as a climbing ranger where respect is hard won and on-the-job performance can be the difference between life and death.

Being a climbing ranger on Mount Rainier proved to be a life-altering experience for Bree Loewen. As one of only a handful of women on staff, Bree fought to prove herself among men in the field, while confronting the often unrealistic expectations of the public on a mountain that shows little mercy. With honesty, self-deprecation, and wry humor, she reflects on her experiences on Rainier: assisting injured climbers, rescuing lost children, battling inscrutable bureaucracy, lugging heavy equipment, and trying to make sense of it all. Whether it’s her account of a solo climb in dicey conditions or trying to protect her good jacket while cleaning the outhouses at Camp Muir, Loewen’s writing is engagingly human and humane.

Crochet Adorned (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): For crocheters looking for something different or beginners who want a fun way to break into crochet, Linda Permann presents an ingenious reference to add clever touches of crochet to your wardrobe. Crochet Adorned (Potter Craft) includes crochet basics, tips on choosing the right garments to decorate, and a dictionary of 100 stitches, edgings, and motifs to use as the building blocks for creative projects.

Matt Love Reading (Powells Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): From Matt Love, Citadel of the Spirit editor and Powells.com’s On Oregon blogger, comes Super Sunday in Newport (Nestucca Spit Press), a collection of 46 pieces originally written for the weekly open-mic sessions at Cafe Mundo in Nye Beach. It mixes memoir, polemic, vignette, essay, and photographs to create a unique personal portrait of Newport and an unconventional narrative of Love’s transitional year.

Friday August 14-

If you know of an event occurring Friday please contact us.

Saturday August 15-

Spare Room presents Crag Hill and Douglas Rothschild (213 SE 26th, @2:00pm): Please join us for a house reading and potluck in SE Portland, hosted by Jennifer Coleman and Allison Cobb.

During the anemic Carter administration, Crag Hill kicked the “i” out of his first name. Continuing to be underwhelmed by his elected leaders, he threatens to kick out the last vowel, too soft, too soft, he says. Until recently he edited SCORE, one of the few journals dedicated exclusively to concrete/visual poetry. His creative and critical works in progress can be found at http://scorecard.typepad.com. He teaches future teachers of English at Washington State University.

New York poet Douglas Rothschild‘s book Theogeny is out this year from Subpress Books. Says poet Anselm Berrigan: “This is a book of tremendous clarity, and I’m grateful for its existence.” Pierre Joris has called it “My favorite book of poems for 2009 so far […] and a long time a-coming.” Douglas Rothschild’s life has been one long miasma of failure, disappointment, coffee, & overarching desire. Though he has not yet accomplished anything of note, Mr. Rothschild intends to continue on for some time yet.

Sunday August 16-

Hawthorne Street Fair (Powell’s Books For Home & Garden, @11:00am): Join us in celebrating all things Hawthorne as the seminal Southeast neighborhood comes alive with music, art, kids’ activities, and more! Our Home and Garden store will be offering a one-day 30% discount on all preserving and canning books, plus specials on great gift items. And don’t forget to drop by Powell’s on Hawthorne for great deals on your favorite books — and ours! For more information, visit www.thinkhawthorne.com/happenings.

Spare Room presents Eric Baus and Graham Foust (Concordia Coffee House, @7:30pm, $5 suggested donation): Eric Baus is the author of The To Sound (Wave Books) and Tuned Droves (Octopus Books). He edits Minus House chapbooks and writes about poetry audio recordings on the site To The Sound. He lives in Denver.

Graham Foust lives in Oakland and works at Saint Mary’s College of California.  His fourth book, A Mouth in California, will be published by Flood Editions in September.

For further events check out the links to the community calendars for Tri-County area Libraries: Washington County, Multnomah County, Clackamas County.