Shopping Bag
My AccountFrom 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 December 14, 2009 through December 20, 2009 are:
Monday December 14-
Greg Mortenson – Stones Into Schools (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, @7:00pm, SOLD OUT): Since the 2006 publication of Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson has traveled across the U.S. and the world to share his vision with hundreds of thousands of people. He has met with heads of state, top military officials, and leading politicians who all seek his advice and insight.
In this upcoming lecture, Mortenson picks up where Three Cups of Tea left off in recounting his relentless, ongoing efforts to establish schools for girls in Afghanistan; his extensive work in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan after a massive earthquake hit the region in 2005; and the unique ways he has built relationships with Islamic clerics, militia commanders, and tribal leaders even as he was dodging shootouts with feuding Afghan warlords and surviving an eight-day armed abduction by the Taliban. He’ll further discuss his vision to promote peace through education and literacy, as well as touching on military matters, Islam, and women—all woven together with the many rich personal stories of the people who have been involved in this humanitarian effort.
Literary Arts is giving away a pair of tickets to this sold out event for anyone who donates $120 or more through Willamette Week’s Give Guide program. Tickets were limited, you can call Kirsten Collins at 503.227.2583 with questions or to check on availability.
Tuesday December 15-
Third Tuesday Author Series: Peter Rock (Lake Oswego Library, @7:00pm): The Lake Oswego Library is pleased to present author Peter Rock. Rock is the author of the novels The Unsettling, The Bewildered, The Ambidextrist, This is the Place, Carnival Wolves, and My Abandonment. Rock Received a BA in English from Yale University and held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford. He has taught fiction at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Deep Springs College, and in the MFA program at San Francisco State University. His stories and freelance writing have both appeared widely. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.
Wednesday December 16-
Evening Book Group (Hillsboro Main Library, 6:45pm): Join a lively discussion of a popular fiction or nonfiction book. This month’s selection is “Let the Great World Spin: a novel” by Colum McCann.
Women Writing For (a) Change (In Other Words Women’s Books & Resources, @7:00pm): Women Writing for (a) Change inspires women and girls to craft more conscious lives through the art of writing and the practices of community. This mission is rooted in the knowledge that the well-being of women and girls has a positive effect on families, institutions, and the planet. WWf(a)C circles provide communities within which writers develop their skills, strengthen their voices, enhance their health, and learn to appreciate their capacity to create positive change in all spheres The emphasis of the class is on authentic voice, community- building, and the exploration of writing as a creative, therapeutic or spiritual practice and a tool of social change. Please come and experience the safe and supportive environment that will inspire writing, careful listening and respect for each woman’s words. For more information about WWf(a)C in Portland, go to www.womenwritingwest.com.
Thursday December 17-
No events today, although you can always go buy a book at your neighborhood bookstore.
Friday December 18-
Holiday Festivities (Murder By The Book, 10-6:30): If it feels like winter and looks like winter, it must be winter — no matter what the calendar says! The chilly days and nights are perfect for a cup of hot cider and a good book — of the mysterious persuasion, of course. It’s also time for our holiday festivities. Join us on December 18 through December 20 (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) throughout the day for a hot cup of cider and some nibbles and peruse our holiday specials*. Enter our daily drawings for mysterious prizes and gift certificates. * The specials will change daily!
Write Around PDX Reading & Anthology Release Party (First United Methodist Church, @6:30pm): Join us for a free reading featuring the writers from our fall workshops including seniors living on a low income, veterans and military family members, burn survivors, men and women in residential drug and alcohol treatment and many others. We will be be releasing our new anthology More Than a Book with a special 10th anniversary introduction by author Dave Eggers. Anthologies will be available for purchase by cash/check and make great holiday gifts!
The event is free, ADA-accessible, and everyone is welcome – writers, readers, friends and family. Childcare is available, but please call ahead if you need it (503.796.9224). Financial donations appreciated.
Cheeky Pages Romance Book Group (Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): This month we meet to discuss An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James. Join us!
Saturday December 19-
Holiday Festivities (Murder By The Book, 10-6:30): If it feels like winter and looks like winter, it must be winter — no matter what the calendar says! The chilly days and nights are perfect for a cup of hot cider and a good book — of the mysterious persuasion, of course. It’s also time for our holiday festivities. Join us on December 18 through December 20 (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) throughout the day for a hot cup of cider and some nibbles and peruse our holiday specials*. Enter our daily drawings for mysterious prizes and gift certificates. * The specials will change daily!
Mother Daughter Book Club (Hillsboro Main Library, @10:00am): Book Club for girls in grades 3 through 5 and their mother or other special woman in their lives. December’s Book: The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel-Frederick. When the mothers of four sixth-grade girls with very different personalities pressure them into forming a book club, they find, as they read and discuss “Little Women,” that they have much more in common than they could have imagined.
Spare Room presents The Crystal Text (The Waypost, @12:00pm): As the solstice approaches, come in out of the wind and join us to listen to Clark Coolidge’s compelling booklength poem The Crystal Text, read aloud by a dozen local writers. Readers will include James Yeary, Jesse Morse, Sam Lohmann, Maryrose Larkin, Rodney Koeneke, Patrick Hartigan, Jen Coleman, Allison Cobb, Joseph Bradshaw, Meredith Blankinship, & David Abel.
Creative Creatures Bazaar (Cosmic Monkey Comics, @1:00pm): Cosmic Monkey Comics, Christina “Blue” Crow and Sean Christensen are pleased to present “Creative Creatures Bazaar.” From 1pm-7pm each day, come down to Cosmic Monkey Comics to check out creative work from Portland artists Sean Christensen, Julia Gfrorer, Katy Ellis O’Brien, Jesse Reklaw, Andrice Arp, and more! Find inspiring creature creations like necklaces made with teeth, prints of anthropomorphic characters, buttons, miniature minotaur paintings, ninja turtle fantasies, antler earrings, and all kinds of zines from the featured artists — all at affordable prices for your last minute, gift giving budget! We’ll have all these arts and crafts set up on tables around Cosmic Monkey Comic’s spacious store.
But, wait, there’s more! On Saturday at Noon, come meet Nathan Edmondson and Brett Weldele, writer and artist of the new Image series, Olympus! Check out Nathan’s website here nathan-e.com. And find out more about Mr. Weldele here – www.brettweldele.com. Also signing on Saturday, Jeremy Shepherd, co-writer and colorist for new series The Engineer. Engineer co-writer and artist Brian Churilla may also be here if his schedule permits. A bio for Jeremy.
Women’s Voices Rise Up Open Mic (In Other Words Women’s Books & Resources, @7:00pm): Women’s Voices Rise Up in celebration of human resistance. Connect with other community activists at a feminist year-end celebration of the tenacious human spirit. Funds raised will fuel the activism of two fabulous, grassroots organizations: Radical Women and In Other Words Books and Resources.
Sunday December 20-
Publication Fair: Holiday Extravaganza of Great PDX Publications (Publication Studio, 11am-6pm): An old-fashioned fair, like 4-H but with books instead of livestock. See the best new books, mags, and printed matter from your favorite PDX printers, publishers, and publication vendors. Enjoy our popcorn balls and hot cider. Take part in free public info sessions about the ins and outs of future publication. Buy great books!
Among the participants: Octopus Books; Peaches and Bats; Ooligan Press; Stand Up Comedy; Veneer Magazine; Marriage Publishing House; Reading Frenzy; Plazm; Cooley Gallery; Fourteen30 Contemporary; PICA; Ampersand; Red76; Dill Pickle Club; IPRC; Hawthorne Books; Mark Searcy; Sarah Meadows; Ace Hotel; Pinball Publishing; Container Corps; Publication Studio …and more… Learn more here.
Holiday Festivities (Murder By The Book, 11-5:00): If it feels like winter and looks like winter, it must be winter — no matter what the calendar says! The chilly days and nights are perfect for a cup of hot cider and a good book — of the mysterious persuasion, of course. It’s also time for our holiday festivities. Join us on December 18 through December 20 (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) throughout the day for a hot cup of cider and some nibbles and peruse our holiday specials*. Enter our daily drawings for mysterious prizes and gift certificates. * The specials will change daily!
Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Holiday Party (A Children’s Place Bookstore, @1:00pm): Fancy Nancy is back, and we’re having another one of our FABULOUS Fancy Nancy parties to celebrate the holiday season. We will gather for treats, costumes, stories and MORE! We’d love if you could RSVP (that’s a fancy word for save your spot) so we know how many fancy candy canes we need. Thanks!
Creative Creatures Bazaar (Cosmic Monkey Comics, @1:00pm): Cosmic Monkey Comics, Christina “Blue” Crow and Sean Christensen are pleased to present “Creative Creatures Bazaar.” From 1pm-7pm each day, come down to Cosmic Monkey Comics to check out creative work from Portland artists Sean Christensen, Julia Gfrorer, Katy Ellis O’Brien, Jesse Reklaw, Andrice Arp, and more! Find inspiring creature creations like necklaces made with teeth, prints of anthropomorphic characters, buttons, miniature minotaur paintings, ninja turtle fantasies, antler earrings, and all kinds of zines from the featured artists — all at affordable prices for your last minute, gift giving budget! We’ll have all these arts and crafts set up on tables around Cosmic Monkey Comic’s spacious store.
For further events check out the links to the community calendars for Tri-County area Libraries: Washington County, Multnomah County, Clackamas County.
