Portland Book Events: April 10-16

From what we could find (please contact us if you have an event you would like us to add to this or future schedules), the local book events for the week of April 10, 2010 through April 16, 2010 are:

Saturday April 10-

Friends of the Multnomah County Library Used Book Sale (Gresham Town Fair Shopping Center, @9:00am): Friends of the Library members only from 9am-11am, although you can become a member at the door.  Open to general public from 11am-6pm. 20,000 donated books will be available in many categories, including: Popular Fiction, Biography & History, Math & Science, Children’s, Nature & Gardening, Cookbooks, Literature & Classics, Mystery & Westerns, Crafts & Hobbies, Romance, Videos & Audio Tapes, plus CDs & DVDs. Prices start at 50 cents for children’s books and pocket paperbacks and range from $1.50 to $6.00 for all other books. Proceeds support Multnomah County Library programs. For more info please visit the Friends of the Library website.

24 Hour Drawpocalypse! (Cosmic Monkey Comics, @10:00am): Portland’s Comic Month is in full swing. In celebration Cosmic Monkey Comics is proud to announce that we will be hosting our third annual 24 Hour Comic Event: Drawpocalypse 3.  The store will be open for 24 hours straight from 10 AM on Saturday until 10 AM Sunday, as a collection of brave comic artists endeavor to produce 24 completed pages of comics before the clock runs out. Who will make the 10 AM deadline as early morning exhaustion kicks in, and what sort of stories will they create while they’re under the gun? This will be a great way for artists to warm up before the Stumptown Comics Fest at the end of the month. Stop by the store any time during the event…literally, ANY time.

YA Extravaganza (A Children’s Place Bookstore, @1:00pm): Join some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest YA Authors, Anne Osterlund, author of Aurelia and Academy 7; Mary Jane Beaufrand, author of Primevera; Sara Ryan, author of Empress of the World; and Emily Whitman, author of Radiant Darkness, for readings, and a panel on writing books for young adults. Come with questions, and leave with signed books!

Good Sista/Bad Sista (Midland Library, @2:00pm): Turiya Autry & Walidah Imarisha write and recite powerful, provocative, and political performance poetry with attitude. Whether on stage, teaching Black Studies at Portland State University, hosting talk radio, or visiting schools; this dynamic duo knows the power of words.

Poetry Reading and Workshop with Toni Partington and Eileen Elliot (In Other Words Books, @2:00pm): All around us stories unfold. Writing poetry can give life, breath, image, and understanding to these stories. We invite you to join us as we read poems from our books and use these poems as jumping-off points for your work. We will use writing prompts to identify your sources of interest and provide you with an observational strategy to heighten your day-to-day musings. We offer you an opportunity to live as a conscious poet who breathes in life while utilizing language to reveal its images. Facilitators: Eileen Elliott, author of Prodigal Cowgirl (2009) and Toni Partington, author of Wind Wing (2010).

Tangent presents: David Buuck, Jennifer Hardacker, & Arnold Kemp (Clinton Corner Cafe, @7:00pm): Tangent is thrilled to host a multi-media poetry event. Bay Area poet and interventionary artist  DAVID BUUCK will perform, as will ARNOLD J. KEMP, a poet and visual artist who heads the Master in Fine Arts program at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland. Local filmmaker JENNIFER HARDACKER will also screen her work. Admission is free.

Sunday April 11-

Friends of the Multnomah County Library Used Book Sale (Gresham Town Fair Shopping Center, @10:00am): 20,000 donated books will be available in many categories, including: Popular Fiction, Biography & History, Math & Science, Children’s, Nature & Gardening, Cookbooks, Literature & Classics, Mystery & Westerns, Crafts & Hobbies, Romance, Videos & Audio Tapes, plus CDs & DVDs. Prices start at 50 cents for children’s books and pocket paperbacks and range from $1.50 to $6.00 for all other books. Proceeds support Multnomah County Library programs. For more info please visit the Friends of the Library website.

Ridley Pearson (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @2:00pm): For their third adventure, Disney in Shadows (Hyperion), Ridley Pearson’s Kingdom Keepers head to Epcot to find their mentor and head Imagineer, who has mysteriously gone missing — and may have been abducted by the villainous Overtakers.

OSPA Poetry Workshop (Hillsboro Main Library, @2:00pm): A free poetry writing workshop sponsored by the Oregon State Poetry Association.

Bill Guttentag (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): Based on a true story, filmmaker Bill Guttentag’s searing debut novel, Boulevard (Pegasus), is the story of a teenaged runaway who fights for survival on “the boulevard of broken dreams.”

Portland Poetry Slam w/ Reigning National Slam Champ Amy Everhart (Backspace, @7:30pm): Ok kids, this is a big one! First we have our Last Chance Slam- if you win it, you get the last spot left to compete for a spot on the 2010 PDX Slam team going to the National Poetry Slam at our finals on April 25th. This slam will be crazy good. Second- We have the reigning individual world poetry slam champ Amy Everhart from Denver, CO coming to wreck shop on our stage. Amy is amazing and if you love spoken word or have friends that you want to love poetry- this is the show you’ve got to come to. Learn more on the Portland Poetry Slam Facebook Page.

Monday April 12-

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary (Hollywood Library, @1:00pm): Beverly Cleary, beloved author of children’s books about Ramona, Henry, Beezus and Ribsy, was born on April 12th. We are having a party to celebrate with cupcakes, balloons, and nightcrawlers too (if you’re a fan you’ll understand). April 12th is also D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) Day, a national reading program featured in “Ramona Quimby, Age 8.” Drop in and help us celebrate!

Author Talk: Gregory Nokes (West Linn Library, @6:30pm): Gregory Nokes will speak about his book Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon (OSU Press), the first authoritative account of the long-forgotten 1887 massacre of as many as 34 Chinese gold miners in Oregon’s Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in North America.

Another Way the River Has Release Party (The Kennedy School, @7:00pm): Acclaimed author Robin Cody is a native speaker who probes the streams and woods and salmon that run to the heart of what it means to live and love, to work and play, in the Pacific Northwest. His prose rings with a sense of place. Another Way the River Has (OSU Press) collects Robin Cody’s finest nonfiction writings. His characters—from loggers to fishers to cowboys to the kids on his school bus—are smart and curious, often offbeat, always vivid. Cody brings the ear of a novelist and the eye of a reporter to the people and places that make the Northwest, and Northwest literature, distinctive.”

2010 Children’s Author Lecture: Jane Yolen (First Congregational Church, @7:00pm, $10 adults/$5 for students): Jane Yolen is a prolific and award-wining author, poet, and anthologist. Her first book was published in 1961 and more than 300 have followed, from How do Dinosaurs say Good Night?, to The Devil’s Arithmetic, to Commander Toad, to Briar Rose. Newsweek called Jane Yolen “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” and the New York Times called her “a modern equivalent of Aesop.” She’s a pithy and humorous speaker, bound to surprise you with keen observations on writing and storytelling. Please join us!

Gregg Olsen (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): True-crime author and novelist Gregg Olsen presents two new books. A Twisted Faith (St. Martin’s) investigates the true story of a minister who murdered his wife and seduced four of his female congregants. Victim Six (Pinnacle) is the story of a married-couple-killing-team that captures, rapes, and kills through the most vile exploits imaginable.

Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus (Powells Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): Set against the backdrop of one of the Civil Rights movement’s lesser-known stories, Ana Maria Spagna’s Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus (University of Nebraska) — winner of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction prize — deftly weaves cultural and personal history, memoir, and reportage in a fascinating look at an American family.

Rebecca Skloot (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Crown), Rebecca Skloot brilliantly weaves together the story of Henrietta Lacks — a woman whose cells have been unwittingly used for scientific research since the 1950s — with the birth of bioethics and the dark history of medical experimentation on African Americans.

PSU MFA Monday Night Lecture Series Features: Stephanie Syjuco (Portland State, Shattuck Hall Annex, @7:30pm): Stephanie Syjuco will lecture about his work! The public is invited (its free, tell your friends).

Tuesday April 13-

Morning Book Group (Tigard Public Library, @10:30am): Join others in a group discussion about The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth.  The murder of a young Polish girl in wartime London puts John Madden on the trail of a ruthless hired killer.  This third novel in the Madden series is rich with psychological insights and vivid historical details.

Rebecca Skloot (OHSU-Old Library Auditorium, @4:00pm): Rebecca Skloot is the author of New York Times best seller The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the story of a poor Southern tobacco farmer whose cells were taken from her — without her knowledge — and have since become one of the most important tools in medicine. Her cells became immortal — the first to grow and survive indefinitely in culture. HeLa cells were essential to developing the polio vaccine. They have aided in the development of in-vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping, and have helped us better understand the workings of cancer and innumerable viruses. Even today, HeLa is the most widely used cell line in labs worldwide. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they would weigh more than 50 million metric tons — more than a hundred Empire State Buildings. Broadway Books will have book copies for sale.

Science Fiction Book Group (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): This month we meet to discuss Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold. Join us!

Sharan Newman (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): From Sharan Newman, author of The Real History behind the Templars, comes The Real History of the End of the World (Berkley), an exploration of the origins and stories behind end-of-the-world predictions throughout history, from Revelations to 2012.

Tuesday Night Nourishment Book Group (Garden Home Community Library, @7:00pm): This month’s selection is John Kroger’s “Convictions: A Prosecutor’s battle’s against mafia killers, drug kingpins, and enron thieves”. A former federal prosecutor (now Oregon’s Attorney General) who served on the justice department’s Enron task force traces his contributions to high-profile cases involving organized crime leaders, drug kingpins, and other dangerous criminals. New members always welcome to join our lively discussion & light refreshments.

April Henry (Annie Bloom’s Books, @7:30pm): When Jim Fate, the host of a Portland radio talk show, is murdered, the only thing larger than his listening audience is the lengthy list of suspects glad he’s dead. FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges, TV crime reporter Cassidy Shaw and Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce begin piecing together what happened. Together, they race to find out who killed Fate, how close the killer really is, and the twisted motives behind the cold-blooded murder. Hand of Fate is the second mystery co-authored by legal analyst Lis Wiehl and Multnomah Village’s own April Henry.

Natalie Chanin (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): In Alabama Studio Style (Stewart, Tabori and Chang), Natalie Chanin, founder and creative director of the acclaimed fashion and lifestyle company Alabama Chanin, takes readers on a compelling journey of creativity, technique, and inspiration. For a list of other events with Natalie Chanin in the Portland area, please visit her website.

Wednesday April 14-

West Slope Book Group (West Slope Community Library, @2:00pm): Please join us for a discussion of Fugitive: A Novel by Phillip Margolin.

Gardening Class for Kids (Green Bean Books, @4:00pm, $20 for four classes): Green Bean Books is offering a spring series of gardening classes for kids! Children will learn how to prepare and plant their own garden with experienced gardener extraordinaire, Susan Wiencke of Black-Eyed Susan Gardening. Each Class will begin with an inspiring nature book, to be followed by beginning gardening lessons and planting activities. Children will get to harvest and take home produce by the last class! This class is recommended for kids ages 6-9. All 4 classes cost a total of only $20 ($5/class). Please pre-register by calling 503-954-2354 or dropping by the store to sign-up by April 11th.

B. T. Shaw (Milwaukie Ledding Library, @7:00pm): B. T. Shaw edits the poetry column for The Oregonian and teaches writing and literature at Portland State University and the University of Portland, as well as through writers-in-the-schools programs. Her poems have appeared in AGNI, FIELD, Orion, Poetry Northwest, the Seattle Review, Tin House, and Willow Springs.  This Dirty Little Heart is her first book. The work of B.T. Shaw is unlike what readers of American poetry are likely to find elsewhere. Heady, wry, private, sometimes ironic, it speaks from edges where the inner life surveys the objects and actions of that collective life-narrative we call the world. This Dirty Little Heart is a singular accomplishment—almost eccentric, yet it manages to reveal to the reader countless recognitions and countless reasons to be happy we’re alive.

Q Literati featuring Tom Spanbauer, Rodger Larson, and Kelly Jeske (Q Center, @7:00pm): QLiterati! is an ongoing LGBTQ reading series featuring emerging authors, underground writers, and spoken word artists. April’s QLiterati! will feature Tom Spanbauer, Rodger Larson, and Kelly Jeske, all focusing on themes of coming out; both in a homosexual and figurative context.  Join us before our authors take the stage for a fun open mic event from 7:00-7:30pm. This is a perfect place for new and emerging authors to share their words—register before or at the event. All are welcome.

How to Be a Sister: A Love Story with a Twist of Autism (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): A deeply felt, impeccably written memoir, Eileen Garvin’s How to Be a Sister (Experiment) will speak to siblings, parents, friends, and teachers of people with autism — and to anyone who sometimes struggles to connect with someone difficult or different.

Anchee Min (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): From the bestselling author of Red Azalea and Empress Orchid comes Pearl of China (Bloomsbury), a powerful story — based on the life of Pearl S. Buck — of the friendship of a lifetime.

Sam Cutler (Powells Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): An exhilarating, all-access rock memoir from someone who has seen and done it all, You Can’t Always Get What You Want (ECW Press) recounts the many experiences of Sam Cutler, the former tour manager of the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead. With intimate portraits of other stars of the psychedelic circus that was the music industry in the 1960s and 1970s — including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Band, The Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, and Eric Clapton — this account is an ideal resource for any music fan.

Thursday April 15-

Jennifer Chiaverini (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): With The Aloha Quilt (Simon and Schuster), Jennifer Chiaverini’s bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series continues at a quilters retreat in scenic Hawaii.

Your Money: The Missing Manual (Powell’s Technical Books, @7:00pm): Keeping your financial house in order is now more important than ever, and J. D. Roth’s Your Money: The Missing Manual (O’Reilly) guides you every step of the way. You won’t find any get-rich-quick schemes here — just sensible advice for getting the most from your money. Roth, founder of GetRichSlowly.org, recently named the most inspiring money blog by Money magazine, covers all the money-management bases: saving, spending, getting out of debt, investing, and planning for retirement.

Toni Partington (Paper Tiger Cafe, @7:00pm): Third Thursday Poetry Night at Paper Tiger presents Toni Partington. Toni Partington’s poetry has been published in the Women’s Journal, Selected Poems of the River Poets’ Society, The Cascade Journal, VoiceCatcher (editions 3 and 4), and others. She is the author of a poetry chapbook, Jesus Is A Gas (2009) and her latest book of poetry, Wind Wing (2010) came out on Jan. 14th.

Sharan Newman (Annie Bloom’s Books, @7:30pm): The Real History of the End of the World (Berkley) investigates the origins and stories behind end-of-the-world predictions throughout history, from Revelations to 2012. In entertaining and sharp prose, historian Sharan Newman explores theories of world destruction from ancient times up to the present day- theories which reveal as much about human nature as they do about the predominant historical, scientific, and religious beliefs of the time.

On a Dollar a Day (Powells Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): Christopher Greenslate and Kerri Leonard’s On a Dollar a Day (Hyperion) examines how Americans eat and at what cost. With sections on eating the food-stamp diet, what it really costs to eat healthfully and organically, and how to find the best buys at the grocery store, this book is an ideal guide for getting through these challenging economic times.

Wendy Burden (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): In the tradition of Augusten Burroughs’s Running with Scissors, Wendy Burden, the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, gives readers a grand tour of the world of wealth and WASPish peculiarity in Dead End Gene Pool (Gotham Books), her irreverent and darkly humorous memoir.

Friday April 16-

Cheeky Pages Romance Book Group (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): This month we meet to discuss Hard to Hold by Stephanie Tyler. Join us!

Sarah Dunant (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): From Sarah Dunant, acclaimed author of The Birth of Venus, comes Sacred Hearts (Random House), an engrossing new novel set in a convent in Renaissance Italy, where a defiant 16-year-old girl has just been confined against her will — for life.

Backfence PDX presents BUST: Starring Lauren Weedman (The Woods, @8:00pm, $17 Online/$20 Door): BUST is Lauren Weedman’s semi-autobiographical work built around her experiences working as a volunteer advocate in a Southern California prison for women. With one foot in Hollywood and the other in jail, the former Daily Show correspondent careens wildly between the two worlds, taking us on a hilarious, poignant, and completely unforgettable ride.  Weedman will also be leading workshops while she is in town.  Learn more at the Backfence PDX website.

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

Image credit Zorger.