book group expo book orders

the books of book group expo 2008

Books from the Literary Salons

Salon

SECRETS OF THE SUBURBS: This Is Not The Life I Ordered

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything

Janelle Brown

Janelle Brown is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. Formerly a senior writer for "Salon," she currently writes for "The New York Times," "Vogue," and "Self," among other publications. "AllWe Ever Wanted Was Everything" is her first novel.

Belong to Me

Marisa de los Santos

Marisa de los Santos is "The New York Times" bestselling author of the novel "Belong Love Walked In." She lives with her husband David Teague and their two children in Wilmington, Delaware.

Not a Genuine Black Man

Brian Copeland

Brian Copeland is an award-winning writer, comedian, television host, radio personality, and actor. His one-man show, also entitled "Not a Genuine Black Man," was the longest-running solo show in San Francisco history, and his memoir recently was named the Silicon Valley Reads 2009 book selection.

Reading Group Choices

Barbara Drummond Mead
Moderator

Barbara Drummond Mead is the co-owner of "Reading Group Choices," an annual publication and website of recommended book selections and discussion topics for reading groups. Mead leads and participates in reading group panels in libraries, book stores, and book festivals around the country.

Salon

WRITE OR WRONG: Defining Virtue and the Unreliable Narrator

The Garden of Last Days

Andre Dubus

Andre Dubus III is the author of "Bluesman," "TheCage Keeper and Other Stories," and "House of Sand and Fog" (National Book Award Finalist and Oprah Book Club Selection). His writing has received many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Magazine Award, and a Pushcart Prize. He lives with his family north of Boston.

Who By Fire

Diana Spechler

Diana Spechler received her MFA degree from the University of Montana, and was a Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University from 2004-2005. Her fiction has appeared in "Glimmer Train" "Stories," "Moment," "Lilith," and elsewhere. She lives in New York City.

The Fortune Catcher

Susanne Pari

Susanne Pari is the author of "The Fortune Catcher," a novel about the Iranian Revolution and the Islamic theocracy that ensued. She has written for "The New York Times," "The Boston Globe," "NPR" and is a frequent moderator in the literary community. Susanne is the Program Director for book group expo. She lives in Northern California where she is currently working on her next novel.

Salon

MANAGING YOUR MOTHER: Or Is She Managing You?

The Pirate's Daughter

Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Margaret Cezair-Thompson is the author of a widely acclaimed previous novel, "The True History of Paradise." Her work has appeared in "Elle," "The Washington Post," "Callaloo," "Journal of Commonwealth Literature," and "Graham House Review." Born in Jamaica, West Indies, she teaches literature and creative writing at Wellesley College.

Please Excuse My Daughter

Julie Klam

After attending New York University Film School and interning on “Late Night with David Letterman,” Julie Klam wrote for VH1’s “Pop-Up Video” where she earned an Emmy nomination for Special Class Writing. She lives with her family in New York City.

Madapple

Christina Meldrum

Christina Meldrum is the author of the crossover novel "Madapple," a literary mystery. "Madapple" was a Vanity Fair "Hot Type" pick and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal. Kirkus also spotlighted "Madapple" in its special edition: "Fresh Fiction: 35 Promising Debuts." Christina is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former litigator. "Madapple" is her first novel.

When We Get Home

Maud Carol Markson

Maud Carol Markson is the author of the novel "When We Get Home," and the forthcoming novel, "Looking After Pigeon." She has taught writing at University of New Hampshire and Cabrini College. She now lives in California with her husband and son, and her dog Molly, who is her constant writing companion.

Salon

HISTORICAL FRICTION:

Rashi's Daughters

Maggie Anton

Maggie Anton is the award-winning author of "Rashi's Daughters," historical novels set in the household of the great medieval Jewish scholar, whose daughters studied Talmud in a time when these sacred texts were forbidden to women.

The Last Queen

C.W. Gortner

C.W. Gortner, half-Spanish by birth, holds an M.F.A. in Writing, with an emphasis in historical studies, and has taught university courses on women in power in the Renaissance. He was raised in Spain and now lives in California.

I, Mona Lisa

Jeanne Kalogridis

Jeanne Kalogridis is the author of THE BORGIA BRIDE and I, MONA LISA, both historical novels set in the Italian Renaissance. Her newest novel, THE MEDICI QUEEN, will be published by St. Martin's Press in 2009. She lives in California with her beloved consort, George, and two Labradors.

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

Gail Tsukiyama

Gail Tsukiyama is the bestselling author of six novels, including "Woman of the Silk," "The Samurai's Garden" and her latest, "The Street of a Thousand Blossoms." Tsukiyama is the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award and the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award.

Salon

COME TOGETHER: Finding Yourself Through Friendship

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Annie Barrows

Annie Barrows, whose career also included work in libraries, bookstores, and publishing, is the author of the “Ivy and Bean” series for children, as well as the children’s novel “The Magic Half.”

The Friday Night Knitting Club

Kate Jacobs

Kate Jacobs, author of "The Friday Night Knitting Club", grew up in Canada, moved to New York City and held positions at Redbook Magazine, Working Woman, and Family Life, before writing her first novel. She now lives in California with her husband, her dog Baxter, and her knitting needles.

Between Here and April

Deborah Copaken Kogan

Deborah Copaken Kogan is the author of "Shutterbabe," the bestselling memoir of her years as a war photographer. Her latest novel is "Between Here and April." She lives in New York with her husband and three children.

Towers of Gold

Frances Dinkelspiel

Frances Dinkelspiel spent more than 20 years in the newspaper business. "Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California," the story of her great great grandfather, is her first book.

Salon

FOODIES: Writers Eat, Eaters Write

The School of Essential Ingredients

Erica Bauermeister

Erica Bauermeister’s love of slow food and slow life was cemented by her two years of living in northern Italy with her husband and children. She has taught literature and creative writing at the University of Washington and currently lives in Seattle with her family. "The School of Essential Ingredients" is her first novel.

The Last Chinese Chef

Nicole Mones

Nicole Mones' bestselling, prizewinning novels "Lost in Translation," "A Cup of Light," and "The Last Chinese Chef" are read in eighteen languages. She contributes nonfiction to "Gourmet," "The Washington Post," the "L.A. Times" and the "N.Y. Times Magazine."

Small Town Odds

Jason Headley

Jason Headley is the author of "Small Town Odds," a BookSense Recommendation and one of Barnes and Noble's Best of 2004. He also writes "Around Normal," a weekly storytelling column available on his website.

Salon

WHICH WITCH IS WHICH: Covens and Other Cliques

The Lace Reader

Brunonia Barry

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Brunonia Barry studied literature and creative writing at Green Mountain College in Vermont and at the University of New Hampshire. She has created brain teaser puzzles for Smart Games and lives in Salem, Massachusetts, with her husband and their beloved golden retriever, Byzantium.

The Heretic's Daughter

Kathleen Kent

Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier, hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. She lives in Dallas, TX with her husband and family.

The Witch's Trinity

Erika Mailman

Erika Mailman lives in Gilroy. While writing "The Witch's Trinity," she learned her ancestor was twice accused of witchcraft in 1600s Massachusetts-contrary to expectations, she was acquitted both times and died of natural causes!

SoMa

Kemble Scott

Kemble Scott is the author of the bestselling novel "SoMa," a tale of sex and the city - San Francisco style. He has three Emmy awards for his work in television news.

Salon

GET SHORTY: The Power and Pleasure of Short Prose

Curled in the Bed of Love

Catherine Brady

Catherine Brady is the author of two short story collections and a biography. She is the recipient of the 2002 Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, and her work was chosen for "Best American Short Stories 2004."

Where Light Takes its Color From the Sea

James D. Houston

James D. Houston is the author of eight novels, including "Snow Mountain Passage" and "Bird of Another Heaven". He was born in San Francisco, where his parents settled after migrating west from Texas. At San Jose State College he studied drama and met his wife.

The Other Woman

Victoria Zackheim

Victoria Zackheim is editor of "The Other Woman" and "For Keeps," author of the novel, "The Bone Weaver," and writer of documentaries "Tracing Thalidomide: The Story of Frances Kelsey" and "More Than A Lord's Daughter."

Salon

NOW THAT YOU'RE GONE: Grief Seeks Solace

I See You Everywhere

Julia Glass

Julia Glass won the National Book Award for "Three Junes" and is the author of "The Whole World Over." She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She lives with her family in Massachusetts. Her most recent novel is "I See You Everywhere."

Songs Without Words

Ann Packer

Ann Packer is the author of the award winning national bestseller, "The Dive from Clausen's Pier." Her second novel, "Songs Without Words," is now available. She lives with her family in San Carlos.

The American Resting Place

Marilyn Yalom

Marilyn Yalom, a former professor of French and comparative literature, is a senior scholar at the Michelle Clayman Institute for Research on Gender at Stanford University and the author of "Blood Sisters: The French Revolution in Women’s Memory," "A History of the Breast," "A History of the Wife," "Birth of the Chess Queen," and "The American Resting Place: Four Hundred Years of History Through Our Cemeteries and Burial Grounds."

Running Book Discussion Groups

Lauren Zina John

Lauren John is the founder of the All Seasons Book Group, a company that offers book talks, author events, literary tours and corporate and nonprofit teambuilding events. She is also the in-house librarian for Book Group Expo.

Salon

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Any Way You Can

American Chestnut

Susan Freinkel

Susan Freinkel is a science writer whose work has appeared in a variety of national publications including: "Discover," "Reader’s Digest," "Smithsonian," and "The New York Times." For her next book, she is moving from the natural world to the artificial one; it’s all about plastic. She lives in San Francisco.

Welcome to Biotech Nation

Dr. Moira Gunn

Dr. Moira Gunn is the host of "Tech Nation" and "BioTech Nation" heard on NPR Talk and produced at KQED in San Francisco. This former NASA engineer-turned-journalist has set her sites on biotech and the issues it involves: social, ethical, economic, political and more.

Women Who Light the Dark

Paola Gianturco

Paola Gianturco is the author/photographer of four illustrated books. Exhibitions include the UN and Field Museum . Media coverage includes "Marie Claire," "NYT," "Washington Post," Oprah, CNN, and NPR. Gianturco has co-taught executive institutes at Stanford University.

The Camel Bookmobile

Masha Hamilton

Masha Hamilton is the author the acclaimed novels: "Staircase of a Thousand Steps," "The Distance Between Us," and "The Camel Bookmobile," which independent booksellers called an excellent book club selection. She also has lived and reported from the Middle East, Moscow, Africa and Afghanistan.

Salon

GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN: An Inspirational Celebration

Back to Life

Kristin Billerbeck

Kristin Billerbeck is a best-selling, Christy-nominated author, credited for bringing Christian Chick Lit to life with her Ashley Stockingdale Series. She is a graduate of San Jose State University and a fourth-generation Californian.

The Green Collar Economy

Van Jones

Van Jones is an award-winning human rights activist. As the founder and president Green For All, he brings a new voice to environmentalism. He recently worked successfully with Congress to pass the historic Green Jobs Act, authorizing legislation to fund thousands of jobs that positively impact the environment.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Garth Stein

Garth Stein is the author of three novels: "The Art of Racing in the Rain; How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets," which won a 2006 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award; and "Raven Stole the Moon."

Sam Barry
Moderator

Sam Barry is a marketing and promotions manager at HarperOne, a division of HarperCollins. He co-authors "The Author Enablers," a monthly column in "BookPage." He also plays harmonica and keyboards in the band Train Wreck and is on tour with the all-author rock band, The Rock Bottom Remainders.

Salon

WEDLOCKED: The Intimacies and Intricacies of Marriage

Morality Tale

Sylvia Brownrigg

Sylvia Brownrigg is the author of five books of fiction. Her recent novel "Morality Tale" was described as "divinely deadpan" in "The NY Times" and as a "witty parable of marriage" in the "SF Chronicle." Her new novel, "The Delivery Room," will be published this fall.

Matrimony

Joshua Henkin

Joshua Henkin is the author most recently of the novel "Matrimony," which was a 2007 New York Times Notable Book. He lives in Brooklyn and teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn College.

Love and Biology

Jennie Shortridge

Seattle ’s Jennie Shortridge is the bestselling author of novels that readers and reviewers describe as “wise,” “smart, funny, sexy,” and “heartbreakingly real.” Her latest follows the journey of a runaway middle-aged good girl gone “bad."

Real Life Romance

Leah Garchik
Moderator

Having rocketed from pre-hip Brooklyn to the post-hip Haight-Ashbury district, Leah Garchik has been a "San Francisco Chronicle" columnist since she was a toddler. "Real Life Romance" is based on the "Overheard" portion of her column. She plays the accordion.

Salon

THE LIAR'S CLUB: Let Me Tell You a Story

The Hakawati

Rabih Alameddine

Rabih Alameddine is the author of "The Hakawati." His previous works include the novels "Koolaids," and "I, the Divine," as well as "The Perv," a book of stories. He is a recent recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and lives in San Francisco and Beirut.

The Little Book

Selden Edwards

A graduate of Princeton and Stanford, Selden Edwards is a former English teacher and was headmaster of several prestigious private schools during his career in education. He lives near Santa Barbara, California. "The Little Book" is his first novel.

No One You Know

Michelle Richmond

Michelle Richmond is the author of the novel "Dream Of The Blue Room," "The Year of Fog" and the story collection "The Girl In The Fall-Away Dress," which won the Associated Writing Programs Award for Short Fiction. "No One You Know" is her third novel.

Julie Robinson
Moderator

Julie Robinson is the creator and facilitator of Literary Affairs, offering her readers a variety of experiences to take them "Beyond the Book." Julie personally runs 30 book clubs per month, as well as leading literary salons with celebrated authors, VIP behind -the -scenes cultural experiences, and Literary Tours. Bringing her love of classics to a broader audience, Julie's Luncheon Lecture Series have become one of the hottest tickets in Los Angeles.

Salon

TEN DAYS AND COUNTING!: Elections, Past and Future

All American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing

Will Durst

Bay Area transplant, Will Durst, is an award winning comedian, radio talk show host, tv producer, commentator and now the author of the acclaimed "All American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing."

Unafraid

Jeff Golden

Jeff Golden's passion for expanding political boundaries comes from intertwining careers in politics (County Commissioner, policy work in state government), journalism (documentary TV producer, NPR talk show host, political columnist) and mediation. Jeff peddles realistic hope.

Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy

Susan Griffin

Susan Griffin's latest book, "Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy, On Being an American Citizen," is about the inner life of democracy. Named by Utne reader as one of a hundred important visionaries for the new millennium, she has written nineteen books, including "Woman and Nature," and "A Chorus of Stones," "the Private Life of War," a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and a "New York Times" Notable Book.

Sedge Thomson
Moderator

Sedge Thomson is the interviewer par excellence, who for over thirty years, whose guests have ranged from Arianna Stassinopoulos to Arianna Huffington, Doris Lessing to Stephen King. He is renowned for his ability to draw people out, for his humor, and his perspicacity.

Salon

THIS AMERICAN LIFE (AND DEATH): How We Have Lived

Little Heathens

Millie Kalish

At age 85, retired English professor Millie Kalish published her first book chronicling her childhood on an Iowa farm during the Depression. The NYT called it one of the 10 Best Books of 2007. It is an uplifting tale describing how reliance on family, friends, faith and community enabled them not only to survive, but thrive.

The American Resting Place: Four Hundred Years of History Through Our Cemeteries and Burial Grounds

Marilyn Yalom

Notes On A Life

Eleanor Coppola

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Lauren Zina John
Moderator

Salon

MAKIN' WHOOPIE: Let Us Count The Ways

Sin in the Second City

Karen Abbott

Karen Abbott is a native of Philadelphia, where she worked as a journalist for several years. She is the author of the critically acclaimed "New York Times" bestseller "Sin in the Second City." She lives in New York City and is working on her next book, a portrait of the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee and Depression-era America.

The Lost Diary of Don Juan

Douglas Carlton Abrams

Douglas Carlton Abrams is a former editor at HarperCollins. The Lost Diary of Don Juan, was a San Francisco Chronicle Best Seller and is being published in 30 languages. His next novel is coming out in 2009.

Playing

Melanie Abrams

Melanie Abrams teaches writing at UC Berkeley and received her MFA from UNC Greensboro. She's married to the novelist Vikram Chandra and they live in Oakland, CA. Her novel, "Playing," has been acquired in Italy, France, Germany, India, and Israel.

Bonk

Mary Roach

Mary Roach is the author of "The New York Times" best-sellers "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" and "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife." Her latest book is "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex." Roach’s writing has appeared in "The New York Times," "NPR," "Wired," "GQ," and "Outside."

Salon

WHERE THERE'S A WILL…: Shakespeare in the 21st Century

Interred with Their Bones

Jennifer Lee Carrell

Jennifer Lee Carrell is the author of Interred with Their Bones and The Speckled Monster. She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Harvard University, and has directed Shakespeare plays for Harvard’s Hyperion Theatre Company.

Reduced Shakespeare

Reed Martin

Reed Martin is best known for his work as a writer and performer with the Reduced Shakespeare Company. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Umpire Training School, and Ringling Brothers Clown College.

Reduced Shakespeare

Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor has several different careers going in the hopes one will take off. He plays Guys in Ties on TV when he’s not writing, performing, producing, or hosting podcasts for the Reduced Shakespeare Company.

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty

Julia Flynn Siler

Julia Flynn Siler is the author of the New York Times bestseller, "The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty." A native Californian, Ms. Flynn Siler spent twenty years as a journalist writing for "BusinessWeek", "The New York Times," and "The Wall Street Journal," including a lengthy stint in the 1990s as a London-based foreign correspondent. "The House of Mondavi," her first book, was nominated for a James Beard Foundation award and was a finalist for a 2008 Gerald Loeb award for distinguished business reporting.

Salon

ALL ABROAD!: Living and Writing Elsewhere

Finding Nouf

Zoë Ferraris

Zoë Ferraris moved to Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the first Gulf War to live with her then-husband and his extended family. She has an M.F.A. from Columbia University and currently lives in San Francisco.

My Half of the Sky

Jana McBurney-Lin

Jana McBurney-Lin lived in Asia for 15 years, contributing to publications in seven countries. Her award-winning first novel, "My Half of the Sky" (KOMENAR, 2006), was recently released in Trade Paperback (ISBN 978-0-9772081-7-3).

Living Carelessly in Tokyo and Elsewhere

John Nathan

John Nathan is an author, translator, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, and cultural critic who has devoted forty years to removing the cloak of enigma that surrounds the Japanese. In "Living Carelessly in Tokyo and Elsewhere," he portrays with candor and wit the travails of an outsider seeking to discover himself in an alien land.

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David Corbett
Moderator

David Corbett is the author of three critically acclaimed novels: "The Devil’s Redhead," "Done for a Dime" (a New York Times Notable Book), and the Edgar-nominated "Blood of Paradise."

Salon

COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA: Regrets and Reinventions

Hannah’S Dream

Diane Hammond

Diane Hammond is the author of the critically acclaimed novels "Going to Bend" and "Homesick Creek." Diane is the recipient of an Oregon Arts Commission literary fellowship. She currently lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband and daughter.

Howling In Mesopotamia

Haider Ala Hamoudi

Haider Ala Hamoudi grew up speaking fluent Arabic and visiting Baghdad every year. He has written for the "Asia Times," the "New York Law Journal" and other publications. A graduate of Columbia Law School, he currently lives in Pittsburgh with his wife and is a Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh.

Beautiful Boy

David Sheff

David Sheff's books include "Beautiful Boy," "Game Over," "China Dawn," and "All We Are Saying." His many articles and interviews have appeared in the "The New York Times," "Rolling Stone," "Playboy," "Wired," "Fortune," and elsewhere. His piece for "The New York Times Magazine," "My Addicted Son," won an award from the American Psychological Association for "Outstanding Contribution to Advancing the Understanding of Addiction." Sheff and his family live in Inverness, California.

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Jane Ganahl
Moderator

DiscJane Ganahl, a Bay Area journalist for 25 years, is the author of "Naked on the Page: the Misadventures of My Unmarried Midlife," editor of the anthology "Single Woman of a Certain Age" and co-founder of the Litquake festival.ription

Salon: WOMAN, BE WISE: Strong Writing, Strong Women

The Interruption of Everything

Terry McMillan

Terry McMillan is the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of six novels: "Mama," "Disappearing Acts," "Waiting to Exhale," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "A Day Late and a Dollar Short," and "The Interruption of Everything."

Pink Harvest

Toni Mirosevich

Toni Mirosevich is an award-winning poet and author of the nonfiction collection "Pink Harvest," which explores life's shifting, tilting moments and encounters. She is a Professor of Creative Writing at San Francisco State University.

Olive Kitteridge

Elizabeth Strout

Elizabeth Strout is the author of "Olive Kitteridge," "Abidewith Me," a national bestseller and BookSense pick, and Amy and Isabelle, which won the "Los Angeles Times" Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the "Chicago Tribune" Heartland Prize, and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in England. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines, including "The New Yorker." She lives in New York City.

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Kathi Kamen Goldmark
Moderator

Kathi Kamen Goldmark's novel is "And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You." She is a contributor to "Single Woman of a Certain Age." She co-authors "The Author Enablers," a monthly column in "BookPage." Kathi is the founder of the all-author rock band the "Rock Bottom Remainders;" producer of the radio show "West Coast Live;" and Author Liaison for book group expo.