Wednesday 1/22: Michael Nylan is the first female scholar to translate Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, and she’s speaking at University Press Books in Berkeley at 5:30 p.m.
David Talbot, author of the San Francisco history Season of the Witch and founder of Salon, discusses his new book, Between Heaven and Hell: The Story of My Stroke, at City Lights Booksellers in San Francisco at 7 p.m.
Nicole Gluckstern and Burrito Justice, the creators of literary bicycle tour “Bikes to Books,” host the Bike to Books Winter Social at Benders Bar and Grill at San Francisco at 6 p.m.
Author and geriatrician Louise Aronson presents her new book, Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life, at the San Francisco Public Library at 6 p.m.
Ilan Stavans, host of the NPR podcast In Contrast, discusses the upcoming anthology, How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish, at the Jewish Community Library in San Francisco at 7 p.m.
Thursday 1/23: William Gibson reads from his new novel, Agency, and speaks with Mother Jones editor-in-chief Clara Jefferey at Public Works in San Francisco at 7 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m., tickets $20–$53).
Carolina De Robertis speaks about her book, Cantoras, at Book Passage in the Ferry Building in San Francisco at 6 p.m.
Tom Lutz discusses his debut novel, a literary noir called Born Slippy, at the 9th Avenue location of Green Apple Books in San Francisco at 7:30 p.m.
Curated by poet Victoria Chang (Obit) and Lindsey D. Felt, Recoding CripTech has its opening reception and panel discussion at SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco at 6 p.m.
Tamim Ansary speaks about his book, The Invention of Yesterday: A 50,000-Year History of Human Culture, Conflict, and Connection, at Mechanics’ Institute in San Francisco at 7 p.m. (tickets $0–$15).
New Yorker writer Patricia Marx and New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast present You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time: Rules for Couples at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park at 7:30 p.m. (tickets $15–$35).
Friday 1/24: Robert Hass, Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995-1997, speaks about his new collection, Summer Snow, at Book Passage in Corte Madera at 7 p.m.
Amber Tamblyn’s Era of Ignition is out in paperback, and she’s in conversation with Saru Jayaraman at the McRoskey Mattress Company in San Francisco at 7 p.m.
Ingrid Rojas Contreras joins Our Voices Our Stories SF founder Lisa D. Gray in a conversation about Conteras’s novel, Fruit of the Drunken Tree, at the African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco at 6 p.m.
The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) screens Dune at 7 p.m. (137 mins, tickets $5–$14)
Saturday 1/25: The Berkeley City Club hosts a Burns Night to celebrate Scottish poet Robert Burns. Ticket sales have ended, but the poet’s birthday is still a good excuse to drink whisky and read poetry (haggis optional).
Books Inc. Alameda is also celebrating a birthday. Join them for their fifteen-year-anniversary party from 5 p.m.–8 p.m.
David Talbot discusses his new book, Between Heaven and Hell: The Story of My Stroke, at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma at 7 p.m.
Sunday 1/26: Join fellow bibliophiles at the Bookstore and Chocolate Crawl through Rockridge, kicking off at East Bay Booksellers in Oakland at 1 p.m. The event is free; RSVP here.
Feeling social but not so chatty? Silent Book Club meets at the Bindery in San Francisco from 4 p.m.–6 p.m.
Peggy Orenstein speaks about her new book, Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity, at Book Passage in Corte Madera at 4 p.m.
Monday 1/27: Louise Glück, Poet Laureate of the United States from 2003–2004, reads at Bechtel Conference Center at Stanford University at 8 p.m.
Described by Rebecca Solnit as “Joan Didion at a startup,” Anna Wiener discusses her memoir, Uncanny Valley, at the 9th Avenue location of Green Apple Books in San Francisco at 7:30 p.m.
On this International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, internationales literaturfestival berlin and Goethe-Institut San Francisco present a screening of Shoah, the 1985 documentary by Claude Lanzmann. This is a rare opportunity to see the 9.5-hour film in its entirety on a big screen, starting at 9 a.m. in San Francisco.
Peggy Orenstein speaks about her new book, Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity, at Booksmith in San Francisco at 7 p.m. (tickets $10, which can be applied to the purchase of the book at the event).
Join Brad Schreiber, author of Music Is Power, in conversation with Denise Sullivan at Alley Cat Books in San Francisco at 7 p.m.
Tuesday 1/28: Crissy Van Meter discusses her new novel, Creatures, at the 9th Avenue location of Green Apple Books in San Francisco at 7:30 p.m.
Andy Warner launches his new book, Spring Rain: A Graphic Memoir of Love, Madness, and Revolutions, at Books Inc. Opera Plaza in San Francisco at 7 p.m.
Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell speak with Mary Roach about First Cut, their debut novel in their Jessie Teska detective series. Event starts at 6:30 p.m. (doors at 5:30 p.m.) at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco (tickets $8-$55).
Andre Perry reads from his new essay collection, Some of Us Are Very Hungry Now, at City Lights Booksellers in San Francisco at 7 p.m.
David Talbot discusses his new book, Between Heaven and Hell: The Story of My Stroke, at Book Passage Bookstore & Cafe in Corte Madera at 7 p.m.
***
If you have a Bay Area event listing you’d like us to consider for Notable SF, please contact notableSF@therumpus.net as far in advance as possible, and include the date of the event in the subject line.
***
Logo art by Max Winter.
