Posts by Julia Flynn Siler
Book Group Expo: Shakespeare … or Sex?
Crowds of book group aficionados flocked to San Jose for the third annual Book Group Expo, above; below, author Frances Dinkelspiel debuted her book, Towers of Gold, at the convention. There are conventions for everyone: dog lovers, tattoo artists, people who trade sports memorabilia, barristas, and hairdressers. They all have their annual gatherings to swap…
Read MoreMo’ Bob Mon …
The elegant Mondavi arts center, above, is a dramatic addition to the rural landscape of Davis — and it will soon be joined by the Robert Mondavi Institute, depicted in an artists’ rendering below. Anyone driving east from San Francisco on Highway 80, the 10-lane transcontinental highway to Nevada and points east, can’t miss the…
Read MoreCopia chairman asks: “Can it survive?”
Sparse crowds at Copia have contributed to its financial challenges. (Photo from Sacbee.com – Owen Brewer / Sacramento Bee file, 2002) Despite my intention to take a summer sabbatical, an investigative story that appeared on the front page of last Sunday’s Sacramento Bee brought me back to my keyboard. The story raises some new questions…
Read MoreHex, the Corpse Flower, and Berkeley’s Tree-Sitters: A Summer Sabbatical
A summer day in Berkeley includes seeing buildings rise and fall at the Lawrence Hall of Science (above) and smelling the “Corpse Flower” (below), whose name and odor both recall Audrey II, the killer plant from another planet (bottom). This spring, I mailed off applications for our boys to attend an academically challenging summer school…
Read MoreBook Reviews … and a Literary Reality Show?
Mrs. Magoo readies for her closeup; next stop, stardom as a cyber-TV celebrity book critic? (Photo courtesy Mrs. Magoo) In the fall of 2007, the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) ran a lengthy essay by Steve Wasserman, a former editor of The Los Angeles Times Book Review, titled “Goodbye to All That.” It offers a fascinating…
Read MoreThe Wednesday Sisters and the Writing Life
Meg Waite Clayton and her creation. For anyone who has ever dreamed of becoming an author, Meg Waite Clayton’s website is a delightful and inspiring place to visit. Meg is the author of the bestselling novel, The Wednesday Sisters, a book about a group of women friends. They meet at a park in Palo Alto,…
Read MoreKing Lear and The House of Mondavi
Two kings: Ian Holm as Lear and Robert Mondavi. Photo of Holm from the University of London; photo of Mondavi by Mike Kepka/SFGate.com What can Shakespeare teach us about a troubled family business? That’s a question I’ll try to answer at a discussion hosted by a long-lasting and large book group in Burlingame, Calif., this…
Read MoreLiterary Salons and Book Groups
Book lover Liz Epstein guides groups through the classics; below, at Book Group Expo, panelists Sara Davidson, Po Bronson and Elizabeth Gilbert interact with moderator Sam Barry — and the book group community. Top photo from bookpassage.com; bottom photo from fora.tv If there is a modern American equivalent to the French salons of the 17th…
Read MoreThe Gerald Loeb Awards – Bellinis and Cipriani 42nd Street
Above, the Cipriani 42nd Street was the elegant venue for the Loeb awards; below left, the author and sister Jennifer Flynn Israel enjoy the Cipriani’s trademark Bellini cocktails; below right, The House of Mondavi is showcased during the awards ceremony. Photos courtesy UCLA Anderson School of Management The Gerald Loeb Awards are the Oscars of…
Read MoreEdible Portland
David Schargel, in blue, offers “epicurean excursion” participants a sampling of Portland’s culinary prowess; below, a sampling of the single-source chocolates from Sweet Masterpiece, one of the excursion’s ports of call. (Photos by Aaron Rabideau) The last stop on my paperback tour for The House of Mondavi was Portland, Oregon, where I can truthfully, if…
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