Since I started writing this note, we are now on Bookpost #57 (at one a month, that's almost five years!). Moreover, April 1st marks two special dates: it is the day ten years ago that I started working at Rakestraw Books and it is the day that Mary and Brian Harvey first opened the doors at Rakestraw Books in 1973. It is absolute pleasure to be continuing all of these traditions and to still be part of the community of readers here in Danville and the San Ramon Valley. Thank you for your continued support of our work here at Rakestraw Books "The Bookstore in Danville."

As always, this newsletter contains both news of upcoming events here at the bookshop as well as in our community and reviews of books both new and old (after all, if you've never read it, it's new to you!). We hope this information will be amusing and instructive and useful by turns. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Happy Reading!

Sincerely yours,

Michael Barnard
and the Staff of Rakestraw Books "The Bookstore in Danville"

Inside this issue of "Bookpost":

- Calendar of Events for April 2005;
- Rakestraw's Readers Recommend -- Some of the Best in New Books;
- From the Backlist -- Rediscoveries from Rakestraw's Readers;
- Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince -- UPDATE!;
- Calendar of All Upcoming Scheduled Events;
- Book Group News;
- Gift Certificates;
- An Introduction to 826 Valencia;
- Two Tri-Valley Community Events.

DEAN KARNAZES RUNNING & SIGNING ON WEDNESDAY, 6 APRIL 2005

As an internationally recognized endurance athlete, Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 262 miles (10 marathons nonstop), swam across the San Francisco Bay, run a marathon to the South Pole, mountain-biked for 24-hours straight, surfed the gigantic breakers off Northern California and Maui, and run 146 miles across Death Valley in the middle of summer to the top of Mt. Whitney. On one occasion, Karnazes ran 100 miles all-night to the start of the Napa Valley Marathon, and then completed the marathon in 3:15. He has raced and competed across the globe, holds numerous records and distinctions, and is a member of the American Ultrarunning Team representing the USA at the 2004 World Championships.

As an internationally recognized endurance athlete, Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 262 miles (10 marathons nonstop), swam across the San Francisco Bay, run a marathon to the South Pole, mountain-biked for 24-hours straight, surfed the gigantic breakers off Northern California and Maui, and run 146 miles across Death Valley in the middle of summer to the top of Mt. Whitney. On one occasion, Karnazes ran 100 miles all-night to the start of the Napa Valley Marathon, and then completed the marathon in 3:15. He has raced and competed across the globe, holds numerous records and distinctions, and is a member of the American Ultrarunning Team representing the USA at the 2004 World Championships.

Despite being celebrated in the press -- newspaper stories, magazine covers, talk shows - Karnazes remains down to earth and grounded about his life. "I go between being amused by it, and not being able to believe it," Karnazes said. "I mean, come on, I'm just a regular guy. I'm not one of these fellows who haunts a gym, always seeking to sculpt himself. It's a form- follows-function deal. I am the way I am because I can run 100 miles. So, I just don't get caught up in that hype. I love being a dad and a husband more than anything."

It is our pleasure to invite you to join us as we celebrate the publication of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner on Wednesday, 6 April 2005 at 7:30 PM. For those of you who run, we invite you to join Dean (and me!) at the Forward Motion Wednesday Weekly Run at 6:30 PM. You can run 4, 6, or 8 miles, then jog over to bookshop for refreshments and to hear Dean speak. This should be a memorable evening, so put on your running shoes and join us.

Visit Dean's rather nifty official website by clicking here.

SUSAN WEBER CYR VISITS ON FRIDAY, 8 APRIL AT 7:00 PM

What could go wrong? A storybook couple, Sarah and Dan have their future before them. That is until a painful dark secret is revealed that rips the relationship apart. Sarah must hit bottom before she compels herself to start over. She escapes from the familiarity and safety of her Midwest roots to a vastly different Hawaii in hope of discovering the catalyst for her renewal. But secrets of long ago still find her and threaten her fragile emotions, as well as her life and those of the people she loves. “What is it about me that makes other women think they can attack me?” Sarah asks herself. She must face her own fears and relinquish some measure of her own innocence and desire for control, taking responsibility for her own happiness and goals in life.

Filled with colorful yet believable characters who enrich the story line, A Few Deadly Sins is a suspense, a romance, and a journey of faith.

It is always a pleasure to celebrate the work of our neighbors and customers. Susan's book is no exception. Please join us on Friday, 8 April 2005 at 7:00 PM for a special reading and signing with Susan Weber Cyr.

CAROL FIRENZE VISITS RAKESTRAW ON WEDNESDAY, 13 APRIL 2005 AT 7:00 PM

Carol Firenze always knew there was something very special about the glistening golden liquid her Italian grandmothers used for cooking. They cherished the substance and wouldn't dream of cooking a meal without it; as a little girl, she learned that olive oil was important in keeping meals tasting wonderful and her family healthy. She was born and raised in Northern California not so very far away from the wineries and fine restaurants of Napa where today that very same golden liquid — olive oil — has become one of the icons of fine living. Olive oil has always been more than a food condiment to the people of the Mediterranean. It’s the Mediterranean's lifeblood. From ancient times to the present, people have used it for medicine, for magic, to anoint kings and priests and perform

their everyday beauty rituals. Crowns of olive branches were bestowed as a mark on those individuals for purity and consecration — they were even found in the tomb of Tutankhamen. Even after thousands of years, the olive tree is a symbol of abundance, wisdom and quietude. “To extend an olive branch,” continues to depict the sign of offering peace.

Author Carol Firenze brings the practical applications of olive oil to her readers enabling them to enhance their lives and prepare them in advance for the unexpected. The Passionate Olive — 101 Things to do with Olive Oil is small and to the point. Readers can jump to and fro in any order they wish. Lovers of olive oil and will love this book and will want to keep The Passionate Olive — 101 Things to do with Olive Oil and a bottle of liquid gold in their kitchen, their bathroom and even in the bedroom. As a matter of fact, Carol Firenze shows you why it is practical to have olive oil in any room in the house.

Join us for a special tasting, usage demonstration, and an interesting and informative talk by Carol Firenze on Wednesday, 13 April 2005 at 7:00 PM.

Check out Carol's beautifully designed website by clicking here.

SUE MILLER VISITS RAKESTRAW BOOKS ON SATURDAY, 23 APRIL 2005 AT 7:00 PM

For nearly two decades, since the publication of her iconic first novel, The Good Mother, Sue Miller has distinguished herself as one of our most elegant and widely celebrated chroniclers of family life, with a singular gift for laying bare the interior lives of her characters. In each of her novels, Miller has written with exquisite precision about the experience of grace in daily life–the sudden, epiphanic recognition of the extraordinary amid the ordinary–as well as the sharp and unexpected motions of the human heart away from it, toward an unruly netherworld of upheaval and desire. But never before have Miller’s powers been keener or more transfixing than they are in Lost in the Forest, a novel set in the vineyards of Northern California that tells the story of a young girl who, in the wake of a tragic accident, seeks solace in a damaging love affair with a much older man.

With astonishing sensuality and immediacy, Lost in the Forest moves through the most intimate realms of domestic life, from grief and sex to adolescence and marriage. It is a stunning, kaleidoscopic evocation of a family in crisis, written with delicacy and masterful care. For her lifelong fans and those just discovering Sue Miller for the first time, here is a rich and gorgeously layered tale of a family breaking apart and coming back together again: Sue Miller at her inimitable best.

It is both an honor and a pleasure to request the pleasure of your company for a special evening reading and signing with novelist Sue Miller on Saturday, 23 April 2005 at 7:00 PM. Book groups are particularly invited to attend this event.

Click here to read an excerpt from Sue Miller's new novel.

TIMES BOOK CLUB ANNIVERSARY GALA ON TUESDAY, 26 APRIL 2005 AT 7:00 PM

Rakestraw Books is privileged to be serving as bookseller for the Times Book Club Anniversary Gala on Tuesday, 26 April 2005 at 7:00 PM. Presented annually by the Contra Costa Times, this special event is always one of the highlight's of the East Bay's literary year.

This year's program includes Ayelet Waldman, author of Daughter's Keeper; Tobias Wolff, author of Old School; Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Sleep Toward Heaven; Tess Uriza Holthe, author of When the Elephants Dance,; Joshua Braff, author of The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green; and John McManus, author of Bitter Milk. The authors will read briefly from their books, then join Book Club Coordinator, Lynn Carey, for an informal group discussion. Following the discussion, authors will sign books in the lobby, where dessert will be served. The authors' books will be on sale in the lobby before and after the event.

Tickets for this special evening at the Regional Center for the Arts in downtown Walnut Creek are $20. Act quickly as this event sells out every year. We look forward to seeing you there.

To buy tickets for this event online, click here.

RAKESTRAW'S READERS RECOMMEND -- SOME OF THE BEST IN NEW BOOKS

The New American Plate: Recipes for a Healthy Weight and a Healthy Life by The American Institute for Cancer Research (California, $24.95). I don't believe that I have ever recommended a diet cookbook before, but this one is different. Far from being influenced by the latest fad, the American Institute for Cancer Research has set out to create a cookbook that not only boasts great tasting food, but also the information necessary for creating a healthier lifestyle. We just got this rather wonderful book into stock and it has been selling like mad. More than 200 recipes -- from soups to desserts -- will urge you back into the kitchen and on to a healthier, tastier way of life.

Francisco Goya: Life & Times by Evan S. Connell (Counterpoint, $15.95). Darkly brilliant and casually masterful in turn, Spanish painter Francisco Goya changed art forever. During the times of the Inquisition, Goya broke with convention by painting royalty, peasants, and demons with the same integrity and artistic fervor. Connell's powerful and absolutely enjoyable biography brings the life and times of this iconic Western artist back to us in all of their pulsing, painful, and capitivating reality.

Call It a Gift by Valerie Hobbs (Nevada, $18). Jeronimo Smith, seventy-seven, is having a particularly bad day, and he needs to poems of William Butler Yeats to get him through it. But the book has just been checked out of the Santa Barbara Public Library. When he accosts the widow who has it, he meets the woman who will become of he love of his life. They're an unlikely pair--Jeronimo a retired janitor, Emily cultured and wealthy--and both are coping with troublesome adult children and the indignities of aging. Jeronimo courts Emily by mowing her lawn, and when he impetuously invites her to join him on a road trip to Yellowstone, she stuns herself by agreeing. Their elopement is a once-in-a lifetime adventure and the setting for a bittersweet love story.

Looking for Alaska by John Green (Dutton, $15.99). I always like novels about intelligent and articulate teenagers. Maybe it is because unlike intelligent and articulate adults, teenagers are still more obviously evolving and changing. The trio at the center of NPR commentator John Green's debut novel are teenagers like that. Smart, bookish, and funny, they are also capable of making dreadful choices and behaving very immaturely. Green doesn't let them off the hook though, these are people who have to live with the consequences of their actions. A fantastic read from a young writer who will bear watching. Highly recommended for young readers 16 and up.

On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton, $9.95). One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern, nor attracted much sustained inquiry. Tongue-in-cheek, yet serious, this is a neat and intelligent little book. Thumbs up.

The Polysllabic Spree by Nick Hornby (Believer Books, $14). A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Songbook, a collection of his music writing, Nick Hornby now turns his unerring gaze to books. Here, in his monthly accounts of what he’s read—along with what he bought and may one day read—Nick Hornby ably explores everything from the classic to the graphic novel, as well as poems, plays, and sports-related exposés. If he occasionally implores a biographer for brevity, or abandons a literary work in favor of an Arsenal soccer match, then all is not lost. His warm and riotous writing, full of all the joy and surprise and despair that books bring him, reveals why we still read, even when there’s soccer on TV, a pram in the hall, and a good band playing at our local bar.

Delicious by Mark Haskell Smith (Grove, $23). Welcome to sunny Hawaii, where the palm trees sway, the tropical breezes blow, and a gangland-style turf war is erupting. Joseph is one of the best chefs in Honolulu, but these daysthe opakapaka and ono aren’t the only things heating up. When a TV producer flies to the islands to film a pilot, a fight-to-the-finish breaks out over who will cater the shoot. Will it be Joseph and his hotheaded Samoan uncle, who have held a monopoly on the catering business for years? Or Big Jack Lacey, a trash-talking, lap dance-addicted stroke survivor from Las Vegas and his milquetoast son, a young man who wants to be a missionary but doesn’t know the position. As far as Joseph’s family is concerned, this is an invasion on par with Captain Cook, only this time the mainlanders have to be stopped before paradise is lost. “Rated NC-17 for intermittent comic violence, good-natured swearing, cannibalism, humorous amorality, and some truly perverse sex.” —Kirkus Reviews

The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less than Four Minutes to Achieve It by Neal Bascomb (Mariner, $14). There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed, and in all of sport it was the elusive holy grail. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier: Roger Bannister; John Landy; and Wes Santee. Spanning three continents and defying the odds, their collective quest captivated the world and stole headlines from the Korean War, the atomic race, and such legendary figures as Edmund Hillary, Willie Mays, Native Dancer, and Ben Hogan. In the tradition of Seabiscuit and Chariots of Fire, Neal Bascomb delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves us with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport.

FROM THE BACKLIST -- REDISCOVERIES FROM RAKESTRAW'S READERS

How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books by Joan Bodger (McClelland & Stewart, $23.95). “If we are lucky, our minds are furnished with the words and stories that spring from the English earth – the winds that wuthered around the Secret Garden, Ratty’s riverbank, the magic isle of Avalon, Pook’s Hill, and the Swallows and Amazons’ Wildcat Island. To journey back with Joan Bodger as a guide is a rare treat – she winkles out wonderful literary connections at every turn. You’d have to be made of stone not to feel the old enchantment stirring again. Bodger’s prose is tart with humour and warm with intelligence – and the whole venture is sparked with the fresh wonderment of seeing the ancient story-places through her children’s eyes.” –Michele Landsberg

Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses by David Lodge (Penguin, $12.95). Euphoric State University with its whitestone, sun-drenched campus and England's damp red-brick University of Rummidge have an annual professorial exchange scheme, and as the first day of the last year of the tumultuous sixties dawns, Philip Swallow and Morris Zapp are the designated exchangees. They know they'll be swapping class rosters, but what they don't know is that in a wildly spiraling transatlantic involvement they'll soon be swapping students, colleagues, and even wives. Changing Places is a hilarious send-up of academic life, intellectual fashion, sex, and marriage by a writer Anthony Burgess has called "one of the best novelists of his generation."

Mr. Bridge by Evan S. Connell (Shoemaker & Hoard, $15). Walter Bridge is an ambitous lawyer who redoubles his efforts and time at the office whenever he senses that his family needs something, even when what they need is more of him and less of his money. Affluence, material assets, and comforts creat a cocoon community respectability that cloaks the void within -- not the skeleton in the closet but a black hole swallowing the whole household.

Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson (Moyer Bell, $10.95). There is some irony in the fact that Benson, the creator of everything from plays to sober biographies, is best remembered for his series of ``Lucia'' novels, delicious satires of the pretensions and foibles of provincial middle-class life in Britain in the 1920s and '30s. Still, given Benson's droll send-ups of the bitter battles waged by matrons desperate to live out their fantastical versions of upper-class elegance and wit, and his shrewd readings of the ways in which our longings can make us both bizarre and sometimes appealing, it's very likely an irony he would have savored. His six novels chronicling the rise and fall and rise ad infinitum of Mrs. Emmeline Lucas of Riseholm are now being reissued as trade paperbacks. Queen Lucia, the first in the series, follows Mrs. Lucas (Lucia to her most intimate friends) through a lengthy and often hilarious campaign to derail the career of a would-be rival to the throne of cultural arbiter. The plot, however, is less important than the pratfalls. The six Lucia novels form a kind of epic portrait of striving gone mad, and it's good to have them appearing once again.

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince -- UPDATE!

In the fifth and most recent book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the last chapter, titled “The Second War Begins,” started:

'In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is active once more.

“It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord - well, you know who I mean - is alive among us again,” said Fudge.'

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at this point in the midst of the storm of this battle of good and evil. Reserve your copy today!

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS -- SPRING INTO SUMMER 2005

One of favorite author-illustrators, Craig Frazier returns to Rakestraw Books on Tuesday, 10 May 2005 at 10:00 AM as we celebrate the publication of Stanley Mows the Lawn. Class reservations are essential.

Bestselling novelist Lorna Landvik visits to read and sign her new novel, Oh My Stars! on Wednesday, 11 May 2005 at 7:00 PM.

Bestselling author-illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka visits to talk about and sign his new book, Punk Farm on Wednesday, 18 May 2005 at 10:00 AM. Class reservations are essential.

Bestselling author Robert Littell visits to read and sign his new book, Legends on Thursday, 19 May 2005 at 7:00 PM. The author of numerous notable spy thrillers that have elevated him to the genre's highest ranks, he is an American currently living in France.

Bestselling children's author Barbara Joosse visits to read and sign Papa, Do You Love Me?, a follow-up to her beloved Mama, Do You Love Me? on Wednesday, 25 May 2005 at 10:00 AM.

Historian Les Standiford visits to talk about and sign his new book, Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Frick, and the Bitter Feud that Transformed America on Wednesday, 25 May 2005 at 7:00 PM.

Novelist Nicole Krauss joins us for a lunchtime event as we celebrate the publication of her second book, The History of Love on Friday, 10 June 2005 at noon.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Cunningham visits Rakestraw Books to read and sign his new novel, Speciman Days on Thursday, 16 June 2005 at 7:00 PM. This is Michael's first new novel since publishing The Hours in 1998.

Journalist Christy Campbell visits to talk about and sign his new book, The Botanist and the Vintner: How Wine Was Saved for the World, on Tuesday, 21 June 2005 at 7:00 PM.

Acclaimed short story writer George Singleton visits as we celebrate the publication of his long-awaited first novel, Novel, on Thursday, 23 June 2005 at 7:00 PM.

Bestselling novelist Curtis Sittenfeld visits to Rakestraw Books to read from and discuss her debut novel Prep on Friday, 24 June 2005 at 7:00 PM.

Susan Hermann Loomis, renowned memoirist and cooking school teacher, visits Rakestraw Books to celebrate the publication of Cooking at Home on the Rue Tatin on Monday, 18 July 2005 at 7:00 PM. While we have yet to make all the final arrangements, we are delighted to be invite you to dinner with Ms Loomis. Reservations will be required.

Danville resident and bestselling novelist, Terry McMillan visits Rakestraw Books to read and sign her new novel, The Interruption of Everything on Thursday, 18 August 2005 at 7:00 PM.

Please note that these events are subject to change but that as of this writing all details are correct. We encourage you to call us at (925) 837-7337 to confirm. In addition, you should remember that more events will be added to this calendar so be sure to check each newsletter for additions.

Pictured above from left: Robert Littell; Michael Cunningham; and Lorna Landvik.

BOOK CLUB NEWS

Julie's Morning Book Group is reading 1906 by James Dalessandro (paper, $13.95) for our meeting on Friday, 22 April at 10:30 AM. From Julie: "We try to read good fiction you might not pick out for yourself. And we talk about it, and talk about it, bringing our own lives and that of the author to bear on the subject at hand. Join us!"

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE

In addition to our wonderful brown paper Rakestraw Books Gift Certificates (available in any amount), we are pleased to be able to offer Booksense Gift Certificates redeemable in more than 1,200 independent bookstores nationwide. If we are unable to help you choose a book for your farway reader, a Booksense Gift Certificate is the way to go.

Click here for a list of Booksense bookstores across the country.

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE SAN RAMON VALLEY -- A PHOTO CONTEST!

Leadership San Ramon Valley Class of 2004 is sponsoring a photo contest called A Week in the Life of the San Ramon Valley. They invite residents and visitors alike to photograph aspects of life here in the San Ramon Valley throughout the week of April 3 – April 10, 2005.

Photographs may be entered in one of five categories: Home/Family; Work/School; Play; Natural or historic beauty; and Under 12. There is also one non-judged category: they are simply inviting people to submit their favorite photo of life here in the valley. Entries are $15 for the first one and $5 apiece thereafter. Proceeds will benefit arts education in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

Winners and prizes will be announced at a gala exhibit of entries at the Blackhawk Museum on Monday, May 16, 2005. More information and entry information will be available at their official website (see below for a link).

Leadership San Ramon Valley, a non-profit organization, is designed to provide current and emerging community leaders with the information and skills necessary to appreciate the resources, understand the issues, manage the challenges and lead in the rapidly evolving business, political, educational, cultural and social environment of the San Ramon Valley.

Visit the Official Website for A Week in the Life of the San Ramon Valley Photo Contest.

28th ANNUAL ANDRONICO'S DEVIL MOUNTAIN RUN

Returning to Danville for its 28th year, the 5K/10K Devil Mountain Run remains a tradition for Children’s Hospital & Research Center at Oakland. On May 1, approximately 4,000 participants, including top competitive runners, walking enthusiasts, families, and local businesses will strut their stuff for fun and prizes. As the oldest continuous running event in the East Bay, the Andronico's Devil Mountain Run offers two flat and fast courses, 5K and 10K, that take advantage of Danville’s beauty, including a portion of the Iron Horse Trail. A $500 cash prize will be awarded to the first place male and female 10K runners, and $150 will be awarded to the top male and female 5K runners.

Click here for more information and links to online registration.

And, that's Bookpost #57! We hope you found it interesting, useful, and enjoyable. Of course, if you need more information, please feel free to contact us by telephone at (925) 837-7337. Or, if you are in the lovely San Ramon Valley, stop by the real books-and-mortar shop at 409 Railroad Avenue, Danville, California 94526. Or, if you prefer not to leave your computer, simply email us at rakestraw_books@yahoo.com .

We look forward to seeing you soon. Happy Reading!

Sincerely,

Michael Barnard
and the Staff of Rakestraw Books "The Bookstore in Danville"