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Hello, fellow bookworms!
In some amazing news, it seems that the 52nd annual Mary Jane McCord Planned Parenthood Book Sale was the most successful sale yet! According to their Instagram, the sale grossed more than $700,000. A major congratulations to the volunteers, staff, and shoppers who made that happen!
I came away with more books than I planned, but I’m very happy with my finds. I’ll definitely be sharing a lot of them in future newsletters! See the photo I took for spoilers.
This week, I thought it would be fun to send out an email to Independent staff who also attended the sale, asking them to talk about their finds. We’re a bunch of bookworms over here at the Indy, so we were happy to come support (and score some amazing books!).
Here are some of the treasures my coworkers Leslie and Jackson found at the sale!
—Tessa, allbooked@independent.com
Leslie Dinaberg, Arts & Culture Editor
Ah, the lure of the Planned Parenthood book sale! I lustfully view the signs from the freeway daily on my way to and from work, but didn’t actually manage to get myself there this year until the final weekend, when I went both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s haul was purely fiction, and I loaded up my bag with treasures until it was too heavy to carry comfortably.
Jane Gardam’s Old Filth, which has been recommended to me by approximately 987 people that I know; Danzy Senna’s Colored Television, which I enjoyed and intend to gift; and Caitlin Moran’s How to Build a Girl, which has also been highly recommended by friends. Then there are the comedians who write, such as Steve Martin (An Object of Beauty and The Pleasure of My Company) and Albert Brooks (Twenty Thirty), and the writers whose previous work I’ve enjoyed and somehow missed these books (Jennifer Weiner, Alan Lightman, Laurie Frankel). I also picked up a couple of things that simply caught my eye: Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale, and Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin.
On Sunday, I tried to focus on art books and oddities. My best find was the exhibit book for TUG, a 2015 art exhibit by Keith Puccinelli (now deceased) and Dane Goodman, which I attended and enjoyed, but lost my catalog somehow. I have quite an affection for both of these guys, having gotten to know them back in 2011 when we worked on a story about them at Santa Barbara Seasons Magazine (also deceased, but you can watch the video here). Other Sunday finds were some picture books and an oldie called Christmas in Santa Barbara.
Jackson Friedman, News Editor
This was the Friedman family’s first-ever trip to the Planned Parenthood Book Sale. We went on the last day for the half-off sale and thankfully heeded Tessa’s pro tip about bringing our own bags, which came in handy as our hauls grew heavier. I could have easily spent hours there, but our 7-year-old and her friend had other plans, so we called it after a brisk hour of book hunting. All told, we ended up with more than a dozen books (despite her eagerness to get back outside to play, I believe my daughter still ended up with more books than me) and a couple of puzzles for about $30 — not too bad for a family outing. Next year, though, I think I’ll take another piece of advice and make a couple trips out of it, including a solo excursion where I can roam and hoard at my leisure.
Here are the books I snagged for myself during our too-short trip. As you can see, these lean heavily into the “dad book” territory. (Perhaps a subject for a future column….)
Endurance: An Illustrated Account of Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic by Erik Lansing
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (This was one of my favorites which I wrote about in a previous All Booked column on audiobooks but look forward to revisiting the old-fashioned way.)
Chess Openings for Beginners: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Chess Openings by Joshua Gamon
FROM OUR PAGES
Here is some of our book-related coverage from the last two weeks! Read all this and more at Independent.com.
“Cheryl Strayed on ‘One Wild and Precious Life’” by Leslie Dinaberg
“You Belong in the Wild Storytime with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant” by Leslie Dinaberg
“New Beginnings Presents Author Talk with Annabelle Gurwitch” by Taylor Cusimano
“Joe Rohde Discusses His Book Floating Mountains at the CAW” by Taylor Cusimano
“Lowriders and Literature at Santa Barbara Public Library” by Ryan P. Cruz
“Steve Hawk Makes His Literary Surfing Thriller Debut with Nearshore” by Leslie Dinaberg
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS
Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.
Friends of the Library Book Sale
Tue.-Sat., September 29-October 3 | Solvang Library
Godmothers Gather: The Enduring Classics Book Club: The Passion According to GH by Clarice Lispector
Tuesday, September 29, 5:30 p.m. | Godmothers
Book Talk & Signing: Paul W. Collins and Justyn T. Stahl, Birds of California’s Channel Islands
Tuesday, September 29, 7 p.m. | S.B. Museum of Natural History
Godmothers Gather: Sarah Wright Olsen & Nikki Reed, When I Am Not with You
Wednesday, September 30, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Between the Lines: Adult Literacy Book Club, Walt Disney by Terry Barber
Friday, October 2, 12 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Godmothers Gather: Ari Emanuel, Roll the Calls
Friday, October 2, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Little G’s Storytime: Pete Oswald, Owl By Myself
Saturday, October 3, 11 a.m. | Godmothers
Storytime with Dr. Rae: You Belong in the Wild
Saturday, Oct. 3, 11:30 a.m. | S.B. Museum of Natural History
Writers’ Workshop: Adults & Teens
Saturday, October 3, 12:30 p.m. | Goleta Community Center
Godmothers Grow: Memoir Writing with Diana Raab
Saturday, October 3, 2 p.m. | Godmothers
Godmothers Gather: Anand Giridharadas, Man In the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City
Saturday, October 3, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Godmothers Grow & Workshop: Cynthia Abulafia, Embodying the Goddess
Sunday, October 4, 2 p.m. | Godmothers
Godmothers Gather: Zibby Owens, Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot
Sunday, October 4, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Little G’s Storytime: Millie Fleur’s Pumpkin Problem
Monday, October 5, 11 a.m. | Godmothers
Fiction Book Club: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Tuesday, October 6, 5:30 p.m. | Upper Level, Central Library
Chaucer’s Author Talk and Signing: Joseph Fink, The Nudge
Tuesday, October 6, 6 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books
Santa Barbara Young Professionals Book Club: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Tuesday, October 6, 6 p.m. | AC Postel Memorial Rose Garden
Godmothers Gather: Katie Holten & Riley Reed, The Language of Trees: How Trees Make Our World, Change Our Minds, and Rewild Our Lives
Wednesday, October 7, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Oh, the Horror! Book Club: First Meeting
Thursday, October 8, 5:30 p.m. | Tech Lab, Central Library
Little G’s Storytime: Carly Kremer, Little Bee & the Bloom
Saturday, October 10, 11 a.m. | Godmothers
Parallel Stories: M Lin, The Memory Museum
Sunday, October 11, 2 p.m. | Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Godmothers Grow: Dr. Shefali, Raising Conscious Daughters and Raising Conscious Sons
Sunday, October 11, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Spirits in the Air: Potent Potable Poetry
Tuesday, October 13, 4:30 p.m. | The Good Lion
S.B. SPOTLIGHT
We at the Independent get many books sent to us by area authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that are either written by a Santa Barbara author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!
The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us.
How to Show Up for the Dying & Their Loved Ones: What to Do, What to Say by Moriah Melin W.
Birds of California’s Channel Islands by Paul W. Collins, Justyn T. Stahl, and H. Lee Jones
Good Angels by Despina Tunberg
If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “S.B. Spotlight.”
Book Reviews Courtesy of CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS*
Thanks to the generous contributions of David Starkey, Brian Tanguay and their team of reviewers at California Review of Books, we are able to provide a steady stream of book reviews via our content partnership. Recent reviews at Independent.com include:
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel; review by David Starkey
*At the present time, all of the Independent’s book reviews are provided in collaboration with California Review of Books (calirb.com).
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