Wednesday, February 22, 2006

"We're crazy about this city. First time we came here, we walked the streets all day, all over town and nobody hassled us. People smiled, friendly-like, and we knew we could live here. Los Angeles? That's just a big parking lot where you buy a hamburger for the trip to San Francisco." - John & Yoko
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH:

"Fake Tales of San Francisco"

"Smashed" was dog-eared and dog-tired after its walking tour of the city: It made it to the Golden Gate Bridge and Haight-Ashbury. It canoodled with albums at Amoeba Music. It hiked through Chinatown and marveled at Kama Sutra figurines.














FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH:

Location: Oakland and San Francisco

7:30 PM- Let it be known: my first love was Jack London. I think it was the author photo that got me. You know, the one that shows him dim-eyed and careless-haired, collar flipped up on his brown leather jacket. Oh how he quickened my ten-year-old pulse... To this day, I know few words hotter than "Buck did not read the newspapers."



In light of the above admission, you'll understand why I was thrilled to read at Jack London Square's Barnes & Noble. To top things off, I got to hang out with these bright young things. Students from Oakland Senior High School:



Raul, Maria and Martha are pretty as teen actors and smart as nuclear reactors. And they gave me the kindest introduction that I've had all tour:







THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH

Location: Portland, OR

NOON- While "Smashed" went for a stroll in Washington Park's International Rose Test Garden, I rested my cranky bones with a tray of tea and earplugs at Portland's Heathman Hotel.





I also fingered the spines of Heathman's library, which houses over 3,000 books signed by authors who've stayed there. Among them are five Nobel Prize winners, 30 Pulitzer Prize winners and four U.S. poet laureates. On the title page of "Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius," Dave Eggers penned: "Dear hotel, You are a very nice hotel." Mary Karr signed a copy of "The Liars' Club" with the note: "Dear Heathman, thanks for the hospital." (Either the concierge gave her medical attention or else she was too tour-tuckered to remember the "ity.") I, too, got to add a signed copy to the collection! Wanna know what it says? You know what they say..."Get a room."



7:30 PM- Powell's City of Books is, well, the biggest, baddest, raddest book store that I've ever been in. Or been lost in, for that matter. (The place is a full city block! I'm talkin' 68,000 square feet, people!) My reading was lovely, despite the best efforts of a gentleman who wanted to use my Q&A as a platform to argue that alcoholism is not a genetic predisposition (!) but a choice (!!) After the reading, he came over to the book-signing table, where I got to ask him whether he's genetically predisposed to being an asshole or whether it's a conscious effort on his part:)

posted by Koren at 7:31 AM