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ARTICLES

Life and Limb 

A review of Damnation Spring, Ash Davidson’s debut novel about a logging community in Northern California. Cover of The New York Times Book Review

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Swamplandia

An interview with John Brandon, author of the novel Ivory Shoals, set in post-Civil War Florida. McSweeney's

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Thinking About Place When Thinking About Tech

A conversation with Xiaowei Wang, author of Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China's CountrysideZyzzyva

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'Lest We Forget the Horrors'

A catalog of Donald Trump's misdeeds. McSweeney's   

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Michael McClure, the poet whose roar helped launch the '60s, dies at 87

An appreciation. The Los Angeles Times

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Lois Lowry’s Ode to the Fallen in World War II

A review of Lowry's latest book, On the Horizon. The New York Times

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The Patterns of History

A conversation with novelist Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. Zyzzyva

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Keeping the Story of D-Day Alive

 A review of Allies, a novel for young readers by Alan Gratz. The New York Times

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The Return of Olive Kitteridge, the Tart, Crotchety, Beloved Curmudgeon 

A review of Olive, Again, by Elizabeth Strout. The New York Times

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Deep River

A review of Karl Marlantes' new novel. Alta

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Finding My Mother in the Pages of Her Favorite Cookbook

An essay about a marked-up copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a repository of memories. Literary Hub

  

Books That Expand the Possibilities of Boyhood

A review of new titles by David Macaulay, Marc Aronson, Pierre-Jacques Ober and Kate T. Parker. The New York Times

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Mixing drinks, books and music

North Light, a bar with a new twist, opens in Oakland. San Francisco Chronicle

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Michelle Obama goes back to her nonprofit roots

During her book tour, Obama pays a visit to a San Jose community center. San Francisco Chronicle

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Writing The Library Book

A podcast interview with Susan Orlean. San Francisco Chronicle

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Star wars

A podcast interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military. San Francisco Chronicle

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Eric Idle on his new memoir, Robin Williams and why Trump isn’t funny

An interview with the author of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography. San Francisco Chronicle

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Life with — and without — Steve Jobs

A review of Small Fry, a memoir by Lisa Brennan-Jobs. San Francisco Chronicle

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Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death

A review of a biography by Lillian Faderman. San Francisco Chronicle

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Tom Wolfe, pioneering journalist and novelist, dies at 88

The influential writer laid the foundation for so-called New Journalism and wrote the best-sellers The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities. San Francisco Chronicle

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‘Hi, this is Oprah’

An interview with Tayari Jones, whose novel An American Marriage was Oprah Winfrey’s 2018 book club selection. San Francisco Chronicle

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Ferlinghetti speaks out at 99, his voice as vital as ever

A podcast interview with the legendary co-founder of City Lights. San Francisco Chronicle

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Contested terrain

An interview with Francisco Cantú, a former Border Patrol agent who has written a memoir, The Lines Becomes a RiverSan Francisco Chronicle

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Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House

A review of Michael Wolff's best-seller.  San Francisco Chronicle

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Jane Juska, author who chronicled search for sex late in life, dies at 84

Juska wrote the funny and frank best-selling memoir A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and RomanceSan Francisco Chronicle

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Neil deGrasse Tyson opens up on the universe, and more

An interview with the author of Astrophysics in a HurrySan Francisco Chronicle

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Joanne Kyger, trailblazing Beat poet, dies at 82

Kyger was a leading poet of the San Francisco Renaissance and a rare female voice of the male-dominated Beat generation. San Francisco Chronicle

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Hitler, by Volker Ullrich, and Blitzed, by Norman Ohler

A review of two new books about Hitler. San Francisco Chronicle

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Coming to America

A review of the graphic novel The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui. San Francisco Chronicle

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Bharati Mukherjee, chronicler of Indian American life, dies at 76

Mukherjee's many works examined the Indian American immigrant experience. San Francisco Chronicle

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Farewell to the reader in chief

An essay on President Obama, who views the world in shades of gray — a quality enhanced by a lifetime of reading.

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Point Reyes Books names new owners

The small but vibrant Marin County bookstore turns a page. San Francisco Chronicle

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Dylan becomes first songwriter to win Nobel in literature

Dylan is the first American to be awarded the prize since Toni Morrison won it in 1993. San Francisco Chronicle

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Late to the Ball

An interview with former New York Times Magazine editor Gerald Marzorati, who decided at age 54 to devote himself to becoming a competitive tennis player. San Francisco Chronicle

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William Hamilton, New Yorker cartoonist who satirized high society, dies

The cartoonist was known for his wry depictions of the upper crust. San Francisco Chronicle

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Readers unite! And raise a glass. It’s the Silent Reading Party

Daniel Handler and Dan Stone have founded a monthly event whose proceeds will help Bay Area libraries. San Francisco Chronicle

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Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence

A review of Lee Siegel's biography. San Francisco Chronicle

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Killing and Dying

A review of Adrian Tomine's graphic novel. San Francisco Chronicle

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Jimmy Carter discusses book, race and Willie Nelson’s love of pot

An interview with the former president, whose latest book is A Full Life: Reflections at NinetySan Francisco Chronicle

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French connection

Two bookstores with Bay Area roots help literary life thrive in Paris. San Francisco Chronicle

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Spectacle

A review of by Pamela Newkirk's biography of Ota Benga, who was kidnapped from the Congo and displayed in a cage at the Bronx Zoo. San Francisco Chronicle

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The Sellout

A review of Paul Beatty's satirical novel on race. San Francisco Chronicle

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Philip Levine, bard of blue-collar America, dies at 87

The former U.S. poet laureate's poems dignified working-class life. San Francisco Chronicle

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Novelist Robert Stone dies at age 77

Stone's globe-spanning, often socially charged novels delved into his characters’ despair with bleak humor. San Francisco Chronicle

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John Waters on the road

An interview with the film director and author of Carsick. San Francisco Chronicle

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Another Great Day at Sea, by Geoff Dyer

A review of Dyer's book about his time on the USS George H.W. Bush. San Francisco Chronicle

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Popcorn or no popcorn?

An interview with David Thomson, author of the New Biographical Dictionary of Film. San Francisco Chronicle

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All aboard

A review of Tom Zoellner's Train: Riding the Rails That Created the Modern World -- From the Trans-Siberian to the Southwest ChiefSan Francisco Chronicle

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Famous Writers I Have Known

A review of James Magnuson's comic novel. San Francisco Chronicle

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Literary map of the Bay Area

An interactive map that features hundreds of booksellers, authors, and literary landmark and passages. San Francisco Chronicle

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Pink Sari Revolution

A review of Amana Fontanella-Khan's book on women and power in India. San Francisco Chronicle

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Ninety Percent of Everything, by Rose George

A review of a book that explores the little-known world of shipping. San Francisco Chronicle

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Al Gore on the future

An interview with the former vice president, author of The Future: Six Drivers of Global ChangeSan Francisco Chronicle

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Andrew McCarthy at home and abroad

An interview with the author of The Longest Way Home: One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down. San Francisco Chronicle

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Making Babies

A review of Anne Enright's essay collection. San Francisco Chronicle

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Whatever It Is, I Don't Like It

A review of an anthology by Howard Jacobson. San Francisco Chronicle

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The Beauty and the Sorrow, by Peter Englund

A review of an "intimate history" of World War I. San Francisco Chronicle

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Back to nature

An interview with T.C. Boyle about his novel When the Killing's DoneSan Francisco Chronicle

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Penn Jillette on the joys of atheism

An interview with the author of God, No! Signs You May Already Be An Atheist and Other Magical Tales. San Francisco Chronicle

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Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout

A review of Lauren Redniss' mix of drawings, photo-collages and text. San Francisco Chronicle

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Cleopatra reconsidered

An interview with the biographer Stacy Schiff. San Francisco Chronicle

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Infinite City

A review of Rebecca Solnit's San Francisco Atlas. San Francisco Chronicle

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Life

A review of Keith Richards' memoir. San Francisco Chronicle

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Golden Gate

A review of Kevin Starr's history of the bridge. San Francisco Chronicle

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War stories

An interview with Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried on its 20th anniversary. San Francisco Chronicle

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Robert Stone keeps it short

An interview with Stone, whose latest book is the story collection Fun With Problems. San Francisco Chronicle

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Running the Books

A review of Avi Steinberg's memoir of his time as a prison librarian. San Francisco Chronicle

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Big cat

A review of John Vaillant's The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. San Francisco Chronicle

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Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other

A review of Scott Simon's memoir on adoption. San Francisco Chronicle

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The Last Hero

A review of Howard Bryant's biography of Henry Aaron. San Francisco Chronicle

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Agassi's next chapter

An interview with the tennis great and author of the memoir OpenSan Francisco Chronicle

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Over the border

An interview with Luis Alberto Urrea, author of the novel Into the Beautiful North. San Francisco Chronicle

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New York story

An interview with Richard Price, author of the novel Lush LifeSan Francisco Chronicle

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