For more events or to list author events in our calendar, visit The Press Democrat's events listings at pressdemocrat.com.
<strong> SUNDAY (Oct 13)</strong>
<strong>Shepherd Hoodwin, "Journey of Your Soul,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>Even at birth, everyone is unique. Can heredity alone account for the complex differences in people's temperaments and styles? The Michael teachings, an extraordinary body of channeled work, propose that we are each unique souls who deliberately take on a specific combination of traits to give us the experiences we seek. In this fascinating book, Shepherd Hoodwin expertly discusses these teachings from his vantage point as a Michael channel.</em> Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. 415-927-0960, <a href="http://bookpassage.com" target="_blank">bookpassage.com</a>.
<strong>MONDAY (Oct 14)</strong>
<strong>Wendy Jehanara Tremayne, "The Good Life Lab: Radical Experiments in Hands-On Living,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>This is the inspirational story of how one couple ditched their careers and high-pressure life in New York City to move to rural New Mexico, where they made, built, invented, foraged, and grew all they needed to live self-sufficiently, discovering a new sense of value and abundance in the process. Alongside their personal story are tips and tutorials to guide readers in the discovery of a fulfilling new lifestyle that relies less on money. Tremayne wholeheartedly believes that everyone has the skill, imagination and creativity to make it work. </em> Copperfield's Books, 138 N. Main St., Sebastopol, 823-2618, <a href="http://copperfieldsbooks.com/" target="_blank">copperfieldsbooks.com</a>.
<strong>TUESDAY (Oct 15)</strong>
<strong> Jamie Ford, "Songs of Willow Frost,"</strong> 6:30 p.m.,: <em>Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese American boy, has lived at Seattle's Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother's listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.</em> Copperfield's Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 578-8938, <a href="http://copperfieldsbooks.com/" target="_blank">copperfieldsbooks.com</a>.
<strong>Ann Hood, "The Obituary Writer,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>On the day John F. Kennedy is inaugurated, Claire, an uncompromising young wife and mother obsessed with the glamour of Jackie O, struggles over the decision of whether to stay in a loveless marriage or follow the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying. Decades earlier, in 1919, Vivien Lowe, an obituary writer, is searching for her lover who disappeared in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. By telling the stories of the dead, Vivien not only helps others cope with their grief but also begins to understand the devastation of her own terrible loss. The surprising connection between Claire and Vivien will change the life of one of them in unexpected and extraordinary ways.</em> Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, bookpassage.com.
<strong>WEDNESDAY (Oct 16)</strong>
<strong>David McCuan in conversation with author Chuck McFadden, "Trailblazer: A Biography of Jerry Brown,"</strong> 12 p.m.: <em>In this first biography of Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. in more than thirty years, Chuck McFadden explores the unique persona of one of the most idiosyncratic politicians in California history.</em> Sonoma State University Library, 1801 East Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. Info, karen.brodsky@sonoma.edu.
Prev <strong>Dinners to Die For, with Elizabeth George, "Just One Evil Act: A Lynley Novel,"</strong> 6 p.m.: <em>Barbara is at a loss: The daughter of her friend Taymullah Azhar has been taken by her mother, and Barbara can't really help—Azhar had never married Angelina, and his name isn't on Hadiyyah's, their daughter's, birth certificate. He has no legal claim. Azhar and Barbara hire a private detective, but the trail goes cold...</em> Fountaingrove Inn, 101 Fountaingrove Parkway, Santa Rosa. Reservations and more info, copperfieldsbooks.com.
<strong>THURSDAY (Oct 17)</strong>
<strong>Susan Bono. "Illuminating the Essay: Tips for Writing Personal Narrative,"</strong> 7 p.m., Writer's Forum, Petaluma Community Center, 320 North McDowell Blvd, Petaluma. $15 at the door. Info, <a href="http://www.thewritespot.us" target="_blank">www.thewritespot.us</a>.
<strong>"Haunted: Chilling and Thrilling Stories," Petaluma Readers Theatre and Tiny Lights Publications presentation,</strong> 7:30 p.m., Clear Heart Stage, 90 Jessie Lane, Petaluma. Info and tickets, <a href="http://www.petalumareaderstheatre.com" target="_blank">www.petalumareaderstheatre.com</a>. Performance dates also on Oct. 18, 19, 24, 25, 26.
<strong>FRIDAY (Oct 18)</strong>
<strong> Lauren Grodstein, "The Explanation for Everything,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>For college biology professor Andy Waite, Darwinian evolution is the explanation for everything. But the unpredictable force of a charismatic evangelical student—a young woman determined to prove the existence of intelligent design—threatens to undermine more than just his faith in science.</em> Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, <a href="http://bookpassage.com" target="_blank">bookpassage.com</a>.
<strong>SATURDAY (Oct 19)</strong>
<strong>Mark Fainaru-Wada & Steve Fainaru, "League of Denial,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>"PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS DO NOT SUSTAIN FREQUENT REPETITIVE BLOWS TO THE BRAIN ON A REGULAR BASIS." So concluded the National Football League in a December 2005 scientific paper on concussions in America's most popular sport. That judgment, implausible even to a casual fan, also contradicted the opinion of a growing cadre of neuroscientists who worked in vain to convince the NFL that it was facing a deadly new scourge: A chronic brain disease that was driving an alarming number of players -- including some of the all-time greats -- to madness. League of Denial reveals how the NFL, over a period of nearly two decades, sought to cover up and deny mounting evidence of the connection between football and brain damage. </em>Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960,<a href="http://bookpassage.com" target="_blank"> bookpassage.com</a>.
<em>To submit book events for consideration in this column, contact Sara Peyton at sara.peyton@gmail.com at least three weeks in advance of the event.</em>
For more events or to list author events in our calendar, visit The Press Democrat's events listings at pressdemocrat.com.
<strong> SUNDAY (Oct 13)</strong>
<strong>Shepherd Hoodwin, "Journey of Your Soul,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>Even at birth, everyone is unique. Can heredity alone account for the complex differences in people's temperaments and styles? The Michael teachings, an extraordinary body of channeled work, propose that we are each unique souls who deliberately take on a specific combination of traits to give us the experiences we seek. In this fascinating book, Shepherd Hoodwin expertly discusses these teachings from his vantage point as a Michael channel.</em> Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. 415-927-0960, <a href="http://bookpassage.com" target="_blank">bookpassage.com</a>.
<strong>MONDAY (Oct 14)</strong>
<strong>Wendy Jehanara Tremayne, "The Good Life Lab: Radical Experiments in Hands-On Living,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>This is the inspirational story of how one couple ditched their careers and high-pressure life in New York City to move to rural New Mexico, where they made, built, invented, foraged, and grew all they needed to live self-sufficiently, discovering a new sense of value and abundance in the process. Alongside their personal story are tips and tutorials to guide readers in the discovery of a fulfilling new lifestyle that relies less on money. Tremayne wholeheartedly believes that everyone has the skill, imagination and creativity to make it work. </em> Copperfield's Books, 138 N. Main St., Sebastopol, 823-2618, <a href="http://copperfieldsbooks.com/" target="_blank">copperfieldsbooks.com</a>.
<strong>TUESDAY (Oct 15)</strong>
<strong> Jamie Ford, "Songs of Willow Frost,"</strong> 6:30 p.m.,: <em>Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese American boy, has lived at Seattle's Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother's listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.</em> Copperfield's Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 578-8938, <a href="http://copperfieldsbooks.com/" target="_blank">copperfieldsbooks.com</a>.
<strong>Ann Hood, "The Obituary Writer,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>On the day John F. Kennedy is inaugurated, Claire, an uncompromising young wife and mother obsessed with the glamour of Jackie O, struggles over the decision of whether to stay in a loveless marriage or follow the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying. Decades earlier, in 1919, Vivien Lowe, an obituary writer, is searching for her lover who disappeared in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. By telling the stories of the dead, Vivien not only helps others cope with their grief but also begins to understand the devastation of her own terrible loss. The surprising connection between Claire and Vivien will change the life of one of them in unexpected and extraordinary ways.</em> Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, bookpassage.com.
<strong>WEDNESDAY (Oct 16)</strong>
<strong>David McCuan in conversation with author Chuck McFadden, "Trailblazer: A Biography of Jerry Brown,"</strong> 12 p.m.: <em>In this first biography of Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. in more than thirty years, Chuck McFadden explores the unique persona of one of the most idiosyncratic politicians in California history.</em> Sonoma State University Library, 1801 East Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. Info, karen.brodsky@sonoma.edu.
<strong>Dinners to Die For, with Elizabeth George, "Just One Evil Act: A Lynley Novel,"</strong> 6 p.m.: <em>Barbara is at a loss: The daughter of her friend Taymullah Azhar has been taken by her mother, and Barbara can't really help—Azhar had never married Angelina, and his name isn't on Hadiyyah's, their daughter's, birth certificate. He has no legal claim. Azhar and Barbara hire a private detective, but the trail goes cold...</em> Fountaingrove Inn, 101 Fountaingrove Parkway, Santa Rosa. Reservations and more info, copperfieldsbooks.com.
<strong>THURSDAY (Oct 17)</strong>
<strong>Susan Bono. "Illuminating the Essay: Tips for Writing Personal Narrative,"</strong> 7 p.m., Writer's Forum, Petaluma Community Center, 320 North McDowell Blvd, Petaluma. $15 at the door. Info, <a href="http://www.thewritespot.us" target="_blank">www.thewritespot.us</a>.
<strong>"Haunted: Chilling and Thrilling Stories," Petaluma Readers Theatre and Tiny Lights Publications presentation,</strong> 7:30 p.m., Clear Heart Stage, 90 Jessie Lane, Petaluma. Info and tickets, <a href="http://www.petalumareaderstheatre.com" target="_blank">www.petalumareaderstheatre.com</a>. Performance dates also on Oct. 18, 19, 24, 25, 26.
<strong>FRIDAY (Oct 18)</strong>
<strong> Lauren Grodstein, "The Explanation for Everything,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>For college biology professor Andy Waite, Darwinian evolution is the explanation for everything. But the unpredictable force of a charismatic evangelical student—a young woman determined to prove the existence of intelligent design—threatens to undermine more than just his faith in science.</em> Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, <a href="http://bookpassage.com" target="_blank">bookpassage.com</a>.
<strong>SATURDAY (Oct 19)</strong>
<strong>Mark Fainaru-Wada & Steve Fainaru, "League of Denial,"</strong> 7 p.m.: <em>"PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS DO NOT SUSTAIN FREQUENT REPETITIVE BLOWS TO THE BRAIN ON A REGULAR BASIS." So concluded the National Football League in a December 2005 scientific paper on concussions in America's most popular sport. That judgment, implausible even to a casual fan, also contradicted the opinion of a growing cadre of neuroscientists who worked in vain to convince the NFL that it was facing a deadly new scourge: A chronic brain disease that was driving an alarming number of players -- including some of the all-time greats -- to madness. League of Denial reveals how the NFL, over a period of nearly two decades, sought to cover up and deny mounting evidence of the connection between football and brain damage. </em>Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960,<a href="http://bookpassage.com" target="_blank"> bookpassage.com</a>.
<em>To submit book events for consideration in this column, contact Sara Peyton at sara.peyton@gmail.com at least three weeks in advance of the event.</em>