Events Towne Center Books Pleasanton California independent bookshop

Towne Center Books
555 Main Street • Pleasanton, California
925-846-8826

Upcoming Events--July 2008
Monday June 30, 2008 6:30 social 7:00pm dinner Dinner with Christine Meldrum author of *Madapple* Location: Towne Center Books Christina Meldrum received her Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and political science from the University of Michigan, and after working in grassroots development in Africa, earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She has worked for the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Switzerland, and as a litigator at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and is on the advisory board of Women of the World Investments. Madapple, Christina Meldrum's first book, is at once a literary novel and psychological thriller. Its spellbinding story alternates with courtroom scenes to make this a very thought-provoking book about a young girl brought up to know everything about plants, nature, and language but nothing about life. Both teens and adults will enjoy this discussion. There will be a social time at 6:30, then dinner at 7:00pm. $25.00 for dinner and book; $15.00 for dinner alone. Reservations Are Required for the luncheons! 925-846-8826 or email us at info@townecenterbooks.com. Visit Christine's website, and you won't want to miss this event! Wednesday July 2, 2008 11:00am Red, White and Blue Party for Kids Location: Towne Center Books Wear some Red White and Blue [not required, but it will add to the fun!] and come down to the store to hear stories and do a simple craft. This event is for kids aged 3 and up. Wednesday July 2, 2008 Street Party 6-9:00pm with You! Me! All the town! Location: Main Street Come down to Main Street and join in the fun at Pleasanton's Street Party this coming week, sponsored by the Downtown Pleasanton Association. Drop in to the store for a browse and say Hello! Hope to see you there! Reading is IN!! You're reading, your family and friends are reading, you see people reading on their break, waiting for a bus, sitting in the park....people are reading everywhere and anywhere. SO.....Grab your camera and snap a picture of someone reading....then bring it in or email it to us at info@townecenterbooks.com. We'll give you a coupon for 10% discount on your next purchase, and we'll put your photo in the store or window. [Please be sure the person in the photo knows they will be on display.] This program is in effect now through August 15, and is part of a public awareness campaign by the Association of American Publishers. It's open to all ages, but children must be supervised. Visit their Get Caught Reading website to find out more! In a few days we'll have our reading window ready at Towne Center Books, where you can sit and read. We can reserve you a time - or if the reading chair is empty just have a seat......but watch out! Someone just might be lurking, waiting to take your picture! Tuesdays July 8, 15, and 22, 2008 7-8:30pm Writing Workshop for Teens with Wendy Lichtman Location: Towne Center Books *A Writer's Workshop for Teens!* No tests, no grades, no homework! (well, maybe if you decide to keep writing outside of class) We're offering a three-evening workshop with author Wendy Lichtman, where teens can experiment with both fiction and non-fiction [writing the stories you really lived]. Please bring a laptop or notebook with you. Wendy's most recent teen novels are Do the Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra and Do the Math #2: the Writing on the Wall. Her essays have been published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Good Housekeeping. Tuesday evenings, July 8, 15, and 22 from 7-8:30. Cost for the three sessions is $75.00 and Reservations Are Required, so call us at 925-846-8826. Check out Wendy's website. Saturday July 12, 2008 2-3:00pm Book Swap Location: Towne Center Books Come to our Book Swap--open to readers of all ages! Bring a book---or books---to trade, get a discount on new book purchases, meet some new folks and have some fun telling others what's good [or not-so-good] about your trade-ins! Thursday July 17, 2008 6-9:00pm Summer Wine Stroll Location: Main Street Pleasanton This event is our opportunity to showcase in a unique way the diverse businesses and services we have to offer here in downtown Pleasanton. Sip a variety of delicious local Livermore wines in a variety of downtown locations. Presale tickets will be available for $25 beginning on June 17th--and this year, we will be selling tickets at Towne Center Books! Friday July 18, 2008 7:30pm America's Reigning Cats and Dogs with Doug Bell Location: Towne Center Books Local writer Doug Bell [aka Douglas Kendall], author of Pleasantopia, will be at the store for a book signing event for his two latest works, America's Reigning Cats and Dogs and America's Backside. This is a free event, and no reservations are needed. Monday-Friday July 21-25, 2008 9:30/10:30am No Spies Here Writing Class for Kids--Grades K-2 with Keely Parrack Location: Towne Center Books Local writer Keely Parrack's Summer writing classes for grades K-2 are a great way to help kids with their creative writing skills. Cost is $20. per class, or $75. for the week. Reservations Are Required, as these classes fill up fast, so call us NOW to reserve your place! 925-846-8826 Monday-Friday July 28-August 1, 2008 9:30/10:30am No Spies Here Writing Class for Kids--Grades 3-6 with Keely Parrack Location: Towne Center Books Local writer Keely Parrack's second week of Summer writing classes are for kids in Grades 3-6..... a great way to help develop creative writing skills. Cost is $20. per class, or $75. for the week. Reservations Are Required, as these classes fill up fast, so call us NOW to reserve your place! 925-846-8826 Monday July 28, 2008 11:30am Noelle Oxenhandler author of *The Wishing Year: an Experiment in Desire* Location: Towne Center Books *The Wishing Year* by Noelle Oxenhandler is the non-fictional account of an experiment in desire. Oxenhandler takes one year to explore the act of wishing [think birthday candles, genies in a bottle, a wishing well], focusing her desires on three very different wishes: a house [after years of house rental], a man [after the end of a long marriage], and spiritual healing [after a painful separation from her spiritual community]. She decides to try “putting it out there” to see what happens. Noelle Oxenhandleris the author of two previous nonfiction books, *A Grief Out of Season* and *The Eros of Parenthood. Her essays have appeared in many national and literary magazines, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Vogue, Tricycle, Parabola, Utne Reader, and O: The Oprah Magazine. She has taught in the graduate writing program at Sarah Lawrence College and is a member of the creative writing faculty at Sonoma State University in California. A practicing Buddhist for more than thirty years, Oxenhandler is the mother of a grown daughter and lives in Northern California. Tuesday July 29, 2008 11:00am Fireman Scott* Location: Towne Center Books Kids aged 3 and up [and their siblings] are invited to Towne Center Books to meet a real fireman and find out what it's like to be a firefighter, hear stories about firefighters and ask some questions, too. Friday August 1, 2008 12:00 Midnight Late Night Release Party! Stephenie Meyers author of *Breaking Dawn* Location: Towne Center Books *Breaking Dawn, the fourth and most recent novel in Stephenie Meyers' Twilight Series, will be released at midnight + one minute August 2nd! We also have a few copies of the limited special edition of Eclipse* with the teaser chapter available for you now. Visit Stephenie's Website and read about her series. Friday September 19, 2008 11:00pm-12:00 Midnight Late Night Release Party! Christopher Paolini author of *Brisingr* Location: Towne Center Books *Brisingr, which has been scheduled for publication in September 2008, is the third volume of the Inheritance Cycle, a high fantasy series by young author Christopher Paolini. The previous books in the series, Eragon* and *Eldest, have both been bestsellers. Visit Christopher's website for Brisingr and read more! Or check out Christopher on YouTube, where you can hear him talk about Brisingr*.
ONGOING EVENTS at TCB
Bookclubs at Towne Center Books Have you been looking for a book club? Look no further... We have numerous book groups that either meet at the store or are affiliated with us. They are all free and open to the public; all you have to do is read the book, come on down to Towne Center Books and join the discussion! Store bookclub selections are always 15% off. If you're already in a book group you can register at Towne Center Books and receive 15% off your current selections too! Ask our staff for more details. Give us a call at 925-846-8826 for details on the following groups: Towne Center Book Club for Adults 7PM -- second Wednesday of each month at Towne Center Books 555 Main Street, Pleasanton July 9--Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak New Members are Welcome! Towne Center Non-Fiction Bookclub 7:30PM--Wednesdays Towne Center Books 555 Main Street, Pleasanton Wednesday July 2nd--The Brain That Changes Itself A Course in Miracles This group, facilitated by Alma Seregi, discusses *A Course in Miracles, and will be meeting on Mondays-- at 1:00pm. We're hoping to have more people join this group, so invite a friend and spread the word. Next meeting Monday, July 14th. Great Books* 7:00 PM on the fourth Monday of every month Great Books of Pleasanton meets at Towne Center Books. All of the discussions are from the *The Adult Great Books Reading and Discussion Program, Fifth Series* published by the Great Books Foundation. Times Bookclub 7:00pm Wednesday, June 18th Loving Frank by Nancy Horan The Times Bookclub is facilitated by columnist Lynn Carey.
Remember! Convenient parking behind the store. We're open 6 nights (Sunday 6:00 closing). Save $10.00 on every 10th visit with our Free Loyalty Program. Special orders are usually received in the store within 24-48 hours.
Here's a typical scene at Towne Center Books.....a group of students from Hearst School enjoying an afternoon presentation by local author/illustrator Ashley Wolff.

Maisy the most famous Mouse visited Towne Center Books recently and had a mmmarvelous time! Lucy Cousins, the creator or Maisy, is one of today's most acclaimed author-illustrators of children's books. Her unique titles instantly engage babies, toddlers, and preschoolers with their childlike simplicity and crayon-bright colors. And the winsome exploits of characters like Maisy--star of her own animated television program on Nick Jr.--reflect the adventures that young children have every day. Lucy admits that illustration comes more easily to her than writing, which tends to work around the drawings. "I draw by heart," she says. "I think of what children would like by going back to my own childlike instincts." And what instincts! Lucy Cousins now has more than 4 million books in print, from cloth and picture books to irresistible pull-the-tab and lift-the-flap books to Maisy's Pop-Up Playhouse. Working at home in Hampshire, England, Lucy is the mother of four young children, including, most recently, twins. Her daughter, Josie, who was 7 months old during the creation of the My Cloth Books, has been a helpful critic: "Josie looked at them and chewed them and did all the right things." The author's plans include even more books for the under-5 age group. Wendy Boase--Lucy's former editor and one of the founders of Walker Books, Candlewick's parent company in the U.K.--said of Lucy, "It's wonderful to help someone develop into one of the greats. And Lucy will be one of the greats." Fans of Maisy and other brilliant creations by Cousins seem to agree!

Upcoming Events--July 2008

ONGOING EVENTS at TCB