80 West Portal, San Francisco, CA 94127
415-564-8080
www.bookshopwestportal.com
Open 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Every Day

In This Newsletter:
School Days - October 15-18
Judith Rock - Tuesday, October 19
Antonya Nelson - Thursday, October 21
More Upcoming Events

SCHOOL DAYS begin tomorrow!
Help Earn Money for Your School!
Friday, October 15 through Monday, October 18

Shop at our store this weekend and earn money for your school! Mention your school's name, and it will receive 15% of your net purchase in cash, or 25% of your net purchase in store credit. All local public and private schools are eligible. Questions? Contact Sonia at: sonialewis3@yahoo.com, or call the store at (415) 564-8080.

JUDITH ROCK will read from
The Rhetoric of Death
Tuesday, October 19 at 7 PM

Meet Judith Rock, who has written a superb historical debut, The Rhetoric of Death, set in 1686 Paris. Charles du Luc, a half-fledged Jesuit and former soldier with a damaged left arm, is sent by his cousin the Bishop of Marseilles to assist in teaching rhetoric and directing dance at the prestigious college of Louis le Grand. On his first day at the school, one of Charles' students - the school's star dancer - disappears from rehearsal. A day later, a horseman almost runs down another student in the street under circumstances that make Charles suspect that one enemy has targeted both boys. When the dancer's body is found in a latrine, Charles is determined to solve the murder. His inquiry soon leads to danger for himself and his family.

“Rock's novel boasts a style all its own and is sure to satisfy those eager for a great new historical mystery.” — Booklist

ANTONYA NELSON will read from
Bound
Thursday, October 21 at 7 PM

The critically acclaimed author of Nothing Right and Talking in Bed delivers her much-anticipated first novel in a decade. Known for her razor-sharp depictions of contemporary family life in all of its sad and sometimes hilarious complexity, Nelson delivers a story of tangled lives, set in a Wichita riveted by the reemergence of the infamous serial killer known as BTK (Blind, Torture and Kill).

A married couple, Catherine and Oliver, are negotiating their difference in age and a plethora of well-concealed secrets. Oliver, now in his sixties, is a serial adulterer who has just fallen in love yet again. Catherine seems placid and content, but has ghosts of a past she scarcely remembers. When her long-forgotten high school friend dies and leaves Catherine the guardian of her teenage daughter, that past comes rushing back. As Oliver manages his new love, and Catherine her new charge and darker past, the local news focuses on a serial killer who has reappeared after years of quiet.

“A small gem—more understated than Nelson's recent stories, but equally sharp and deeply moving.” — Kirkus Reviews

More Upcoming October Events:

• ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH will read from
  The Charming Quirks of Others
  Saturday, October 23 at 7 PM


• MICHAEL KRASNY will discuss
  Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic's Quest
  Thursday, October 28 at 7 PM

Please visit our website to read more
about these and other upcoming events.

80 West Portal, San Francisco, CA 94127  |  (415) 564-8080

www.bookshopwestportal.com