Results tagged “books”

In the off chance you aren't friends with Sarah Palin on Facebook, let it be noted that the former Alaska governor/VP candidate/attention starved loon/media juggernaut announced last night that she will indeed be making a stop in the D.C. area on her book tour. This may come as a shock, but it turns out she's not planning on promoting Going Rogue at Politics & Prose. In fact, she won't be at a bookstore at all. Instead, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 5, she'll be out at the BJ's at 13053 Fair Lakes Shopping Center in Fairfax, presumably so she can rub elbows with the "real Americans" who buy in bulk. Mark your calendars!

The South Asian Literary and Theater Arts Festival (SALTAF) brings together writers, filmmakers, and dramatists from across the South Asian diaspora for a day of screenings, panel discussions, and book signings. Previous participants of the festival, which takes place on Saturday, include directors Mira Nair (Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding) and Deepa Mehta (Earth, Fire, Water), and writer Kiran Desai (Inheritance of Loss). The D.C. chapter of the Network of South Asian Professionals and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program are the chief sponsors of the annual event, which is an opportunity for both emerging and established artists to present their work, and engage in a dialogue with those interested in South Asian culture.

Put "sex" and "drugs" in your title and you're sure to catch the attention of the young people. Say "gefilte fish" and you're adding a touch of Jewish kitsch. Sex, Drugs, and Gefilte Fish: The Heeb Storytelling Collection, a reading taking place tonight at Chief Ike’s, sits at the "edgy end" of the DCJCC’s 2009 Jewish Literary Festival. Heeb is a humor magazine targeted to the young and Jewish, and this reading aims to bring together the editor and three contributors to the story collection to "present an evening of funny, reflective, angst-ridden, angry and outrageous stories."

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

Beginning today, every fifth person you see on the Metro for the next nine months will be reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. And for the next year or two, every third tourist you see will be on a quixotic quest to see for themselves all the D.C. "locations" where the fictional events in the book took place.

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

Mike Tunison made a minor blogosphere -- and mainstream media -- storm last year when the Washington Post fired him after he posted a photo which revealed his real identity on his infamous NFL blog, Kissing Suzy Kolber. (His posts there, and on other sites, had been written under a pseudonym.) Seemingly unfazed -- maybe even liberated -- Tunison's since taken KSK to new, often hilarious, occasionally offensive, and surprisingly insightful heights. He's also just published his first book, The Football Fan's Manifesto, which is part rallying cry, part vicious skewering of the real America's game, professional football. In the Manifesto, no one is safe: not the slimeball owners (cough cough), not baseball fans, not even your beloved star running back. From birth to death, it's a detailed guide to becoming an insane, unbalanced, possibly even sociopathic football fan.

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

Joe Pernice, the leader of the Pernice Brothers and the force behind some of the most well-crafted classicist pop songs of the past decade, officially jumped into the wild word of fiction this week with his first proper novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop. The book's story of a lost slacker unable to come to grips with his recent marriage (much less his life) may have strong shades of Nick Hornby's half-pathetic music/sports obsessives, but Pernice is more brutally honest, giving a true warts-and-all portrayal of a deeply flawed character that sometimes hits a little close to home. And, of course, there's a boatload of terrific, offbeat musical references and a steady stream of humor throughout. Pernice sat down with DCist last week to discuss the book, its companion "soundtrack," and his tour, which brings him to Iota in Arlington on Sunday night.

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

Earlier this year we pointed out that DaVinci Code author Dan Brown's newest book, The Lost Symbol, is set here in Washington, concerns itself with the mysteries of the Masons, and is due out in September. Now via The New York Times' Arts Beat blog, we finally get a look at the cover of the book, which depicts "a shadowy skyline of the Capitol."

A Capitol Hill institution, Trover Books, announced yesterday that it will be shutting its doors. Hill residents of the long-term and less permanent kind have long relied on the shop at 221 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, for political books, congressional directories, non-Washington newspapers, and candy and cigars. Joe and Anne Shuman founded their family store in 1958, passing the business on to their three sons. One of them, Andy Shuman, told DCist today that "business has been bad the last couple years and getting steadily worse," a decline that accelerated "as the economy has fallen apart." During a visit to the shop this morning, employees pointed to the postman who came in to deliver the mail: he also had some Amazon packages under his arm.

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

D.C. Public Schools will release its summer reading list for students Friday, and some local librarians have alleged that gay titles under early consideration were removed.

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area Monday: >> The National Building Museum focuses on design tonight with New York architect Deborah Berke from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Berke will discuss her experiences as well as her "notion that architecture is not an end in itself, but a setting that is enhanced by its use." $20.

It's good to be alive, he thinks."

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

You probably read the cute story in the Post on Monday about a woman who returned an overdue library book to Arlington County, 31 years later. Sarah McKee, who is now retired and living in Massachusetts, found the book while cleaning out her basement and mailed it back to the library, along with a check for $25. Well today the PR savvy Arlington Public Library announced it has created a little display of the book, along with a printout of the WaPo story, at their Central Library branch on North Quincy Street.

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

There are a number of really interesting lectures this week, including three focused on food (tomatoes, tortillas and even an Indian buffet!), as well as a good variety of visual and performing arts lectures, book talks, and more.