LLOYD KAHN

Lloyd Kahn, author of the counter culture classics Shelter and Home Work, presents his new book, Builders of the Pacific Coast, at Northtown Books on Friday, November 21st at 7 pm.

In 2004, Kahn discovered a group of unique carpenters along the Pacific Coast of North America. Over a two-year period, he made four trips north from his home in the San Francisco Bay Area, up the coast, shooting the hundreds of photos that appear in this book. Kahn was the shelter editor of The Whole Earth Catalog in the 60s and 70s, and has had a keen interest in the art and craft of handbuilt homes for several decades.

To preserve homeowners' privacy, specific locations are not given, but the book focuses on the Pacific Coast north from San Francisco up to and around Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A few of the homes are located here in Humboldt County.

There are three featured builders: the aptly named Lloyd House, master craftsman and designer who has created a series of unique homes on a small island; Bruno Atkey, builder of a number of houses and lodges built of hand-split cedar on "The Wild Coast" (the Pacific Ocean side of Vancouver Island), and SunRay Kelley, barefoot builder tuned into Nature, who has designed and built wildly imaginative structures in Washington, California, and other parts of the country.

In addition, the book features working homesteads, sculptural buildings of driftwood, live-aboard boats, gypsy-type caravans, and examples of stunning architectural design.

You don't just read this visual extravaganza of Lloyd Kahn's magnificent discoveries of the homebuilder's art and imagination in the hidden byways and buried inlets of the Pacific Northwest. You deep-breathe your way through its full-color page-spreads with mounting delight, excitement, nostalgia, and a deepening admiration for the diversity of the unfettered expression of the human spirit that the much-distorted 1960's inspired and allowed, and with a re-fired commitment not to let that spirit wither.

– Peter Nabokov

Check out Lloyd Kahn's interesting blog too.

CHANGE

Image by Patrick Moberg (via Andrew Sullivan)

THREE POETS READ

Friday, October 24th at 7:30 pm, Northtown Books hosts a poetry reading featuring three locally based poets: Therese Keslin, Vanessa Pike and Tim'm West.

Therese Keslin and Vanessa Pike are founders of the Humboldt poetry collective A Reason to Listen, which has hosted poetry slams at the Accident Gallery. They've also collaborated on a chapbook called Excavating the History of Love in addition to their own solo work.

Tim'm West is an educator, essayist, poet, and rapper educated at at Duke and Stanford Universities. He is the author of the poetic memoir Red Dirt Revival and recorded a CD to accompany it, Songs From Red Dirt. He's also recently released a new CD, Blakkboy Blue(s) and its literary complement Flirting.

November Reading Group Selection

We will be reading Alice Munro's latest collection of short stories, The View from Castle Rock on the 9th of November.

Learn more about the book and view a brief reader's guide here.

We meet the second sunday of every month at 5:30 here at the bookstore. Reading group books receive a ten percent discount.

Walking with Nobby

Friday, October 10th from 7 to 9 pm, author Dale Pendell signs his new book Walking with Nobby, an account of his conversations with the late philosopher Norman O. Brown on such various subjects as paganism, world religions, Dionysus, Marx, and Freud.

View a sample chapter here.

Pendell is perhaps best known for his Pharmako trilogy (PHARMAKO/GNOSIS, PHARMAKO/DYNAMIS, and PHARMAKO/POEIA) , an epic poetic study of botany, alchemy, spirituality, psychology, and history.

He's also written Inspired Madness, a nonfiction discussion of the Burning Man festival, and has been anthologized in the Wisdom Book of American Buddhist Poetry and Baby Beats.

For an L.A. Times interview with Pendell, go here.

On his previous books:

"Dale Pendell’s Inspired Madness confirms the gaiety and sprightly insight of our free human community, naked or clothed, muddy, dusty, clustered or soclitary, sharing and being. Is this old-time paganism or a hint of some future utopia? For sure it’s in the present moment and Dale brings it down to hearts and minds."
—Gary Snyder

“Pharmako/Poeia is an epic poem on plant humours, an abstruse alchemic treatise, an experiential narrative jigsaw puzzle, a hip and learned wild-nature reference text, a comic paean to cosmic consciousness, an ecological handbook, a dried-herb pastiche, a countercultural encyclopedia of ancient fact and lore that cuts through the present 'conservative' war-on-drugs psychobabble.”
— Allen Ginsberg

"Pendell's ongoing subjects are the botanical 'allies'; humans have always associated with, and the 'pharmakon', the drug that is both poison and cure. A poet, ethnobotanist, and amateur chemist, he's the best writer on drugs to come along since the late Terence McKenna."
— The Village Voice

A Strange Breed of Folks

This Friday former Humboldt Times journalist Mel Lavine comes to Northtown to share stories from his recently published memoir, A Strange Breed of Folks: Tales from the World's Second Oldest Profession.

Lavine met and inteviewed many notables who passed through the area during his time in Humboldt in the fifties and early sixties - a down and out Billie Holliday, playing a week of shows in Eureka near the end of her life, Joe Louis (refereeing a wrestling match at the Eureka Muni), and Richard Nixon on a 1962 campaign stop here (seen on the cover of the book). He also was a pioneer in local network news here. The second part of Lavine's book deals with his later decades in network news in New York where he worked with Barbara Walters, Charles Kuralt and Walter Cronkite.

Help us welcome Mr. Lavine back to Humboldt this Friday, September 5th, from 7 to 9 pm.

Humboldt Wild

Friday, August 15th from 7 to 9 pm, Photographer Arleen Olson will be at Northtown Books to debut her new book of photographs, Humboldt Wild.

Check out some of her work here.

Here's what a few folks have to say about the book:

In our travels, we seek the last, best, wild places on Earth. It is always a joy to return to Humboldt County. The stunning beauty of Humboldt Wild will show you why.

Michael Muir, great-grandson of John Muir and Executive Director of Access Adventure

Take a walk on the wild side of Humboldt through Arleen’s lens, from the black sand beaches to the snow peaked mountains, with stops in between for a walk in the woods, for flowers, birds, festivals and frolicking. Arleen has an eye for color and composition, and knows to click the shutter at that moment when magic happens.

Bob Doran , arts and culture writer and editor for the North Coast Journal

Two Bobbies

Friday, August 8th, at 7 pm, Northtown Books hosts local author Mary Nethery, in honor of her new book, Two Bobbies, co-written with Kirby Larson. The true story of a dog and cat who survive Hurricane Katrina, it also features vivid illustrations by Jean Cassels.

About two-and-a-half dog years ago, Mary and Kirby met at a writing conference led by Jane Yolen. Right away they discovered many things in common: they both had cats, sweet tooths, and a passion to write books for children. Since that first meeting, the two friends have written many books on their own. Mary's titles include Hannah and Jack, Mary Veronica's Egg, Orange Cat Goes to Market, and the forthcoming The Famous Nini: The Mostly True Story of a Plain White Cat Who Becomes a Star! Kirby's titles include Hattie Big Sky, a 2007 Newbery Honor book, and The Magic Kerchief.

Two years ago, they decided to try collaborating on a book. They were pretty sure the story would involve animals but that was all they knew. Then Hurricane Katrina hit. Mary watched CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 and learned about Bobbi and Bob Cat. "When I saw that interview," said Mary, "I knew the Bobbies' story of friendship and survival was a story of hope for all of us."

She called Kirby right away. "It was easy to say yes," said Kirby. After going to Louisiana and Mississippi to help with clean-up and rebuilding efforts, "I wanted to use my writing skills to bring attention to the overwhelming needs of the Gulf coast region," she said.

Both Mary and Kirby agree that the story of Bobbi and Bob Cat, animal best friends, was the perfect one for them, human best friends, to tell.

For more about Mary and her other books, please visit www.marynethery.com.

Find out more about Kirby and her other books by visiting www.kirbylarson.com.

To see a trailer for the book, go here.

Ten percent of author proceeds from the book go to Best Friends Animal Society, and Northtown Books will donate a portion of sales to local animal rescue efforts.

Please join us Friday, August 8 from 7 to 9 pm.

Compulsory Reading

Alison (Fun Home) Bechdel shows why compulsory lists kill the love of reading.

Life, Money & Illusion

On Thursday, July 3rd, Northtown Books hosts an appearance by Mike Nickerson, author of Life, Money & Illusion: Living On Earth As If We Want to Stay.

Nickerson has spent 35 years studying cultural evolution and communicating a sustainability message. His writings include: Bakavi: Change the World I Want to Stay On (1977), Let's Talk About Sustainability (1987), and Planning for Seven Generations (1993)

From Life, Money & Illusion:

Money is the life blood of civilization. Without money it would be very difficult for any but small communities to work together in mutual provision. By enabling millions of people to cooperate, money provides a great service. With this service, however, comes danger. Money gathers and flows in economic streams. The greater these flows, the greater the temptation to tap in and drink deeply.

Nickerson's latest book tracks how economic patterns change as the communities they serve grow from extended families, through local populations and nations, to global civilization. While there are advantages to large-scale production, the potential for participants to be alienated from each other and from the natural environment grows with the size of the system. With alienation come opportunities for unfortunate advantages to be taken.

Please join us July 3rd at 5 pm for an enlightening discussion.

For more information, visit http://www.flora.org/sustain//