Summer Reading

by Michelle Richmond

In lieu of writing about THE YEAR OF FOG today, I wanted to mention my top three picks for summer reading.

1. The Rice Room, by Ben Fong-Torres. The subtitle, Growing Up Chinese-American From Number Two Son to Rock n' Roll, sums it up nicely. This lively, funny, moving memoir traces former Rolling Stone editor and renowned rock n' roll writer Fong-Torres's journey from Oakland's Chinatown to the Summer of Love and beyond. It's about finding oneself, finding music, and finding love. Ultimately, it's also a story about family. First published in 1995, it's still fresh and engaging twelve years later.

2. At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays, by Anne Fadiman. Whether writing about coffee or ice cream, lepidoptery or Charles Lamb, Fadiman illuminates her subjects with wit and an eye for the minute detail.

3. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, by Lewis Buzbee. A book for bookstore lovers. Small, precise, and utterly engaging.

Please come say hello at Book Passage tonight at 7:00 p.m. I'll be reading from and talking about THE YEAR OF FOG, which is set in San Francisco. It's my final bookstore reading in the Bay Area. Read the San Francisco Chronicle review of THE YEAR OF FOG here.