The Week @ Book Passage

Among Bay Area bookstores, Book Passage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of author events, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s not uncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place at the store on just about any given day. Additionally, many of these events have a local connection. Looking at the week, here are three events readers won’t want to miss.

Adam Hochschild discusses To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918
-- Tuesday, March 13 at 7:00 pm

World War I stands as one of history’s most senseless spasms of carnage, defying rational explanation — and as a symbol of war’s eternal insanity. Why did so many nations get so swept up in the violence? Why, over four long years of futility and carnage, couldn’t cooler heads prevail? To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild is the page-turning, epic history of the modern era’s most morally challenging war. Is one war the history of another war?

Adam Hochschild has won a reputation as a master of suspense and vivid character portrayal with King Leopold’s Ghost, Bury the Chains, and other books. His skill at evoking individual struggles for justice amid the sweep of historic events has made him a finalist for the National Book Award and won him a host of other prizes. Hochschild lives in San Francisco and teaches writing at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.

Coffee with Kelly Corrigan
-- Thursday, March 15 at 11:00 am

At this informal gathering, Kelly Corrigan, the bestselling author of The Middle Place and Lift, will share her insight into the work of some of her favorite contemporary writers, including Anne Lamott, Michael Chabon and John Hodgman. Corrigan will also talk about the Notes & Words Essay Contest that she is sponsoring. [ Visit www.notesandwords.org for more information about the contest. ]

Kelly Corrigan is a newspaper columnist and essayist. Shortly after her own battle with breast cancer, she launched CircusOfCancer.org, a how-to web site for friends and family of women with the disease. Corrigan’s YouTube video, "Transcending," was a sensation sent woman-to-woman more than 4 million times. Corrigan lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their two daughters.

Jeanette Winterson talks about Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
-- Saturday, March 17 at 7:00 pm

Jeanette Winterson’s novels have established her as a major figure in world literature. She has written some of the most admired books of the past few decades, including her internationally bestselling first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit — the story of a young girl adopted by Pentecostal parents that is now widely considered required reading. Just out comes a just-as-bold memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? Witty, acute, fierce, and celebratory, it is a book about a life's work to find happiness, a painful past, and a search for belonging.

Born in Manchester, England in 1959 and adopted into a firmly religious family, Jeanette Winterson put herself through higher education and studied at Oxford University. She is the author of numerous works including Written on the Body, Sexing the Cherry, and The Passion.

MORE INFO: Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.