San Francisco

[close] A modern book club exploring ambitious ideas through thoughtful conversation, beautiful storytelling and real community; online and around the table.

[close] A reading and discussion group related to the Friends of Genre convention http://fogcon.org Share books you learned about and resolved to read at the convention. #FOGcon

[close] Essays today seem to be the new stories: many start with an anecdote whose narrative power startles as much as any work of fiction. So what’s the difference between stories and essays in 2013, and do we care? Some people say, “It’s an essay if it’s true, it’s a story if it’s imagined.” But don’t many fiction writers base stories on experience? And don’t essayists present their “truth” selectively, choosing what to include and what to omit? In each of our three weeks together, we will read stories and essays that speak to each other, that invite our conversation, and we will talk about writing magic—and about whether the magic of a great story is different from the magic of a great essay. Students will read from the following list of essays and short stories: Week One: Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood paired with Grammar Lessons: The Subjunctive Mood by Michelle Morano Week Two: Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin paired with Stranger in the Village by James Baldwin Week Three: Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor paired with I Want a Wife by Judy Syfers and A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. Instructor: Ellen Greenblatt When: Mondays October 14, 21, 28 from 7:00-8:30PM Where: The Women’s Building, 3543 18th St San Francisco, CA 94110

[close] A place to discuss all the unique aspects of Deaf culture as highlighted in the thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) by Lance & James Morcan. This group can also be an intersection of sorts where Deaf and hearing people can engage and learn from each other.