Interview with D.R. Haney on The Nervous Breakdown

So, I was planning on doing an interview with D.R. Haney, author of Banned for Life, which I reviewed here, but I've been super busy with packing for Istanbul and moving out of my apartment so I haven't had time. THEN, today I looked on The Nervous Breakdown and there's a fab interview with him and one of the other TNB authors, so I thought I'd just post a link here for any of you who are interested. I think the interview will give you more insight about the book. And, really, who doesn't love reading interviews with authors?

ALSO, D.R. Haney will be doing a reading in L.A. this weekend. If you're in town, you should check it out. Here's the details:

Date: July 25, 2009, 8:00PM

Venue: Stories

Location: 1716 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA

Description:D. R. Haney will read from his recently-published novel about punk rock, "Banned for Life," along with other guests, including singer-songwriter Tif Sigfrids, who'll charm and disarm with dainty song.

Banned For Life LIVE!

I forgot to mention in my review that Banned for Life author, D.R. Haney, will be appearing in Los Angeles later this month, so if you're in town, you should go! Here's the details:

Date: July 25, 2009, 8:00PM
Venue: Stories
Location: 1716 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
Description:
D. R. Haney will read from his recently-published novel about punk rock, "Banned for Life," along with other guests, including singer-songwriter Tif Sigfrids, who'll charm and disarm with dainty song.

Meeting Dooce

I've been bogged down with not-so-fun reading lately, but I'm still the biggest author groupie ever. I went to see Richard Price speak last month and saw Heather Armstrong last night. I didn't write about the Richard Price event because I actually slept through almost the entire thing. Some author's just aren't great at reading their own books aloud. His books are amazing though, so I highly recommend them. I'm reading Clockers right now by him.

But last night I got to meet Heather Armstrong, which was awesome. If you've never heard of Heather Armstrong, I highly recommend you check out her blog. I've been following her on Twitter for about six months and have been reading her blog for about a year. I love her voice and her point of view on so many things. Plus, she's pretty hilarious (in my book anyway). The best thing about going to see her though was that a bunch of my girlfriends actually wanted to come along. Most of the time they have no idea who the authors are that I go to see so they're not interested, but this time they were actually the ones who asked me to go to a book signing. As always, it was a treat to meet an author and Dooce was great at reading her own stuff. She's just as funny in person, but way taller than I expected. Seeing her come out was a bit of a shock to me, especially considering I'm only 5'1". I'm always shocked by tall people.

Anyway, Dooce's book, It Sucked and then I Cried, is out now. It's a story about her first pregnancy and the postpartum depression that followed. One of my friends has read quite a bit of the book already and says she's enjoying it so far. I'm going to be borrowing hers when she's finished so it may be awhile before you get a real review of it from me. Until then, feel free to check it out on Amazon.

Oh, also, my friends and I could not get over this sign posted at Books Inc., where the book signing was. Apparently they have a huge problem with cults in Mountain View (aka Yuppieville), Calif.

More book reviews to come soon, I promise!

Live Chat tonight with Water for Elephants Author

Tonight bestselling author Sara Gruen is doing a live online chat to discuss Water for Elephants on Gather.com. I thought some of you might be interested in joining in on that since it was one of our book club selections earlier this year. It might be fun for those of you who have been wanting to read the book, but haven't. Here's the information if you want to check it out:

WHEN: Wednesday, October 22, 8:00pm - 9:00pm ET
WHERE: The Gather Books Essential
COST: Free!

Also, you can check out my review of Water for Elephants here.

The 24-hour Read-a-thon!

Most book bloggers out there have already heard of Dewey's read-a-thon and the amazing prizes she's offering. But for those of you non-bloggers out there, I thought I'd fill you in. See, there's this fab 24-hour read-a-thon going on next weekend (begins June 28 at 9 a.m.), which will benefit Reading is Fundamental, an organization that works toward improving children's literacy rates. I've got a stack of about 14 books to choose from so finding something to read won't be the hard part of reading for a full 24 hours. I think the hard part will be staying awake and keeping my eyes from burning.

Also, I don't know if this counts, but I'm totally hoping it does, I'm going to download a book for my iPod so I don't have to forgo doing my long run on Saturday. I'll be able to "read" and run at the same time! How awesome is that? Yeah, I'm super happy I thought of it. Perhaps I'll also use this method for eating too. My goal is going to be to read for at least 18 hours of the read-a-thon. If I get really into a great book I'll for sure be able to make it through the wee hours of the night, but if it's something awful I won't be able to give in to the temptation of sleep.

Um, so if you want to participate, you can find the rules here. And if reading really isn't your thing, but you want to contribute to the cause you can donate here. Also, if you do donate, can you let me know either here on the comment board or by email (bexadler at yahoo dot com) so I can track how much we raise? That would be awesome, thanks!

Mountain Climber, Author Coming to Town

As a novice rock climber and outdoorswoman, I am constantly looking for opportunities to learn more about safety and skills for outdoor activities. And, when I can afford it, I buy books about my favorite activities to help me on this quest. When I don't have money the books just end up on my Amazon wishlist, like Duane Raleigh's Knots and Ropes for Climbers, which has been on my wishlist for over a year.

So when I heard Arlene Blum is coming to Sacramento in a couple of weeks I couldn't hold in my excitement. Blum led the first women's climbing expedition of Annapurna and later wrote a book about the experience. More recently she wrote Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life, a memoir that follows Blum from her childhood in Chicago to some of the world's most challenging peaks. I've put both of her books on hold at the library and hope to be able to read at least one before I see her in person.

If you're interested in hearing Blum speak here are the details:

Arlene Blum will appear at Sacramento State University in the University Library Gallery at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. The event is free and will be followed by a reception.