Cornell Book Club & Brunch
Join us for the second meeting of the San Francisco and South Bay chapters and enjoy a lively discussion followed by brunch.
Venue: Kepler's Books
Location: 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
Here's food for thought: Bring your appetite for hearty discourse and good eats as we examine "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides (Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in fiction). Buy your copy at Kepler's Books and get 15% off.
Format
11 - 11:30 Introductions & Networking
11:30 - 12:30 Discussion
12:30 - 2:00 Lunch @ Applewood Pizza, 1001 El Camino Real (across the street from Kepler's)
Click here to RSVP!!!
Questions? Contact Lisa Toyama at lisatjarboe@gmail.com or William Lin at wcl2@cornell.edu
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About the Book
Amazon.com Review
"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." And so begins Middlesex, the mesmerizing saga of a near-mythic Greek American family and the "roller-coaster ride of a single gene through time." The odd but utterly believable story of Cal Stephanides, and how this 41-year-old hermaphrodite was raised as Calliope, is at the tender heart of this long-awaited second novel from Jeffrey Eugenides, whose elegant and haunting 1993 debut, The Virgin Suicides, remains one of the finest first novels of recent memory.
Eugenides weaves together a kaleidoscopic narrative spanning 80 years of a stained family history, from a fateful incestuous union in a small town in early 1920s Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit; from the early days of Ford Motors to the heated 1967 race riots; from the tony suburbs of Grosse Pointe and a confusing, aching adolescent love story to modern-day Berlin. Eugenides's command of the narrative is astonishing. He balances Cal/Callie's shifting voices convincingly, spinning this strange and often unsettling story with intelligence, insight, and generous amounts of humor:
Emotions, in my experience aren't covered by single words. I don't believe in "sadness," "joy," or "regret." … I'd like to have at my disposal complicated hybrid emotions, Germanic traincar constructions like, say, "the happiness that attends disaster." Or: "the disappointment of sleeping with one's fantasy." ... I'd like to have a word for "the sadness inspired by failing restaurants" as well as for "the excitement of getting a room with a minibar." I've never had the right words to describe my life, and now that I've entered my story, I need them more than ever.
When you get to the end of this splendorous book, when you suddenly realize that after hundreds of pages you have only a few more left to turn over, you'll experience a quick pang of regret knowing that your time with Cal is coming to a close, and you may even resist finishing it--putting it aside for an hour or two, or maybe overnight--just so that this wondrous, magical novel might never end. --Brad Thomas Parsons --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
About the Venues
For 54 years, Kepler's Books has been one of the nation’s premier independent bookstores, famous for its outstanding author events, knowledgeable staff, and its broad selection of books, magazines and gifts. Its commitment to the local communities it serves has helped define the cultural identity of the Menlo Park, Atherton, Palo Alto, Redwood City and other San Francisco Bay Area communities that have seen such exceptional growth in the past five-and-a-half decades.
Kepler's was founded in May 1955 by peace activist Roy Kepler. The store soon blossomed into the cultural epicenter it has always remained. It attracted loyal customers from the students and faculty of Stanford University and from other members of the surrounding communities who were interested in serious books and ideas. The Grateful Dead gave live shows there early in their career, and they, along with folk singer Joan Baez, often appeared at Kepler’s sharing ideas at the bookstore with local community leaders.
Today Kepler's has once again evolved with it communities and remains a household word in the daily lives of its fiercely loyal customers. It is still a vibrant cultural center, not only offering a vast array of books and continuing its stellar author events but it now also serves a burgeoning population of children and families and has developed a community partner program without equal. A new generation, quite a numerous one, is growing up at Kepler’s youth author events in the store, at the schools, in the parks; and they value what this bookstore brings to their families. The bookstore has also developed a reputation in the past three years as a destination for unique gifts that mirror and target local interest and trends. This new market has been quite successful for Kepler’s. Although there continue to be enormous challenges facing independent booksellers such as Kepler’s, the strength and caring of the local community, and Kepler’s increased commitment to it, is keeping this well-loved bookstore alive and thriving, and continuing to adapt as it heads into its second half century.
Applewood's award winning pizza has been voted "The Best Of" by the Palo Alto Weekly for 15 consecutive years. We provide a choice of 21 different toppings, and we put more meat & cheese than chain-type pizza parlors. We use our own secret sauce.
"Applewood adds new interest to old pies..."When you walk into Applewood Inn forget what you knew about pizza."
-S.L. Wykes, San Jose Mercury News
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