Book Reviews
July
8-Portland; July 11-Berkeley; July 14-Santa Cruz; July 15-SOLVANG!
Cartoonist
and Santa Ynez High School alumnus Ryan Claytor has been on a roll since May 5,
making 50 stops in18 states and two Canadian provinces, promoting his series of
Elephant Eater Comics.
Currently
a Master of Fine Arts candidate at San Diego State, Claytor is chronicling his
life graphically in a for-all-ages series titled And Then One Day. He will be at The Book
Loft Sunday, July 15 from 2 to 4 PM. greeting old friends, sharing ideas with
comic book fans and signing his three small autobiographical volumes and
limited edition prints.
Claytor’s
tour also includes stops at Metro Entertainment in Santa Barbara and Printed
Matter in Lompoc.
Potter Party
The
reservation list continues to grow for the seventh and last Harry Potter
book– Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Book Loft, with the assistance of
avid Potter fans Carey, Nora and Cecilia McKinnon and other volunteers, will
re-open at 10:30 PM, Friday, July 20.
Everyone
is invited to the party. Costumes
are encouraged. There will be
decorations, prizes, games, raffles, face painting, “butter beer” and other
appropriate refreshments.
The
new book however will be under wraps, literally. It must not be sold (nor the shipping cartons open or
exposed) until the following day, July 2l. However, when the clock strikes 12:01, the cartons will
be ceremoniously and quickly opened and Potter fans can get their copies and
head home for some midnight reading.
Summer Reading
Summer
reading season is well underway.
School was barely out when local teenagers started stocking up on
required vacation reading titles such as Fahrenheit 451, A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn
and Crime and Punishment.
On
a lighter side, beach reading, “chick lit,” began to disappear from the Young
Adult shelves.
The
Book Loft has a long-running reading incentive program aimed at local
elementary students in grades one through eight during the last school
year. We ask kids to read a book
new to them (not one they may have earlier reported on for a school
assignment).
Next
they write a short essay (250 words or less) telling why they like the new book
(or didn’t like it). On the back
page they should list their name, age, phone number and school. When they bring their essay to The Book
Loft, they are entitled to pick out a free book (up to $5 in value).
There
will be several $25 gift certificates awarded. All entries are due by Monday, August 20 winners will be
announced Monday, August 27. Contact the store for more information.
Autry book event
attracts fans and visitors
Decked
out in her mustard yellow, Autry movie poster-flecked shirt and gorgeous “just
like Gene’s” boots, Holly George-Warren made a big hit at her book signing last
week. Holly is the author of Public
Cowboy No 1: Life and Times of Gene Autry, an Oxford University Press publication
now in its second printing. First
edition copies are still available at The Book Loft and some are signed by the
author.
A
North Carolina native, Ms. George-Warren and her singer-songwriter husband
Robert Warren and nine-year old son Jack now live in Phoenicia, New York in the
Catskill Mountains. During a
trip to Los Angeles to celebrate the Gene Autry centenary and other events, the
family spent a few days in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Joining
a number of Valley folks at the signing were some who came from afar. Gene Autry’s niece, whom Holly
interviewed at length on the telephone but had not met in person, drove up from
Escondido.
Bubbly
Bobbi Jean Bell came from Santa Clarita.
She is the former director of the Autry Museum store and now with her
husband David is develops an on-line company selling “inspired” Western and
automotive merchandise.
An
attractive young woman named Susan shot an extensive interview with Holly that
is slated to run on the RFD television network.
Robert
Warren brought his guitar, strummed and sang cowboy songs. He also does music for kids and left us
some of his recent CD Uncle Rock:
Plays Well With Others.
Son Jack was very patient, but is looking forward to flying back home
soon.