Welcome to Phoenix Books!
Bookends Book Club for Grades 3-5 Meets February 9 at 5 pm to Discuss "We Dine with Cannibals"
January 25, 2012, 9:58 am


The Bookends Book Club is a gathering of kids Grades 3-5. The next selection is We Dine with Cannibals by C. Alexander London, with a special Skype visit with the author! Host/mom Tanya Schevitz leads the proceedings with cookies and great questions for discussion. If you would like more info about The Bookends, drop Tanya a line at tschevitz@yahoo.com. Or just come by! (All kids welcome, even if they are not within that specific grade range.)
Classics Book Group Meets This Sunday, Jan 29 at 5:30 p.m.
January 25, 2012, 9:38 am

Come join the Classics Book Group and revisit the classics you wish you had read, or would like to read again - all in the company of some nice, neighborhood folks! This week's selection: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. For more information about the Classics Book Group, contact Rikki Bryant at brennerbryant@yahoo.com
Winter Hours
January 24, 2012, 10:30 am
Brrrr...it's cold. And dark. Just to let you know, we're closing a bit earlier during the winter, our winter hours are: M - Sat 9 am - 8 pm, Sun 10 am - 7 pm.
Visit Our Online Store!
July 10, 2011, 9:58 pm


We are thrilled to announce we have teamed up with The Retailer Place to bring you access to 10,000 book, DVD and CD titles, delivered right to your door! We are even offering discounts on select titles. Click "more" below and check it out HERE!

Posted 7/10/11

Live Jazz Sunday, May 1st, 5-7 pm!
April 27, 2011, 11:00 pm


The Nick Culp Trio will be performing live jazz this Sunday from 5-7 pm, bringin' it and swingin' it. Join us, won't you?

Kate's Paintings
April 15, 2011, 11:00 pm


Phoenix Books owner Kate Rosenberger is also an artist, creating whimsical and thought-provoking paintings. Visit her website and check out her wonderful work!
www.katerosenberger.com
Kate's paintings will be featured in a show on Saturday April 16th at Serendipity, 803 Valencia Street, 6-9 pm.

Storytime Returns to Phoenix Books
February 8, 2011, 12:00 am


Come join Alison, manager of Phoenix Books and an award winning children's musician (formerly of the Sippy Cups) for some storytime fun on Wednesdays at 11 am. Stories, songs, games and dancing for the little ones. Come early for a good spot, the place gets packed! Each week a new theme and a new batch of wonderful songs and stories. Good times! Mark your calendars: Alison will be doing a full kids' concert at the Noe Valley Rec Center on Saturday, May 14, 9-11 am.

Standouts in Historical Fiction: Hilary Mantel, David Mitchell, and Barry Unsworth
August 22, 2010, 11:00 pm

Did Mantel's 'Wolf Hall' -- due in paperback August 31st -- and Mitchell's 'Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet', whet your appetite for great historical fiction? Try Barry Unsworth. Author of 18 books, he ranges from the Booker-Prize-winning epic 'Sacred Hunger', about the slave trade, to 'Morality Play', a page-turner of a medieval murder mystery. He's a regular on year-end 'best book' lists.

Not to give Mantel or Mitchell short shrift... they're also Booker winners or short-listers, with Mitchell favored to win this year. If you haven't read them, by all means do! Unsworth just doesn't get as much press. We have lots of used copies in stock between Phoenix, Red Hill and Dog Eared.

Summer is Murder: Mystery and Thriller Recs from Phoenix!
June 10, 2010, 11:00 pm
I love mysteries, I admit it, as long as they're not cute. Noir is best, but as long as my intelligence isn't being insulted, I'm OK. If you've torn through the Steig Larssons, and need some summer escapist reading...
Feb
13
Odd Mondays Presents Aggie Hoff
Monday, February 13, 2012 - 7:00pm
Odd Mondays presents author Aggie Hoff, reading from her new book about her experiences as a judge. For more info on Odd Mondays, visit www.oddmondays.com.
Feb
12
Second Sundays Jazz with the Nick Culp Trio
Sunday, February 12, 2012 - 5:00pm
 

Come join us for some swingin' live jazz with the Nick Culp Trio.
Jan
25
Storytime Every Wednesday!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 11:00am

Longtime Phoenix Books manager Alison Levy is also a well-known children's musician, and hosts a fun and energetic music and storytime every Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. The place gets packed, so come early for a good spot. And be ready to dance, sing, wiggle, jump and have fun! For more info on Alison, including songs and upcoming performance dates, visit www.reverbnation.com/alisonfaithlevy. Join her facebook page at www.facebook.com/alisonfaithlevy.
Dec
8
33 Days: Tour Stories with Bill See and special guest Chuck Prophet
Thursday, December 8, 2011 - 6:30pm
    

Phoenix Books is happy to host a no-holds-barred storytelling, music-making and trip down rock n’ roll memory lane with a book party for 33 Days by Bill See, with special guest appearance by local legendary troubadour Chuck Prophet. The event is scheduled for 6:30 pm, Thursday December 8 at Phoenix Books, 3957 24th Street in San Francisco.

For 33 days in the summer of 1987, critically acclaimed L.A. indie rock band Divine Week...s toured in a beat up old van, sleeping on strangers’ floors, never sure they’d make enough gas money to get them to the next town. Bill See’s deeply personal memoir follows his band’s first tour across the U.S. and Canada. No soundman, no roadies, all they have is their music and each other’s friendship. 33 Days captures the essence of what it is to be 22 and chase a dream, back to a time in life when dreams don’t have boundaries, when everything is possible. The tour is one of those now or never experiences. Take a shot at making the band work or leave it all behind and go your separate ways. Every one of us has that moment where we have to decide to either live our dreams or give up and regret it for the rest of our lives. 33 Days touches that part of us. The road is filled with yuppies, brothels, riots, sleeping on floors, spiked drinks, DJs with no pants, and battles with racism. They set out on the road to discovery to drink in all they could and maybe sell a few records. They grew up instead.
May
8
An Acoustic Afternoon with Jeff Troiano Sunday
Sunday, May 8, 2011 - 5:00pm

Local musician and songwriter Jeff Troiano will be appearing at Phoenix Books Sunday afternoon May 8 for a lovely late afternoon performance. Jeff is a Noe Valley-based singer/songwriter. He describes his music as "Americana, with a touch of Magic Realism." He is inspired by weather, hills, fog, dogs, kids, and romantic love, not necessarily in that order. Jeff believes that we get what's coming to us. His influences include Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Pablo Neruda, Richard Brautigan, Dr. Seuss, and his daughter Dolores. He'll be joined by Stanley Goldstein on fiddle.

Apr
17
Requiem for Cover to Cover - An Appreciation Party
Sunday, April 17, 2011 - 6:00pm

Phoenix Books is honored to host an appreciation party and erstwhile wake for the beloved Noe Valley bookstore Cover to Cover which recently closed its doors. The local independent was saved by the massive community effort, spearheaded by Peter Gabel, which raised $200,000 from 40 members of the community to stave off the closing of this neighborhood institution.
However, changes in the book industry, coupled with a poor economy, finally ended things for the popular independent.
Please come to celebrate, discuss and remember this neighborhood institution. Beer, wine and books. 6-8 pm.

Apr
10
Live Jazz at Phoenix!
Sunday, April 10, 2011 - 5:00pm

Join us the second Sunday of every month, 5-7 pm, for free live jazz with the Nick Culp Trio. Musicians are welcome to sit in. Come browse the store, hear some great music - the next jazz night is Sunday, April 10. Swing it!

The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
June 22, 2010, 11:00 pm

Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller
June 12, 2010, 11:00 pm

A fascinating triple biography of the lives and careers of three of our most beloved singer-songwriters - Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. Through alternating chapters, Weller explores the cultural and sociological circumstances that enabled these three very different women to forge their own way through the pop music landscape, ultimately telling a larger story of women experiencing a newfound freedom and awakening in the 60s and 70s. Lots of juicy tidbits about the stories behind the songs, the men behind the scenes, and the struggles and triumphs behind the making of our most cherished albums. A great summer read: chock full of gossip, insight, and nostalgia.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
January 12, 2010, 12:00 am

The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
June 4, 2008, 11:00 pm

Mississippi Sissy by Kevin Sessums
June 1, 2008, 11:00 pm

Growing up gay in 1960's Mississippi wasn't much fun. Racism and homophobia were the order of the day. In Mississippi Sissy we are transported to this world, replete with hurt and sadness,but not the bitterness you might expect. Growing up as an outsider gave Sessums strength and resiliance - two qualities that shine through on every page. His circle of friends provided the family that he always craved, and serving as "den mother" to him and his coterie of thespian buddies was Eudora Welty! By turns funny and sad, this is a wise, well-balanced memoir.

http://www.mississippisissy.com/

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
May 21, 2008, 11:00 pm

"I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats."

Alexie's first young adult novel is a semiautobiographical chronicle of Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, a Spokane Indian. Born with water on the brain and being in the top of his class , Arnold is regularly the target of bullies. His love for drawing is his only outlet for escape from his bleak surrounding.

The artwork of Ellen Forney is a perfect match to the endearing and heartbreaking writing of Alexie. Told with the wit, humor and raw truthfulness of a 14 year old there are times when you are bursting laughing one page then sobbing the next.

A tour de force for Alexie's first jump into young adult writing. I highly suggest this read for teens who feel they are on the fringe and adults who grew up there.