Skylight Books Podcast Series

How to Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocodor from World War II to Hip Hop, the Machine Speaks (Stop Smiling Books)

Dave Tompkins will discuss and sign his fascinating history of the vocodor! The vocoder, invented by Bell Labs in 1928, once guarded phones from codebreakers during World War II; by the Vietnam War, it had been repurposed as a voice-altering tool for musicians and soon became the ubiquitous voice of popular music. "How to Wreck a Nice Beach is much more than a labor of love: It’s an intergalactic vision quest fueled by several thousand gallons of high-octane spiritual-intellectual lust. ... [Tompkin's] biggest and most perilous adventure in How to Wreck a Nice Beach is the plunge deep into the throbbing radioactive heart of his own prose—a hallucinatory stew of Rimbaud, Tom Wolfe, Lester Bangs, and Bootsy Collins." — New York Magazine "Achieves what the best music writing does—it opens doors, tears off tarps and digs in the dirt to reveal the stunning variety and potential in popular music." — The Nation Dave Tompkins, a former columnist for The Wire, writes frequently about hip-hop and popular music. His work has appeared in Vibe, The Village Voice, The Believer and Wax Poetics. As a child growing up in North Carolina, he wrote stories about Mud Men, shot football cards with his dad’s .38, and was forced into speech therapy. His grandfather ate the microfilm, somewhere over Moscow. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS SEPTEMBER 22, 2010.

Termite Parade by Mohr; The Orange Eats Creeps by Krilanovich (both published by Two Dollar Radio)

Joshua Mohr, whose last novel (Some Things That Meant the World to Me) was a staff favorite, and Grace Krilanovich, whose debut novel (The Orange Eats Creeps) is the only one to be excerpted twice in Black Clock, will read from and sign their new novels! Praise for Termite Parade: "The book is similar to Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment': the most crucial action serves as a portal to and wellspring for the various psychologies of its characters. But Mohr's storytelling is so absorbing that Termite Parade does not read like an analytical rumination; if he is examining the very nature of these characters under a microscope, he at least lets the specimens speak for themselves." --San Francisco Chronicle Praise for The Orange Eats Creeps: "A 'vampire' novel as Celine might have written, with dashes of Blake and Burroughs: hallucinatory, poetic, passionate, excessive, sexually charged, hardcore in all the best senses of the word. Twilight this is not." --Steve Erickson Grace Krilanovich has been a MacDowell Colony Fellow, and a finalist for the Starcherone Prize. Her first book, The Orange Eats Creeps, is the only novel to be excerpted twice in Black Clock.

Joshua Mohr is the author of the novel Some Things that Meant the World to Me, which was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller and one of Oprah Magazine's Top 10 reads of 2009. His second novel, the newly released Termite Parade, has been called "No small achievement" by The New York Times Book Review. He has an MFA from the University of San Francisco and has published numerous short stories and essays in publications such as 7×7, the Bay Guardian, Zyzzyva, The Rumpus, Other Voices, the Cimarron Review, Gulf Coast and Pleiades, among many others. He lives in San Francisco and teaches fiction writing. Please visit him at joshuamohr.net.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS SEPTEMBER 9, 2010.

Citrus County (McSweeney's) by Brandon; The People of Paper (McSweeney's hardcover, Houghton Mifflin paperback) by Plascencia

John Brandon will read from and sign his acclaimed new novel, Citrus County, with special guest Salvador Plascencia, author of The People of Paper! "With Citrus County John Brandon joins the ranks of writers like Denis Johnson, Joy Williams, Mary Robison and Tom Drury, writers whose wild flights feel more likely than a heap of what we’ve come to expect from literature, by calmly reminding us that the world is far more startling than most fiction is.”  —New York Times Book Review (cover review) John Brandon was raised on the Gulf Coast of Florida. During the writing of this book he worked at a Frito-Lay warehouse and a Sysco warehouse. During the revising he was the John & Renee Grisham Fellow in Creative Writing at University of Mississippi. His favorite recreational activity is watching college football. His first book was Arkansas, a novel. Salvador Plascencia is the author of the novel The People of Paper, which was named a best book of the year by San Francisco Chronicle, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, and Boldtype. The novel  has been translated into a dozen languages. His fiction and reviews have appeared in McSweeney's, Tin House, and The Los Angeles Times. In 2010, Poets and Writers named Plascencia one of the Fifty of the Most Inspiring Authors in the World. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS SEPTEMBER 8, 2010.

My Hollywood (Knopf)

Acclaimed Los Angeles novelist Mona Simpson (Anywhere But Here) will read from and sign her long-awaited novel My Hollywood -- her first in ten years! "Funny, smart, and filled with razor sharp observations about life and parenthood, Simpson's latest is well worth the wait." --Publishers Weekly Mona Simpson is the author of Anywhere But Here, The Lost Father, A Regular Guy, and Off Keck Road, which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and won the Heartland Prize of the Chicago Tribune. She has received a Whiting Writers’ Award, a Guggenheim grant, a Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Writers’ Award, and, recently, an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Santa Monica, California. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS SEPTEMBER 2, 2010.

The Four Fingers of Death (Little, Brown & Co.)

Rick Moody (The Diviners) will read and sign his sprawling new novel -- an "adaptation" of a (fictional) 1960s pulp horror movie. This one's for readers of Vonnegut and Pynchon, and we know there are a lot of you out there! "The book is entertaining and often poignant, probing the limits of technology, consciousness, and language in the face of grief." --The New Yorker "The Four Fingers of Death reads [...] like a 700-page Kurt Vonnegut book." --Time Out New York Rick Moody is the award-winning author of Black Veil, Demonology, The Diviners, Garden State, The Ice Storm, Purple America, and Right Livelihoods. Photo of the author by Thatcher Keats. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS SEPTEMBER 1, 2010.

Down and Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derby (Soft Skull Press)

Meet two of L.A.'s own Derby Dolls, Alex Cohen a.k.a. Axles of Evil (also of KPCC renown) and Jenny Barbee a.k.a Kasey Bomber, as they discuss and sign their new book on roller derby, Down and Derby! Alex “Axles of Evil” Cohen is the host of "All Things Considered" on KPCC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to National Public Radio. Jennifer “Kasey Bomber” Barbee writes for Blood and Thunder magazine and is a longtime staffer of the WGA. Both authors have skated with the L.A. Derby Dolls since 2003 and live in Los Angeles. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 26, 2010.

Door to the River: Essays and Reviews from the 1960s into the Digital Age (Black Sparrow Books)

On the occasion of the release of this new book of nonfiction by the acclaimed writer Aram Saroyan, and the fortieth anniversary of Black Sparrow Press, we're pleased to present Aram Saroyan in conversation with Black Sparrow publisher David Godine. Aram Saroyan is an internationally known poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright. The recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts poetry awards (one of them for his controversial one-word poem "lighght"). Saroyan is a past president of PEN USA West and a current faculty member of the Masters of Professional Writing Program at USC. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the painter Gailyn Saroyan. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 22, 2010.

The Clock Without a Face (McSweeney's)

An event for this new eye-catching, pentagonal mystery/puzzle/board book, featuring Eli Horowitz and Mac Barnett, two of the book's authors. Twelve emerald-studded numbers, each handmade and one of a kind, have been buried in 12 holes across the land. These treasures will belong to whoever digs them up first. The question: Where to dig? The only path to the answer: solve the riddle of the book. Eli Horowitz has edited and designed books and journals for McSweeney's for the past eight years. Before McSweeney's, Eli was employed as a carpenter and wrote science trivia questions tenuously linked to popular films. He was born in Virginia and now lives in San Francisco. Mac Barnett: Born to non-farmers in a California farming community, Mac now lives near San Francisco. He's on the board of directors of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center for students in Los Angeles, and he founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 14, 2010.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (Random House)

"Mitchell is, clearly, a genius." --The New York Times Book Review (review of Cloud Atlas) "Mitchell really is his generation's Pynchon." --Kirkus Reviews (review of Cloud Atlas) "Brilliant…Mitchell creates an evocative yet authentically adolescent voice, an achievement  even more impressive than the ventriloquism of his earlier books." --The New York Times Book Review (review of Black Swan Green) David Mitchell is an internationally bestselling two-time Booker Prize finalist, a Time magazine 100 Most Influential People, and a Granta Best Young British Novelist. His first novel, Ghostwritten, was awarded the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for the best book by a writer under 35 and a Guardian First Book Award finalist. His second novel, Number9Dream, was a finalist for the Booker Prize finalist and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. His third novel Cloud Atlas was short-listed for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was an international bestseller. His most recent novel, Black Swan Green, was long-listed for the Booker Prize and named a Time Best Book of the Year. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS ON JULY 23, 2010.

Sh*t My Dad Says (It Books)

The author of this very popular book, based on the also very popular Twitter feed, will be here to discuss and sign his book! Justin Halpern, 29, is the founding editor of the comedy website HolyTaco.com and a senior writer at Maxim.com. Halpern created the Twitter page "Shit My Dad Says," which boasts more than a million followers, and is co-writing and co-executive producing a sitcom adaptation for Warner Bros and CBS. He splits his time between Los Angeles and his parents' home in San Diego. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 12, 2010.

Unlovable Vol. 2 (Fantagraphics)

Esther Watson, co-author of Whatcha Mean, What's a Zine? and author of Unlovable will discuss and sign the second volume in her hilarious and heartbreaking series that's loosely based on the 1980s-era diary of a high school girl that she found in a gas station bathroom. "Watson's graphic style and messily scrawled confessions read like a genuine diary, filled with humor and despair. Unlovable makes me grateful to be past that painful stage." --The Seattle Weekly Esther Pearl Watson lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and fellow artist, Mark Todd. Together they authored the influential D.I.Y. tome, Whatcha Mean, What's A Zine? Learn more at funchicken.com.

Keep Sweet (Simon Pulse)

Michele Dominguez Greene will read from and sign her powerful new young adult novel about a Mormon fundamentalist girl's struggle to escape a forced polygamist marriage. Michele Dominguez Greene has had a long-standing successful career as an actress, appearing in television, film, and theater.  She received an Emmy nomination for her role as Abigail Perkins on the NBC series, “L.A. Law”, and she is currently recurring in HBO's “Big Love” and ABC's “Brothers and Sisters.” Greene’s debut novel, Chasing the Jaguar is included on reading lists around the country.  She lives with her family in Los Angeles. Visit her at michelegreene.com. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 6, 2010.

Light Boxes (Penguin)

Shane Jones will be here to read from and sign his book Light Boxes! This debut novel was a staff favorite when it came out from a small press last year; now that it's been optioned by Spike Jonze, it's getting a new release from Penguin! Shane Jones was born in February of 1980. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in numerous literary journals, including New York Tyrant, Unsaid, Typo, and Pindeldyboz. He lives in upstate New York with two cats and one wife. This is his first novel. Director Spike Jonze (Where The Wild Things Are, Being John Malkovich) purchased the film option for Light Boxes in July 2009. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JUNE 30, 2010.

Tiny Acts of Rebellion: 97 Almost-Legal Ways to Stick It to the Man (Michael O'Mara Books)

Rich Fulcher of the British TV hit The Might Boosh will be here to discuss and sign his new book, Tiny Acts of Rebellion!

Rich Fulcher is an American comedian, writer and improviser. He is best known for smash-hit The Mighty Boosh, with whom he has toured and taken many roles in their BBC3 series. Most recently he has been seen as his alter-ego, Eleanor – aka "the world’s greatest groupie," playing sell-out seasons in Australia before heading up to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August. Rich released his book Tiny Acts of Rebellion in 2009 and is also known for his performances in the award-winning and subsequently televised Modern Problems in Science (BBC3), Snuff Box (BBC3), and Skins (E4).

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 7, 2010.

The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of Los Angeles (Cambridge University Press)

Editor Kevin McNamara and contributors William Mohr, Scott Bryson, and Eric Avila will read from their selected pieces in this great new anthology of local literature! William Alexander McClung and Mark Shiel, who were originally scheduled to appear, will be unable to make it.

Kevin McNamara writes on cities and their cultures.  A professor of literature and American studies at the University of Houston–Clear Lake, he received his Ph.D. from UC Irvine and has also taught in Turkey and the Czech Republic.

William Mohr is a poet who teaches literature and creative writing at CSU Long Beach. His longstanding project, Backlit Renaissance: Los Angeles Poets during the Cold War will be published by the University of Iowa Press in early 2011. (Photo of William Mohr by Linda Fry.)

Scott Bryson is a professor of English at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles. He is the author of The West Side of Any Mountain: Place, Space, and Ecopoetry (University of Iowa Press, 2005) and has edited several collections of literary criticism. His current scholarship focuses on urban theory and culture, primarily as it relates to the phenomenon of Los Angeles literature.

Eric Avila is the author of Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles (University of California Press, (2004) and is currently working on second book project that considers the cultural history of urban highway construction in postwar America. He is a professor of History, Chicano Studies and Urban Planning at UCLA.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JUNE 24, 2010.