Author Susan Coll, president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, will discuss her book, “Bookish People,” at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on Thursday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m.
“Bookish People” is a cute and quirky story about the lives and interwoven relationships among the staff in a local bookshop, written by someone who actually works in one of the country’s foremost independent bookstores.
A perfect storm of comedic proportions erupts in a DC bookstore over the course of one soggy summer week – narrated by two very different women and punctuated by political turmoil, a celestial event, and a perpetually broken vacuum cleaner. Independent bookstore owner Sophie Bernstein is burned out on books. Mourning the death of her husband, the loss of her favorite manager, her only child’s lack of aspiration, and the grim state of the world, she fantasizes about going into hiding in the secret back room of her store.
Meanwhile, renowned poet Raymond Chaucer has published a new collection, and rumors that he’s to blame for his wife’s suicide have led to national cancellations of his publicity tour. He intends to set the record straight – with an ultra-fine-point Sharpie – but only one shop still plans to host him: Sophie’s.
Fearful of potential repercussions from angry customers, Sophie asks Clemi – bookstore events coordinator, aspiring novelist, and daughter of a famed literary agent – to cancel Raymond’s appearance. But Clemi suspects Raymond might be her biological father, and she can’t say no to the chance of finding out for sure.
This big-hearted screwball comedy features an intergenerational cast of oblivious authors and over-qualified booksellers – as well as a Russian tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr. – and captures the endearing quirks of some of the best kinds of people: the ones who love good books.
Coll is part of the events team at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. She is the author of “The Stager,” “Beach Week,” “Acceptance,” “Rockville Pike,” and “karlmarx.com.”
A television adaptation of “Acceptance,” starring Joan Cusack, aired in 2009.
On Thursday, Coll will be in conversation with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of the instant New York Times bestsellers “The Nest” and “Good Company.”
The event is free to attend.
For more information, call (626) 449-5320 or visit www.vromansbookstore.com/susan-coll-discusses-bookish-people.
Vroman’s Bookstore is at 695 E. Colorado Blvd.
