In a country where more and more once unpopulated landscapes are taken over by apartment buildings and skyscrapers, how do we continue to coexist with wildlife? Especially when the wildlife in question is the grizzly. Creatures who were born to roam—and fight. After all, brown bears evolved in fields and open spaces, according to Grizzly Confidential, meaning in order to survive, they had to stand their ground and fight for their food, resources, cubs, and lives. And with both males and females weighing up to 600 and 350 pounds, respectively, with the capability of running up to 40 miles per hour, they’re likely going to win.

But when wildlife and civilization seem to continuously bump into each other, how do we make that work? Coexisting with bears is a modern conundrum with no easy answer. Yet Kevin Grange tackles this issue head-on in his new book Grizzly Confidential: An Astounding Journey into the Secret Life of North America’s Most Fearsome Predator.

 

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Readers will likely find Grange’s starting place of his journey into the life of bears relatable. Like many, Grange found bears fascinating as a child, but that interest took a back seat to life. And as an adult he still had an interest but also a deep fear of bruins. 

The first chapter opens with Grange attending a human-bear conflict relationship conference. It sets the scene for the bear’s situation in North America and gives a sobering look at how even humans with the best of intentions play a role in creating so-called “problem” or “nuisance” bears. (Anyone who used that phrase at the conference, Grange explains, was quickly corrected with a blast of an airhorn). It helps 

From there, the author embarks on a journey, exploring everything from classes on how to best deploy bear spray, teaching children bear safety in the remote Alaskan village of Akhiok, the dark side of for-profit wildlife parks, and even talks with researchers trying to understand what happens to a bears body during hibernation so they can potentially help humans suffering with diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments. Grange eventually makes his way to the remote Alaskan peninsula, where humans can visit but it’s very much clear they are in the bear’s territory, not the other way around.

Grange takes a frank look at the state of bears and human-bear relations in North America. He doesn’t shy away from the myriad of issues facing these important giants. But Grange also gives the reader something I think is missing in a lot of environmental stories: hope.

It may sound cheesy, but think about it. There’s no shortage of books, movies, articles, and podcasts talking about the irreversible destruction of the planet. But if you don’t give readers hope then why even try to make it better? Instead, Grange gives readers a deeper understanding of these creatures through his incredible journey into their lives. And with that newfound knowledge readers are armed with both small and large changes they can make in their own lives to help ensure grizzlies will be a part of our landscapes for generations to come.

The post Book Review: Grizzly Confidential; A Deep Dive into How We Can Learn to Coexist with These Fierce Predators. appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Louisville Art Association THEMED SHOW

Come visit and see a variety of unique and beautiful art while supporting local artists. A feast for the eyes will be installed for the full month of July, and will be accompanied by a reception, open to the public, on Friday, July 7th from 5 – 7pm.

SHEA COPLAND BOOK SIGNING EVENT WITH MUSICAL GUEST DUO LUCAS AND LELAND

Saturday 27th   3 – 5 pm

Shae Copland is a 19 year old, Colorado native, who just finished her first year at Regis University. A Erie High School alumni, Shae is a talented author who will be meeting with fans and the community to celebrate the release of her second novel, Winged and the Lost Skull. Copies of her debut novel, Winged and the Griffin’s Call will also be available. Come support a local author as she makes her way to the big leagues.

As for music, songwriter, guitarist and fiddle player Lucas Lawson is nowadays joined just about everywhere by mandolinist Leland Mackessy. The two young musicians from Santa Cruz, California play together to continue on the bluegrass/americana sound in Lucas’s own mellow and melodic songs.

THURSDAY COMMUNITY NIGHTS

4:30 – 9 Every Week

East Simpson Thursday Nights are back for the summer and better than ever. So bring family and friends for live music and delicious food.

SCHEDULE

July 6th
Artist JD and Ellen
Food Truck Freshly Laid

July 13th
Artist Derek y Daniel
Food Truck Magic School Bus

July 20th
Artist Cat 5 Jazz
Food Truck Butcher and the Blonde

July 27th
Artist Laurie and Lorrie
Food Truck The Gyro King

MORE EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK

TUESDAY NIGHT OPEN MIC
WITH JD CORDLE

6:30 – 9:30 pm

New to East Simpson, JD Cordle brings his Open Mic Night Events to our comfy upstairs venue. With the additional benefit of extended hours for our downstairs work space and fan favorite patio every Tuesdays. Come check it out, and treat yourself to our happy hour from 4:30 to 7:30.

SUNDAY BOULDER IRISH SESSIONS

2 – 4:30 pm

Every Sunday, come out during the warm summer afternoons for coffee, wine, beer, and the best live Irish music in Boulder County. What a fun yet relaxing start to the week!

The post July Events at East Simpson Coffee Company appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

As book banning becomes increasingly prevalent in the US, we take a closer look at the situation in Colorado. What books are being challenged, and why? What does this trend mean for the future of intellectual freedom?

I recently started reading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster with my almost 10-year-old. As he gets older, I see in real time the childlike sense of wonderment slipping away and glimpses of adult malaise already creeping in. In fourth grade, he’s already keenly aware of racism, homophobia and transphobia, and a myriad of social injustices he questions almost daily. I knew this time was coming, and that’s why I was saving The Phantom Tollbooth. I know he sees himself in the main character, Milo, and I remember the first times I felt “seen” in a book — whether in Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume when I was around the same age as my son, or in Fall on Your Knees by Ann Marie MacDonald as a young adult — incidentally, the only book that ever made me audibly sob.

For anyone who believes in the power of literature to transform the human spirit, Juster’s young adult novel first published in 1961 is an elixir. The narrative is one of discovery of education and wisdom; it’s an antidote to despair, a vaccination against ignorance and intolerance.

Incredibly, The Phantom Tollbooth was once banned in a public library in Boulder for being “poor fantasy.”

Public libraries and schools in the U.S. experience challenges to books every year. A book challenge is “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based on the objections of a person or group.”

A book challenge is “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based on the objections of a person or group.”

There has been a recent surge in the number of challenges and bans occurring across the country. These actions appear to be deliberate attempts to limit the accessibility of information and impose restrictions on what citizens can or cannot read.

Why are reading materials challenged?

There’s been more energy in recent years to increase representativeness and inclusivity in library collections. Even so, there are at least 50 groups pushing for book bans at national, state, and/or local levels, according to Pen America. These groups are often organized and widespread, and they share lists and tactics to challenge books in public and school libraries.

Dr. Lu Benke has been a librarian since 1974. She currently sits on a steering committee for Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy. Benke told YS, “Some groups, such as CatholicVote, hold campaigns such as Hide the Pride. This particular campaign tells parents how they can go to the library and check out all the books that are on display for Pride Month and keep them on a shelf away from kids and then turn them back in once the month is over. That is happening. When you’re organized and you make it easy for people to challenge things, it’s going to happen more.”

According to Benke, “It’s usually fear that causes people to challenge a book. They’re afraid that their way of life is being challenged and that books are making it happen. They seem to feel that an old way of life is being challenged, and they’re concerned that it needs to be protected.”

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) echoes the same sentiment. In a recent interview, Robinson indicated that “the book bans are really tied to the attacks on racial justice that are happening across the country, the attacks to drag queen story hours, and attempts to eliminate them — they’re all part of the same narrative of splitting our communities and criminalizing our stories.”

Which books are being banned?

Historically, materials containing themes of violence and sexuality were those which typically caused objections. In recent years, there has been a shift. Now the main themes in challenged books are LGBTQ+ issues and race, defined by featuring either characters of color or by addressing issues of race and racism.

The American Library Association provides statistics up to 2021 on which books have been the most challenged and most frequently banned in the U.S.:

1. “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe
2. “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison
3. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson
4. “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez
5. “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas
6. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie
7. “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews
8. “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
9. “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson
10. “Beyond Magenta” by Susan Kuklin
    

From July 2021 to June 2022, PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans lists 2,532 instances of individual books being banned, affecting 1,648 unique book titles.

In a January 2022 interview with Slate, Associate Professor Emily Knox at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign stated that we are indeed seeing a rise in book challenges across the country and that social media is exacerbating the issue. Knox indicates the “Four R’s” for censorship practices: reduction, removal, restriction, and relocation. Each action is, in practice, a form of censorship.

Knox indicates the “Four R’s” for censorship practices: reduction, removal, restriction, and relocation. Each action is, in practice, a form of censorship.

Literature is a reflection of our communities, which must include the representation of racialized and LGBTQ+ characters and issues. If marginalized groups are continually othered and left out of literature, this becomes so normalized, and it becomes even harder to challenge perspectives. In this void of representation, things happen — like 340+ anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced at state level across the country, for instance. Or 44 states (and counting) that have introduced bills restricting how racism and sexism can be taught by teachers in public schools including all-out bans in 18 of those states, creating a flurry of confusion and lawsuits.

The results of censorship

Book bans disproportionately affect those who are already disadvantaged in terms of time, money, or transportation to obtain materials from commercial booksellers.

Melissa Hisel, the director of the Lafayette Public Library told YS the intention of libraries is to build a balanced collection of material. “Nothing on our shelves is overtly endorsed by us. When you go to library school, you learn that when you’re building a collection, a large portion of the material should offend you personally. That’s a good indicator that you’re doing it right, and you’re providing balanced information.”

We asked Hisel what libraries would look like if they did restrict access to certain materials. “That guts the heart of the institution,” she said. “The purpose of the public library is to provide access to a world of information and ideas, and public libraries are for everyone. I would hate to see us go back to a time where they become exclusionary entities with an agenda. Their role is that of an equalizer. Everyone is treated the same; no money exchanges hands when they access our services. There is no other place like that in our country. If we were to restrict access to materials or intentionally not collect materials that may be controversial to some folks, it has the potential to destroy the entire institution.”

“I would hate to see us go back to a time where they become exclusionary entities with an agenda.”

Disallowing access to information and perspectives and seeing information as dangerous is at the root of book challenges and bans. This perspective assumes that if an individual is offended or concerned about certain content, then it must be universally offensive, and society must be shielded from it. When materials are deemed “offensive,” let’s also not lose sight that members of those communities see and hear that message loud and clear. They may in turn internalize that they themselves are “offensive” as well. Undermining the acceptance of marginalized groups and creating shame and isolation are exactly the point.

What’s happening in Colorado?

According to the Library Research Service, there were 20 challenges made in Colorado in 2021 (the latest statistics available), a 100% increase from the previous year. Of those challenges, nearly half were materials on LGBTQ+ topics, and more than half were children’s books.

Librarians and teachers across the U.S. have been disciplined for not complying with censorship measures. Cara Chance, a branch manager in Louisiana has been accused of insubordination for not removing an LGBTQ book display.

Benke recalled a similar situation in 2021 that occurred in Erie, when a young adult librarian named Brooky Parks was terminated: “She was holding two programs. One had the term ‘woke’ in it. The other had the term ‘anti-racist.’ Both programs were canceled by the board, who then quickly passed a policy that all programs had to adhere to community mores and fired Brooky. She got a lawyer, and she won. The children’s librarians or directors are being pursued at an individual level. That’s in court. What’s happening at the community level is equally ugly. They’re dropping off the librarians and directors on a social level and getting everyone to stay away from all library programming.”

According to the Library Research Service, there were 20 challenges made in Colorado in 2021 (the latest statistics available), a 100% increase from the previous year.

It’s not all doom and gloom. The library board in Wellington had an ingenious approach when confronted with a challenge of 19 titles last year. It didn’t just refuse to ban the books a patron challenged, it passed a resolution that the board cannot “censor, suppress, remove, monitor or place age restrictions on ideas or information in our public library.” Essentially, the board banned book bans.

What can be done?

Just because there are fewer attempts at book bans in Colorado than other areas of the country doesn’t mean that citizens concerned with access to information and censorship shouldn’t be prepared and vigilant. Hisel believes that it’s important for citizens to get involved: “Come out and speak up for your libraries. Be active in your communities, speak out in public meetings. Be aware of what’s going on, consider serving on your library board or school board. Make a donation to your library’s foundation or the library of your local public school.”

The wave of book challenges can be stressful for librarians and library staff as well. Benke gave YS additional advice for those working in libraries: “The best thing you can do is have a very clearly thought-out reconsideration policy. Interestingly, when people want to make a complaint about a book, they don’t want to do anything but take someone’s word about the book. They haven’t read it. They’re adamant that this is an awful book, and you just need to get rid of it. So when you have a clear reconsideration policy, you need to indicate where the problem is.”

Final (uncensored) words

Book bans are the canaries in the coal mine; they’re an indication of where our society is headed. Astonishingly, we haven’t collectively learned that mass censorship is a tool of fascism — and an effective one. We’re seeing this in real time with the rapid rise of the extremist right-wing movement and populism throughout North America. In less than a century, the book burnings by Nazi groups in pre-World War II Germany seem to have been forgotten. Maybe we also need to be reminded of the early years of Mussolini’s Italy, which involved violent raids on bookstores and censorship that was outside legal authority.

Astonishingly, we haven’t collectively learned that mass censorship is a tool of fascism — and an effective one.

Deliberately withholding literature and information from citizens throughout history has been a calculated strategy employed by those in positions of power as a means of preserving control. There’s an obvious hypocrisy when the unbridled “freedoms” of the Second Amendment are championed with fervor, while cherry-picking from the First Amendment where and when it suits. Is it freedom if it’s granted selectively under authoritarianism, or is this an oxymoron?

It’s crucial to reflect on who controls the information that citizens can access and always remain skeptical when a group desperately wants to control the popular narrative. We’ve seen over time that censorship has significant consequences, with losses felt throughout society. Collective societal empathy and knowledge are stifled, and citizens lack the ability to make informed decisions based on evidence or varied perspectives. Democracy and freedom are suppressed.

This is a time for rationality, compassion, and collective wisdom. We can fight for intellectual freedom if we’re not asleep at the wheel.

Juster’s lessons from the Phantom Tollbooth, more than fifty years after its original publication, still hold true: “Since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking.”

The post Book Banning on the Rise: A look into censorship in Colorado appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

I got a call Monday that has bothered me since. A woman I’d bought some books from called and angrily said, “I sold you some first editions. You gave me $3 apiece, and I want to know what you sold them for.” I told her if I paid her $3, I would price the book at $9 or $10.

“Do you remember the titles?” I asked. She didn’t “I’d give you the books back if you tell me the titles.” No dice. “You know that a lot of first editions aren’t valuable, right?” I asked.

And she said, “I want you to know I’m on to you.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

“I just want you to know that I know what you did. Goodbye.”

I looked up when I’d bought her books. It was 10 months ago. Ten months she stewed about this, finally reaching some kind of point where she had to call. Ten months is a long time to carry around pent-up anger. I wondered what finally made her call.

Today was another house call. A woman was selling her parents’ books. I asked her what she wanted, she didn’t know, so I made her an offer, and after some back and forth, we made a deal. When I got home, a $20 bill fell out of the first book I opened. I called her, told her about that, and suggested she check for cash in all the remaining books. If you hide money in one book, my experience is you will hide it in another. I put the $20 in the mail.

It would be weird if she waited 10 months, then called to thank me.

– Dan Danbom
Printed Page Bookshop
printedpagebookshop.com | facebook.com/PrintedPageBookshop

The post 10 Months | A Bookseller’s Diary appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

There is a certain macabre joy that comes from discovering a hidden treasure among a dead person’s items. For whatever reason there is also some romanticism associated with those that do so in a “respectful” way. Archaeologists are viewed with both the swagger of Indiana Jones and the childhood wonder of discovering unknown cities, palaces and riches. Booksellers too hold a unique and attractive role to those of us who often get lost in a good story.

Of course there is the sketchy side. The modern day grave-robbers who only have dollar signs in their eyes during the reading of the will, the ones scrambling for priceless finds, the bitter feuds and family fights that ensue from divvying up the property of the deceased.

Within this same vein, yet another breed entirely, are the booksellers. They don’t roam the deserts of Egypt or pry open caskets for valuables, but they do sell the stories that inspire the same fantasies of eye-opening wonder and dark tales of mystery. No graves are robbed in a literal sense but the rush for the once prized possessions, or, more often than not, the forgotten gems, at estate sales feel reminiscent of those contested readings of a last will and testament.

The bookseller’s Holy Grail varies from person to person. Like anyone else on the hunt for a treasured item it can be a lifetime of unfulfilled quests, tales of the “one that got away”, or the silently recalled joy of finding that once in a life discovery.

“It has almost an element of grave robbing,” Dan Danbom, author and bookseller at Printed Page Bookshop opens the conversation, “honestly, that’s the real thrill of finding these kinds of things. I get calls from people saying ’my father in law died and he had a huge library. Will you come out and look at it?’ and my imagination runs wild. They’re all great until I get there.”

YS: That’s part of the romanticism that people think of when they think of running a bookstore – finding that treasure trove.

DD: Yeah I used to refer to it as urban fishing. There’s an element of luck with fishing but there’s also a very complicated understanding of the significance of books. I’ve been doing it off and on for 40 years, and I’m still learning every day.

YS: What’s your great book find story?

DD: It was a first edition of Catcher in the Rye at an estate sale. The person  running it wasn’t a novice, they knew about it. On the dustjacket, the flap on the inside of the book, it said ‘Selection of the Book of the Month Club.’ Those are not as collectible as publishers editions, the first printing. The person running the estate sale took that to mean that it was a Book of the Month club book – well it wasn’t. It was a beautiful copy and it’s a valuable book. I sold my copy for  $10,000. And that was several years ago if I had it today I’d price it at $25,000.

YS: And the ones that got away?

DD: You remember the ones that got away. I just walked up to a garage sale once and said do you have any books? ‘Yeah, I got some back here.’ They’re in his garage, and he’s taking sacks of fertilizer and cans of paint on top of them. He opens it up and it’s cobwebby and there’s a bunch of cheap James Patterson books – and then there’s a signed copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. So I take the stack of books and ask what do you want for these. He goes ‘I think one of these is signed’ and finds To Kill a Mockingbird and says ‘I’m gonna keep this one.’ I thought – excuse my language – in you’re fucking garage? In a box? I thought, I need to confiscate this, as a self-deputized guardian of Western civilization.”

YS: Are there any books you’ve refused to sell?

DD: Anything damaged. Reader’s Digest. We don’t sell textbooks, very little self help books, or tour guides – unless they’re vintage things. We don’t sell porn. There are booksellers who get very hesitant about selling Mein Kamphf. I don’t feel that way. There are no books that I would refuse to carry just because I disagree with their intent. Other than books that I regard as better use for insulation.

YS: What do you do when you find something personal when buying something from the deceased?

DD: You find personal things. I try to return that kind of material to people. I bought a bunch of books from an estate and there was a box of personal items from this guy’s brother. It was cool stuff. I was able to return it to his brother.

Dan ended the interview reminding me of the support he receives, “I want to make it clear that what I do isn’t in a vacuum. My partner is indispensable. I don’t want to give the impression this is me who’s doing all this stuff. It’s a lot of people who all have the same passion and love of books.”

Booksellers will continue to hold that romantic sway as long as the dream of finding that white whale exists. Reality may be one of numbers and taxes, cleaning toilets and interacting with customers, but the dream of perusing stacks of old manuscripts, of recommending books to the devotees, and searching high and low for that pristine text will continue to call to the imagination of those of us who bury ourselves in the written word.

The post Conversation with a Bookseller: The romance and reality around peddling print with Dan Danbom appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

We feel Denver’s population boom at Printed Page. Today, we had customers from Massachusetts, Alabama, New York, California and Kansas, all new to the city.

We also had a customer visiting from Missouri. He is what we call a Discreet Purchaser. He would rather his wife — who accompanied him — not know that he is buying books in a certain price range. He will hand me such books with a wink, and I put them under the counter. And then he will say, a little too loudly, “Well, I guess I don’t see anything I need today. Let’s go, Honey.” I go along with this. I’m not going to cause any marital discord unless the purchase is under $50. Instead, I will ship him the books in a plain brown box with the return address of Printed Page Auto Parts.

Anyway, for some persons, finding a new used bookstore in their new city is right up there with finding a new dentist or doctor. I think a dentist would be smart to hang out here and let people know that they need to invest in their smiles. Be OK with me unless he started giving people the stink-eye when they opened our jar of candy.

Toward the end of the day, some locals finally came in — a group of about six teenage girls. They parked themselves in the back room and talked and laughed for an hour or so. That was fine with me, too.

– Dan Danbom
Printed Page Bookshop
printedpagebookshop.com | facebook.com/PrintedPageBookshop

The post Printed Page Auto Parts | A Bookseller’s Diary appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Editor’s Note: Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Nguyen Phan Que Mai will be in the Boulder area on March 24^th and 25th, putting on two truly remarkable events for her forthcoming novel DUST CHILD (3/14). 

Friday night, the 24^th, Que Mai will be at the Estes Valley Library for an event cohosted by Macdonald Bookshop. She’ll be accompanied by the award-winning poet Jennifer Fossenbell and Estes Valley community member Heather Heinz. Saturday afternoon, she’ll be at the Boulder Book Store, with Lighthouse Writers and CU Boulder’s Center for Asian Studies as cohosts. Throughout our book tour planning, it’s been so exciting for us to watch such a broad community coalesce around Que Mai, and I highly encourage you to attend one or both of her events to see it firsthand.

Que Mai’s brilliant, heart wrenching DUST CHILD gives voice to the often-invisible women of the Viet Nam War and to the Amerasian children left behind when American troops departed. Having lived through the with the generational trauma of the war’s aftermath, Que Mai is determined to be a force of good. She has worked with American veterans who returned to help rebuild her homeland, assist victims of Agent Orange, remove unexploded ordnance, and in some extraordinary cases, to look for their Amerasian children. It’s rare that an author lives out a part of their fiction, but Que Mai has, remarkably, personally helped reunite an Amerasion woman with her American veteran father. It would be wonderful to highlight Que Mai’s personal story alongside her book. She can speak knowledgeably and compellingly on Viet Nam’s history and complex relationship with the United States, so she would be particularly well suited for coverage timed to the 50^th anniversary of the last U.S. combat troops departing South Vietnam and most remaining American prisoners of war being set free. There are so many good stories in and around this book – I’m so excited to get DUST CHILD into the hands of readers, and I hope you’ll feel the same!

“Another triumph! Powerful and deeply empathetic. Nguyen Phan Que Mai weaves a heartbreaking tale of lost ideals, human devotion, and hard-won redemption. DUST CHILD establishes Que Mai as one of our finest observers of the devastating consequences of war, and proves, once more, her ability to captivate readers and lure them into Viet Nam’s rich and poignant history.”

— Viet Thahn Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Sympathizer and The Committed

DUST CHILD
by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Description

In 1969, sisters Trang and Quynh, desperate to help their parents pay off debts, leave their rural village and become “bar girls” in Sài Gòn, drinking, flirting (and more) with American GIs in return for money. As the war moves closer to the city, the once-innocent Trang gets swept up in an irresistible romance with a young and charming American helicopter pilot. Decades later, an American veteran, Dan, returns to Viet Nam with his wife, Linda, hoping to find a way to heal from his PTSD and, unbeknownst to her, reckon with secrets from his past.

At the same time, Phong—the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman—embarks on a search to find both his parents and a way out of Viet Nam. Abandoned in front of an orphanage, Phong grew up being called “the dust of life,” “Black American imperialist,” and “child of the enemy,” and he dreams of a better life for himself and his family in the U.S. 

Past and present converge as these characters come together to confront decisions made during a time of war—decisions that force them to look deep within and find common ground across race, generation, culture, and language. Suspenseful, poetic, and perfect for readers of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, Dust Child tells an unforgettable and immersive story of how those who inherited tragedy can redefine their destinies through love, hard-earned wisdom, compassion, courage, and joy.

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by:

 Salon // Ms. Magazine // Zibby Mag // BookPage // We Are Bookish // BookRiot // Library Journal // Publishers Weekly // Historical Novel Society // San Diego Union-Tribune // Orange County Register // The Manual // SheReads // Thoughts From a Page // Beyond the Bookends // Trenzle

“Nguyen Phan Que Mai will win many more readers with her powerful and deeply empathetic second novel. From the horrors of war and its enduring afterlife for men and women, lovers and children, soldiers and civilians, she weaves a heartbreaking tale of lost ideals, human devotion, and hard-won redemption. Dust Child establishes Nguyen Phan Que Mai as one of our finest observers of the devastating consequences of war, and proves, once more, her ability to captivate readers and lure them into Viet Nam’s rich and poignant history.”
— Viet Thahn Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Sympathizer and The Committed

“Dazzling. Sharply drawn and hauntingly beautiful.”
— Elif Shafak, author of The Island of Missing Trees

“Nguyen Phan Que Mai shows us the capacity we hold to confront our pasts, for the purpose of life is not to remain intact, but to break open, to let loss be a guide, to face the echoes of longing. In Dust Child, rupture leads to emotional richness and pain creates the pathways worth walking. I truly cannot wait for the rest of the world to celebrate this book.”
— Chanel Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Know My Name

“Once again, Nguyen Phan Que Mai has written a beautiful novel that shines a light on the history of Vietnam. With a poet’s grace, she writes of the legacy of war across time and place and the stories that bind us. Dust Child is simply stunning.”
— Eric Nguyen, author of Things We Lost To The Water

“Nguyen Phan Que Mai is one of the most unique storytellers of our time. She creates plots which are Dickensian in their breadth and mastery, while bravely probing the complex emotional challenges of living in a modern world full of disruption and displacement. In Dust Child, Que Mai displays the same tenderness and compassion for her characters, hard-earned understanding of human trauma, and poetically evocative language that made her debut novel The Mountains Sing an international bestseller beloved around the world.”
— Natalie Jenner, internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society

“With a poet’s gift for language and a psychologist’s eye for the tender, error-prone hearts of mankind, Nguyen Phan Que Mai weaves a web of impossible choices, inescapable circumstance, and searing loss, set to the backdrop of a war that changed everything . . . A heartbreaking, beautifully told, utterly unique story of love, loss, and longing that speaks to the very heart of the human experience.”
— Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars

“Scenes of past and present Viet Nam come alive in these pages, drawing you into the lives of a handful of characters who become like your family, and in whose stories lies the heartbreaking story of Viet Nam’s complicated relationship with America. With her generous heart and unmatched ability to write across languages and cultures, Que Mai is the perfect guide for the wounded who search for home and healing.”
— Thi Bui, award-winning author of The Best We Could Do

“Well-researched, realistic, and compassionately written, Dust Child brings to life the heartbreaking experiences of young American men and young Vietnamese women who were pulled into the vortex of the Viet Nam War and the tragedy inherited by their Amerasian children. Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s powerful novel enables us to travel deep into Viet Nam’s past and present days so that we can bear witness to the courage of her Amerasian, Vietnamese, and American characters. This eye-opening and fascinating novel is a must-read!”
— Le Ly Hayslip, bestselling author of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places and The Child of War, Woman of Peace

“The sons and daughters of American soldiers and their Vietnamese girlfriends who exhibited African American and European features were shunned by Vietnam’s monoethnic society during and after the war. Nguyen Phan Que Mai writes of some of these “dust children” with complexity and heart. This is a powerful and moving story, brilliantly told.”
— Robert Mason, New York Times bestselling author of Chickenhawk

“In her riveting successor to The Mountains Sing, Nguyen Phan Que Mai has masterfully captured the toll of war and its aftermath on a Black Amerasian, an outcast in the country of his birth, on an American vet, haunted and seeking redemption, and on two Vietnamese sisters, forced by economic hardship into circumstances they could not have foreseen. Nguyen creates, in her luminous prose, a gripping and nuanced narrative of men and women caught in the web of war and its aftermath.”
— Steven DeBonis, author of Children of the Enemy: Oral Histories of Vietnamese Amerasians and Their Mothers

“With great compassion, with a firm conviction in the redeeming power of love and forgiveness, and with the consummate skill of a great story-teller, Nguyen Phan Que Mai weaves us into the lives, past and present, of those called “the dust of life”—the ostracized, mixed-race children of American soldiers; their mothers, compelled by war into prostitution, and their fathers, the G.I.’s who abandoned them and yet remained haunted by them.”
— Professor Wayne Karlin, author of Wandering Souls: Journeys with the Dead and the Living in Viet Nam

“From the author of the bestselling book The Mountains Sing comes this epic story of those who lived through the Viet Nam conflict or were otherwise deeply affected by it decades later.”
— Ms. Magazine

“A powerful tale that examines the complex way different lives became intertwined during and after the war.”
— The Manual

“[A] saga of a book that truly captures the desperation, grief, and pain of the war that continues to live on, decades after American military involvement. A great read for those unfamiliar with the conflict in Vietnam.”
— Mochi Magazine

“Achingly honest and ultimately hopeful; essential reading for U.S. audiences.”
— Library Journal (starred review)

“Stirring… Nguyen writes with an intimate, detailed understanding of Vietnamese women’s treatment during the war and the struggles of Amerasians seeking their parents in the present… it has the grace of a page-turner and sheds light on a neglected subject. A well-turned tale of broken families across continents and decades.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“Rewarding… with a cinematic clarity.”
— Publishers Weekly

“Que Mai adeptly balances these contemporary narratives with Phong’s early experiences and the wartime story of sisters Trang and Quynh… There are no clear heroes or villains here as characters’ actions and choices are shaped by their circumstances and the war’s legacy.”
— Booklist

About the Author

Born into the Red Delta of Northern Viet Nam, Dr. Nguyen Phan Que Mai grew up in the Mekong Delta, Southern Viet Nam. She is a writer and translator who has published twelve books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction in Vietnamese and English and has translated seven books. Her last book, The Mountains Sing, was an international bestseller, runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the 2021 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, the 2020 Lannan Literary Award Fellowship, and other prizes. Her writing has been translated into more than 15 languages and has appeared in major publications including the New York Times. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University. While working on her most recent novel, Dust Child, Que Mai helped set up a scholarship program for Amerasians in Viet Nam (the Amerasian Hope & Future Scholarship). For more information, visit: www.nguyenphanquemai.com

Select Praise for The Mountains Sing:

MOST ANTICIPATED / BEST OF LISTS:
New York Times Book Review: “Editor’s Choice/Staff Pick”
The Washington Post: “Ten Books To Read in March”
The Week: “Books To Read In 2020, Noteworthy”
Book Riot: “20 of the Best Book Club Books for 2020”

“A sweeping story that positions Vietnamese life within the rich and luminous history of national epics like The Tale of Kieu and the Iliad. Expansive in scope and feeling, The Mountains Sing is a feat of hope, an unflinchingly felt inquiry into the past, with the courageous storytelling of the present.”
—Ocean Vuong, MacArthur award winner and author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

“The Mountains Sing is an epic account of Viet Nam’s painful 20th century history, both vast in scope and intimate in its telling. Through the travails of one family, Nguyen Phan Que Mai brings us close to the horrors of famine, war, and class struggle. But in this moving and riveting novel, she also shows us a postwar Viet Nam, a country of hope and renewal, home to a people who have never given up.”
—Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Sympathizer

“Good literature frees us from being trapped in our own skins by allowing us to identify with characters and see the world through their eyes. Reading this novel, I was moved by Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s beautiful, even poetic, depictions of enduring courage. I came away with a deeper understanding of the war in which I fought.”
—Karl Marlantes, bestselling author of Matterhorn, What It’s Like to Go to War, and Deep River

“A sweeping saga… Alternating between lyricism and blunt reality, Nguyen Phan Que Mai gives us a vivid look at Vietnam from within.”
—People Magazine

The post Boulder Interview/Event: Vietnamese author on the legacy of the Viet Nam War & the human capacity for forgiveness appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

A daughter asked me to come look at the books from her mother’s estate. When I got there, the family was busy cleaning up the house to get it ready for sale. It smelled like a combination of cat and cigarettes. Paneling and shag carpeting told me when the residents concluded the house didn’t need any more updating.

I could see the mother’s decline stacked in a corner: A cane, then a walker, then a wheelchair. Going through the books had an element of grave-robbing, except that when I do grave-robbing, I do that at night and with the aid of a slow-witted assistant.

The daughter was disappointed that I didn’t find more books to buy (they usually are), but she thanked me for coming out. Later, at home, I found some papers in one of the books. It was a eulogy the daughter had written for her father. I thought about mailing it to her but decided not to. I thought it might remind her of another time she felt the pain of loss. I hope I did the right thing.

– Dan Danbom
Printed Page Bookshop
printedpagebookshop.com | facebook.com/PrintedPageBookshop

The post A Daughter’s Loss | A Bookseller’s Diary appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

I met another dead man today.

This one was an accomplished attorney in a high-powered Denver law firm. He taught himself German, Chinese, French and Spanish. He decompressed from his high-stress work by painting military miniatures — thousands of them. His wife would sit next to him while he painted the soldiers under a magnifying glass, and they would talk about the day. He collected books about military subjects, hunting, history and poetry.

He conformed to my theory that if you collect one thing (miniature soldiers), you collect two (military medals) or three things (books). This past Spring, he felt ill one day and died two weeks later. His widow is overwhelmed trying to deal with all the physical objects he left behind. She told me he had hundreds of pairs of socks that she gave away, then later had an intensely vivid dream that he demanded to know where his socks were. I remember my Mom having a dream where Dad came back, and it was as real to her as anything.

Books are how I meet these people. I’ll forget about the books in a few weeks. The people stick with me.

– Dan Danbom
Printed Page Bookshop
printedpagebookshop.com | facebook.com/PrintedPageBookshop

The post Military Miniatures | A Bookseller’s Diary appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

• January 6th Select Committee refers former President Donald Trump to the Justice Dept. for felony charges. The Committee’s charges include insurrection, obstruction of the proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Four Trump allies, Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, and Andy Biggs, all Republicans, were also referred to the House Ethics Committee for a failure to comply.
• Brittney Griner is released from a Russian labor camp. The WNBA star was released in an exchange between the United States and Russia. Convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout was swapped for Griner, who was accused and convicted of possessing marijuana. Welcome home Brittney!
• UN Member Nations Oust Iran from Women’s Rights Panel. This obvious move was the latest effort by the international community to condemn the Iranian government’s crackdown on widespread protest and unrest. The women’s movement to remove the requirement to wear a hijab had been met with violence.
• President Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act. The newly signed bill recognizes a national right to a same-sex marriage, and mitigates the potential impact of a conservative Superme Court overturning the currently established law. Governor Polis was a strong advocate for this bill during his time in Congress.
• Kyrsten Sinema switches party affiliation from Democrat to Independent. Just as her relevance as a swing vote was fading, Sinema once again captures a news cycle by announcing she is leaving the Democratic party. Sinema consistently voted against progressive policies as a Democrat, leading many to doubt that her party affiliation will change the landscape of Congress.
• FTX’s co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the U.S. in connection to the collapse of the crypto-exchange company he founded. He was released on a $250 million bond and is now on house arrest.
• Argentina defeats France to win the World Cup. Lionell Messi helps lead his team to victory in what many are calling the best final match ever, despite the numerous off-field scandals involving FIFA and the host nation, Qatar.
• 25 People arrested in Germany for an attempted plot to overthrow the democratic government. Raids were conducted across the country in a coordinated infiltration of an extremist group plotting a coup against the democratically elected government.
• December 30th marks the one year anniversary of the Marshall Fire that swept through Superior, Louisville and parts of Boulder County forever changing the landscape of these treasured towns.
• 2 Killed in Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Church in Thornton. The Christmas Day shooting happened when no services were occuring. Authorities say a man shot his wife before taking his own life. There was no threat of wider violence to the public.
• University of Colorado Football program hires Deion Sanders as Head Coach. The former NFL superstar coached Jackson State for their recent winning seasons but prompted controversy by leaving for CU Boulder. Jackson State is a historically black college and critics say Sanders left early after promising the college he would remain at the helm.
• The District Attorney filed hundreds of hate crime and murder charges against the Club Q shooter. Attorney for the 4th District Michael Allen filed the charges as a clear message to the community as well as the shooter that the DA will take a strong stand. Bias-motivated charges have also been filed under a new Colorado Law that allows additional prosecution for crimes committed against specific groups of people.

Small Talk

“The testing stems from a recent spike in reports of individuals smoking in public restrooms over the past four weeks. On two occasions, city employees were evaluated and cleared of ongoing health concerns after experiencing symptoms consistent with a potential exposure to meth residue or fumes.”

– Boulder City Staff regarding the closure of Arapaho Ave. Library due to presence of methamphetamine in the air conditioning system.

“A key contributor during the winningest four-year period in franchise history, Ronnie was part of two Super Bowl teams and led the Broncos in rushing during our Super Bowl 50 championship season.”

– Denver Broncos statement on the passing of Ronnie Hillman, age 31.

“We will celebrate Christmas. Maybe candlelit. Not because it’s more romantic, no, but because there will be no electricity. Millions won’t have neither heating nor running water. All of these will be the result of Russian missile and drone attacks on our energy infrastructure.”

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his December 21st address to Congress.

“I am ready for my next chapter outside of this golden dome as I plan to continue to work for the people of Colorado… With my fellow Latino legislators, we have grown our caucus to 14 members, the largest in Colorado history. I am proud of our work to engage Latinos across our state and ensure the needs and concerns of our Latino communities are addressed. This outreach and advocacy will continue under their watchful eyes, and I look forward to seeing their continued impact.”

– Colorado State Representative Adrienne Benavidez said in her resignation letter.

“It’s happening all over the place, and it’s very alarming for publishers and the larger book world.”

– Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times writer on banned books.

“It’s a great tragedy that for 1,500 fish there was no chance of survival. The focus in the afternoon was clearly on saving the fish in the remaining tanks.”

– Almut Neumann, Berlin City Official on the AquaDom Aquarium collapse.

By The Numbers

The post Month in Review | January 2023 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

December 19

Today was a day of lows and highs at Printed Page. A cold wind scoured the street; maybe that’s why we didn’t have any customers. Toward afternoon, an elderly couple came in wanting to sell some books.  Had to downsize, they said.  The books were in boxes roped together on a dolly with knots not seen outside a sailboat. The man carefully untied and unpacked them. The books were all common titles, well-worn mass market paperbacks…John Grisham, James Patterson, the kind of things that fill the shelves at Goodwills.  I felt so sorry for them having made such an obvious exertion to no productive end.  I found a Modern Library copy of “Out of Africa” and gave them as much as I could.  And while I told them I couldn’t speak for other book dealers, I said I didn’t think they would have any better luck selling the other books.  We loaded them back up, and off they went. It’s saddening to have to tell people their books have little value.

As it was getting dark, a guy from Mississippi named Dustin came in.  He wanted to know if the “Green Book” was real (it is).  We talked a while, and then he saw a book about juke joints.  He got excited.  “My daddy had a juke joint in Clay County Mississippi,” he said, and started thumbing through the book.  He turned a page, and there it was:  The L&N, complete with the bright green walls, the pool table, and the wall light made from an Old Milwaukee beer can.  “I gotta call my mama!” Dustin said, and he FaceTimed her.  Mama knew the book and the photographer well.  She said she had a copy once but lost it in a fire.  She told Dustin the book was hard to find and cost a lot.  He laughed and said, “I don’t want this man to know that!” but I did.  It was $150.  He told her goodbye. Then he sat in a chair, staring at the pictures, tears running down his face, reminiscing about his father.”You know what?” I said.  “I think you need this book more than I do.  Take it.”

He didn’t think I was serious.  “What?  You don’t mean it, right?”

“Take it.”

“I”m gonna send it to my mama,” he said.

“You do that. Tell her Merry Christmas.”

Some days are better than others.

– Dan Danbom
Printed Page Bookshop
printedpagebookshop.com | facebook.com/PrintedPageBookshop

The post Juke Joints | A Bookseller’s Diary appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

I get to know a lot of people after it’s too late to meet them. Their books tell me who they were.

Go into a stranger’s house and look at their books, and you’ll come as close as possible to reading their mind. The other day, I got to meet Warren through the books his widow brought me.

She came with her daughter and granddaughter, a little uncomfortable in her situation and unsure about what she was doing. With her white gloves and purse, she reminded me of my grandmother. Her daughter guided her to a chair and then the daughter and I went through the books.

Warren loved books, particularly books about books. I know he loved them because he cared for them so well, fashioning custom covers for them from book-themed wrapping paper. He took care to leave information in his books: Where this one came from, what bindery re-bound that one. He had a lot of copies of “The Colophon,” a richly produced hardbound periodical from the Thirties that cost more per issue than a lot of people then made in a day.

I asked the daughter what she wanted for the books. She didn’t know. So I made an offer and she took it. I wrote a check to the widow. She seemed happy that someone else appreciated the books.

When I got them home and did some more research, I thought the books were worth more than I paid for them. So I wrote another check — two, actually. I had made the first one out to Warren. What was I thinking?

– Dan Danbom
Printed Page Bookshop
printedpagebookshop.com | facebook.com/PrintedPageBookshop

The post White Gloves and Old Books | A Bookseller’s Diary appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

No kid in America ever dreams of growing up to be a bookseller, including me. I thought I was set for life with a career in corporate communication when I met a guy connected with one of Denver’s newspapers.

We were talking one day and he asked me if I liked books. I did. He said I should do book reviews, so I started doing that – and accumulating books.  My friend eventually drifted into book scouting. He would visit thrift stores and yard sales looking for books he could sell to used bookstores. He’d call me up on Monday mornings and tell me about his finds – a $50 book bought for 50 cents. A collection of Oz books for a buck apiece. A signed copy of “In Cold Blood” for a pittance. I was hooked. 

I started trying to understand what made books valuable.

By that time, my friend had opened a used bookstore, so I would try to find him books he could sell. I’d map out weekend garage sales and dash from one to the other. I likened my quest to fishing: Luck is involved, but so is skill.

Bookscouting was urban fishing. Sometimes I came home skunked. Sometimes, I came home with as many books as my car could hold.

I’d take my finds to my bookseller friend, and he would go through each book, telling me why this one was worthwhile, why that one wasn’t, why this one was a first edition, why that one was a cheap book club reprint. I came to remember details about books while forgetting details about other parts of my life. I read booksellers’ catalogs, books about books – anything I could get my hands on to learn more about the used book trade.

I became obsessed with finding books. I discovered ways to get into book sales before they opened. I started putting on book sales for non-profits just so I could get the first crack at the books. I started a publication that reviewed books so that I could get publishers to send me copies to review. I filled my library with books, then started on friends’ basements.

My turning point came in 2008. I reached my career objective when my wife got a great job. At the same time, the company I was working for was doing layoffs. I asked my boss to include me. He did.

I began my second career as a bookseller. I never felt better about what I was doing, never got more satisfaction from anything else I did, never lost sleep because of work, and never again had to sit through a damned PowerPoint presentation.

In the days ahead, I’ll tell you all about it.

– Dan Danbom
Printed Page Bookshop
printedpagebookshop.com | facebook.com/PrintedPageBookshop

The post Mild to Moderate Bibliomania | A Bookseller’s Diary appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Editor’s Note: Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene Magazine. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

The Banned Books Club

In-person seating at Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center
Sunday, September 11 at 2 p.m.
Virtual performance begins on Thursday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Denver, CO – Stories on Stage kicks off the 2022-23 Season with The Banned Books Club at Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Drive on Sunday, September 11 at 2 p.m. Virtual performance begins on Thursday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m. and will be available for viewing any time thereafter. Ticket holders for the virtual performance will receive a link prior to the performance. Tickets are $24 and are available by calling 303-494-0523 or online at www.storiesonstage.org.

Seth Dhonau, Jose Guerrero and Camryn-Nailah Torres perform stories from challenged books to commemorate Banned Books Week.

In 2021, 1,597 books were challenged or banned in the United States, according to the newest report by the American Library Association. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. Banned Books Week is both a reminder of the unifying power of stories and the divisiveness of censorship, and a call to action for readers across the country to push back against censorship attempts in their communities. More at www.ala.org.

Now celebrating their 22nd Season, Stories on Stage presents renowned actors performing dynamic and entertaining short stories. For more information and tickets go to www.storiesonstage.org or call 303-494-0523.

The Banned Books Club is sponsored by Fern Seltzer and Andy Heymsfield and, in part, by the Citizens of the Scientific and Cultural District (SCFD), the Bonfils Stanton Foundation, Colorado Creative Industries, Boulder County Arts Alliance, Community Foundation of Boulder County and The Denver Post.

Stories on Stage
“The Banned Books Club”
Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.
Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m.
@Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, 80204
On Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Virtual Performance begins and will be available for viewing any time thereafter.

Ticket holders for the virtual performance will receive a link prior to the performance and may be used at any time.
Tickets are $24
www.storiesonstage.org or 303-494-0523

2022 Celebrates Our 22nd Season!

Denver, CO –Banned Books, Denver Noir and The Word Painter are just a few of the tales to be told in the 2022-2023 season as Stories on Stage presents dynamic actors performing entertaining short stories.

Single tickets are $24 and season subscriptions for all nine shows are available starting at $150. All shows will be available for virtual screening and ticket holders will receive a link on the day of performance. For more information and tickets go to www.storiesonstage.org or call 303-494-0523.

The Banned Books Club
Great stories from challenged books to commemorate Banned Books Week.
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2:00 p.m., Su Teatro; Thursday, Sept. 15, 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

Stone Animals
Kelly Link’s weird & wonderful fantasy about a not-so-typical suburb.
Saturday, Oct. 15, 7:00 p.m. Nomad Playhouse, Boulder
Sunday, Oct. 16, 2:00 p.m., Su Teatro; Thursday, Oct. 20, 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

Modern Times
An irreverent take on the madness of modern life from our friends at Buntport Theater.
Sunday, Nov. 6, 2:00 p.m., Su Teatro; Thursday, Nov. 10, 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

Making Merry
All the joy of the holiday season, with music and mirth to spare.
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2:00 p.m. Nomad Playhouse, Boulder
*Sunday, Dec. 18, 2:00 p.m., King Center; Sunday, Dec. 18 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

A Hall Pass to the Galaxy
Mind-blowing tales from some of Science Fiction’s very best writers.
Sunday, Jan. 15, 2:00 p.m., Su Teatro; Thursday, Jan. 19, 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

The Word Painter
A celebration of best-selling Colorado author Peter Heller, with a post-discussion w/ Peter
Sunday, Feb. 19, 2:00 p.m., Su Teatro; Thursday, Feb. 23 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

The White Chip
A reading of Sean Daniels’ wise and witty play about recovery.
Sunday, Mar. 12, 2:00 p.m., Su Teatro; Thursday, Mar. 16, 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

Denver Noir
Local writers take a walking tour of Denver’s dark side in these hard-boiled crime stories.
Sunday, Apr. 2, 2:00 p.m., Su Teatro; Thursday, Apr. 6, 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

Confessions of a Wedding Singer
Hit songs of the 80’s and 90’s highlight this show about the hardest-working folks in showbiz.
Saturday, May 6, 7:00 p.m., Nomad Playhouse, Boulder
Sunday, May 7, 2:00 p.m., Su Teatro; Thursday, May 11, 7:00 p.m. – Virtual

Denver, Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Drive , Denver, CO 80204
Boulder, Nomad Playhouse, 1410 Quince Ave. Boulder, CO 80304
*King Center, Auraria Campus, 855 Lawrence Way, Denver, CO 80204

The 2022 – 2023 Season is sponsored in part by the Citizens of the Scientific and Cultural District (SCFD), the Bonfils Stanton Foundation, Colorado Creative Industries and Community Foundation of Boulder County.

The post Stories on Stage kicks off the 2022-23 Season with “The Banned Books Club” Sept. 11 in Denver appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Mathew Klickstein has been a storyteller his whole life. In elementary school, he would write stories instead of listening to his teachers, and as a teenager he devoted hours to making short films. Today, he continues to use his creativity working as a multi-form storyteller. Klickstein has published everything from podcasts to non-fiction books. His most recent book, See You At San Diego, is an oral history of the San Diego Comic-Con and geek culture; it will be published in September. 

Author Mathew Klickstein. Photo credit: Fally Afani

You wrote your first novel at the impressively young age of 13. What inspired your passion for storytelling? 

It’s something I think about a lot, even the term “storyteller.” I’ve done many kinds of work over the years and it can be hard sometimes to explain what I do. So I like “storyteller.” Even when I’m working on something historical or that is nonfiction, which is what a lot of my work’s been over my career, I try to find the story and the character development. I write it and think of it almost like a novel.

I think a lot of that came from being very curious as a young person. I would read, I would write, I’d watch movies. I was a latchkey kid. My friends and I would make little short films with video camcorders. This was before social media and the internet so we weren’t posting this anywhere. We really just made it for ourselves. A lot of my friends became filmmakers, writers, and musicians. I grew up with a lot of people around me who wanted to engage with information and engage with ideas and one of the best ways of doing that, as we got older, was through storytelling.

I guess the straight answer is that I’ve always done it. I’ve always been interested in it and I had an extremely supportive circle growing up. A lot of the people that I grew up with were interested in similar kinds of engagement with technology, movies, books, and storytelling.

You have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from USC where you focused on screenwriting. Because of this, is film your favorite way to convey a story?

I don’t know, really. I’ve been told by professional representatives of mine that the fact that I am so eclectic with what I do is actually a bad thing in this day and age when everyone kind of wants the elevator pitch. I really need to pigeonhole myself more so I can be marketed more easily. However, I would say that filmmaking and television are definitely one of my favorites. They’re something I’d like to get more into because they’re much more profitable and engaged with on a larger level. Sadly, people aren’t reading as much as they used to.

I’d like to move on to the next stage in my career now that I’m getting a little older and I’m going to have more responsibilities. I can’t keep living the ne’er do well lifestyle, as fun as it’s been and as supportive as a lot of people in my life have been about it. I want to find something that’s a little bit higher level. So television is definitely one that I’d like to focus more on just because there’s more survivability there once you get it started.

You do a combination of creative and factual, documentary-type work. When you are doing those nonfiction pieces, how do you keep the story accurate while also using creative elements to make it more compelling?

That’s the crux really, of a lot of what I do and what I’m trying to do and what I’m hoping to achieve. I’m trying to make things that people more people will see, read, talk about, and incorporate into their own work.

When I’m working on something, there really is a process as far as figuring out, okay, what’s the subject that I can focus on? What do I have access to? What’s going to really fascinate me for the two to four years I’m going to be working on this, not to mention promoting and everything else. What do I think is going to do well in the industry or in the market right now?

For example, with the Simpsons book I co-wrote, we knew that within two years when the book came out, which is about how long it takes usually to put a book like that together, it would be the 30th anniversary of The Simpsons. So we said, this would be a good story. I knew we had a good angle on it, having someone who wrote for the Simpsons since the show started. He was credible in the market. And I like him, and I grew up with the Simpsons. It’s a big part of my life and I knew I could focus on this over the next few years.

So you’re thinking about all these different things just to prepare for the pitch. And for me, it’s not just about keeping it entertaining and fun. Call me a sellout. Call me mercenary or whatnot. Yeah, I think there’s a marketing and salability aspect to finding something that’s going to provide a unique way and angle to tell that story.

You’re playing with all these different elements and I almost think of it as performance art. I’m thinking not only about the book and the writing but also, how are we going to pitch it? How are we going to sell it later? For me, that’s part of the fun of it. It’s like a puzzle.

Klickstein book provided by Mathew Klickstein

You are about to release See You At San Diego in September, which is based on an audio documentary that you published last summer. What inspired you to create this oral history?

I had originally been working on a book about so-called nerd culture back in 2014. I interviewed a lot of the people both in front of and behind the cameras on the film Revenge of the Nerds, and I was intending on really focusing on that movie and talking about themes of it and ideas from it and the people that I talked to. That was going to come out for the 30th anniversary of Revenge of the Nerds, but a lot of people didn’t feel that Revenge of the Nerds was a large enough concept to really do a whole book about. I had an editor friend who had suggested I focused more on some of the other elements that I couldn’t help but bring into it, which was talking about nerd and geek culture on more of a kind of socio-political level. 

The book ultimately came out in China in 2018 in a totally different version because of some weird things that happened with the rights and whatnot. However, during that process, I talked to people involved with Comic-Con. One of my contacts was Wendy All, a woman who helped start Comic-Con back in the early days. We remained friendly over the years. Then, when my agent and I were trying to come up with ideas for projects a couple of years ago, I mentioned that I happen to know this woman. Also, it had just been the 50th anniversary of Comic-Con. I realized, hey there might be something to this. My agent jumped at the opportunity. Wendy got me in touch with a lot of the other people who helped create Comic-Con and people in that community. She became our liaison into that world.

Originally it was going to be a book but then COVID happened, and lockdowns happened. One of the things that happened is certain entities in the tech and media world, instead of going crazy, thought about what they could do to gain leverage. SiriusXM was starting to develop more original content because they knew everyone was going to be home a lot more and have time to listen to podcasts. One of my friends, who was a producer at SiriusXM, said, why don’t we do this as a podcast series? I said yes.

I was very concerned because a lot of the people in it were a lot older and so honestly a lot of the rush was because we need to get them on record before anyone passed away. One of them did pass away, and he actually told us that would happen, that he knew he only had a set amount of time left. He was somebody who didn’t have necessarily a big name. Within the community, though, he was extremely important and a lot of people were really glad that we were able to get him on record. We got his voice in there, and he had some really unique things to say from a very different perspective. So I’m glad that we did the recordings and pieced them together for the audio documentary.

Then, some people involved in the audio series, who were also involved with Fantagraphics, talked to the Fantagraphics publisher, Gary Groth, about making it into a book. He loved the idea. We talked about photos and art since it’s a Fantagraphics book and it being visual is very important. I’m glad that I went with them.

What are some of the differences between the audio documentary and the book?

The podcast is about seven hours, and that’s with interstitial historical context. The book is 500 pages and is culled from 70 hours of interviews. I would say the book is about 10 times, if not more, the material that was in the podcast. It’s a lot of stories. It’s a lot of information. It fills in a lot of gaps. It’s telling the story of the fandom community through the eyes of the largest pop culture gathering worldwide, which is where so many of them congregated and came together, which is very much what we wanted the audio documentary series and now the book to be.

The book is very free-flowing. I could see somebody reading it cover to cover and I could see somebody just picking out one page and reading a bit. The book is stream of consciousness which I know some people don’t like, but I like it and I think some of the better oral histories are like that. You may need to read it two or three times to really get everything because there’s so much going on, but that’s what I wanted.

Can you elaborate on the history of Comic-Con and the culture surrounding it?

People forget that up until fairly recently, you were made fun of or ostracized or ignored or misunderstood, or even beaten up for liking comic books or science fiction or fantasy. Just a few decades ago, teachers didn’t like it either, and they’d discourage anyone from reading comic books and even science fiction. People were told, this isn’t writing. This isn’t literature. This isn’t art.

In regard to Comic-Con, a lot of the founders were children. One of the early Comic-Con founders was 12. They were interacting with the local media and local radio stations, they were doing it all themselves from a young age. They were all very creative and artistic, and they all just came together. Many of the founders happened to live in San Diego or Southern California. And that’s an important part of the story too. This is the story of how San Diego became San Diego. We really go all the way back to when San Diego was this tiny little obscure town. The first Comic-Con had to be called the Golden State Comic-Con because they were worried that people even within California wouldn’t know where to go if they called it the San Diego Comic-Con.

As you mentioned, genres such as science fiction and fantasy, and mediums such as comics, aren’t considered to be serious. In what ways do you see them as powerful tools for making political and social commentary?

In the 20th century, science fiction and comic books and fantasy were very much about the concepts and ideas of great artists and philosophers and psychologists. It’s not a surprise that both Orwell and Huxley wrote science fiction books and did a very good job of it, creating entire archetypes that were somewhat similar and in conversation with each other in certain ways, and that they were so right about so many things and they were able to do that through science fiction.

And you had what was going on with underground comics in the ‘60s that were very explicitly talking about what was going on with feminism and civil rights and drug culture and counterculture and terrorism and domestic terrorism and politics. Because they weren’t being taken seriously, they were able to say a lot of things that you maybe wouldn’t have been able to say otherwise; it was a very important medium for that, but they were also trying to make money and they were trying to survive.

Whether it’s science fiction or fantasy or comics, these were all very smart, fascinating people who again kept congregating at Comic-Con every year. Comic-Con is some people’s world. It’s like Disneyland, with all the characters coming together from all these different shows and movies and such. It’s a place where all the Twilight and Star Trek and Twilight Zone and Watchmen and Wolverine and things I’ve never heard of all come together. People find each other and find similarities in each other. It’s a real community. It’s a great community. It’s an important community. A lot of them helped each other get through COVID and a lot of them helped each other stay hopeful. They might not have a lot in common, being from different parts of the world or different ages or from different backgrounds and whatnot. But people find common ground that transcends any kind of barrier. It’s not without its faults, and we certainly talked about that in the book. It’s not a paradise, but comparatively, it’s a great very welcoming, very inclusive, very eclectic community.

Klickstein signing. Photo provided by Mathew Klickstein

Is there anything you want to add in general about your book that’s coming out about any of your experiences overall?

I definitely want to get the word out about the See You At San Diego book tour. That’s why I’m coming to Colorado in September. I actually lived in Boulder two different times and I’m very excited to come back. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and bringing this book and concept to them. One place I’m particularly excited about going to is Mile High Comics, which I’m pretty sure is the biggest comic book store in the country. A lot of people in the comic industry make sure to go there and always talk about it and it comes up in a lot of books and documentaries. It’s so esteemed, and I’ll say the same about Tattered Cover. It’s one of my favorite bookstores and I’ve done a couple of events there already. Going to Tattered Cover is something I’m really looking forward to and hopefully, I’ll bring some people out to see me talk about the book.

Mathew Klickstein will be making two stops in Colorado during his See You At San Diego book tour:

September 20- Tattered Cover Book Store, book signing at Aspen Grove location (Denver, CO)
September 21- ?Mile High Comics, book signing (Denver, CO)

The post A Conversation With Mathew Klickstein: Klickstein’s creative history and newest project appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Editor’s Note: Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Scott Carney is an award-winning investigative journalist and anthropologist who’s written for WIRED, Mother Jones, Fast Company, Discover Men’s Journal, Playboy, NPR and other publications. A few years ago Scott’s book What Doesn’t Kill Us spent a couple months on the NYT Bestseller list. Carney has a new book coming on March 29th titled The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War and Liberation that he wrote with conflict researcher Jason Miklian about how a storm that killed half a million people in 1970 presages the worst case scenarios of our collective climate change nightmare. Scott likes to think of it as our attempt to tell the story of climate change as a non-fiction action thriller. What’s more? The very earliest reviews are out of the park amazing, like this starred review from Kirkus:

“[The Vortex] is a riveting, page-turning story of human devastation, political corruption, and individual bravery as well as a cautionary tale with universal relevance. . . . To those who may feel complacent about what happened a half-century ago in a relatively obscure part of the world, Carney and Miklian deliver a stark warning. . . . A powerful, timely exploration of an environmental and political tragedy.” 

– Kirkus Starred Review

Read more about The Vortex below:

The post Award Winning Investigative Journalist to Celebrate the Release of New Book in Denver appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Colorado wordsmiths let loose a barrage of new Colorado-based books.

Complicit
Amy Rivers

“Complicit” follows the life of Kate Medina, a forensic psychologist that moves back to her hometown after she becomes the victim of an attack. In an attempt to find a safe job, she becomes a high school psychologist, but when a student disappears, Kate finds herself in the midst of a homicide investigation. With the killer still at large, Kate is in a dangerous position, with twists and turns along the way. “Complicit” is an exciting thriller to spice up the summer.

Revolution and Renaissance
Daniel Forbes Hauser

Published just before the start of the pandemic and the protests of 2020, Hauser’s book is a historical understanding of today’s age and why we’re ripe for cultural upheaval. Although he explains that protests produce less change on their own, he points towards our country’s innate ability to respond accordingly during times of crisis. Certainly a very pertinent book for the times, as we as a country continue to make our way through a year of drastic changes and communal demands for change.

The Smoking Inn: (With A Special Welcome to Lesbians, Trans Folk, and All the Little Creatures) (The Chronicles of Diana Attestesso)
Bethany A. Beeler

Beeler’s follow-up novel for “The Fire Golem,” “The Smoking Inn” takes us along a wild ride amongst fantastic and unique characters as Diana Atestesso and her lost love Finn build Sacred Hearts, a bar that becomes a ‘freak’ oasis, featuring a gonzo journalist, a drag queen, and Selene, who is experiencing her first same-sex marriage. Diana quickly faces the villainous wrath of a religious power broker and a fanatic zealot, who try to bring her and Sacred Hearts down. A sure battle to keep you yearning for the next page.

But I’m Too Little
Kimberly Spencer

Born in St. Louis and relocated to Denver, Spencer began her Colorado journey with a cupcake business, called Graffiti Cupcakes. She has now written her first children’s book, “But I’m Too Little,” which is the story of Kai, who is met with positive reinforcement by her parents when she struggles to overcome obstacles due to her size and age. A story of overcoming challenges and appreciating the uniqueness of each individual.

Lord of the Butterflies (Button Poetry)
Andrea Gibson

Boulder County local (they live in Niwot) and arguably one of the best slam poets in the nation, Gibson has brought us Lord of the Butterflies, a showcase collection beautifully articulating with wonderful artistic ingenuity topics such as gender, romance, loss, and family. You’ll sink with their sorrow only to be lifted to new heights of poetic wonder and contemplation.

Finding Motherland: Essays about Family, Food, and Migration
Helen Thorpe

Colorado resident, author, freelance journalist, and former First Lady of Colorado, Thorpe brings us seven essays on family, food, and migration. She tells us the story of how her family immigrated to the U.S., how becoming a mother is a lot like moving to a new country, and the hardship and complexities of the life of an undocumented mother. Balancing the stories of past immigrants and those of today, Thorpe shares the similarities between the two, that immigration isn’t a new phenomena, but one rather has been occurring since the beginning of time.

The Last Train Robber: The Life and Times of Willis Newton
W.C. Jameson

W.C. Jameson is back with the infamous tale of Willis Newton, the greatest bank robber that ever plundered the West. Having stolen more money than Frank and Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, the Daltons, and the Doolins combined, Jameson takes us on a wild ride alongside the Newton gang has they take on their greatest heist, only to be arrested and sentenced. Using interviews from the 1970’s and newspaper reports to detail the extensive history of the Newton Gang, Jameson brings to life, “The Last Train Robber.”

The Only Good Indians: A Novel
Stephen Graham Jones

CU Boulder English Professor Stephen Graham Jones’ book is part horror and part commentary on the identity politics of the American Indian experience. Following the lives of American Indian men and their families after a deadly event from their youth, they are confronted by the culture they left behind so long ago. A story of revenge, cultural identity, and the price some pay when they break tradition.

Of Curses and Kisses (Rosetta Academy Book 1)
Sandhya Menon

Princess Jaya Rao is out for revenge when the Emerson Clan reignites a centuries-old feud against her sister. But when she attends the same boarding school as Grey Emerson, who was cursed into misanthropy by a member of Jaya’s family, she attempts to make him fall in love with her just to break his heart. When that doesn’t work and she begins to fall for him, she wonders if sworn enemies could ever be happy together. Together they fight the odds, and write their very own ending.

Intercepted
Alexa Martin

Book one of the Playbook Series, “Intercepted” has won numerous awards and has been dubbed one of the best romance novels of 2018. Marlee Harper is a great girlfriend and has been dating her NFL boyfriend for over a decade. When he cheats on her, she leaves him and to the relief of the other NFL wives, Marlee proclaims she’ll never date an athlete again. But when Gavin Pope, the new quarterback convinces Marlee he’s nothing like her ex, Marlee becomes the center of gossip making her worry about much more than what the others think of her.

The post Top 10 Books by Colorado Authors | Summer Books appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Treat the ones you love with special care and extra love this season. We’re in the middle of a realignment of the schemas we’ve come to live by. The world is not as it once was, even while so much continues. We wanted to look deeper than toys and trivialities to find ways of giving that can enhance life, make it a bit gentler, more empathic, and more hopeful.

Even as we give, we receive. We often receive from loved ones, but also from ourselves. These are ways we found to give and receive from the world around us, from family and friends, and from our own hearts to ensure our lives are filled, our hearts are bursting, and our homes are helped. We want to be open to all the gifts the universe has for us. Enjoy.

All links open in a new tab.

1. Virtual Cooking Party

More than ever it’s important for families, coworkers and groups of friends to get creative with distanced our safe, socially distanced celebrations. Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas and New Years come, let’s get smart. To get through the holiday season, Cook Street is offering a Virtual Private Event option for groups to participate in a virtual cooking class from the comfort (and safety) of your homes.

Participants will learn new recipes and techniques via a private Zoom lesson with an instructor devoted exclusively to your group, so no timeouts waiting for the teacher to come back from another chat. For a team-bonding activity, groups can challenge each other to a Mystery Box Culinary Competition; time to show the in-laws who’s boss. Cook Street will provide the instruction and ingredients, and teams will deliver their individual creativity.

Those in the Denver and Front Range area have the option to pick up ingredient kits, and those farther away will be provided a grocery list to do their own shopping. Community cooking is the one of the most loving ways to show you love each other.

cookstreet.com/private-events

Up to $140 per person

2. Pop a Waffle

Neige is the owner of Punch Buggy Shave Ice on Main Street in Louisville, Colorado. We chatted with her before, when they first opened, and we still love them. They – like all of us – are navigating through the incredibly strange era of COVID and preparing to open a brand new winter pop-up (make sure to check out Zoey Whitman’s story on Miracle on Main Street, Foodie Nov. 2020), while nailing the safety standards necessary to keep you safe.

They are planning a waffle pop launch with a soft opening from December 10th – 20th, 2020, and a scheduled full reopening January 7th – March 14th, 2021. If you’re wondering what a waffle pop is, we got you covered. It’s a waffle on a stick, as you may have guessed, but these ones are drizzled with your choice of delicious toppings. They have curated options like s’mores, churro, birthday cake and an option to build your own waffle pop. Oh yeah.

The fact is, food is for family, and giving someone the gift of stuffing their face (in a safe way), is always a great idea. Drizzle me, baby. Drizzle me.

Punch Buggy has eGift cards available on their website and physical gift cards in their shop. And any Punch Buggy Shave Ice cards that have a balance can be used at Punch Buggy Waffle Pop.

Punchbuggywafflepop.com

$4-5 on average

3. A Gift of Knowledge

In Iceland they call it a book flood, or Jólabókaflóð in the original Icelandic. Iceland publishes the most books on earth, per capita, and Christmas Eve is spent unwrapping new books and reading with loved ones. We love this idea. So here are a few books we absolutely loved this year. Always give the gift of knowledge.

100 Women in Jewelry. Linda Kozloff-Turner is the author and Hardy Klahold is the photographer for a book and exhibition entitled ‘100 Women of Jewelry’. The “book is an homage to each individual woman, and focuses on her unique story of what she encountered walking the path to her success as a designer, an artist, and a craftsperson.” – womenofjewelry.com

The Anatomy of Fake News. Author Nolan Higdon “offers the first historical examination of fake news that takes as its goal the effective teaching of critical news literacy in the United States. Higdon employs a critical-historical media ecosystems approach to identify the producers, themes, purposes, and influences of fake news.” We love the idea of learning to read news critically. –bit.ly/AnatomyOfFakeNews

Revolution and Renaissance: 1965-1975. Daniel Forbes Hauser writes that, “This is NOT a political rant from the Left or the Right. Rather, it is a compelling and entertaining look at the era of ‘sex, drugs, and rock & roll’ from 1965 to 1975, which was the steepest bell-curve of cultural upheaval in our nation’s history. The book’s year-by-year reflection includes shocking new details of historic events” and all from the seat of Boulder. –revolutionandrenaissance.com

Lastly, did you know reading comic books increases literacy and it’s fun as heck? Go check out our friends at TimeWarp comics and plug into fantastic worlds, universal themes, and incredible reading skills. Keep the kids entertained and keep those brains growing.

4. Art Classes

Arts Hub – one of many amazing arts organizations throughout Boulder County – has a variety of offerings you can make use of. In person, virtual, and art to go are all available. Treat yourself or your loved ones. You can do drop-in aerial dance classes with Tel ($65) or a pack of 5 private classes ($315), to get physical and creative while keeping safe.

If you want classic, do Gene’s tap dance classes (4 for $52 or 8 for $96). Gene’s Tap classes can be in a class, or virtual, which makes it safe for anyone, any skill level, any place. You can gift dance to loved ones around the world.

Lastly, they have a cornucopia of “art camp kits” so you can create at home. From the “totally texture” to the “fanciful fairy” kit and from “sky’s the limit” to the “day at the beach” kits, you’re ready for any type of art project. These take from 1-3 hours, depending on the kit. They also have kits for ages 6-10 and 10+, should you want to set your young art aficionados to the canvas while you relax.

One suggestion we love is to write up the memories you have that inspired the art, the reason for gifting art, and dreams of future memories you want to have with those persons you gifted. Art, like memories, can last a lifetime.

artshub.org

Various prices

5. Homemade Love

Here’s an idea: don’t really buy anything, except some craft supplies, and make something as a family. A DIY advent calendar with lovely notes and ethically sourced [locally made] chocolates may be just the ticket; we support Chocolaterie Stam. I have a friend that did one that was a self-care/mindfulness advent calendar that included things like “turn off your phone for two hours today and soak in peace and quiet” and “do the thing in your house you’ve been procrastinating on” and “take an extra long shower today and celebrate the feeling of being alive and in your body.”

A favorite of ours is homemade gift cards. Since it’s christmas, we suggest New Years cards. Did you know that people love to receive a card to start their new year, to remind them that they just survived a year and the next one will undoubtedly be the best ever? Of course we don’t know that. No one really sends those cards. We think your loved ones will love them, and your family will love making them for the closest neighbors and distant family and friends who you miss.

You can google DIY advent calendar for any number of ideas. There are thousands available. And cards, well that’s easy: glitter, markers, and a few folds…an address, an envelope, and a stamp. Enjoy.

22 DIY Calendar ideas

6. Subscribe and Support

Let’s consider subscribing to and supporting local news; bonus if it’s a small local news source like Yellow Scene. As the world continues to deteriorate around us, and politicians deride facts, and corporations gobble up our newspapers (yes, Denver Post, Daily Camera, etc are all corporate owned), it’s important to support local. We love Boulder Weekly, too. Donate in honor of the newsie in your house, subscribe, or consider encouraging your fact friendly family to write in. We love letters to the editor, op-eds, and community notes. It’s your world. We’re just covering it.

Also in this area of gifting, for yourself or a loved one, are subscriptions to a Patreon that someone likes. Supporting small creators is always great and we love watching small projects get big, local names become international, and fun ideas become reality.

yellowscene.com/donate

7. Drive Time

With all the recent hoopla around drive throughs, we started thinking about driving in general. We’re spending more time alone, or with our pod groups, and, while the world shuts down, driving is still a Colorado love. Our cars, trucks, and bikes take us all over the country, the countryside, the mountains, and the plains where we love to play. We love to play hard, and we love to play fast. So, whether going for a mountain cruise on your bike, going overlanding, or hitting some slick slopes and in need of the skills to get up and down safe, we got you covered with driving training by Go 4 It Services.

They offer a ton of training programs to get you behind the wheel ready. As a former professional driver, who grew up doing mountain trips in a big rig with my dad, who’s gone cross country from Anchorage to Cancun, MX, and from LA, CA to Key West, FL, I can tell you that the average American driver thinks turning a wheel and pushing pedals = driving. It does not.

Hit this team up for Truck and Trailer training, SuperSafety Street and Track courses, and Road Racing lessons. You can rent their vehicles or bring your own (pro-tip: it’s always best to learn high level skills in the vehicle you’ll be driving).

go4itservices.com

Various prices

8. Christmas Lights Trip

The annual drive-thru “Christmas in Color” light display is about ready to welcome starry eyed kids and other holiday magic enthusiasts at multiple locations in the Denver area. Opening at both Water World (Federal Heights) and Bandimere Speedway (Morrison, CO) on November 20, this experience features a mile-long drive-thru light display consisting of more than one million synchronized lights.

Tickets for the event can be purchased on the company’s website, which is below. One $30 ticket is required per vehicle, which is about $5 per head if you’re bringing a COVID safe friend group or family members at your holiday party.

A holiday favorite, investing in some light (no pun intended) holiday travel, with the intention of being wowed by the displays, watching the kids eyes light up (again, no pun intended), and feeling that cozy heartfelt warmth of the season as classic holiday tunes bump from the stereo, is a must do.

Operating hours are Sunday to Thursday from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. and 5:30-10:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The last day of operation is on January 3. The event is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas night.

christmasincolor.net

$30 per car

9. For the Love of Film

Boulder International Film Festival is a yearly delight, showcasing dozens of amazing films from around the world, curated for our local palate. The next BIFF is in June 2021 but, you’ll be glad to know, you can buy early bird passes and gift packs now!

If you know someone who’s an absolute film lover, and who would love to have guaranteed early entrance to most BIFF film programs, parties, and events, the Early Bird Pass is for you. Priced at $395, it includes a ton of access, including a private filmmakers reception. Cue the autographs.

BIFF gift packs are available in denominations of $30 (2 films), $60 (4 films), $90 (6 films). The Early Bird Festival Pass can also be gifted upon purchase, making it an amazing gift for the cinephile in your home or for yourself. I personally love to get out and watch films. Festivals make for a great full day of viewing new work.

Importantly, we love that BIFF is planning for the future, even while the future seems so uncertain. They are, however, also ready for restrictions, stating, “BIFF will offer refunds if the festival is cancelled due to public health or other reasons.”

biff1.com

Various prices

10. Flutter

Butterflies: mystical, magical little reminders that evolution is good, that change is beautiful, that we can go from crawling to soaring in the heavens. Lucky for us, we’re living a few miles from one of the great zoos on earth. “Butterfly Pavilion,” their website reads, “is the first stand-alone, Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited non-profit invertebrate zoo in the world and a leader in invertebrate knowledge, inspiration and connection.”

With a mission to “foster an appreciation of invertebrates by educating the public about the need to protect and care for threatened habitats globally, while conducting research for solutions in invertebrate conservation,” the pavilion is a brilliant gift for animal lovers of any age. It’s also a wonderful date locale, or even a place for silent contemplation and relaxation.

Get a membership or two and enjoy your experience. They have events, exhibits, and even a plant sale. Lift your spirits watching butterflies take flight.

butterflies.org

Priced by age, free for members

11. A bit of Style

At first, when it all began, we ran out for N95 medical grade masks. And then we started using more relaxed cloth masks, which are cool, softer, and slightly more fashionable. That whole situation stepped up and now we have fashion masks and matching accessories.

Get yourself (and maybe your partner, cause who doesn’t love matching partners) some face masks and socks that coordinate so you can look fly while staying safe. Bonus for small artists making the stuff.

We actually wrote about mask fashion back in July (see: The Fashionable Face: Masking Up). We also have friends, like perennial activist Brian Loma, of CO Masker Aid, who are offering cool masks and other accessories, “Made in Colorado by community activists.” Missy Caldwell, of MissfitMissy, told us that she had, “made masks in specific colors to match outfits with two-tone, rainbow, reversible and even McDonald’s colors to match workers’ uniforms. Then she started getting more creative by adding fabric flowers, charms, and nice trim, as well as creating matching accessories like headbands.”

We recommend reaching out to Masker Aid, or any of the names in the article mentioned above, to get some fashion masks to match your various styles. As we were told, “masks aren’t going anywhere.”

comaskeraid.org

12. Of Warmth and Calm

I’m not really a tea person. I prefer coffee. I did. It seems I’m making a hot pot of mullein tea every day now, with a spoon of organic cherry cobbler cbd infused honey, (and sometimes a splash of whiskey, but that’s between us). The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, if you didn’t know – because I didn’t know – doesn’t just offer socially distant tea in their gorgeous tea house, or on their patio. They also have tea pots, tea sets, and teas to go, among other things.

You can celebrate your love for someone (including yourself) with an Afternoon Tea Gift Certificate, some loose leaf tea, tea sachets, or logo laden Dushanbe items. We recommend the Chatsford Teahouse Logo Teapot ($27.95), because we love authentic, yet updated, kitchen supplies and we are newly in love with making tea.

Make sure to dress warm if you pop out for a tea on site, but don’t worry too much. The tea is piping hot and you’ll be filled with warmth and calm in no time.

Boulderteaco.com

Various prices

13. The Snow White Package

If you want to help an animal you love, one of the most supportive and beautiful gifts you can give an animal lover is to make a contribution toward the care of that animal. Contributions support necessary caging, specialized diets, and medications. What do you get, besides the very cool ability to point at a wild animal and tell your friends you sponsor it? You will receive a personalized certificate with your sponsored animal’s name and photo as well as the story of how your animal came to be at Greenwood.

From songbirds like Robins, Jays, and Woodpeckers ($40) to waterfowl like ducks and geese ($80) and all the way to medium-sized mammals like foxes and coyotes ($150) you can pick an animal that speaks to the Snow White in you. Your animal lovers will whistle while they watch their sponsor play. And you get to give – or get – the gift of animal conservation and philanthropy.

Of course, make sure to pop in and have a look around, inquire about animals that need sponsorship, or just enjoy the events they host, from Hang Out and Dine Out for Wildlife, to their virtual offerings.

You can download sponsorship forms from the website, fill ’em out, and send ‘em back.

greenwoodwildlife.org

Various prices

Give the gift of a warm welcome as you and loved ones welcome award-winning Denver Center Theatre Company veterans Jamie Horton, Candy Brown and Gabriella Cavallero to Stories on Stage for this very special holiday show. Music is provided by award-winning composer/pianist David Nehls.

Audience members, we’re told, were asked to submit favorite and fondly remembered stories from past seasons to make up this years’ Greatest Hits version of Making Merry, celebrating the company’s 20th Anniversary. Stories include A Christmas Memory, A Fruitcake Recipe and Who Can Retell, a Hanukkah story.

The Stories on Stage group has teamed up with Nomad Playhouse and Earth Coast Productions to create shows that will be professional multi-camera productions with the actors performing from the stage, direct to you. Some of their performances have been in-person and virtual. This one is only virtual.

They will present renowned local actors performing dynamic and entertaining short stories, beamed right into the comfort of your living room. There you are, cuddling on a couch, cocoa cups in hand, enjoying the loveliness of stagecraft with your family. Making Merry – Greatest Hits will be presented on Sunday, December 13 @1:30pm (early enough for the kids) as a virtual live-streaming performance. This is a

storiesonstage.org

$15 / person

15. Colorado Gives Day

It’s a time-honored tradition, something we’ve done for years here in Colorado and something we love to do. One thing Colorado is good at is taking care of its own. And with that, we remind you that Colorado Gives Day is December 8th. It’s a wonderful day to dig into your past year and see which art organizations, community groups, nonprofits, animal conservation outfits, and other institutions have touched your life, so you can give back.

One organization we love is A Precious Child. This is an organization that does incredible work supporting our needier families and the young people that constitute them. Regardless of the obstacles they face—and this year has thrown us the most significant challenges yet—they hold fast to empowering children.

With community’s support they’ve accomplished a lot this year, including providing over 21,000 backpacks for the school year and supplying over 85,000 diapers throughout the pandemic.

They need the support of our community more than ever before. As do many organizations. Head to the website, look up the organization you want to support, and make a donation. Consider hitting that submit button with family in attendance, and have a conversation about why it matters.

coloradogives.org

16. A Nut to Crack

We love the Nutcracker. No really, we go yearly to see the Colorado Ballet performance. I even wrote an article supporting the #GoFundTheMagic campaign to buy new costumes for the Denver ballet, whose costumes are 25 years old and originally purchased from the San Francisco Ballet.

This year, all the ballets are closed…to in person performances. I’m happy to report that the Colorado Ballet is performing their annual Nutcracker on Rocky Mountain PBS, premiering on Thanksgiving and running through Christmas Day

“The magical spirit of the season comes to life in this acclaimed production and beloved holiday favorite that sells out every year. Tune in to view this special presentation of Colorado Ballet’s The Nutcracker on Rocky Mountain PBS. Join Clara and her army of toy soldiers as they battle the Mouse King and journey to the legendary land of Sweets.

Colorado Ballet’s The Nutcracker premieres on Rocky Mountain PBS on Thanksgiving at 7pm.

The Colorado Ballet is also facing a loss of ticket revenue. With the spirit of holiday giving in mind, we ask Colorado Ballet’s patrons and the general arts-loving public to consider a contribution to their Relief & Recovery Fund.

Show dates are Nov. 26 & 27, Dec. 18 & 19, and Dec. 24 & 25.

Coloradoballet.org

bit.ly/COBalletRelief

17. A Time to Travel

If you follow us regularly, you know we love to pack up and head into the wild. We feel very fortunate to be able to do that, and we feel very Colorado as we navigate snowy roads and steep inclines to find magic in the mountains. Give the gift of a getaway. It’s time to pack up the fam and head west, or north, or any direction really. They’re all good.

For a quick hit list of our favorite spots the last couple of years, head to Yellow Scene for the Summer Travel: The Art of Staycation, where we reviewed St. Julien Hotel & Spa, right here in Boulder, The ART, a hotel, in Denver with views of the museum district and world class dining on the 5th floor. We also stayed at the Stanley Hotel, which made headlines feeding firefighters during the Estes Park blaze recently. Great Wolf Lodge, which is a virtual wonderland, and just a few hours south past Denver. And Grand Lake Lodge, one of the greatest stays we’ve ever had, where you can get a private bungalow and lounge on the patio with drinks looking over Grand Lake itself.

In our Winter Travel Loop(Feb. 2020) article we were able to check out Hotel Colorado, in Glenwood Springs, which has amazing hot springs and adventures (still open), before moving on to Ouray – my favorite town in Colorado – where we stayed at Box Canyon Lodge and Hot Springs and hung out in natural springs as a wild fox chilled in the moonlight with us. Finally, in Crested Butte, we stayed at the illustrious Elk Mountain Lodge(pictured), which is a phenomenal place, especially in the winter. It is, as they say, the last great snow town in Colorado.

Back in 2018 I stayed at WeeCasa Tiny House Resort in Lyons. That was awesome as well. Cozy, quiet, along a river, and so inviting. Your kids will love the Hobbit House. Go travel. You never regret travel.

18. Engage in Miracles

Bittersweet Cafe is hosting an epic new holiday popup in the alleyway behind their location. I won’t belabor the point, since Zoey Whitman wrote about it for Foodie, but in a world that continuously tries to keep us home, it’s nice that local brilliance shines through. This local restaurant is creating a series of safe, socially distant, regularly disinfected private bubbles for holiday shenanigans.

Yes, it’s mostly 21+, but there are also Gingerbread parties for the little elves (you can bring your own or RSVP for a pod, so you can bring those neighbor kids that are regulars at your place).

“Get those Bad Santa hats and oversized Elf outfits ready, their themed-nights are guaranteed to banish Scrooge and get you in a Yippee Ki Yay mood. Check out [their] calendar of events including Ugly Sweater & Holiday Movie Theme Nights and the best New Years Eve Party around!”

Outdoor Walk-ups available daily but reservations are, of course, suggested; especially if you want access to any of the coolest spaces available. All ages welcome.

miraclecocktails.com

19. CBD Me Please

Or you can, you know, hemp me. Or mari me. See what I did there? Mari…juana? I kill myself.

Ok, but seriously. We live in a world of rampant pollution and trash piles. Hemp is easy to grow and literally replaces every product we make from plastic. We’re in. We can save the world – slowly – if we switch to hemp. Along the way we can enjoy the health benefits of CBD and Marijuana.

We’re in love with our friends at One Planet Hemp, who have all the offerings you could imagine, from strains and vapes to gear and accessories.

The good folks at Starbuds remind us that, “gifting edibles has emerged as an especially popular option for a cozy holiday season. Many people enjoy putting the edibles in the stockings, and you can also have fun by burying the edibles beneath a pile of relatively boring items so your loved one has to dig through the entire stocking before seeing the edibles at the bottom.”

At Elements Boulder you can get all this same amazing stuff, from a woman owned shop, that sources everything from local vendors. Well damn…I’m about to be high and happy.

oneplanethemp.com

starbuds.us/louisville

elementsboulder.com

20. Give Dreams

The only non-local product we’re featuring, because there aren’t many local retailers that make these, are Pluggerz Uni-Fit earplugs. Rated at 27 decibels (gun ranges recommend 28-33 decibels for an indoor range) these are guaranteed to help with your good night’s sleep. If you or your partner is a heroic snorer, odds are one of you needs a good night’s sleep and you’re too embarrassed to address it. Treat yo’ dreams right. These earplugs provide a relief to get a good night’s rest and are also a perfect stocking stuffer to make sure it’s not just sweet treats when you dump that stocking out.

These plugs are dome shaped high-quality earplugs with triple flanges made of hypoallergenic soft silicone material. The dome shape with triple-flanges extends farther into the ear canal. The shape and material make the earplugs reusable and comfortable to wear for long periods. The filter allows communication and prevents sound distortion.They also come with special filters to attenuate ambient noise without blocking out important sounds like alarms or crying babies. They make your sleeping environment more peaceful and allow you to relax more.

14.99+ at your local CVS locations

pluggerz.com

The post Locavore Gift Guide 2020: 20 Ways to Give & Receive appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Systemic Racism, Politics, 

Pandemic, and the Climate.

Summer is here and not the way any of us imagined it! As 2020 continues to pummel us with ever growing awareness of how we as a society have failed and neglected our health, our communities, our environment, and ourselves, it’s up to us to do something. If you’re having a hard time grasping the incredibly vast complexity of any one of the numerous issues that we are facing today, have no fear for you are not alone; even just acknowledging that means you’re on the right track. Luckily for us and our never ending thirst for self-betterment there’s people out there writing books for us to educate ourselves. So use this beautiful weather, the excusable stay at home attitude, and this list of books to play the role everyone is expecting you to play to the best of your abilities and means. 10 books, 4 categories: Systemic Racism, Politics, Pandemic, and Climate Change. 

Raising White Kids
Jennifer Harvey
Sorry Boulder, with 88% of the population being white this struck me as mandatory. In one of the most racially diverse countries in the world (USA), racial tensions are high, and everyone has a responsibility to do something about it. How should we raise children to see race? How should the conversation of white privilege be incorporated in their education? How do we give children the tools they need to further progress our society towards actual equality?

We keep us safe: Building Secure, Just, and Inclusive Communities
Zach Norris
How do we build safe communities. Zach Norris emphasis that Us vs. Them isn;t the answer. With mass incarceration and aggressive policing harming and perpetuating systemic racism in America’s most marginalized communities, we need to design a system that moves away from fear and punishment and create one that focuses on growth and support.

Ghost Boys
Jewell Parker Rhodes
The fictional story of Jerome who is shot and killed by a police officer at age 12. Jerome continues to see the aftermath of his death as a ghost and soon meets Emmett Till, another ghost who was killed in a different time period. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened and the history of systemic racism that has led to his death. They also meet Sarah, the daughter of the police officer that killed Jermone.
~Politics~

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy | Jenny Odell
This is not a self-help book. Busting through the confines of simplistic anti-technological manifestos and back to nature dictations, How to Do Nothing is a wonderful rationale for stepping out of our capitalistic obsessions to progress and rather place our most important asset, our attention, elsewhere

The End of White
Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide
Zerlina Maxwell
In a clear and well deserved dissection of the left’s failures, Maxwell places power in the lane of identity politics. The left, be it the Bernie Bro’s, Hashtag Activists, or liberal billionaires, has long forgotten to cater to a crucial part of the U.S. population, continuing to largely benefit middle class white men. In an attempt to acknowledge the left’s failures and reconcile through examples and ideas, Maxwell provides a future for the party and cure for it’s blatant divide.

The Hardhat Riot
David Kuhn
In May of 1970, construction workers chased and beat students through downtown Manhattan. It was the first clear sign that Nixon had managed to infiltrate the liberal leaning working class. The left was at war with itself and it hasn’t stop since. A wonderful depiction to further our understanding of how the left ended up where it is today.

~Climate~ 2030 | Mauro Guillen
2030 is the tipping point. As we approach the fall of liberal regimes, the global economy will be for the first time powered by non-western consumers, there will be more currencies than countries, more robots than workers, more computers than human brains, and there will be more wealth owned by women than men. Rather than focusing on a single issue, the climate, Guillen focuses on the inter-play of all the different forces that drive humanity.

Our House is on Fire
Jeanette Winter
A picture book depicting the story of Greta Thurnberg and her determination to make the world realize that our house is on fire. Sharing the power that all kids have, Winter gives a power tool to educate toddlers on the importance of the environment and our roles to protect it.

Lockdown | Peter May
An uncanny depiction of a virus stricken London that has entered lockdown and martial law. Originally written fifteen years ago and cast off as unrealistic, the book has stunned readers by it’s relatability to our current pandemic. A fantastic read mixing the nightmares of a pandemic with the horrors of murder and conspiracy.

Which Country has the Best Healthcare System
Ezekiel Emmanuel
The U.S. spends 4 trillion on healthcare, and we’re nowhere close to being the best. In an assessment of the worlds best healthcare systems, Emmanuel explains what it means to have great healthcare, where some of us know what bothers us, what do we really want? What do we really need? What can the U.S. do to improve such a vital component of our society?

The post Summer Books 2020 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Whether by transporting us in time and space or showing us the world through another’s eyes, books hold the potential to broach new ideas, broaden perspectives, and even change lives. Chosen for their unique stories—some familiar, others not—the 16 titles below represent the transformative power of literature, and will stick with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

Enjoy our reading list!

Let us know what you think by emailing us reviews at editorial@yellowscene.com.

Sing, Unburied, Sing

by Jesmyn Ward

$17.00 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,
20% off at Barbed Wire Books

Sing follows 13-year-old Jojo, his drug-addicted mother Leonie, and the ghosts that visit them as they set out on a road trip to retrieve Jojo’s white father from prison. Ward’s lyrical prose weaves an intricate tapestry of inter-generational trauma, strained relationships, and growing up black in a society marred by racial tensions—yet despite all this, there is sweetness, too. One part road novel, one part ghost story, and altogether stunning, Ward’s portrait of a Southern family fractured by grief and injustice will leave you feeling haunted.

The Fifth Season

by N.K. Jemison

$15.99 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,
20% off at Barbed
Wire Books

The first installment in Jemison’s Hugo Award-winning Broken Earth trilogy takes place in a world wracked by apocalyptic geological disasters called Seasons. Only orogenes (magic users) can control the tremblings in the ground, but they are shunned, hated, and feared for their power. After a massive eruption sets off the worst Season in memory, three such orogenes—Essun, a mother; Damaya, a child; and Syenite, a young woman—tell their stories. Jemison’s tale of oppression, ecological catastrophe, and resilience turns the fantasy genre on its head, daring us to question: Does the world deserve to be saved?

Kindred

by Octavia Butler

$16.00 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,
20% off at Barbed Wire Books, used at 2nd & Charles

In this sci-fi classic, 26-year-old Dana is wrenched from her life in 1976 Los Angeles and transported to a Maryland plantation in 1815, where her skin color unquestionably marks her as a slave. The story unfolds as Dana travels back and forth between time periods, called repeatedly by the pull of her ancestor: Rufus, the white son of the plantation owner. Dana’s 20th-century sensibilities make her narrative that much more relatable as she attempts to influence and protect the boy who will become her great-great-grandfather. Butler’s most beloved work is poignant and relevant, with issues of power, gender, and race at its core.

Never Let Me Go

by Kazuo Ishiguro

$16.00 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,
used at Barbed Wire Books

Framed as a memoir, Never Let Me Go relates the lives of Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, students at Hailsham school in the idyllic English countryside. Hailsham students have a special purpose, and within the walls and grounds of their boarding school, the children are well cared for and educated in art and literature—though they are insulated from the outside world. Through Kathy, Ishiguro slowly reveals a chilling alternate future reminiscent of those imagined by the likes of Atwood and Huxley, crafting a subtle yet incisive narrative about the human condition and the inevitable fate that awaits us all.

Hunger A Memoir of My Body

by Roxane Gay

$16.99 – Available at
Boulder Book Store

From the author of Bad Feminist comes a powerful, vulnerable account of what it’s like to be fat, black, and female in America. With unflinching candor, Gay explores her complicated relationship with food and her body, describing how both trauma and cultural attitudes inform her experiences. Hunger begins with the admonition that it is not meant to be motivational, but many will find empowerment in Gay’s rejection of society’s contempt for overweight people, and her admission that she struggles with maintaining a positive self-image anyway. Readers of all shapes and sizes will discover wisdom within the pages of Gay’s bold memoir.

Just Mercy

by Bryan Stevenson

$16.00 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,

20% off at Barbed
Wire Books

As a young lawyer, Stevenson made history when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice created to defend the most marginalized members of the Montgomery, Alabama community. One such individual was Walter McMillian, a young black man who had been sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. Stevenson’s compelling memoir tells how, like a real-life Atticus Finch, he sought true justice for McMillian and others. This eye-opening read exposes a criminal justice system that is often anything but just, yet offers hope that it can be reformed.

Man’s Search for Meaning

by Viktor Frankl

$13.00 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,

20% off at Barbed Wire Books

This psychiatrist’s gripping account of life in the Nazi death camps during World War II has inspired readers for generations with its message that while suffering is inevitable, we can choose how we cope with it. In Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl recounts how he endured the extreme suffering of the Holocaust by searching for purpose in the face of unspeakable horror. He shares his theory of logotherapy, which hinges on the idea that the pursuit of meaning, not pleasure, is what makes life worth living, and that by finding meaning in even the most dire circumstances, we can survive anything.

Written on the Body

edited by Lexie Bean

$19.95 – Call to order,
or available online

A collection of letters by trans and non-binary survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, Written on the Body will break your heart and mend it more than once. Each letter is written to a body part, blending narratives of identity, gender, trauma, and healing. Bean’s stirring anthology showcases the courage of its contributors—members of a community so often silenced—as they speak their truth through various literary forms. At once both horrifying and hopeful, this intimate glimpse into the experiences of trans and non-binary survivors is a gift like no other.

The Complete Persepolis

by Marjane Satrapi

$25.95 – Available at Barnes & Noble,

used at 2nd & Charles

Persepolis is a graphic autobiography that begins with Satrapi’s childhood in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution. Interwoven with the universal struggle of growing up are the challenges and contradictions unique to Satrapi’s life: coming of age in a time of political upheaval, her feelings of isolation while studying abroad in Austria, and her difficulties reintegrating into Iranian society after her return home. Sometimes sad, often funny, always honest, Persepolis provides a window into the realities of life as an Iranian woman at the time of a major cultural shift.

Fun Home

by Alison Bechdel

$16.99 – Available
at Boulder Book Store, used at 2nd & Charles,

used at Barbed Wire Books

Bechdel’s graphic memoir details her life growing up in rural Pennsylvania, where her father ran a funeral home before his untimely death. Through non-linear storytelling replete with enough literary devices to make an English teacher blush, Bechdel chronicles the story of her family, specifically the complicated relationship with her father, Bruce, as well as her journey of coming out as a lesbian. Fun Home is darkly witty and deeply moving, and a landmark achievement in graphic literature.

Rising Out of Hatred

by Eli Saslow

$26.95 – Available
at Barnes & Noble

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow tells the true story of Derek Black, describing his upbringing in a radically far-right family and his eventual renouncement of white nationalism. Black, whose father founded the largest white nationalist community on the Internet and whose godfather was a KKK Grand Wizard, was committed to his racist beliefs until he attended a liberal college, where he had a change of heart. Saslow renders Black’s transformation with thoughtful empathy, and his book could not be more timely during this difficult period in the United States, our country riven by a vast ideological divide.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie

$15.99 – Available at Boulder Book Store,

20% off at Barbed Wire Books

Junior, an aspiring cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, decides to leave his poverty-stricken school on the reservation for a farm town high school 22 miles away instead. The problem is, he’s the only Native American there—besides the school mascot. Unwavering in its depiction of sexuality, alcoholism, and other difficult topics, The Absolutely True Diary is as raw as it is funny. Alexie’s personal experiences inform this coming-of-age tale about a boy who takes his future into his own hands, despite the challenges it brings.

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

$14.99 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,

20% off at Barbed Wire Books

Narrated by Death himself, The Book Thief is the story of a girl named Liesel growing up in Nazi Germany with her foster parents. She steals her first book when she picks it up out of the snow next to her brother’s grave. Soon, Liesel steals books from wherever she can find them, even from Nazi book-burnings. When her foster family hides a Jew named Max in their basement, Liesel befriends him, and her world is changed forever. Zusak’s gorgeous prose brings every page to life in this enduring tale of love, friendship, and the power of books.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel García Márquez

$16.99 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,

used at Barbed Wire Books

García Márquez’s captivating novel chronicles the rise and fall of the fictional town of Macondo, Colombia through its ties to seven generations of the Buendía family and the many misfortunes that befall them. Founded by José Arcadio Buendía, Macondo becomes the epicenter of frequent strange and miraculous events. Ultimately a story about love, family, fate, and the cyclical nature of time, this seminal piece of magical realist fiction weaves myth, magic, and history into one profoundly beautiful work.

Annihilation

by Jeff VanderMeer

$14.00 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,

20% off at Barbed Wire Books

The mysterious biome known as Area X has been abandoned for decades, and nature has reclaimed all evidence of civilization within. Yet 11 expeditions sent to survey Area X have failed—some committed suicide, some turned on each other, some returned traumatized, and some simply disappeared. Annihilation, the first book in the Southern Reach trilogy, follows the women of the 12th expedition: a biologist, a surveyor, an anthropologist, and a psychologist. With a creeping, existential horror that can only be described as Lovecraftian, VanderMeer’s novel explores epistemology and the human urge to know the un-knowable.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

by Haruki Murakami

$17.00 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,

20% off at Barbed Wire Books

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is perhaps one of Murakami’s most acclaimed novels, with his telltale blend of gorgeous prose and surreal storytelling. What begins as a search for a missing cat develops into the exploration of Tokyo’s grim netherworld as Toru Okada, recently unemployed, unravels a philosophically-driven mystery unlike any other. Surrounded by a strange cast of allies and enemies, including a psychic prostitute, a morbid 16-year-old girl, and a grizzled veteran, Murakami’s unlikely anti-hero embarks on an adventure as profound as it is bizarre.

House of Leaves

by Mark Z. Danielewski

$22.00 – Available at Boulder Book Store,
20% off at Barbed Wire Books, used at 2nd & Charles

How to describe that which defies description? Structurally, House of Leaves is a story within a story: On one level, the chilling account of award-winning photojournalist Will Navidson, whose family moves into a house that is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside; on another, the dissertation-like manuscript of Zampanò, discovered and annotated by the increasingly paranoid Johnny Truant after his death. Thematically, House of Leaves is rather like if The Blair Witch Project had been a book instead of a movie. Terrifying and ambitious, this book is not for the faint of heart.

The Only Harmless Great Thing

by Brooke Bolander

$10.99 – Call to order,
or available online

What is the cost of progress? Bolander’s heartbreaking alternate history asks this question as she imagines a connection between the Radium Girls, female factory workers who died of radiation poisoning in the early years of the 20th century, and Topsy, an elephant put to death by electrocution during the same time. In Bolander’s retelling, the dying workers train an enslaved race of sentient elephants to replace them, but one woman  and her elephant friend devise a way to fight back.

The Sun and Her Flowers

by Rupi Kaur

$16.99 – Available
at Boulder Book Store,

used at Barbed Wire Books

The second collection of art and poetry by the acclaimed author of Milk and Honey brings us on a healing journey of growth and self-love, using the life cycle of a plant as a conceit throughout. Reading Kaur’s work is no less intimate an experience than in her first book, as she describes the pain of love lost (wilting), the darkness of sexual violence and depression (falling), the importance of origins and family (rooting), the joy of new love (rising), and the celebration of becoming at home in one’s skin (blooming).

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin

by Terrance Hayes

$18.00 – Available
at Boulder Book Store

In his resonant collection of 70 poems with the same title, Hayes explores what it means to be a black American in a country fraught with racial injustice. His sonnets are scathing, tender, hilarious, personal, and political, and his wordplay is simply unparalleled as he imbues the form with the frenetic energy of a man possessed. Heavy with its themes of hatred and hope, binaries and contradictions, American Sonnets firmly anchors itself in the heart of our time, a painfully raw portrayal of the contemporary American experience. 

The post Books That Change Lives appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Summer is all about exploration and fun. In true Colorado fashion, we put together a guide to the ultimate reading adventure. From hot reads and inspiring locations, to handy little things, it is everything that a book-lover needs. Dive in and find your next summer favorite!      

Best Books:

Tangerine
by Christine Mangan

What a compelling debut Tangerine turned out to be! Christine Mangan put together an exotic thriller that captures it all: intricate relationships, soul-searching, and obsession. Set in Tangier, a Moroccan city, this novel is full of colors, smells, and unexpected turns. Beautifully written, it will not leave you bored for even a fraction of a second.

War on Peace
by Ronan
Farrow

A serious read for those who like to stay on top of current events. Ronan Farrow closely investigates the decline in diplomacy and its harmful effects on U.S. foreign policy. This thought-provoking narrative will take you inside complex international conflicts: from Washington DC to Afghanistan, Pakistan to Somalia, and other terrifying places.

Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf

Even though Holt, Colorado, is a fictional town, its community could not be more real. Kent Haruf, who was born in Pueblo, precisely depicts small-town people and their ways. Among beloved landscapes, you will revisit places where man’s goodness is still of value. It’s a somewhat tragic, yet sensitive and powerful story; totally worth your summer days.

Strange Stars
by Jason Heller

Another talented Colorado author and music journalist, Jason Heller released a new book on June 5th. It promises to be a curious and exciting work about the science fiction integration into the world of 1970s rock’n’roll. The music of David Bowie, Pink Floyd and other pop artists inspired by outer space has changed the industry forever. See for yourself how it happened and why nerd culture will continue thriving.

How to Stop Time
by Matt Haig

Beware! This is not an ordinary time travel story. In fact, Matt Haig’s novel is not about time travel at all. It’s about exploring the possibilities in human life when one is given over 400 years to learn, love, and fight. The road to ultimate happiness is rough and exhausting. What would you do to conquer it?

Best Spots:

Boulder Creek

When things get heated on the pages of Tangerine, hop on a tube and float down the creek to cool off. Eben G. Fine Park is a great starting point for beginners. There are no sharp turns and flows are low, so you’ll be able to enjoy the city views. If you want a lazy river type of ride, double check the creek’s volume of water passing that day. It shouldn’t be more than 200 cfs (cubic feet per second). Happy tubing!

The Bitter Bar at
835 Walnut St, Boulder

You can hide away at the corner table, sipping your favorite drink and reading a copy of War on Peace, or you can sit at the bar and discuss it with a bartender. We bet he has an opinion. For an enhanced experience, order a few small plates – the food goes hand-in-hand with out-of-this-world cocktails. Also, their happy hour is seven days a week.

Artist Point on
Flagstaff Mountain

The perfect spot to embark on a new literary adventure. Whether you are hiking or driving, the final destination is breathtaking. You will see glorious Indian Peaks Wilderness and Longs Peak along with the blooming plains, just like those from Where You Once Belonged. Make sure to stay hydrated, elevation is unforgiving.

Cannon Mine Coffee
at 210 S. Public Road, Lafayette

Community-oriented, vibrant and cozy, this coffee shop is great for quiet mornings and not so quiet evenings. Indulge your bookish side with local organic brews or kombucha on tap to cool off. Cannon Mine hosts music events regularly, so you might connect with a Strange Stars kind-of-crowd. A little cosmic and super fun.

Little Horse Books &
Vintage, Historic
Downtown, Louisville

Don’t get lost like Tom Hazard, protagonist of How to Stop Time, as Little Horse has three locations. All of them are awesome and can be found within Historic Downtown Louisville. Little Horse 1 offers LP vinyl records and rare books. Little Horse 2 has more records and vintage stereo equipment. Finally, Little Horse 3 is famous for its mid-century modern furnishings and art. Wow, that’s a lot of merchandise to explore.

Best Items:

Tube

Whitewater Tubing and McGuckin Hardware are locals favorite stores for outdoor stuff. 1-day pro tube rental at Whitewater Tubing will cost you $17 for a single and $24 for a double. At McGuckin Hardware you can actually buy a tube for less than $10. It’s a lot simpler and, hey, you’re saving big, especially if you are planning to tube down the Boulder Creek more than once.

Kiss the Sky

This signature happy hour drink at The Bitter Bar is for readers who take it easy. Gin, French ginger liqueur Domaine de Canton with lavender syrup and a hint of lemon create a very balanced flavor that is refreshing and rich. Pace yourself, because the cocktail is pretty strong but the price is just right.

Hammock

Get the most out of your summer adventures with a hammock. It’s light, easy to pack and oh, so comfy for reading in nearly any setting. Trek Light Gear are experts when it comes to choosing the right travel equipment. Check out their Boulder location – every hammock purchased plants two trees. Are you ready to relax at the top of Flagstaff Mountain?

Retro 1951 Pen

Two Hands Paperie on the Pearl Street Mall is a place for bibliophiles and office supplies fanatics. Anything you can imagine is there: journals, stamps, paper decor, writing instruments, etcetera. We think a 1951 pen would be cool to have in case you need to scribble a phone number for your new friend at the coffee shop or take a note in the book. Oops! Just make sure it’s not a borrowed copy.

Tote

Remember we said there are 3 Little Horses? Well, you’ll need something to carry your books and other goodies between them. , a craftsman shop also located on the Pearl Street Mall, has a huge variety of beautiful totes. The majority of products are handmade and each sale benefits artisans from around the world. It’s a win-win for all.

The post Boco & Books appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Celine
by Peter Heller

The Denver-based author of The Painter and The Dog Stars taps his childhood for inspiration of the titular Celine, who like his mother, works as a private eye in Brooklyn. Celine is exceptional at finding missing persons, but a new case sends her to the wilderness of Montana and Wyoming to find a father feared mauled by a bear. It quickly becomes apparent not everyone wants this mystery solved. Heller, an experienced outdoors writer, mixes a suspenseful plot with vibrant descriptions of the natural world while tackling topics of family privilege and loss.

Heller appears at Boulder Bookstore on March 21, 7:30 p.m.

Amiable with Big Teeth
By Claude McKay

Discovered in 2009, this 1941 manuscript by Claude McKay explores the fling with communism in Depression-era Harlem, with critical insight into local and national culture. The plot centers on the somewhat forgotten social movement to liberate Ethiopia, then under fascist control, and McKay takes a satirical look at the local politics of a disaffected African-American population and its relation to the global rise of communism and its totalitarian shortcomings.

All Our Wrong Todays
Elan Mastai

Set in an alternate present that is the utopia of generations past, a fateful incident triggers a time-travel mishap in the early 60s that results in a flawed 2016 that looks all too familiar. The protagonist must then decide which history, loved ones and reality is the right path for him. If that sounds like too much time-travel, well, that’s the plot device talking and Mastai uses it to explore the self, and versions of ourselves we present to different parties.

Lincoln in the Bardo
by George Saunders

Known for his essays and short fiction, George Saunders takes us inside the head of Abraham Lincoln with his first novel. Specifically, he explores the death of Lincoln’s young son Willie in the first year of the Civil War. Those familiar with Saunders’ other works know his voice is often compassionate and humorous in light of gloomy subject matter. The historical fiction takes place on the night of his son’s funeral with ghosts of the recently deceased used to examine the personal grief of death, and the broader dichotomy of good and evil — the war an obvious example.

Smart Baseball
By Keith Law

Subtitled The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball, ESPN writer and baseball analyst Keith Law goes to bat for sabermetrics against the traditional statistics of past eras. If you still think RBIs and Saves are worthy statistics, it’s time to catch up. Law explores the new data, some of it only available after new technologies like pitch tracking came to the major leagues.

The post March Reads appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Dark Days: A Memoir
by D. Randall Blythe
Da Capo Press

Let’s kick off with a little empathy here. Or at least, let’s try. Imagine you’re traveling through Europe with your band, flying into one city after another, playing a gig and flying on to the next destination. You land in Prague, in the Czech Republic, and are unceremoniously whisked away from your crew by the local police and kept in a holding cell for killing a young man two years earlier, an event you have no recollection of. A date for the trial is set and, despite bail being paid (twice), you’re thrown in a filthy prison cell – not speaking the language, no knowledge of the Czech legal system and its weird intricacies, and still no memories of the crime in question.

Terrifying, huh? But that’s exactly what Randy Blythe, frontman with metal band lamb of god (lower case formatting deliberate, as dictated by Blythe), went through a couple of years ago. A 19-year-old fan, Daniel Nosek, died following injuries sustained at a lamb of god show. Witnesses said that Nosek had jumped onto the stage, and Blythe had pushed him off with unnecessary force. Nosek banged his head, fell into a coma and, later, died. It’s a tragedy – Nosek did what metal fans have been doing at shows for decades, and he died for it.

Blythe remembers none of this. He remembers a show with next-to-no security, despite the band spelling out what is required in their contracts with venues. Ditto barriers. He remembers wrestling with an over-zealous fan, but that guy turned out to be somebody else entirely, somebody very much alive. More importantly, the various witnesses all offered conflicting testimony so, tragically, we still don’t truly, accurately know what happened to Daniel.

What we do know is that musicians shouldn’t have to act as their own security when they’re in the middle of performing. If Blythe did push that young man from the stage, he did it out of a sense of responsibility for those on stage, as well as for self-preservation. As he points out, metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell of the bands Pantera and DamagePlan was shot and killed while performing on stage by a crazy fan just a few years prior. That changed the mindset of many musicians.

So Dark Days is Blythe’s memoir, his retelling of the whole Godawful experience from his arrest through to his eventual release, and finally his relief when the prosecution’s appeals were thrown out of court. Blythe is, as it turns out, a gifted writer. We’ll never know what it was really like in Pankrác, but Blythe offers some seriously deep insight into the surroundings and his own state of mind. We can all relate to his very natural fears of being violently assaulted, although nothing like that ever happened. He vivid description of showering with a very sick man, colostomy bag included, is brutally frank – sights and smells. His rollercoaster ride of emotions is all detailed and, by the end, we don’t feel like we were in the cell with him but we do at least get an honest flavor of it all. Through everything, Blythe never tries to turn his back on any responsibility that might be his, and that’s most impressive of all.

Blythe’s experiences are so unique for someone in his position that Dark Days is unlike any rock memoir previously published. It’s a fascinating, unsettling and ultimately satisfying read, and one that people who have no interest in metal music can enjoy as much as the more hardcore fans of lamb of god. Recommended.

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Unbelievably, summer is upon us. Could it be that flood waters, endless gray days, high winds, and dirty snow piles have finally been replaced by sweat running down your neck, a backpack filled with hiking gear, a water bottle (or flask) and a quick summer read? In this year’s Book Guide, we supply you with both classic summer page-turners and contemporary, local favorites.

Modern Psychological Thriller

“Compound Fractures,” Stephen White
For 22 years Boulder’s favorite therapist-detective Dr. Alan Gregory solved crimes and struggled with his conscience while strolling the Pearl Street Mall, eating Tex Mex and being accused of murder. But no more. Local author Stephen White slams the book shut on his psychological thriller series this summer with a bang and a death from Gregory’s past, all under the shadow of the Flatirons. It’s another Elitch’s thrill ride as cases past and present collide and a deadly conspiracy comes to light. Like many of Gregory’s patients and cases, it’s difficult. Not all fans are pleased with the series’ surprise epilogue, but Colorado folks will enjoy the local flavor and history.

Classic Psychological Thriller

“The Talented Mr. Ripley,”
Patricia Highsmith (1955)
Sociopath Tom Ripley laid the groundwork for future charming serial killers like Dexter Morgan and Hannibal Lecter. Patricia Highsmith’s five book series, beginning with “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” introduced the world to a young man escaping his unsophisticated past. Who could blame this likeable, highly intelligent con artist as he takes on the life of an entitled, shallow American expatriate? Over the years Ripley plays the part so well—while also struggling with his own identity (and unspoken homosexuality)—that we forgive every lie and every murder must commit.

Modern Horror

“The Abominable,” Dan Simmons
Keep chilly this summer with Front Range author Dan Simmon’s latest fear fest, “The Abominable”. It’s 1924 and a trio of friends search Mt. Everest for a missing climber. But they are not alone in their search. Others want the body—but why? And what abominable things must each do to discover the truth? You don’t have to be into straight up horror to enjoy this tale.
Simmons goes into great detail about the trials of early mountaineering and the dangers involved. He vividly recreates the feel of racing to conquer Everest, to conquer your own fears, and the sheer beauty of climbing.

Classic Horror

“At the Mountains of Madness,”
H.P. Lovecraft (1936)
Nobody tingles the spine quite like Lovecraft. His is the dread you feel the moment before you discover what’s under the bed, be it a monster or your rotten little brother. His is the scream building up in your throat before its release. His is the voice that will leave you cold even as the sun burns your skin.
In 1931 a group of scientists investigates ancient ruins unlike any seen before. Both Alien and The Thing owe their inspiration to this story. “I am forced into speech because men of science have refused to follow my advice without knowing why,” begins the tale of an Antarctic expedition gone horribly, indescribably awry.

Trashy Beach Read

“Tumbleweed,” Julia Bremer
“Two men were infinitely better than one, an intoxicating combination if I could find it, and my greedy self-indulgence was boundless, my sexuality unleashed those many years ago with him. His shadow haunted me and shaped my obsession, the depth of my depravity deep and forged in the cafes and nightclubs and back alleys in a dozen countries with dozens of men. Once I’d started down that road, I couldn’t stop and couldn’t go back…”

Classic Trash

“Scruples,” Judith Krantz (1978)

Frumpy, overlooked, poor little rich girl Honey Winthrop remakes herself in Paris and returns as “Billie” a chic, slender, yet still lonely, young woman. Deceit, heartbreak, and a whole lot of sexual discovery follows as Billie fights her way up the ruthless ladder of luxury boutiques on Rodeo Drive. For years “Scruples” was the quintessential Trashy Beach Read. Don’t tell me you can’t smell the Bain de Soleil and feel the rubbery texture of the lounge chair on your supple back as you sip your Tab while reading this!

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TaraShea Nesbit’s debut novel “The Los Alamos Wives,” casts a light on one of the most top-secret operations in American history: the Manhattan Project. Drawing from oral histories and diaries of the women behind the bomb, Nesbit crafted a beautiful testament to their story. YS sat down with the Boulderite author to chat about all things writing and what’s up next for her.

YS: There isn’t very much fiction literature about the Manhattan Project; how did you decide to make it the focus of your first book?
TSN: It all started because I was living up in Tacoma, Washington, and my friend worked at a high school that had a mushroom cloud as their mascot because this town was also a Manhattan Project town. And I just started thinking about loyalty and responsibility and I started doing a lot of research, but I kept wanting to go farther back, and that led me to the scientists. From there, I started thinking about the wives who didn’t know what their husbands were building and how they’re the source of all that we know now about it [the Manhattan Project]. They’re like the origins of our thoughts of the atomic legacy.

I like how the focus is on the wives who weren’t really in the know of what was going on around them.
I wanted to make more space in the world for their voices. I see a link between their story and contemporary America. We’re living in this age where we also don’t know what we’re helping to support. So in some ways I feel like we’re all the wives of the bomb.

You tell their story from a collective point of view; were you concerned that it would put off any readers?
I know that it’s not a way that readers are accustomed to accessing characters. Like, when we think of American fiction, we think a lot of a character-driven story. And this character is a group. But it really came about naturally when I was listening to these histories of the women; they would often go right away to “we,” like it was this reflex for them, and they meant the other wives. It was a way that they were willing to portray their sense of group identity.

Are you working on another book?
Yeah, it’s too early to say much about it, but it’s a 17th century transatlantic crossing from Europe to America. All of the people that are on this boat—like the fur trappers and financial backers, the kids—have this idea of a better life coming to America.

Right now you’re reading…
Perec’s “Species of Spaces.” He wants us to just think about what happens if we narrate the everyday; that’s nice.

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We owe a great debt to the printing arts, and I don’t mean what gets sprayed onto precisely sized sheets of bleached dead trees as it lurches its way out of that plastic box on your desk when you click “OK.”

I’m talking about the raw setting of moveable, cast type by hand, the carving of an image on wood or metal—all backwards, of course—and then feeding sheets of beefy paper through a gloriously loud, heavy and digit-endangering device that reeks of Industrial Revolution form, function, ink and oil.

Printers of yore, and the men and women who owned and operated them, gave voice to the people, politics and news of the day. My great grandfather, Olney, was one such character and for a time was editor and publisher of the Blue Springs News at the turn of the 20th century.

Just as turntables and the vinyl albums they played have all but been relegated to the landfills of history, letterpress printers are largely cast iron relics used as decoration. But in the hands of a few who can mind their Ps and Qs and coax a righteous print job out of one, they serve as the heavy rhythm section for the march of history.

Boulder County is fortunate to be home to a few who still know and practice the endangered art of type setting and letterpress printing. They gather as a group known as the Book Arts League—a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of letterpress printing, bookbinding, calligraphy and paper making. The group’s annual fundraiser—the 2011 Edible Book Show and Tea—will be held at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1760 13th Street in Boulder, from 4-6pm April 10.

This fundraising event features edible “books” and other literary creations by local culinary artists and just plain folks who want to submit their “cooked books” for viewing and, upon the ringing of a cow bell at about 5pm, attendees get to eat their words, as it were. Those who would like to submit their own edible creations are encouraged to hit the bookartsleague.org website for complete info.

The two pros taking part this year are Linda Willetto from Indulge Bakery at Arapahoe Road and 95th Street in Lafayette and Sarah Armorese whose chocolate boutique, Piece, Love and Chocolate, is soon to open at 805 Pearl Street in Boulder. Slices of their creations sell for $5.

And while the majority of edible submissions from the public are of the sweet nature, there are those—like Edible Tea Committee Chairwoman and Book Arts League President Linda Peterson—who prefer the savory route. A submission last year included the “Kyoto City of Gardens” made with asparagus and broccoli and crackers and pretzels. “They just have to be edible, they don’t have to taste good,” Peterson said.

There will be working printing presses on hand and attendees can print bookmarks on the platen press or greeting cards from a wood block. And Mad Hatter and BAL member Earl Noe will be on hand practicing “Jell-O” journalism with his gelatin duplicator or hectograph printing on rice paper (edible, of course).

This crude form of printing—pressed into service by Stephen King and George Orwell in their youth—was used to avoid detection by subversives because the press could literally be eaten, leaving no trace of its existence. In fact, Allied prisoners of war used the process to print documents, maps and other items used in escape attempts from the Stalags in World War II.

Yes, there is a rich history to printing and the good people of the Book Arts League will let no pun go unturned in this, their annual gala. Good journalism may be a dying craft, but the art of letterpress printing is alive in Boulder County. Now, you can see for yourself.

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