Culture Fiend

Julie Andrews’s Book Tour Comes to Seattle

Three chances to catch the actor promoting her new children’s book.

Posted by: Seth Sommerfeld on Apr 10, 2012 at 01:35PM 2 Comments

Julie Andrews brings her latest children’s book to Seattle.

While she’ll always be best known for her star turns in The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews has quite the successful second career as an author of children’s books. She has co-authored more than 15 children’s books to date, including four New York Times best sellers. To support her latest release, The Very Fairy Princess : Here Comes the Flower Girl Andrews will come to town (hopefully via umbrella) for three Seattle area book signings at the end of April.

The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl is the third book The Very Fairy Princess book Andrews has written with coauthor Emma Walton Hamilton. The story follows a young girl named Gerry whose imagination leads her to believe she’s a real fairy princess which helps brighten the lives of those around her. The writing duo also authored the Dumpy the Dumptruck series of children’s books.

Signings will be held at University Book Store, Third Place Books, and Barnes and Noble in Lynnwood. All three signings are ticketed events. Tickets are available by purchasing the book from one of the stores starting Tuesday, April 17. The restrictions for the signings are fairly tight. No photo or video will be allowed and ticket-holders cannot bring memorabilia for Andrews to sign.

Alas, a lack of photo opportunities negates any chance of creating a sequel to the epic video posted below. That solemn reality is hard to swallow, even with a spoonful of sugar. Note: Video contains mild profanity.

Julie Andrews signing The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl
Apr 28 at 1, University Book Store. Tickets available with purchase of the book starting Apr 17. More info at bookstore.washington.edu.

Apr 29 at 1, Third Place Books. Tickets available with purchase of the book starting Apr 17. More info at thirdplacebooks.com.

Apr 29 at 4:30, Lynnwood Barnes and Noble. Tickets available with purchase of the book starting Apr 17. More info at barnesandnoble.com.

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Tags: Books & Talks, University Bookstore, Third Place Books, Family Friendly

TONIGHT: William Gibson Talks Tech Fetishes and Zero History at UW

We trust the man who came up with the word “cyberspace.”

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Aug 02, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Originally published August 2011. Now that Zero History (Berkley; August 2), by “cyberspace” coiner and Vancouver, BC, inhabitant William Gibson, is in paperback, we can devour the high-tech thriller as it was meant to be devoured: at the beach—at a gray-skies-and-even-grayer-seas Northwest beach. In this sequel to Spook Country, drug addict Milgrim and erstwhile rocker Hollis Henry uncover the secret connection between fashion and military apparel—using iPhones, Twitter, and every other imaginable technology of the moment. Choice line for coffee shop dwellers: “The cost of wifi was white pear tea.”

Hear Gibson talk about tech fetishes and cyberspace tonight at 7:30 at the University of Washington (Kane 130). Tickets are free with the purchase of Zero History ($16), or $5 otherwise.

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Tags: University District, Books & Talks, University Bookstore

Big Trimpin: Seattle Sound Artist Unveils New Book at Town Hall

Posted by: Annie Rose Favreau on Jun 22, 2011 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

Trimpin, the Seattle sound artist behind the EMP’s If VI Was IX (pictured), celebrates the release of his new book at Town Hall.

Trimpin. The name sounds familiar, right? It should: It belongs to the Seattle-based sound sculptor behind the Experience Music Project’s If VI Was IX, that tornado of self-picking, self-tuning guitars. “My work is always visualizing sound,” the artist says. "A blind person can hear the movement and a deaf person can see it.”

Although Trimpin’s work has appeared all over Seattle (remember KeyArena’s Hydraulis, the wall of water that responded to the movement of sports fans?), access to most of his projects is limited. Only a few of his sculptures are viewable; he doesn’t allow recordings of his music; and then there’s the problem of commercial viability. It’s kind of hard to purchase a Bunsen burner-powered organ designed to float on water while making duck call noises.

Published this month, coffee table book Trimpin: Contraptions for Art and Sound was designed to fill the void, and document—as best a 2D rendering can—the artist’s major works. The book is composed of passages by Trimpin, paragraphs lifted from museum programs, and essays by writers, composers, curators, and friends. “The (Un)Common Object” by Washington State University museum of art director Chris Bruce is a particularly insightful look at how Trimpin fits into the tradition of sculpture (hint: he doesn’t).

Illustrated with large photographs, the book’s visual style is geared toward clarity, not glamour shots. The most exciting images are the colorful sketches, diagrams, and blueprints of Trimpin’s outlandish contraptions. The designs take you inside Trimpin’s artistic process—a joyful collision of messiness and precision, music and science. It appeals to artists and tech geeks alike.

Trimpin’s known for a while he’s not quite like the rest of us: In the afterword, he thanks his parents for “ignoring the fourth-grade teacher’s warning that ‘there was something wrong with my logical way of thinking.’” But perhaps its us who should be thanking him.

Town Hall will host a launch party for Trimpin on June 24 at 6pm. The artist will be on hand to discuss the book and provide “a musical interlude.”

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Tags: Visual Art, Review, Town Hall, Art Events, Books & Talks, University Bookstore

Free Comic Book Day

This Saturday, celebrate the nation’s best holiday you’ve never heard of.

Posted by: Annie Rose Favreau on May 05, 2011 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Free Green Lanterns for everyone!*

(*While supplies last.)

Duck into any participating U.S. or Canadian comic book shop on Saturday (find one near you with the store locator) for your very own complimentary comic. If the latest installment of Green Lantern isn’t really your thing, there’s a host of other book events that day to keep you entertained:

Comedian Demetri Martin (you know, the “Senior Youth Correspondent” on The Daily Show) will make an appearance at University Book Store to talk about his new publication This Is a Book by Demetri Martin Called This Is a Book.

Charlaine Harris —author of the paperback series that spawned HBO’s True Blood—will be at Town Hall promoting the latest Sookie Stackhouse adventure, Dead Reckoning. The tickets start at $35, but this price doesn’t actually suck (sorry!): It includes a signed book and an alcoholic beverage of your choice.

For a more thought-provoking time, head over to Pilot Books, where New Orleans photographer Jennifer Shaw will sign and speak about Hurricane Story. Told through 46 photographs, Shaw uses dolls, toys, and a plastic Holga camera to illustrate her real-life escape from Hurricane Katrina.

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Tags: Pilot Books, Free Stuff, Town Hall, Books & Talks, University Bookstore

This Week’s Literary Events: Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll

Need a little vice in your life? We’ve got you covered.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Apr 11, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Rock star name: Nikki Sixx. Real name: Frank Carlton Serafino Ferrana Jr.

Sex What happens when every woman in town stops wanting sex? Find out when Meg Wolitzer reads from her new novel about that unlikely occurrence, The Uncoupling, tonight at 7 at the Seattle Public Library (free).

Drugs Recovering addict Nic Sheff did something even braver than deal with his meth addiction—he let his dad David write a book about it (the bestselling Beautiful Boy). Nic responded with his own memoir, Tweak, and the recovery process continues in his new book for young readers, We All Fall Down: Living with Addiction. Hear him talk on Thursday, April 14 at 7:30pm at Elliott Bay Books (free).

Rock ‘n’ Roll Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx married two different Playboy bunnies and has multiple Xs in his last name. That’s graduate-level rock star; must be why he’s signing his latest book, This is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography, and Life Through the Distorted Lens of Nikki Sixx, at the University of Washington Book Store. See him Wednesday, April 13 at 7pm (free with book purchase).

Don’t forget: Caroline Kennedy reads from her new collection of poetry tonight at 7 at Third Place Books, and paleontologist Donald Johanson talks about his discovery of the 3.2-million-year-old “Lucy” fossil tonight and tomorrow at Benaroya Hall.

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Tags: Elliott Bay Book Co, Books & Talks, University Bookstore, Seattle Public Library, Third Place Books

David Brooks Gets Inside Our Heads at Town Hall

Ponder life’s questions with a New York Times all-star, or check out this week’s other literary events.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Mar 21, 2011 at 10:15AM 0 Comments

New York Times columnist David Brooks knows why you are the way you are.

If you’ve been plagued by existential questions lately—the “Who am I?” and “Why did I do that?” sort, not “How could Butler only be an 8 seed in the NCAA tourney?”—consider heading to Town Hall tonight, March 21, at 7:30. Writer and social commentator David Brooks has a few things to say on the matter of our existence.

Who he is You know how Sarah Palin uses catchy slogans and TV spots to spread her right-wing message? Brooks is the opposite kind of celebrity conservative. He writes intellectual columns for the New York Times, and even dared to say ‘Barack Obama should run for president’ back in 2006. (And not just because he hoped Obama would crash and burn. Because he actually liked the guy.)

Why he’s talking Back in 2001, Brooks wrote the social study Bobos in Paradise (think Stuff White People Like for the cocktail-party set). Now he’s releasing The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement (March 2011, Random House), which looks at the unconscious and social influences on a fictional American couple. He’ll talk about human nature and success—and why we’re not really in control of our destiny at all. Cheery thought! Tickets ($5) are available at the door starting at 6:30 (cash or check only).

Also this week Music journalist-turned-pickup artist Neil Strauss signs his new book Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead at the University Book Store at 7pm on Tuesday. Sci-fi goddess Ursula K. Le Guin reads her poetry at Seattle Public Library’s Central branch on Wednesday (free event), and Seattle’s Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, is the featured guest at Thursday’s fundraising dinner Words Matter at the W Hotel, in support of Seattle Arts and Lectures. Tickets are $150.

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Tags: Town Hall, Books & Talks, University Bookstore, Seattle Public Library

Mr. Inappropriate: Matthew Inman, Web-Comic Creator

His debut book is called ‘5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth.’

Posted by: Matthew Halverson on Mar 01, 2011 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Ryan McVay.

Originally published in the March 2011 issue. Matthew Inman’s brand of humor isn’t for everyone. His web comic, The Oatmeal, is a bugnuts bouillabaisse of crack-addled tyrannosaurs, bear-on-pterodactyl copulation, and snark-laced lessons in proper grammar and spelling (“If you put an A in ‘definitely,’ then you’re definitely an A-hole”). But since July 2009, when the Fremont resident and onetime web developer started dishing out his absurdist analyses of everyday life populated by doughy, dead-eyed pseudo humans, he’s recruited an impressive army of fellow twisted thinkers who dig what he does. And this March, he’ll reward his minions’ loyalty by releasing his first book, 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth. And, c’mon—what’s not hilarious about flogging a dolphin?

Inman reads from his new book tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 2, at 7 at University Book Store. Admission is free.

For more from the Fremont resident, read our Quote Unquote interview.

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Tags: Books & Talks, University Bookstore