CHUCK PALAHNIUK's world has always been, well, different from yours and mine. The pieces that comprise Stranger than Fiction (Doubleday, $23.95), his first nonfiction collection, prove just how different. Encounters with alternative culture heroes Marilyn Manson and Juliette Lewis; the peculiar wages of fame attendant on the production of the movie Fight Club; the really peculiar lives of submariners; and much more. Note that Chuck will be signing books before and after the event!

Stranger than Fiction

NEAL STEPHENSON
Tuesday, October 5, 7:30 p.m.

The System of the World (William Morrow, $27.95) is the concluding volume in NEAL STEPHENSON's Baroque Cycle, begun with Quicksilver and continued in The Confusion. Here, the world is a most unsteady place—especially London, center of finance, innovation, and conspiracy in the year 1714. Daniel Waterhouse makes his return to England's shores as the greatest technological innovation in history slowly takes shape—and everything that was will be changed forever.

The System of the World

Quicksilver ($ 15.95)

The Confusion ($ 27.95)

CAROLINE MYSS
Wednesday, October 6, 7:30 p.m. at Boulder High School

For more than two decades, internationally renowned pioneer in energy medicine CAROLINE MYSS has been studying how people use their personal power. Now, in Invisible Acts of Power (Free Press, $24.00), Myss expands her message about power in an entirely new spiritual direction. With characteristic originality, she explains how we become channels for divine grace and a conduit for miracles through kind, compassionate, generous actions taken without a private agenda.

This event will be held at Boulder High School. Tickets are available at Boulder Book Store and are $10 each—but you can buy up to two tickets for $5 each for every Invisible Acts of Power copy you purchase in advance.

Invisible Acts of Power

MARK IRWIN
Thursday, October 7, 7:30 p.m.

MARK IRWIN, winner of two Pushcart Prizes, displays a poetic style that is a direct descendent of Rilke and Hart Crane. In the words of David St. John, he is "an impeccable craftsman [who] writes with a lyrical urgency that somehow combines the brilliance of Valery and the natural ease of observation of William Carlos Williams." His latest collection of poetry, Bright Hunger (Boa Editions, $14.95), is a showcase of verse propelled by charged rhythms and lush music.

Bright Hunger

RAY DODD
Tuesday, October 12, 7:30 p.m.

In 1996, after a chance meeting at the pyramid ruins in Teotihuacan, Mexico, RAY DODD embarked on a six-year apprenticeship with Don Miguel Ruiz, author of the bestselling book The Four Agreements. Now a master coach and mentor, Dodd reveals how hidden beliefs create barriers to success and true happiness. An inspiring guide based on everyday wisdom, The Power of Belief (Hampton Roads, $14.95) offers simple steps to re-create any belief that stands in your way.

The Power of Belief

The Four Agreements ($ 17.95)

ROBB KENDRICK
Wednesday, October 13, 7:30 p.m.

As a sequel to its New York Times bestseller Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs, National Geographic is publishing In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits (National Geographic, $30.00). The new book showcases the people of the world, spanning more than 100 years and covering every corner of the globe. The portraits were taken by a group of celebrated photographers that includes ROBB KENDRICK, whose work includes the book's cover.

In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits

Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs ($ 30.00)

JON KATZ
Thursday, October 14, 7:30 p.m.

The Dogs of Bedlam Farm (Villard, $22.95) recounts a harrowing winter JON KATZ spent on a remote, windswept hillside in upstate New York with a few life-saving friends, ugly ghosts from the past, and more livestock than any novice should attempt to manage. Heartwarming and full of drama, it is the story of how several dogs forced Katz to confront his sense of humanity, and how he learned the places a dog could lead him—and the ways a dog could change him.

The Dogs of Bedlam Farm

TAMORA PIERCE
Sunday, October 17, 2:00 p.m.

Bestselling author TAMORA PIERCE captured the imagination of readers 20 years ago with Alanna: The First Adventure. Now, in Trickster's Queen (Random House, $17.95), Alanna's daughter is no longer a slave—she's part of a rebellion against the colonial rulers of the Copper Isles. The rebels believe that a new queen is about to rise up to take the throne, and Aly is busy keeping the potential teenage queen and her younger siblings safe—but she's in for a few nasty surprises.

Trickster's Queen

Alanna: The First Adventure ($ 5.95)

BOULDER BOOK STORE READING GROUP
Tuesday, October 19, 7:30 p.m.

This month, join the Boulder Book Store Reading Group, "Boulder Reads Together," as we discuss Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake (Mariner, $14.00). Lahiri's debut story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000—and now, in her bestselling first novel, she explores the expectations bestowed on us by our parents and the means by which we come to define who we are. As always, our reading group is open to all—just read the book and come on by!

The Namesake

PETER HELLER
Wednesday, October 20, 7:30 p.m.

The Tsangpo Gorge in southeastern Tibet has lured explorers and adventurers since its discovery. Sacred to the Buddhists, the inspiration for Shangri La, the remote Gorge is also a more difficult river-running challenge than any stretch of river ever attempted. In January 2002, in the heart of the Himalayan winter, a team of seven kayakers launched an assault on the Gorge. Accompanying them was author PETER HELLER—and Hell or High Water (Rodale, $24.95) is their story.

Hell or High Water

THOMAS FRANK
Thursday, October 21, 7:30 p.m.

In What's the Matter with Kansas? (Henry Holt, $24.00), THOMAS FRANK cracks the great political mystery of our time: how conservatism, once a marker of class privilege, became the creed of millions of ordinary Americans. With his acclaimed wit and acuity, Frank presents a critical, brilliant, and funny assessment of who we are, while telling a remarkable story of how a group of frat boys, lawyers, and CEOs came to convince a nation that they spoke on behalf of the People.

What's the Matter with Kansas?

BOULDER BOOK STORE TEEN READING GROUP
Saturday, October 23, 2:00 p.m.

We're proud to introduce the debut meeting of our Boulder Book Store Teen Reading Group—the reading group that's by teens and for teens! This month the group will be discussing Clive Barker's Abarat, the story of a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day, from the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, to the dark terrors of Gorgossium, the island of Midnight. If you're a teenager, just read the book and come by for the discussion!

Abarat

WALTER BORNEMAN
Tuesday, October 26, 7:30 p.m.

In June 1812, the still-infant United States had the audacity to declare war on the British Empire. By 1814, however, the United States was no longer fighting for free trade, sailors' rights, and as much of Canada as it could grab, but for its very existence as a nation. In 1812: The War that Forged a Nation (HarperCollins, $25.95), WALTER BORNEMAN tells the story of how the United States, with both humiliating and glorious moments, found the fire that was to forge a nation.

1812: The War that Forged a Nation

JOHN WILCOCKSON
Wednesday, October 27, 7:30 p.m.

In July 2004, Lance Armstrong did what no other cyclist has ever done—win a sixth Tour de France. Having covered the Tour de France for the past 35 years, JOHN WILCOCKSON is the perfect writer to tell this story. But 23 Days in July (Perseus, $25.00) is more than just a day-by-day account of the race. Wilcockson brings together engaging nuggets of history, sets up each day's race with vivid descriptions of the geography, and highlights the mental as well as the physical battle.

23 Days in July

ELYN AVIVA
Thursday, October 28, 7:30 p.m.

ELYN AVIVA's The Journey (Pilgrims Process, $24.95) is the tale of Gwen, a young American pilgrim, who is confronted by a vision that won't leave her alone. Driven by the deep longing of her soul, Gwen embarks on an archetypal journey that includes modern-day Druids, a quest for the Grail, the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, the Forest of Broceliande, Black Madonna shrines, and Sufis in Istanbul. Ultimately, her search for meaning leads her to discover who she really is.

The Journey

IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND AN EVENT, BUT WOULD LIKE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY, please call us to order one (personalized copies must be prepaid). All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. If you are unable to use the stairs to the second floor ballroom where our events are held, please call ahead to arrange for the closed-circuit television service available on the main floor. Events are subject to change or cancellation. Please call us to confirm on the day of the event: (303) 447-2074. Books not purchased at Boulder Book Store will be signed only if time permits.

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