Better World Books Blog - Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Community Outreach & more » San Francisco

Rockin’ out with HEART in San Fran

Abbey — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:00:30 +0000

So after being on a music tour for a while, the “star-struck” atmosphere has definitely dwindled… but let me just say that when Heart took the stage in San Francisco, I could barely contain my excitement! I mean come on, Ann Wilson?? Dare I say, best female rock vocals EVER??? (Can you tell I’m a fan?) Her voice was pure and perfect, sounding just has it had when their first album came out in 1976. What’s she doing to preserve that thing and how do I get in on it? Other performances on the tour have been powerful and somewhat mellow, but Heart ripped that stage to pieces. The audience was going crazy! Rock and Roll! Can’t wait to see their next performance tomorrow in Kansas City! Ann and Nancy Wilson, you both have a piece of my heart!!

Ok, let me step away from the cheesiness before I reach a point I can’t come back from (too late?). The San Francisco show as a whole was crowded with people. We were right in front of the ABC Stage in the sponsor village and people were packed in as close as they could get in order to see the shows. A Fine Frenzy drew a particularly large crowd with people surrounding sponsor booths and creeping back toward the entrance to the mainstage. Can you really blame them? http://alturl.com/bjh4d

Better World Books + Room to Read @ Lilith

Abbey — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:43:45 +0000

The Lilith tour recently stopped in San Francisco for a great concert. What do you know! One of our non-profit literacy partners, Room to Read, is based in San Fran. I had a chance to sit down on camera for a chat with Sonia Torres from Room to Read right in the i4c Campaign tent. (Please pardon the background noise, our tent was *packed*)

What We’re Reading: SF Edition

Jack — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:59:49 +0000

Now that you know “We [heart] Books” I thought I’d tell you what we’re reading here at the SF Office.

Justin: Always Be Testing, Collapse (Audiobook), Watchmen
Cory: The Big House, The Glass Castle
Geoff: Obama’s Challenge
Eddie: Web Analytics an Hour a Day, Watchmen
Xavier: Let My People Go Surfing
Jack: Blink, Doctor Zhivago
Ryan: Where the Wild Things Are, Post Office
Elina: Lonely Planet Travel Guide: Barcelona (lucky!!!)

Better World Books Volunteers at 826 Valencia

Jack — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:54:40 +0000

The SF office of Better World Books is the newest collection of volunteers at Dave Eggers‘ group, 826 Valencia. Starting next month we’ll be helping at a local SF school with college essays by high school seniors. After that we’ll be spending 3 hours each week at the center, tutoring kids from 6-18 in various subjects. Besides that, some of us will be doing more work on our own time in workshops, in-school tutoring and editing of the publications of the students’ work from the center (guess who’s doing that).

From the site:

826 National is a family of seven nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with expository and creative writing at seven locations across the country.

Our mission is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

Each chapter offers drop-in tutoring, field trips, workshops, and in-schools programs — all free of charge — for children, classes, and schools with particular interests or particular needs.

826 is especially committed to supporting teachers, offering services and resources for English language learners, and publishing student work. Several locations offer unique retail experiences as well.

The San Francisco Green Fest

admin — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:28:48 +0000

Last weekend Better World Books attended the Green Fest in San Francisco to promote BetterWorld.com. What an incredible event! Over the course of three days, we spoke with thousands of people, ran a very successful book drive, and learned a good deal about other green initiatives happening throughout the world. All in all, the event was a great success, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Above: Paul Drake, Geoff Schwarten, Silvia Sweidan, Brad Weirich, Natasha Harris, Justin Brandon

Above: Plastic Man

The man above was one of the flashier participants at the Fest. He single-handedly ran his own awareness campaign about plastic, and came dressed in 700 plastic grocery bags (the amount of bags the average person throws away in a year) in order to effectively demonstrate how much waste our lives contribute to the environment. Makes you want to buy reusable grocery bags, right?!