Book Passage: The Week(end) Ahead

Among Bay Area bookstores, BookPassage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of authorevents, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s notuncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place at the store justabout every day. Additionally, many of these events have a local connection. Lookingto the weekend, here are three events Patch.com readers won’t want to miss.
Richard Mason reads from History of a Pleasure Seaker
-- Saturday, February 25 at 1:00 pm
From the acclaimed author of The Drowning People (“A literarysensation” — The New York Times Book Review) and Natural Elements(“A magnum opus” — The New Yorker) comes an opulent, romantic,coming-of-age drama set at the height of Europe’s belle époque, written in thegrand tradition with a lightness of touch that is wholly modern and original.Richard Mason’s History of a Pleasure Seeker (Knopf) is a portrait ofthe senses, a novel about pleasure and those who are in search of it; those whoembrace it, luxuriate in it, need it; and those who deprive themselves of it asthey do those they love.
Born in South Africa,Mason was ten years old when he moved to England with his parents. His firstnovel, The Drowning People, was published during his first year at Oxford, and it has sincebeen translated into 22 languages. Mason has written three more novels. Masonset up the Kay Mason Foundation, in memory of his sister, who died when he wasa child. The aim of the foundation is to make the best education available foryoung people in South Africa.The foundation has the patronage of Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop DesmondTutu.
Karen Kondazion presents The Whip
-- Saturday, February 25 at 7:00 pm
Karen Kondazian talks about The Whip (Hansen Publishing Group), a historicalnovel and a tale of revenge inspired by the true story of Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst (1812-1879), wholived most of her extraordinary life as a man in the Old West. As a young womanin Rhode Island,she fell in love with a runaway slave and had a child. He was lynched and herbaby killed. Dressed as a man, she went to California to track down the killer. Here,she became a renowned stagecoach driver, killed an outlaw, and had a secretlove affair. In 1868, she became the first woman to vote in California (as a man). Her grave lies in Watsonville. The eventwill begin with the screening of a related short film, Stage Coaches of the West.
Kondazian's career as an actor, writer and producer is as diverse as it islong. At the age of eight she was chosen to be one of the children on ArtLinkletter's "Kids Say the Darndest Things." Later, she attended SanFrancisco State College (as it was then called), and went on to stage work oppositeEd Harris in Sweet Bird of Youth(which she also produced), Richard Chamberlain in Richard II, and Stacy Keach in Hamlet.She won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in The Rose Tattoo (in which her work asactor and producer so impressed Tennessee Williams that they became friends andhe gave her carte blanche to produce any of his work in his lifetime). Kondazianhas also appeared in over 50 television shows and films.
Sunday morning story time withChristopher Smith
-- Sunday, February 26 at 11:00 am
This Sunday, and just about every Sunday throughout the year(except during the Summer), local singer-songwriter Christopher Smith performsat Book Passage. Smith has been writing acoustic music and performing in theSan Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years. Why so popular for so long? BecauseSmith writes well-crafted story songs that aim for the heart. Fusing elementsof humor and sadness, his songs feature characters that are quirky, vulnerableand unforgettable. Smith is especially popular with toddlers, preschoolers, andkindergarteners who gather round to hear him play. 
And adults too.
MORE INFO: Unlessotherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd.,in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.