Bucks for Books
At one local bookstore, a crisp Didion can buy you, well, a Didion
Walking on Air
In Duisburg, Germany, and Pohang, South Korea, two massive works of “walkable art” have brought new life to their respective waterfronts. As a city trying to reinvigorate its own waterfront, Sacramento should walk this way too.
Staging a Comeback
The Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera closes out the season in May with The Barber of Seville, its first fully staged opera in almost a decade. But in other ways, that’s just the beginning. New executive director Giuliano Kornberg talks about doubling down on operas next season, bringing in a six-time Grammy winner as guest conductor in 2023, and wanting his organization to “be everywhere, big and small.”
Q&A with Sci-Fi Author Kim Stanley Robinson
The Davis-based New York Times best-selling author is celebrated for epic sci-fi novels, including his classic Mars trilogy about terraforming the Red Planet and The Ministry for the Future about solving the climate crisis, which former President Barack Obama named as one of his favorite books of 2020. But in his new memoir The High Sierra: A Love Story, which comes out on May 10, Kim Stanley Robinson takes a turn for the terrestrial, covering a half-century of writing, thinking and adventuring across our altitudinous backyard, tracing the origins of both backpacking and environmentalism. He talks to us about entering the God zone while hiking, being a “utopian science fiction writer,” and why despite a certain tech billionaire’s predictions, we won’t be living on Mars anytime soon.
The Shops Around the Corner
Talk about a Hollywood ending. Over two decades since Meg Ryan’s sweet little children’s bookshop lost the battle to Tom Hanks’ big bad Fox Books, it looks like indie bookstores around the country (and around town) may have won the retail war. We spotlight a dozen or so of our favorite local literary nooks in the Sacramento region. Trust us, this story is a real page-turner.
A Shire Thing
At a new Lord of the Rings-inspired board game cafe, the owners welcome patrons—from midtown to Middle Earth— to “Speak, friend, and enter.”
A Life of Crime (the Perfectly Legal Kind)
John Lescroart became an “overnight” success at 45, and the Davis author has since published 19 New York Times best-selling legal thrillers, with his 30th novel due out in late March. Meet the man with his ink-stained finger on the pulse of American crime stories.
From Paris with Love
Channeling the cafe culture of the City of Light, the team behind Canon—including a husband-and-wife duo who trained in Paris—launch Franquette in West Sacramento.
Where She Was From
Sacramento native Joan Didion, who was one of America’s greatest writers, passed away on Dec. 23, 2021, at the age of 87. We spoke with the literary giant 10 years earlier, as she reflected on the deaths of her husband and only child, and her memories of growing up in River City.
Our French Connection
The French Laundry may be a celebrated Napa Valley restaurant, but its origin story began over 60 miles away in co-founder Sally Schmitt’s childhood home in Citrus Heights. In a new culinary memoir, the pioneering chef honors her Sacramento roots.
Get a Room!
Call it a room boom. Over the past year, three new marquee hotels have flung open their doors in Sacramento, each mixing historic charm with modern flavor. Look for local art, high design and restaurants with noteworthy culinary pedigrees. And more are on the way. So pack a bag, book a show, and turn a date night into a date weekend. Why should we let the tourists have all the fun?
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