Alameda author, Jeff Raz, reads from his book, An International Circus Affair. It's about the lasting impact of connections between Nanjing, China, and San Francisco, in the world of circus.

Oakland Author, Lenore Weiss, reads from her new environmental novel, Pulp into Paper. It's about the death of a young boy forcing out the truth about what's happening at the local paper mill.

Zack Rogow reads from his memoir, it's about his dad who was a widely published fiction writer, a Drama critic on Broadway, captain of a ship in the U.S. Navy in World War Two. And tragically, he died in an airplane crash when Rogow was just three years old.

Sam Sax reads from his new book. It's a queer Jewish coming of age story told in these nonlinear fragments. It's titled "Yr Dead" and it came out in August.

Tiburon author Sheri Joseph, reads from her new book. It's a near-future love and adventure story about genetic screening tests making it impossible to hide a secret identity. Her novel, Edge of the Known World, was released September 3rd, 2024.

San Anselmo author Nina Schuyler reads from her new book, centered around nature and the changing climate. Her collection of stories, In This Ravishing World, came out July 2, 2024.

Marie Mutsuki (MOO-ts-key) Mockett lives between San Francisco and Tokyo. Her novel Tree Doctor, is set in Carmel, and came out March 19th, 2024.

Palo Alto author Ecy Femi King, reads from her new book about exploring Stanford's introductory computer science classes in graphic form.

Berkeley author Summer Brenner reads from her memoir. It’s a family memoir, it's about her brother David who was schizophrenic and who came to Berkeley during the last year of his life to live with her.

Josh Fernandez reads from his memoir about a life lived in opposition to the status quo, sometimes to a fault. From anti-racist action to street violence to jail to unrelenting joy in the belief that another world is possible.

Woodacre author Molly Giles reads from her new book: a memoir about her life in the Bay Area crossing and recrossing the Golden Gate Bridge. It's called "Life Span."

Oakland author Aida Salazar's children's book When Moon Blooms is about Mexican-Indigenous culture. It came out on February 27th, 2024.

San Francisco author Katie Flynn reads from her new book about characters who face their monsters and sometimes become them. It's called "Island Rule."

Oakland author Natalie Foster writes a provocation for the economy that she says we deserve in America. Her book is titled "The Guarantee: Inside the Fight for America’s Next Economy."

Berkeley author William Smock reads from his new novel about the most irresponsible, disobedient boy in the world. It's called "Bobby Lord of Acton Waters."

San Francisco author Lissa Soep reads from her book "Other People’s Words." It's about friendship as a great love and how we hold loved ones close after they're gone through the language that they leave behind.

San Francisco author Ethel Rohan reads from her book "Sing, I." It's about a middle aged woman living in Half Moon Bay and questioning if she's in her right life and what she should or perhaps should not do about that.

Mae Respicio lives in San Rafael. Her middle grade novel, Isabel in Bloom is about 12-year-old Isabel, who's leaving the Philippines for San Francisco to finally reunite with her mother, an overseas Filipino worker whom she's only seen five times in five years.

Carolina Ixta's debut novel, is about a young Latina woman named Belen Dolores Ixtel del Toro who was trying to find her way in a very messy and very complicated senior year of high school.

Luiza Flynn-Goodlett lives in Richmond. Her poetry chapbook "Familiar" is about a time traveling witch, childhood trauma, healing, and transformational magic. And there's footnotes.

Margaret Juhae Lee lives in Oakland. Her book, Starry Field is about her family's search for information about my grandfather, who was a student revolutionary in colonial Korea.

Jason Roberts lives in Oakland. His book is about one of the most important rivalries in history, a rivalry that shaped the nature of our relationship to the natural world.

Sasha Vasilyuk's novel is about a Soviet World War Two veteran with a dangerous secret, and it's loosely based on her grandfather.

Eizabeth Stix's book is a collection of linked stories full of quirky, lonely characters all seeking connection but who can’t help getting in their own way.

We hear a reading from local actor and Zen Buddhist priest, Peter Coyote. It's about Japanese gift wrapping around Buddhist teachings.

Madeleine Cravens poetry collection is about queer relationships and family history set in New York City.

Minnie Phan lives in Oakland. Her new book Simone is a collaboration with Viet Thanh Nguyen. It's about wildfires and Vietnamese families' experience with climate change.

Mara Kardas-Nelson reads from her book about the history of small anti-poverty loans, how those came to dominate international development, and what that means for poor borrowers around the world.

Oakland author Daniel Gumbiner reads from his new book, "Fire in the Canyon." It's about what happens to a family in the Sierra Nevada foothills after a wildfire moves through their town.

Dorsey Nunn lives in East Menlo Park. He wrote "What Kind of Bird Can’t Fly" with journalist Lee Romney. It's about the fight for the full restoration of civil and human rights of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.

Elizabeth Reed Aden lives in Berkeley. Her book The Goldilocks Genome comes out on May 21st, 2024.

Greg Sarris lives in Sonoma County. His collection of stories, The Forgetters, came out on April 16th, 2024.

Satsuki Ina lives in Albany. Her book, The Poet and the Silk Girl came out on March 26th, 2024.

Bridget Quinn lives in Occidental. Her book is "Portrait of a Woman." It's a story about reclaiming a woman's life and work from the ashes of revolution.

Natasha Triplett's book celebrates Junteenth with the reader through a community parade, a family bbq, and finally a recounting the importance of the holiday.

Jude Berman's book is about saving democracy and it draws on the wisdom of the Mahābhārata to help us figure that out.

Sheryl Kaskowitz's latest book is about a secret government folk music program that was part of FDR New Deal during the Great Depression.

Alison Throckmorton lives in Menlo Park. Her book, "The Good Enough Guide to Better Living," is a humorous guide to making the most out of your home by doing the least amount possible.

Caroline Paul lives in San Francisco. Her book "Tough Broad" is about the science and psychology of aging for women and our place in the outdoors as we do so.

Grace Loh Prasad finds her way back to Taiwanese identity and heritage in her memoir. It also explores the primacy of language and being able to access a sense of belonging.

Andrew Garrett's book is about the collaborations between academic researchers and California indigenous people to record their stories and languages.

San Francisco author Mary Ladd reads from her book, The Long COVID Reader: Writing and Poetry from 45 Long Haulers. It's a collection of poetry that helps the long Covid community get their voices and experiences heard.

Sommer Schafer reads from her book, "The Women." It's a collection of 17 short stories about 17 different women, each faced with a fantastical challenge.

Chas Halpern reads from his book "The Physics of Relationships." The book is an intimate story of three women — two older and one younger — who have been brought together through circumstance.

Alvin Orloff reads from his novel, "Vulgarian Rhapsody.” It follows the misadventures of Harris, San Francisco's most annoying gay barfly and drag queen after he's thrown out of his rent controlled apartment by his long suffering roommate.

Adam Mansback reads from his book "The Golem of Brooklyn." It's about a Brooklyn art teacher who steals a large quantity of clay from his school, gets extremely stoned, and manages to bring his creation to life.

Maya Ealey reads from her book "The Anti-Racist Vocab Guide." It's an illustrated visual glossary that provides high level definitions of terms and historical events to aid in understanding race and the black experience in America.

Stephanie Wildman reads from her book "Breath By Breath." It's about an older brother helping his twin siblings fall asleep by taking them on an adventure through their bodies.

Lisa Hamilton's reads from her book "The Hungry Season." It is an intimate biography of a remarkable woman named Imua, whose life has been colored by unimaginable loss, but who's met that loss with defiance and resilience.

San Rafael author Maxine Rose Schur, reads from her book "A Tale of Bread and Thread." It's about the very worst baker in the world, Mr. Bumble Crumb and his wife, who is the very worst seamstress in the world. It came out December 2023.

Oakland author Ilana DeBare reads from her new book, "Shaken Loose." It's about a young Bay Area woman named Annie who dies and goes to hell. It came out in July, 2023.

Joanne Greene reads from her book "By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go." It's about resilience, and her journey back to wholeness after being hit by a car as a pedestrian. It came out June 20th, 2023.

San Francisco author Roberto Lovato reads from his memoir "Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas." It's about his journey to understand the tenderness that survived the terror of Salvadoran and U.S. history.

San Francisco author Katherine Seligman reads from her new novel "At The Edge of the Haight." It’s about a girl who lives in Golden Gate Park.

San Francisco author James Nestor reads from his book, "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art." It’s about how humans, as a species, have lost the ability to breathe properly.

San Francisco author Katie Flynn's new novel, "The Companions," which came out in March, is set in the near future, with California under quarantine.

Mill Valley author Heather Young reads from her novel "The Distant Dead." It's about a murder in the Nevada desert.

San Francisco-based author Zara Stone reads from her book, "The Future of Science is Female." It's about projects that women in STEM are working on.

Molly Giles reads from her book "Home For Unwed Husbands." It's about a grown woman with a good education and a decent job who still feels she has to accommodate all the men in her life. It came out on August 1.

Cameron Park author Beverly Parayno reads from her new book, “Wildflowers.” It’s about the strength, the struggles, and the resiliency of Filipinas. It came out on May 27.

Ann Kappes is the director of art partnerships at Creativity Explored. The organization’s new book, "Art is Art" was published in recognition of 40 years of art making by disabled artists.

Luisa Giulianetti lives in Kensington. Her book, "Agrodolce" focuses on the many ways she understands and imagines home.

Oakland author Susan Kiyo Ito reads from her new book, "I Would Meet You Anywhere." It's about family identity, adoption, Japanese-American experience and secrets. It came out on November 4, 2023.

Terry Tierney lives in Oakland. His book, The Bridge on Beer River, is a novel in which the characters struggle for subsistence.

Beth Winegarner lives in San Francisco. Her book, "San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries" is about the history of the city's graveyards and the many dead secretly still buried here.

Marin County author Susannah Kennedy reads from her new book, "Reading Jane." It's about what happened when she explored 45 years of her mother's diaries following her suicide. It came out on September 5, 2023.

San Francisco author Paul Flores reads from his new book, "We Still Be.” It’s about how you have to adjust or transform yourself and your identity when life takes a turn you didn't expect.

Hilary Zaid lives in Oakland. Her novel, Forget I Told You This, came out on September 1st, 2023.

Chef Sylvan Mishima Brackett lives in Oakland. His cookbook, Rintaro: Japanese Food From An Izakaya in California explains the thinking that went behind Rintaro's menu.

Tess Taylor lives in El Cerrito. The book she edited, "Leaning Towards Light: Poems for Gardens and the Hands that Tend Them" is about how to be in touch and in love with the earth around us.

Alec Scott lives in Oakland. His book, Oldest San Francisco is about the oldest, this, that and the other thing in San Francisco.

Ben Schwartz lives in El Cerrito. His book, The Way It Went. It is a story of how capricious and surprising love can be and how that plays out through three generations of a farm family in the great American heartland.

Zusha Elinson and Cameron-McWhirter co-wrote the book American Gun: The True Story of the AR 15. It's a history of the gun that's often been used in mass shootings, a gun that's become the most popular rifle in America.

Jen Lumanlanlives in Berkeley. Her book, Parenting Beyond Power is about how we can make parenting easier.

Berkeley author Minna Dubin reads from her new book, "Mom Rage." It's about maternal anger and the ways that society and families neglect mothers. It came out on September 19, 2023.

Berkeley author Yael Goldstein-Love reads from her new novel, "The Possibilities." It's about the psychological experience of becoming a new mother, told through a multiverse suspense story.

Mill Valley author Sara Calvosa Olson reads from her book, "Chimi Nu’Am: Native Californian Foodways for the Contemporary Kitchen." It's about beginning a journey toward connection and community, good food and the role we all play in healing our world.

Jann Eyrich lives in Sonoma County. Her eco-mystery, The Rotting Whale covers the exploits of a San Francisco building inspector.

Novato author Lea Aschkenas reads from her children's book, "Arletis, Abuelo, and the Message in a Bottle." It’s based on the true story of a little girl named Arletis who, on her 8th birthday, finds a message in a bottle on the beach near her home in rural Cuba. It came out on April 25, 2023.

Lily Iona MacKenzie lives in Richmond. Her poetry collection, California Dreaming. It's about life and the things she experience in the outer world.

Moazzam Sheikh lives in San Francisco. His book, A Footbridge to Hell Called Love, is about a person's search for love, dignity and acceptance.

Novato author Anita Gail Jones reads from her new novel, “The Peach Seed.“ It’s about how a glimmer of hope as small as a seed ripples through generations in one family. It came out on August 1, 2023.

Cloverdale author Vince Montague reads from his new book, "Cracked Pot." It is about a fragmented experience with trauma and loss and how he turns to clay and making pots to transform my pain into the making of art. It was published in February 2023.

Jane Kuo lives in San Carlos. Her book, Land of Broken Promises is about her experience growing up as an undocumented immigrant. It came out on June six, 2023.

Claudia Hagadus Long lives in Calistoga. Her book, Our Lying Kin, is about stolen artifacts, some insurance fraud, a family scandal, and maybe a murder. It came out on February 28th, 2023.

Cecelia Rabess lives in San Francisco. Her novel Everything's Fine is about a young, progressive black woman who falls for a young conservative white guy. It came out June 6th, 2023.

Jilanne Hoffmann lives in San Francisco. Her children's picture book, A River of Dust is about how important North African dust is to the health of our planet.

Sarah Ladipo Manyika lives in San Francisco. Her book, "Between Starshine and Clay: Conversations from the African Diaspora," is a sharing of intimate conversations with distinguished thinkers of our time. It came out in January 2023.

Linda Joy Myers lives in Berkeley. Her book, The Forger of Marseille, came out July 11th, 2023.

Irena Smith lives in Palo Alto. Her book, The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays came out on April 18th, 2023.

Ann Jacobus lives in San Francisco. Her book, The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent, came out on March 7th, 2023.

Nina Schuyler lives in San Anselmo. Her novel, Afterward, is about a mathematician who uses artificial intelligence to bring back the voice of her dead husband.

Andrew Alden lives in Oakland. His book, "Deep Oakland: How Geology Shaped a City," is about how his city's residents and rich geological history influence each other.

Christy Warren lives in Pleasant Hill. Her book Flash Point is about 25-year-career firefighter paramedic that faces her greatest challenge, being diagnosed with PTSD. It came out on June 20th, 2023.

Mark Ernest Pothier lives in San Francisco. His debut novel, Outer Sunset. It's about people coming together in the face of unimaginable loss with forgiveness and hope.

Ginny Kubitz Moyer lives on the Peninsula. Her book, The Seeing Garden, is a coming of age story set in 1910 about a 19 year old who comes to Oak View, a country estate in San Francisco.

Dominic Lim lives in Oakland. His book, All the Right Notes, came out June 6, 2023.

Alix Christie lives in San Francisco. Her book, The Shining Mountains, came out April 1st, 2023.

Rita Chang-Eppig lives in Oakland. Her book, Deep as the Sky Red as the Sea came out May 30th, 2023

David Brehmer lives in Richmond. His poetry collection, Life, Death, Love and Babies is a collection of poems delving into moments large and small from roughly ten years of his life published March 10th, 2023.

Eirinie Carson lives in Petaluma. Her book, The Dead Are Gods it is a love letter and a time capsule about a sudden death. It came out on April 11th, 2023.

Judy Wells lives in Berkeley. Her book, Night at the Musee d'Orsay, is a memoir of travel poems — both serious and humorous — that center on her appreciation of great art in European cities. It came out in January, 2023.

Dean Rader lives in San Francisco. His new poetry collection, Before the Borderless: Dialogs with The Art of Cy Twombly, is a collection of poems that enter into conversation with the artwork of the great American artist.

Robert Cherny lives in San Francisco. His book Harry Bridges: Labor Radical, Labor Legend is about the longtime and often controversial president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. It came out in January, 2023.

Heather Bourbeau lives in Berkeley. Her book, called Monarch, takes place in the American West. It came out on March 9th, 2023.

Lauren Schiller lives in the East Bay. You may know her as the host of KALW’s Inflection Point. Her book, It's A Good Day to Change the World, is a guidebook for a feminist future. It was written with Hadley Dynak and it came out on February 28th, 2023.

Alice Wong lives in San Francisco. Her book, Year of the Tiger, came out in September of 2022. Alice reads a letter that she wishes was sent to her when she was younger. Alice recorded her reading using a text-to-speech app.

Reyna Grande lives in Woodland. Her book, A Ballad of Love and Glory came out on March 15, 2022. It follows John Riley, the leader of the St Patrick's Battalion and Ximena Salomé, a nurse in the Mexican army.

Lynne Twist lives in San Francisco. Her book, "Living a Committed Life" is about living a life of meaning and purpose and putting the petty thoughts that we have behind us. It came out on November 29th, 2022.

David Fenton lives in Berkeley. His book, The Activist’s Media Handbook: Lessons from 50 Years as a Progressive Agitator, came out on November 1, 2022. It's about how to be a better activist communicator.

Ellen Barker lives in Los Altos. Her book, "East of Troost," is about a house in a black neighborhood and a white woman who moves there. The book came out on September 6th, 2022.

Rue Mapp lives in Vallejo. Her book, "Nature Swagger", is about black joy in the outdoors and highlighting images and visions of black people outside as strong, beautiful and free.

Louise Nayer lives in San Francisco. Her book, "Narrow Escapes," is about recognizing the deep effects of a haunting childhood accident.

Dan Clurman and Mudita Nisker live in Oakland. Their book, "Let’s Talk," is about how to improve and expand your interpersonal communication skills.

Esther Erman reads from her new book, "Rebecca of Salerno." It's about rogue crusaders a Jewish female physician, and a murder.

Marin County author Mylo Schaff reads from her new book "Blown into Now." It's about finding your way back from deep grief. It came out on July 16, 2022.

San Francisco author Thomas McKenna reads from his new book "Moro Warrior." It's the true story of Muhammad Adeel, an extraordinary young Philippine Muslim, who became a guerrilla officer in one of the most remarkable and least known resistance movements of World War Two.

Monica Wesolowska lives in Berkeley. Her children's picture book, Elbert in the Air, came out on February 21, 2023.

Heather Bourbeau lives in Berkeley. Her co-author Anne Casey is from Ireland but lives in Sydney, Australia. Their book of poems, "Some Days the Bird," came out in December, 2022.

Susanne Pari lives in Atherton. Her book, "In the Time of Our History," came out January 3, 2023.

Leticia Del Toro lives in Lafayette. Her book, "All We Are Told Not To Touch," came out in January, 2023.

Susan Griffin is a prolific and award-winning author who lives in Berkeley. Her new book, Out of Silence, Sound. Out of Nothing, Something came out on January 17, 2023.

Melanie Abrams lives in Oakland, and Larry Smith lives in Berkeley. Their book, The Joy of Cannabis, came out on January 10, 2023.

George McCalman lives in San Francisco. His book, "Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen," came out on September 27, 2022.

Linda Ronstadt lives in San Francisco. She and Lawrence Downes co-wrote the book, “Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands,” which came out on October 4, 2022. Downes will do the reading.

Ajuan Mance lives in Oakland. Her book, "Living While Black," came out on October 25, 2022.

Stephanie Wildman lives in San Francisco. Her book, Treasure Hunt was illustrated by Estefania Razo, and translated into Spanish by Cecilia Populus-Eudave. It came out on November 1, 2022.

Today, we’ll hear from Edward Gunawan. His book, The Way Back, came out in November of 2022

Paola Gianturco lives in Mill Valley. Her book, created with Avery Sangster, is called COOL, Women Leaders Reversing Global Warming. It came out in September of 2022.

Gus D’Angelo lives in San Francisco. His illustrated children's book, National Parks A to Z, came out on August 1, 2022.

Tania Romanov lives in San Francisco. Her book, San Francisco Pilgrimage, came out on June 6, 2022.

Jose Antonio Villaran lives in San Francisco and Davis. His book, Open Pit, came out in May, 2022.

Toby Brookes lives in Palo Alto. His book, All That She Brings, was published in April, 2022.

Oakland author Tanya Holland reads from her new book, "California Soul." It’s about how California influenced her culinary journey. It came out on October 25, 2022.

Bay Area author Lyzette Wanzer reads from her book, "Trauma Tresses and Truth." It's a collection of personal essays and poetry examining a perception, policing and the persecution of Afro-Latina and African-American women's natural hair in American society. It came out on November 8, 2022.

Oakland author Leslie Absher reads from her new book, "Spy Daughter, Queer Girl." It's about what it was like to grow up with the CIA dad in a house of secrets. It came out on October 11, 2022.

Patrick James Dunagan lives in San Francisco. His poetry book, "After the Banished," came out on May 1st, 2022.

San Francisco poet Caroline M. Mar reads from her new book "Dream of the Lake." It’s about the landscape of Lake Tahoe and Mar's experiences and ancestral connections there. It came out on May 31, 2022.

Berkeley author Ian Mitroff reads from his new book "The Socially Responsible Organization." It's about the dire threat that the fallacious arguments for not getting vaccinated pose to our collective health. It came out on May 25, 2022.

San Francisco author K.M. Soehnlein reads from his new book "Army of Lovers." It's about a young queer man who moves to New York City in the late eighties and joins the AIDS activist group Act Up. It came out on October 11, 2022.

Richmond author Scott Badler reads from his new book, "JFK and the Muckers of Choate." It's about John F Kennedy as a rebellious teenager at boarding school. It came out on May 29, 2022.

Patrick James Dunagan reads from a book by San Francisco poet David Meltzer. It's a previously unpublished text written in 1966 called "Rock Tao." It came out on March 21, 2022.

Albany author Julia Scheeres reads from her new book, "Listen, World." It's about Elsie Robinson, a columnist who was a household name in the early 20th century. It came out on September 27, 2022.

Novato author Jack Gedney reads from his new book, "The Private Lives of Public Birds." It's about how paying attention to the common birds around our homes and neighborhoods can make our everyday lives richer. It came out on May 17, 2022.

San Francisco author Kim Kralowec reads from her new book, "We Retreat into the Stillness of Our Own Bones." It's a collection of love poems dedicated to her husband. It came out on May 17, 2022.

Jon Jarvis lives in Pinole. He was the 18th director of the National Parks Service, and his brother Destry is a conservationist. Together, they wrote the book National Parks Forever, which came out in May, 2022.

San Francisco author Shelley Wong reads from her new book, "As She Appears." It came out on May 10, 2022.

San Francisco author Jonathan Howland reads from his new book, "Native Air." It's about friendship, obsession and grief, set mostly in California's Eastern Sierra. It came out on April 21, 2022.

Oakland chef Reem Assil reads from her new book, "Arabiyya." It's about her journey, as an Arab in America, to find her voice and purpose, and about how food brought her back to her roots. It came out on April 19, 2022.

Bay Area author Obi Kauffman reads from his book, "The Coasts of California." It's the latest in his Field Atlas series. It came out in April, 2022.

Sonoma County author and Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Greg Sarris, reads from his book "Becoming Story: A Journey Among Seasons, Places, Trees and Ancestors." It's several autobiographical essays in a dialog with the place he calls home. It came out on April 5, 2022.

Oakland author Joshua Peralta reads from his new book "3rd and Orange." The book's a belated coming-of-age story about a young writer. It came out in April, 2022.

San Francisco author David Parker reads from his new book "A San Francisco Conservative." It came out in April, 2022.

Bay Area author Sandy Miranda reads from her new book, "Tuning In." It’s about overcoming life’s challenges through the power of connection, creativity, and music. It came out on March 19, 2022.

Menlo Park author Mike Trigg reads from his new book, "Bit Flip." It's about a middle aged tech startup executive who inadvertently discovers fraud within the company and his ensuing moral dilemma about what to do about it. It came out on August 16, 2022.

San Francisco author Margo Candela reads from her new book, "The Neapolitan Sisters." It's about three sisters from East L.A. who find themselves sharing their childhood bedroom in the weeks leading up to their youngest sister's wedding. It came out on August 9, 2022.

San Rafael author Meleah Ekstrand reads from her new book, "Swaddle Me Up." It's a how-to on swaddling babies and wearing babies in carriers with parenting tips and humor mixed in. It came out on August 9, 2022.

San Francisco author Rob Volpe reads from his new book, "Tell Me More About That." It's about the steps to follow to be empathetic in the moment of conversation with other people, told through my own personal stories. It came out on February 22, 2022.

Berkeley author Vivian Pisano reads from her new memoir, "Living in Two Worlds." It’s about displacement, grief, and the search for identity and belonging. It came out in February, 2022.

Palo Alto author Joanna Ho reads from her new book, "Eyes That Speak to the Stars." It’s about a young Taiwanese boy who experiences some racial microaggressions at school about his eyes, but he comes to recognize the beauty and power, not just in his eyes but in his family, history, and culture. It came out on February 15th, 2022.

Oakland author Nina G. reads from her new book "Bay Area Stand-Up Comedy," which she co-wrote with co-author OJ Patterson. It came out on February 14, 2022. This passage is about the time in October of 1961 when Lenny Bruce was arrested on obscenity charges after a show in North Beach.

San Francisco author Ingrid Rojas Contreras reads from her new book, "The Man Who Could Move Clouds." It's about memory and amnesia and about her grandfather, who people said could move clouds. It came out on July 12, 2022.

San Francisco author Kimberly Unger reads from her new book "The Extractionist." It's a story about the person whose job it is to pull you out of virtual reality when you really don't want to leave. It came out on July 12, 2022.

Sacramento author Shelley Blanton-Stroud reads from her new book, "Tomboy." It's a coming-of-age story set in 1939 about this ambitious Okie girl who does what she has to do to turn herself into a San Francisco gossip columnist. It came out on June 28, 2022. (And, just a note, this reading includes a descriptive sex scene.)

Oakland author Meron Hadero reads from her new book, "A Downhome Meal For These Difficult Times." It’s a short story collection focusing on the experiences of immigrants and refugees and those on the verge of displacement. It came out on June 28, 2022.

San Francisco author Judith Berlowitz reads from her new book, "Home So Far Away." It’s a fictional diary of her distant relative from Germany who volunteered in the Spanish Civil War. It came out on June 21, 2022.

Marin author Barbara Graham reads from her book, "What Jonah Knew." It’s a psychological thriller about the unbreakable bonds between mothers and sons, even when it seems that all is lost, and the bond is severed beyond repair.

San Francisco author Kirstin Chen reads from her new book "Counterfeit." It's about two women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise, shattering the model minority myth along the way. It came out on June 7, 2022.

Oakland author Alec Scott reads from his debut novel, "Until It Shimmers." It’s about a young Canadian who moves from Toronto to London for some jobs that’ll help him figure out what he wants to do with his life. It came out on June 24, 2022.

Masha Rumer lives in San Jose. Her book, Parenting With An Accent, came out in November of 2021.

San Francisco author Jodi Klein reads from her new book "First Date Stories." It’s a collection of true and memorable tales of debut dates from women in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s.

Loren Rhoads lives in San Francisco. Her book, This Morbid Life, came out in August of 2021.

Fremont author Evelyn LaTorre reads from her book, "Love in Any Language." It’s about the joys and challenges of loving and parenting and living with a man who she met when she was in the Peace Corps.

Shanthi Sekaran lives in Berkeley. Her book for juvenile readers, The Samosa Rebellion, came out in September of 2021.

Dr. Anna Lembke lives in Palo Alto. Her book, Dopamine Nation, came out in August of 2021.

Rachel Michelberg lives in Los Altos Hills. Her book, Crash: How I Became a Reluctant Caregiver, came out in April 2021.

San Francisco author Beth Winegarner reads from her new zine, "A Riff of One’s Own." It's about gender, queerness, and hysteria in glam metal. It came out in April 2021.

It’s about the extraordinary power that just a little journaling and some very cute stickers can have on how you feel about your body. There are also short essays that are sort of a mix between a pep talk and a sparkly little truffle of wisdom.

Heather Chavez lives in Santa Rosa. Her book, Blood Will Tell, came out in April 26th, 2022.

Gabriela Hasbun lives in San Francisco. Her book, "The New Black West," came out at the end of April, 2022.

Toni Mirosevich lives in Pacifica. Her book of linked stories, "Spell Heaven" came out on April 26th, 2022.

East Bay author Vaness Hua reads from her new book, "Forbidden City." It’s about Chairman Mao’s teenage protege and lover who becomes a poster child for the cultural revolution. It came out in April 2022.

Oakland author Mitchell Schwarzer reads from his new book, "Hella Town." It examines Oakland's built environment from the 1890s to the early 21st century. It came out in September, 2021.

San Francisco author Kristin Keane reads from her new book, "An Encyclopedia of Bending Time." It explores the concept of death and time travel, and puts thinkers like Einstein in conversation with pop cultural artifacts like the TV show Quantum Leap. It came out April 12, 2022.

San Carlos author Misasha Suzuki Graham reads from her book "Dear White Women." She co-wrote it with Sara Blanchard and it's about answering the question of what to do to be more anti racist in everyday life. It came out in October of 2021.

San Francisco author Charlie Jane Anders reads from her new book "Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak." It’s the sequel to "Victories Greater Than Death" about a teenage girl named Tina who’s secretly the clone of an alien hero. It came out on April 5, 2022.

San Francisco author Angela Terry reads from her new book, "The Trials of Adeline Turner." It’s about a 30-something attorney who runs into her high school crush at the airport, which sets off a series of events that turn her boring life upside down. It came out in October of 2021.

Oakland author Maggie Tokuda-Hall reads from her new graphic novel "Squad." It's about Becca, a new girl at Piedmont High who is thrilled to feel like she belongs for the first time. It was illustrated by Lisa Sterle and it came out in October of 2021.

Oakland author Faith Kramer reads from her new cookbook, "52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen." The recipes are from 52 shabbats full of the vibrant tastes she likes to serve her family and friends. It came out in December 2021.

San Jose author Kristina Micotti reads from her illustrated book, "Dog Therapy." It’s about goofy, silly dogs you’d want in your life and it came out in March 29, 2022.

Oakland author Melissa Harris reads from her new book, "One Pound, Twelve Ounces." It's about her struggles with secondary infertility, miscarriage, and finally having a second child after just 24 weeks of pregnancy. It came out in November 2021.

Naomi Krupitsky reads from her debut novel "The Family." It’s about Sofia and Antonia, two best friends who grow up together in Brooklyn. It’s their coming of age story, but it’s also about the Mafia.

Oakland author Mac Barnett reads from his new book, "What Is Love." It was illustrated by Carson Ellis and it's about love and the different things mean to different people, and how a feeling is really hard to put into words. It came out in December of 2021.

San Francisco author Dahlia Gallin reads from her new book, "Sex and the Single Panda." It’s about the brilliant, heartbreaking, and sometimes horrifying mating habits of animals. It came out on March 8, 2022.

The novel tells the story of Sylvia Plath and how she came to write The Bell Jar. It’s told from the perspectives of her psychiatrist, her literary rival a few years later, and a modern-day curator at an auction house.

Berkeley author Aya de Leon reads from her new book, "Queen of Urban Prophecy." It’s about a young artist who unwittingly predicts a police shooting in one of her rap songs and becomes an accidental activist for black lives and climate justice.

San Francisco author John Leshy reads from his new book "Our Common Ground." It's a look at the political history of America's public lands.

Richmond author LD Green reads from their book new book "Phoenix Song." It's about their journey into healing and wholeness.

Vallejo author Kelliane Parker reads from her new book "Down the Foggy Streets of My Mind."

San Bruno author Kathleen J Woods reads from her new book, "White Wedding." It follows a woman who has crashed a wedding after hitchhiking with a girl named Charlotte.

Mill Valley author May Ann Hogan wrote her memoir "Circle Way." It's a daughter's quest to understand her father. In Mary Ann’s case, it’s Bill Hogan, the long-time literary editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. Her husband Eric Newton reads a passage from the book.

Fremont author Dallas Woodburn reads from her new novel, "Thanks, Carissa, for Ruining My Life." It’s about two teenagers, Brad and Rose, who are brought together in surprising ways.

Oakland author Brian Tierney reads one of his favorite poems from his new book, "Rise and Float."

San Francisco author Monique Jenkinson, who performs as the drag queen Fauxnique, reads from her new novel, "Faux Queen." It’s about finding your people and coming together in difference on the sticky dance floor.

Bay Area author Jessie Susannah Karnatz, aka the Money Witch reads from her new book, "Money Magic: Practical Wisdom and Empowering Rituals to Heal Your Finances." It’s about facing the emotional and spiritual blocks that impact your financial life.

Oakland author Carolyn Lee Arnold reads from her new book "50 First Dates After 50." It’s about a dating project she did in her late 50s, going out with 50 different men in order to find a committed partner.

San Francisco author Stephanie Wildman and Spanish translator Cecilia Populus-Eudave read from their new book "Brave in the Water." It was illustrated by Jenni Feidler-Aguilar. It’s about a little boy who’s afraid to put his face in the water.

Michelle Rial reads from her illustrated book "Maybe This Will Help." It’s filled with charts and essays about how to feel better about not feeling better.

San Francisco author Zara Stone reads from her new book "Killer Looks: The Forgotten History Of Plastic Surgery In Prison." It explores whether providing incarcerated people with free facelifts and nose jobs can impact recidivism, and what that says about our society as a whole.

Oakland artist Marina Luz reads from her new book "A Library of Misremembered Books." It's a collection of illustrated books covers based on nothing more than how we describe books when we can’t remember the author or title.

San Francisco author Ruth Carlson reads from her new book, "Secret California." It’s about the quirky, odd, unusual characters and places in the Golden State.

San Francisco author Jenny Qi reads from her new book, "Focal Point." It's about loss.New Arrivals is taking a short break, but we'll be back in January, with more micro-readings from Bay Area authors.Thanks for listening!

San Francisco author Shanna Farrell reads from her new book, "A Good Drink." It’s about the connection between alcohol and the food system and why we should treat spirits as part of the food system.

Oakland author Mary Roach reads from her new book, “Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law.” It’s about thieving blackbirds and jaywalking deer and bears breaking and entering.

San Francisco author Justin Barker reads from his new book "Bear Boy." It's a true story of when he was 13 years old struggling with my identity and bullying in the suburbs, and how he discovered a book about animal rights.

San Francisco author Shruti Swamy reads from her new book, "The Archer." It follows protagonist Vidya as she comes to a sense of self through the pursuit of kathak, a classical Indian dance, all the while grappling with the trauma of her earlier life, and finding a way forward.

Petaluma-based author Rory Stamp reads from his new book, "Cheese, Illustrated." It’s an illustrated guide to 50 of his favorite cheese styles from around the world.

San Jose author Beth Lee reads from her new book "The Essential Jewish Baking Cookbook." The book is about learning to bake the Jewish recipes you grew up with, or the ones you want your own family to grow up eating.

Santa Rosa author Alexis Fajardo reads from his new graphic novel, "Kid Beowulf – The Tarpeian Rock." It's the fourth in the series and it's all about history, mythology, and the founding of Rome.

Oakland author Alex Harris reads from his new book, "Birds of Lake Merritt." It's about the lake’s history as the first wildlife refuge in the nation.

Oakland-based author Rupa Marya reads from her new book "Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice." She co-wrote the book with Raj Patel and it offers a new level of diagnosis to understand how our bodies, our societies, and our planet, are suffering.

Sonoma author Shugri Said Salh reads from her new book, "The Last Nomad." It's about the resilience she learned from her grandmother that helped her survive and all the twists and turns that her life took that landed her here in California.

San Francisco author Conrad Benedicto reads from his new book, "Musalaya’s Gift." It’s about a talented musician whose gift for playing Kulintang music opens the door to resistance, magic, and also danger.

Alameda poet Paul Corman-Roberts reads from his new book of poetry, "Bone Moon Palace." It's about what it means to remake one's home and community. Here’s a stanza from the poem "coeur d'alene."

Bolinas author Nicolette Hahn Niman reads from the newly revised and expanded version of her book, "Defending Beef." It’s about why beef is an important source of nourishment for humans, and why cattle are an ecologically valuable part of our food system.

Berkeley author Grant Faulkner reads from his new short story collection, "All The Comfort Sin Can Provide." The 100-word story Morphine Drip is one of his favorites and includes the genesis of the title for the collection.

Fremont author Cassandra Hartt reads from her new book, "The Sea is Salt and So Am I." It’s about three teenagers living in a coastal Maine town that’s falling into the ocean.

San Francisco poet K. R. Morrison reads from her new collection, "Cauldrons." It explores themes that get stuck within us if we don’t stir up the shadow work, look for the light in the dark.

San Francisco author Chaney Kwak reads from his new book "The Passenger: How a Travel Writer Learned to Love Cruises & Other Lies from a Sinking Ship." It starts off on a ship that loses power in a freak storm and almost runs aground in Norway.

Berkeley author and Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters reads from her new book "We Are What We Eat." The book is about how food can change the world.

Oakland author Monica West reads from her new book "Revival Season." It’s about patriarchy and power, all told from the perspective of a 15-year-old girl.

Berkeley author Dena Rod reads from their debut poetry collection "Scattered Arils." It's about family secrets and growing up in the Iranian-American diaspora.

San Francisco author Judith Ann Bernhard reads from her new book, "Marriages."

Berkeley author Rachel Sarah reads from her new book, "Girl Warriors." She interviewed 25 climate activists under age 25 to show how they’re fighting for their futures.

Oakland author Joel Landmine reads from his new book "Things Change." It’s a collection of poems from 2014 to the present about watching the Bay Area he knew growing up disappear around him.

Kim Shuck was the San Francisco's poet laureate from 2017 to 2021. She reads from her new collection "Exile Heart."

San Francisco author Stephanie Wildman reads from her book, "Privilege Revealed." It's about systems of privilege in our society and it was updated and reissued this year.

San Francisco author Annalee Newitz reads from their new book, "Four Lost Cities." It’s about archeological discoveries that reveal why people abandoned ancient cities long ago.

Bay Area author Mike Chen reads from his new book, We Could Be Heroes. It’s about a superhero and a super villain who accidentally discover each other's secret identities and decide they work better as partners.

San Francisco Author Jennifer Worley reads from her new book "Neon Girls." It's about her time as an exotic dancer at the Lusty Lady theater.

San Francisco author Leticia Hernández-Linares reads from her new book "Alejandria Fights Back/La Lucha de Alejandria." It’s about a young girl who fights against displacement and gentrification.

San Francisco author Claire Light writes as Jadie Jang. Her new book is "Monkey Around." It's a supernatural murder mystery that takes place in the Bay Area’s activist scene, full of monsters from non-Western mythologies pretending to be human.

Mill Valley author Christine Peck reads from the children’s book she co-authored, "Too Many Bubbles." It's about how persistent thoughts overtake Izzy’s day and how she overcomes them.

East Bay author Allison Larkin reads from her new book, Also “The People We Keep.” It’s about a 16-year-old folk singer named April who’s growing up in a motorless motorhome in a dead-end town until she steals a car and hits the road.

San Francisco author and ferry deckhand Lou Cook reads from her book "Murkey’s: A Rabbit Noir." It's set on the city's docks.

East Palo Alto author Tonga Victoria reads from her new book, "The Hyphen American." It's the first in a young adult trilogy that revolves around the question: what happens when the fate of the earth and its inhabitants falls on the shoulders of a 21st century American girl?

San Francisco author Jaimal Yogis reads from his new children’s book "Mop Rides the Waves of Change." It’s the second book in a series about Mop, a volatile but lovable surfer kid who’s learning to navigate the waves of emotions like the waves of the ocean.

San Francisco author Stefan Salinas reads from his new cartoon "Grief and Anger." In this excerpt, he describes the images and reads from the book.

San Francisco Author Matthew Clark Davison reads from his novel "Doubting Thomas." The book examines the fallout of a false accusation that ended Thomas’s job as a teacher and he’s flashing back to just after he’s graduated from UC Berkeley.

Petaluma author Joy Lanzendorfer reads from her new novel "Right Back Where We Started From." It’s about a woman who will do anything to get back what her family lost, except face the truth of who she really is.

Oakland author Elizabeth Gonzalez James reads from her new book "Mona at Sea." In the first chapter Mona joins a support group for job seekers.

San Leandro author Bob Calhoun reads from his new book "The Murders that Made Us." It covers 170 years of San Francisco history as told through its most heinous crimes.

San Francisco author Ethel Rohan reads from her new short story collection "In The Event of Contact." It chronicles how characters are affected by physical connection, or the lack of it.

San Francisco author Andreas Karelas reads from his new book, "Climate Courage." It’s about solving the climate crisis and bridging the political divide in America at the same time.

Today we hear from San Francisco writer Tienlon Ho and Brandon Jew, Chef and owner of the restaurant Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco. Their book, Mister Jiu’s In Chinatown came out in March, 2021.

Today we hear from Josiah Luis Alderete, who lives in San Francisco. He’s the author of the new book of poems called Baby Axolotls y Old Pochos, which came out on April 29.

San Francisco author Jenny Bitner reads from her new novel, "Here’s a Game We Could Play." It’s a bisexual love story with poisoning and librarians. This reading is about a first date between the two main characters.

Berkeley author Bonnie Tsui reads from her new children's book "Sarah and the Big Wave." It’s about Sarah Gerhardt, the first woman to surf Half Moon Bay’s biggest break.

San Francisco authors Tara Duggan and Rachel Levin read from their new book "Steamed."

San Francisco author Gary Kamiya reads from the new collection, "The End of the Golden Gate, Writers on Loving and Sometimes Leaving San Francisco." It's about whether to stay or leave San Francisco.

Oakland author Gabriela Garcia reads from her new novel, ‘Of Women and Salt.’ It's about five generations of women whose lives come together in unexpected ways.

Oakland author Tureeda Mikell co-curated "Patrice Lumumba: Anthology Of Writers On Black Liberation."

San Francisco author Vendela Vida reads from her new novel "We Run the Tides." It’s about female friendships, lies, and the transformation of a city.

Palo Alto author Irvin D. Yalom reads from his new memoir, "A Matter of Death and Life." This passage describes her moment of death.

Oakland poet Mimi Tempestt reads from her new book, "the monumental misrememberings." It's about how Black girls, women, trans women, and femmes often become displaced and experience death and subjugation as a result of patriarchal systems in America.

Palo Alto author Julie Lythcott-Haims reads from her new book, "Your Turn: How to Be an Adult." It’s about adulting.

Berkeley author Annie Barrows reads from her new book "Ivy and Bean Get to Work." It's the twelfth and final book in the Ivy and Bean series and, of course, it's not about work. It's about treasure.

Bay Area author Dave Eggers reads from his new picture book, "We Became Jaguars." It's about a boy who is babysat by his grandmother and she decides to play a game where they pretend to be Jaguars. It was illustrated by Woodrow White.

Berkeley author Aya de Leon reads from her new novel, "A Spy in the Struggle." It’s about Yolanda Vance, a young African American woman who infiltrates Bay Area activists who are fighting for climate justice and Black lives.

Oakland author Kim Addonizio reads from her new book of poems, "Now We’re Getting Somewhere." It's about being a woman, being lonely, confused, joyous, mortal, and thirsty.

Lafayette author Leticia Del Toro reads from her new story, "Tale from Tenacatita." It was published as part of the anthology "Puro Chicanx of the 21st Century."

Campbell author Ehsaneh Sadr reads from her new book, "A Door Between Us." It’s about three characters dealing with complicated family dynamics, all in the aftermath of the 2009 Iranian election.

San Francisco author Chris Colin's new book is called "Off: The Day the Internet Died." It's an illustrated bedtime fantasy about our dysfunctional relationship with screens.

El Cerrito author Ron Nyren reads from his new novel, "The Book of Lost Light." It's about Joseph Kylander, his obsessive father, and his impulsive older cousin Karelia, after their lives are upended by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

San Francisco author Valerie Miner reads from her new collection of stories, "Bread and Salt." The stories are set in India, France, Tunisia, Indonesia, Turkey, Italy.

Oakland author Brad Balukjian reads from his new book "The Wax Pack : On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife." It’s about a 11,341-mile road trip to find every player in a pack of 1986 baseball cards.

Alameda author Jerry Thompson reads from the introduction of "Berkeley Noir," a collection of stories he co-edited with crime novelist Owen Hill.

Fremont author Dallas Woodburn reads from her young adult novel "The Best Week That Never Happened." It’s a love story set in Hawaii.

Santa Clara author Danielle Fuentes Morgan reads from her new book "Laughing to Keep From Dying." It's about African American satire as a subversive mode that creates a space for Black people to define ourselves.

Oakland-based author Alec Scott reads an essay from "Travel Stories of Wonder and Change." It's an anthology by Bay Area writers.

San Francisco poet James Siegel reads from his collection "The God of San Francisco." It's a love letter to those who lived during the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

El Cerrito poet Maw Shein reads from her new book, "Storage Unit for the Spirit House." It’s a collection of poems around themes of containment and liberation, originally inspired by her obsession with storage units and spirit houses.

Marin County author David Harris reads from his new book, "My Country ‘Tis of Thee." It’s a portrait of America spanning his 50-year career as a journalist.

San Francisco doctor and author Andrew Faulk reads from his memoir, "My Epidemic." It’s about his experiences as an HIV-positive physician treating HIV-positive patients.

San Francisco author Loren Rhoads reads from her book "Unsafe Words." This is an excerpt from the short story "Here There be Monsters."

San Francisco author Alia Volz reads from her book "Home Baked." It's about how her mother, Meridy Voltz, became an unexpected caregiver in the 1970s when she opened a bakery called Sticky Fingers Brownies.

San Francisco author Ori Gutin reads from his children’s book "The Butterfly Who Flew in the Rain." It's about a little caterpillar born in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm.

San Francisco author Scott James reads from "Trial By Fire." It’s about the deadliest single building fire in modern American history.

Cassie Kifer's new book "Secret San Jose" explores what she calls Northern California’s most misunderstood city.

San Francisco-based author Valeria Luu and Berkeley-based photographer Andria Lo co-authored a book called Chinatown Pretty. It celebrates the street style and wisdom of senior citizens they met in Chinatowns across North America.

Oakland-based author Meg Elison reads from her book "Find Layla." It's about a girl named Layla who is having a hard time growing up.

San Francisco-based author Bridget Quinn reads from her new illustrated book, "She Votes: How US Women Won Suffrage and What Happened Next." It's about the ways women have fought to make their voices heard and it's illustrated by 100 different artists.

San Francisco-based author Shruti Swamy reads from her new short story collection, "A House Is A Body." It's about finding joy and meaning in times of turmoil.

San Francisco author Angela Terry reads from her book "Charming Falls Apart." It's about a 35-year-old woman who loses it all and embarks on a self-help mission.

Oakland-based author Elwin Cotman reads from his new short story collection "Dance on Saturday." It's about many things, including a zoology conference, people who make their body parts from fruit, and an origin story for Prince.

San Francisco author Marke Bieschke reads from his new book, "Into the Streets." It’s about how 500 years of protest shaped what’s happening in our world today.

San Francisco author A.H. Kim reads from her new novel, "A Good Family."

San Francisco author Jaimal Yogis reads from his new children’s picture book, "Mop Rides the Waves of Life." Mop loves to surf and he learns to ride his emotions like he rides the waves in the ocean.

Sacramento author Shelley Blanton-Stroud reads from her new novel, "Copy Boy." It takes place in San Francisco in the 1930s.

Oakland author Emily Pilloton reads from her new book, "Girls Garage." Its an invitation to girls and women everywhere to join a movement of fearless builders.

Oakland author Yodassa Williams reads from her debut novel "The Goddess Twins." This passage is of one of the main characters remembering a moment from her past when she almost drowned. Williams next book will be a memoir about her experiences as a Black femme burner.

San Jose author Ava Homa reads from her new poetry collection, "Daughters of Smoke and Fire." It's about a sister's fight for her brother's freedom, set mainly in the Kurdish region of Iran.

Oakland author Maggie Tokuda-Hall reads from her young adult fantasy novel, "The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea." This passage from the point of view of the sea.

San Francisco author Anne Raeff reads from her new book, "Only the River." It's about displacement, revolution, and love.

Oakland author Melanie Abrams reads from her new book, "Meadowlark." It's about two teenagers who escape a strict spiritual commune.

San Francisco-based author Dorothy Hearst reads from "Bobo’s Cave of Gold." She and Pamela Berkman write the children’s series "At the Heels of History," featuring dogs and their human companions at key moments in our past.

Oakland author Adrien Aster reads from their new dystopian sci-fi thriller, "Loving R-thur." It's about a woman named X who falls in love with an artificial intelligence.

San Anselmo author Kate Milliken reads from her new novel, "Kept Animals." It's set in a southern California neighborhood of horse ranches and movie stars, and it revolves around the relationships of teenage girls.

San Francisco author Wendy Liu reads from her new book, "Abolish Silicon Valley." It's part memoir about her experience as a startup founder and software engineer, and part cultural criticism.