BOOKSHOP

PITCH SHIFT Bookshop Santa Cruz moved into 'the tents' after the building it formerly

occupied was destroyed in the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.

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Thank You NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 6, 2016 | GOODTIMES.SC | SANTACRUZ.COM

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

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“WE ALL CAN DANCE... if we find the music that we love.” — Giraffes Can’t Dance, Giles Andreae

In loving memory of Madison McKay Buell, forever in the heart of Jacob’s Heart.

Jacob’s Heart provides comprehensive, family-centered support to children with cancer and their families in our local community. Jacob’s Heart receives no government funding and no insurance reimbursement; we rely 100% on community donations like yours to bring love and hope to families. To learn about how Jacob’s Heart supports local families, to volunteer, or to donate to a family of a child with cancer this holiday season, go to JACOBSHEART.ORG.

Children’s Cancer Support Services JACOB’S HEART 680 West Beach Street, Watsonville CA 95076 ❤ 831-724-9100

Why are independent bookstores in particular so good for readers and writers? Independent bookstores tend to hire people who are very steeped in literature and reading. This isn’t always a priority in bigger bookstores. As far as writers go, a lot of people who work in bookstores are writers themselves. They want to be around books and they want to be around other writers. It’s a good day job while they do their own work, and readers benefit from their knowledge. How did a small surf town like Santa Cruz capture the literary spotlight with Bookshop Santa Cruz? It’s a story of survival. A lot of towns the size of Santa Cruz at one time had bookstores, but too many have fallen away. Bookshop is still here. Book Café is gone, but it put Santa Cruz on the map with many publishers. They’d look at their

authors’ tour schedules and see New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Capitola of all places. Bookshop Santa Cruz has carried on that tradition. Santa Cruz thinks of itself a lot like Berkeley does, and has labored to build the same kind of literary culture here.

Speaking of literary culture, tell me about your friendship with one of our great departed literary lions, Jim Houston. I started working at the Sentinel in 1991, when Jim’s writing career was in mid-stride. I’d read at least one of his books before moving here and instantly wanted to develop a friendship with him. He had a modest way about him, a cowboy way, and he was fascinated with other parts of the country. Almost more than any writer I’ve come across, he was focused on geography. He believed that California wasn’t just a place, it

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