Bookstores Transform Into Activity Centers

A competitive market has required the bookstore to shed its hushed atmosphere, where customers browsed quietly with nary a cappuccino machine or audio book in sight.

The local establishment, whether a chain or an independent, is now an activity center.

Customers are bustling between authors autographing and cooks demonstrating. They come with the kids to hear storytellers and with the spouse to attend slide shows, lectures and musical events.

And to sustain themselves between cultural activities, they stop at the in-store cafe and have a bite to eat and a chat with friends or colleagues.

Barnes & Noble is a presence in Ventura, Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara. Borders Books & Music has opened huge stores in Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara.

The Earthling and Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara, Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks and Adventures for Kids in Ventura are among the independents who consistently host both intellectually stimulating and career-enhancing events for writers. So pull out the calendar, it’s time to make some plans.

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Dianne Pugh will sign her third Iris Thorne mystery, “Fast Friends,” at noon Saturday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

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Brothers Aviv M. and David Ilan will sign their illustrated humor book, “You Know You’re Drinking Too Much Coffee When . . .,” at 8 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble, 829 State St. in Santa Barbara and at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., Ventura.

Shari Geller, author of “Fatal Convictions,” will sign at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Thouand Oaks, 160 S. Westlake Blvd.

And Ellen Jaffe McClain will discuss her “Embracing the Stranger: Intermarriage & the Future of the American Jewish Community” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Thousand Oaks store.

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The Thousand Oaks Borders, at 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., will host an eclectic group of authors this week.

Musicologist Anne Uszler, author of “Sound Choices,” will demonstrate at 2 p.m. Saturday techniques for guiding children musically. And poet Roni will read from her “Sensuous Cinema of My Mind” at 7 p.m. Monday.

Warner Bros. fitness director Greg Isaacs will describe how to shed holiday pounds and then he will sign “The Ultimate Lean Routine” at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Don Altman, author of “The Digital Frontier,” will present an online job-search seminar at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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Romance, articles and agents are on the agenda at three one-day seminars Saturday at Learning Tree University’s Thousand Oaks campus.

Literary agent Michael Hamilburg will describe “How to Find an Agent” from 9 a.m. to noon. Richard Cormack will conduct a Magazine Articles workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. And the much-published Simi Valley author Margaret Brownley will preside over the Romance Novel workshop from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 497-2292.

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In Santa Barbara

David Baldacci will sign his thriller “Total Control” at 7 p.m. Friday at Chaucer’s, Loreto Plaza, 3321 State St.

Susan Chernak McElroy will discuss her book “Animals as Teachers & Healers” at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Earthling Bookshop, 1137 State St.

The chicken-soup publishing phenomenon keeps on going and going. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, with co-authors Patty Aubery and Nancy Mitchell, will present their salute to survivors of debilitating illness, “Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul,” at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Earthling Bookshop.

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Frances Halpern and Jon O’Brien are co-hosts of “Beyond Words” at 10 a.m. Sundays on KCLU 88.3 FM, Ventura County’s National Public Radio station.