SFist Reads

Looking at the Green Apple site the other day, we were struck by their Staff Picks section, which describes said staff as "helpful and friendly book and music lovers without the indie attitude." Any reader of Box Office Poison (thanks for the recommendation, SFist Jeremy! We love it!) can tell you that working in a bookstore is oftentimes a thankless task. Props to those Green Apple kids, who do their jobs with a casual grace, and who clearly enjoy what they do. What other bookstores harbor employees who deserve shoutouts? Let us know in the comments!

SFist Rita just finished The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler, which is an oral history of teenagers who were forced to give their babies up for adoption between WWII and Roe v. Wade. All the stories are compelling, and incredibly sad. The book is careful to distinguish the current state of adoption in America with the way things used to be, based on your ability to choose adoption freely as an option, and your ability to see your child grow up.

SFist Jackson was doing some Bay Area homework over the weekend, finishing both Herb Caen's Don't Call it Frisco and The Great Shark Hunt, the first volume of Hunter S. Thompson's Gonzo letters. What's striking were the similarities between their styles and subjects, though obviously their methods were different. Both liked to play with language and pad with a lot of lyrical prose. Very entertaining, and thankfully there's plenty more still to read.