In today's fast-paced, perpetually online world, it's become decidedly more difficult to appreciate the value of a good book.
But we love to read. We know you love to read, too (you're reading our website right now, aren't you?). And sometimes, scrolling through endless headlines and pixellated news bytes is no substitution for curling up on the couch with a good, old-fashioned novel.
Which is why we here at HuffPost SF want to give you an excuse to avert your eyes from the big glowing computer screen and get lost in a story. So we're launching a book club!
Here's how it works: Every couple months, we'll announce a new book choice for our audience to read. Our selections will either be written by a San Francisco author, take place in San Francisco, or both.
We know you're busy -- you'll have at least 60 days to read it. We'll keep you engaged by tweeting discussion topics, quotes and questions along the way.
At the end of the two months, we'll host an official book club gathering at one of San Francisco's myriad bookstores. You'll have the chance to meet fellow readers, chat about the story, explore one of the city's local literary havens, and maybe even ask questions to the author themselves.
We can't think of a better book to kick off this program with than San Francisco native Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad. Last year's postmodern Pulitzer Prize winner pulsates with scenes from San Francisco in the 1980s before taking readers on a journey around the world and across time.
Our first event will take place at Haight Street's Booksmith, whose owners frequently blog for us, and Ms. Egan (now based in New York) will participate via Skype to answer reader questions.
We hope you'll join us at 7pm on May 22nd for this exciting opportunity. The best part? It's completely, 100 percent free! All you have to do is register for a spot quickly, as space is extremely limited.
So go ahead, dear readers: Peel yourself away from the pixels, head on over to one of your local bookstores to pick up a copy of Goon Squad, and join us at Booksmith at the end of May. We can't wait to see you there.
Happy reading!
(Bonus: Check out HuffPost SF's exclusive interview with Jennifer Egan here.)