Dave Simpson, the owner of the former Lafayette Book Store, was so confident his patrons would love Elizabeth Rosner’s “The Speed of Light” as much as he did that he offered a 100% money-back guarantee on hardback copies. Simpson read the book en route to the national book convention and believed in his heart that it would be a hit for some of his store’s book clubs. 

    “I thought the poetic writing and compelling themes made the book very discussable,” Simpson recalls. “What stayed with me all these years is the emotional clarity and honesty of (the characters) Julian, Paula and Sola as they cope with inherited memory and generational trauma.”

    Apparently, Simpson’s readers agreed, because of the 400 copies sold at Lafayette Book Store, only one single customer asked for a refund. As the book reaches its 25-year anniversary, in a new chapter of life and the literary landscape of Lafayette, Simpson along with Reasonable Books owners Rudy and Betty Winnacker are collaborating on a celebratory event for fans of the book, lovers of reading and those who can simply resonate with the life experience.
 
    Organizers say the event, which is slated for 7 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette, will give former patrons and book club members of Lafayette Book Store an opportunity to come together with those of Reasonable Books, while engaging in dialogue with Elizabeth Rosner, the author of “The Speed of Light.” 

    While Lafayette Book Store closed its doors in 2010, Linda Grana, the former manager at the Lafayette Book Store is a current employee of Reasonable Books. “Linda is the connective glue that brought us all together,” Simpson says. “She kept in touch with Liz Rosner, who reached out about doing a 25th anniversary event … and a natural synergy birthed an event to celebrate the book, promote Reasonable Books and bring together former Lafayette Book Store customers.” 

    Rudy Winnacker is in the midst of reading “The Speed of Light” and says he’s thrilled to have a chance to come together with Lafayette’s original bookstore. 

    “Even before meeting Dave I had heard enough to know that he's an ‘outside of the box’ entrepreneur who did many things with the bookstore that people remember to this day,” Winnacker says. “One of our goals was always to participate in the community and I couldn't think of a better way to do so than to celebrate ‘The Speed of Light’ together with the Lafayette Book Store.” 

    “(I hope this) will move people to read Elizabeth's books and take away from them what I've heard so much about them,” Winnacker says. “(And that it will) be a nostalgic reunion for the staff and customers of the Lafayette Book Store, and that Reasonable Books can continue its tradition as Lafayette's own home town Indie Bookstore.” 

    Tickets for the event are available at Reasonable Books at 3645 Mount Diablo Blvd., near Trader Joe’s in downtown Lafayette.