94 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM A FEW OF THE ALL-STAR AUTHORS WHO'VE SPOKEN AT KEPLER'S: + Dave Barry (Peter and the Starcatchers series) + Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games series) + John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) + Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner) + Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead and The Poisonwood Bible) + Ann Patchett (Tom Lake and Bel Canto) + Terry Pratchet (Discworld series) + Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson series) + George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones series) + Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club) + Abraham Verghese (The Covenant of Water) cluding textbooks, he didn’t own his first tome until after college. “One of the first things I did with my first paycheck was buy a few science fiction books,” he recalls. Stepping into an American Barnes & Noble for the first time blew his mind. But after moving to the States for an unfulfilling career in management consulting, Praveen underwent a crisis. “I started having this unease,” he recollects. “Was it really worth my one and only life?” Somehow, he and his wife found themselves revamping The Booksmith, a longstanding San Francisco bookstore. “I was fascinated by this dilemma,” Praveen says of the plight of the 21stcentury bookstore. “What can possibly be done to evolve the business model of a bookstore so it stays relevant?” It tickled his problem-solving brain. So a few years later, when Clark told Praveen of his plans to either pass Kepler’s on to the next generation or close it for good, Praveen wasn’t deterred by the store’s declining sales. He said yes. “It was touch-and-go for a while,” Praveen admits of the intense restructuring process. Understanding that bringing this conversation to the community would be essential, he hosted a conference and asked publishers, book sellers, authors, donors, staff and customers to help him reimagine the thriving community bookstore of today. “A lot of times, we have an instinct to try to control an outcome or make a certain decision—but often it's better to listen, let things evolve.” One change to Kepler’s has been its hybrid model and the addition of its nonprofit events branch. At one speaking event with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Kepler’s gave free tickets and books to 120 high school kids (many from East Palo Alto and Belle Haven), then arranged a backstage meeting for them. “One young girl said to her that she was hoping to become a lawyer and eventually a judge,” PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: KEPLER'S BOOKS ABOVE (clockwise from top): CEO Praveen Madan and the bookstore team at Kepler's holiday party; Ziggy Marley poses for a photo at a book signing; Ziggy autographs his cookbook for a fan; Diane Keaton makes an appearance at an author event.
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