Book Discussion at Free Outdoor Event Featuring Pizza From Prime Pizza
Writer and photographer Craig Mod will appear at Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood on Wednesday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m., for a conversation and book signing celebrating the release of his new memoir, Things Become Other Things: A Walking Memoir. The free event will take place in the bookstore’s courtyard and will feature a discussion with journalist and filmmaker Dexter Thomas.
Known for his reflective prose and long solo walking journeys, Mod’s latest work traces a 300-mile pilgrimage along the Kumano Kodō, a network of ancient trails in Japan’s Kii Peninsula. Undertaken in 2021 during the country’s pandemic-era border closure, the walk becomes a lens for personal introspection as Mod reflects on his childhood in a post-industrial American town, his adoption, his decision to relocate to Japan at 19, and the death of a close friend.
Through his blend of memoir and travel writing, Mod captures rural Japanese life through conversations with fishermen, café owners, farmers, and innkeepers, while also weaving in themes of Buddhist and Shinto spirituality, natural resilience, and the quiet solitude of long-distance walking.
Copies of Things Become Other Things will be available for purchase at the event. Free seating is limited, and guests are encouraged to reserve seats by purchasing a book in advance. Complimentary pizza will be provided by Prime Pizza while supplies last.
Mod is the author of several books, including Kissa by Kissa, and is the creator of the newsletters Roden and Ridgeline. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Wired. Dexter Thomas, who will join him in conversation, is a documentary filmmaker, writer, professor, and musician.
To reserve a seat, visit the book’s reservation page here.
