Update: You've Got Books

7:49 p.m. UPDATE:  The Village Books fundraiser  is postponed to sometime in July or August -- due to unforeseen circumstances, Tom Hanks had to cancel, said organizers.

In the 1940 romantic comedy The Shop Around the Corner James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan play a pair of contemptuous co-workers who unknowingly conduct an anonymous, amorous correspondence with one another via local post.

For the 1998 computer age reimagining of the story, You’ve Got Mail, the lonely-hearts letters are an Internet email exchange, and “The Shop Around the Corner” is a small, intimate bookstore owned by our heroine that is threatened with annihilation by a huge national chain represented by our hero.

With the hero played by Palisadian booklover Tom Hanks, the film - followed by a Q&A with the star - was a natural choice for the fundraiser scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, at the Aero Theater.

 “I see the story of our bookstore in that movie, but there's a whole new set of factors that we're trying to adapt to,” said Katie O’Loughlin, Village Books owner since 1997.

“You've Got Mail came out shortly after we opened. Email was a new thing; big chain bookstores were putting independents out of business. Now email is passé, big stores are going out of business, Amazon and electronic books are turning the whole thing upside down.”

That’s why O’Loughlin envisions Village Books as more than a bookstore; it’s a “book space.”  She’s cultivated a venue for poetry gatherings, book readings and signings and even musical performances, a place where people can gather and “share their love of the written word,” as she puts it.

But you can’t run a business by giving stuff away for free. Live events cost more than they earn so enter Palisades Village Book Friends. Two years ago, literature lovers Susan Nash and Michael Doyen founded the non-profit group to help underwrite the costs of giving Palisadians, “the opportunity to go out and listen to interesting people talk about interesting ideas,” said Nash. Their goal is to raise $60,000 a year.

Tickets for Tuesday’s fundraiser range from $25 to $250. For the basic price of $100 ($25 for students) contributors will have the opportunity to share refreshments and see You’ve Got Mail on the big screen. Afterwards they can ask Tom Hanks those burning questions they’ve been holding in since 1998.

The $250 ticket entitles supporters to a wine and hors d’oeuvres meet and greet with Hanks prior to the screening and reserved seating in the theater.

“It's probably worth coming just for the appetizers,” said Nash. Food will be donated by village restaurants , , and . will bring the wine.

Admission will be $25 higher at the door, so it pays to order in advance.

Tickets can be purchased at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore Ave., or send a check, payable to Palisades Village Book Friends* to PVBF, P.O. Box 1553, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Tickets will be held at Will Call on the night of the event. All contributions to PVBF* for this event are tax-deductible. Questions? Call Ros Wolf at 310-612-6079 or 310-454-0747.