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Book Talk with Stephanie Gayle, author of Idyll Threats
Come hear local author Stephanie Gayle talk about Idyll Threats, the first book in her Thomas Lynch mystery series.
Find out more »NaNoWriMo Talk: I’ve Written Thousand of Words. Now What?
If you've been participating in National Novel Writing Month you now have thousands of words. What to do with them all? Come for a talk designed to guide you through what comes next. Novelist Stephanie Gayle will talk you through some short exercises designed to help you organize those words into a concrete story.
Find out more »Susan Faludi on her memoir, IN THE DARKROOM
Harvard Book Store and The Baffler welcome Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author of BACKLASH, Susan Faludi for a discussion of her latest book, IN THE DARKROOM. “In the summer of 2004 I set out to investigate someone I scarcely knew, my father. The project began with a grievance, the grievance of a daughter whose parent had absconded from her life. I was in pursuit of a scofflaw, an artful dodger who had skipped out on so many things—obligation, affection, culpability, contrition. I was preparing an…
Find out more »Fantasy Master Garth Nix on Goldenhand
Harvard Book Store welcomes Garth Nix for a presentation of Goldenhand, the long-awaited fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Old Kingdom series. About Goldenhand: Goldenhand takes place six months after the events of Abhorsen and follows the novella Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case, which is featured in Across the Wall. Lirael lost one of her hands in the binding of Orannis, but now she has a new hand, one of gilded steel and Charter Magic. On a dangerous journey, Lirael returns to her childhood home,…
Find out more »Jonathan Lethem at Harvard Book Store
Harvard Book Store welcomes novelist Jonathan Lethem, the New York Times bestselling author of Dissident Gardens and Motherless Brooklyn, for a discussion of his latest book, A Gambler's Anatomy. About A Gambler's Anatomy: The author of Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude returns with a devilishly entertaining novel about an international backgammon hustler who thinks he’s psychic. Too bad about the tumor in his face. Handsome, impeccably tuxedoed Bruno Alexander travels the world winning large sums of money from amateur “whales” who think they can challenge his peerless acumen at backgammon.…
Find out more »Poems for Political Disaster- Readings at The Cambridge Public Library
The Cambridge Public Library will be the site of a reading from Poems for Political Disaster, a new chapbook featuring both new poems and selections from the Boston Review archive that "record, refract, subvert, or otherwise respond to political trauma, catastrophe, or terror—both here at home and abroad." The evening will be hosted by Boston Review poetry editor B.K. FISHER and Harvard Bookstore. Poems for Political Disaster includes an introduction by U.S. Poet Laureate JUAN FELIPE HERRERA as well as poems from MARY JO BANG, SHANE MCCRAE, WENDY XU and many others.
Find out more »Meet the Author: ROXANE GAY at Cambridge Public Library
The Cambridge Public Library is pleased to welcome best-selling author, essayist and New York Times contributor ROXANE GAY (Bad Feminist, Untamed State). She will read from her latest work, Difficult Women, a collection of stories describing hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection. " beautifully conjures tales of women who show strength under duress." - The Guardian Listen to an NPR interview with ROXANE GAY. The Library will stay open late for this event, which is co-sponsored by Porter Square…
Find out more »CRYSTAL KING Reads from Feast of Sorrow
Come hear CRYSTAL KING read from her debut novel, Feast of Sorrow, learn about the incredible history of the world's first known gourmand, and sample ancient Roman nibbles. Held in the Cambridge Public Library downstairs auditorium, Porter Square Books will be on hand to sell copies of the book. Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, Feast of Sorrow features the man who inspired the world's oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction. On…
Find out more »Author Talk: French Cartoonist Sandrine Revel
Conversation with French cartoonist Sandrine Revel, author of Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo, Pulitzer prize-winning music critic Lloyd Schwartz, and illustrator Dan Mazur, hosted by Million Year Picnic.
Find out more »J. COURTNEY SULLIVAN in conversation with MEREDITH GOLDSTEIN
Harvard Book Store welcomes J. COURTNEY SULLIVAN to talk about her new novel: Saints for All Occasions. Nora and Theresa Flynn are twenty-one and seventeen when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister; she's shy and serious and engaged to a man she isn't sure that she loves. Theresa is gregarious; she is thrilled by their new life in Boston and besotted with the fashionable dresses and dance halls on Dudley Street. But…
Find out more »An Afternoon with Granta Magazine: Best of Young American Novelists
Every ten years Granta publishes a special edition of new fiction from the most exciting American writers under the age of forty. Harvard Book Store welcomes a panel of Granta magazine's newly honored fiction writers for readings from the latest issue. Joining this years readings are MARK DOTEN, RACHEL B. GLASER, GREG JACKSON and SANA KRASIKOV. This event is free and open to the public.
Find out more »Renowned children’s book author OLIVER JEFFERS at the Cambridge Public Library
Porter Square Books is proud to welcome author OLIVER JEFFERS at the Cambridge Public Library as he reads from his latest work, Here We Are. Insightfully sweet, with a gentle humor and poignancy, Here We Are is OLIVER JEFFERS' user's guide to life on Earth. He created it specially for his son, yet with a universality that embraces all children and their parents. Be it a complex view of our planet's terrain (bumpy, sharp, wet), a deep look at our…
Find out more »Poet DAVID FERRY on Virgil’s Aeneid
Harvard Book Store welcomes award-winning poet and translator DAVID FERRY for a discussion of his translation of Virgil's Aeneid. He will be joined in conversation by award-winning poet and critic, former poet laureate, and Boston University professor ROBERT PINSKY. This event is co-sponsored by Mass Humanities. This event is free and also includes a book signing. Doors close at 6:00pm! About The Aeneid “I sing of arms and the man . . . ” So begins the Aeneid, greatest of…
Find out more »STEVEN LEVITSKY and DANIEL ZIBLATT on How Democracies Die
Harvard Book Store welcomes STEVEN LEVITSKY and DANIEL ZIBLATT, authors of How Democracies Die. This event is free. No tickets are necessary. Donald Trump’s presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we’d be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang—in a revolution…
Find out more »“One Man’s Journey through the Middle Ages” at the Cambridge Public Library
Local writer/storyteller JUDAH LEBLANG presents his original show, "One Man's Journey through the Middle Ages" at Cambridge Public Library. The show, based on Leblang's memoir Finding My Place, is a mostly humorous look at the author's experiences as a gay, middle-aged man, and various times when 'man planned, and God laughed.' Copies of Finding My Place ($17) will be available for purchase after the show.
Find out more »Stephanie Gayle talk at Cambridge Public Library
Stephanie Gayle's latest book, Idyll Hands, explores two cases of two women missing since the 1970s. At her talk she'll discuss the inspiration behind the book and how missing persons has been a pivotal plot in the mystery genre. She'll also discuss the fascinating true mystery of Agatha Christie, who went missing for 11 days in 1926, prompting one of the largest manhunts ever.
Find out more »Tell the Tale: The Wisdom of Story
A talk with Roger Lipsey, Ph.D., author of a new biography Gurdjieff Reconsidered: The Life, the Teaching, the Legacy. Joined by special guest The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault, author of the foreword. “All is story,” Gurdjieff once said to a young man in his circle. “In story you make yourself known to others.” Story is part of every wisdom tradition, every practice tradition. Guidance and instructions about practice are typically austere: they speak to our possibilities and require understanding…
Find out more »New England Poetry Club Award Winners Reading and Reception at Cambridge Public Library
The New England Poetry Club celebrates the winners of its 2019 contests with a reading and reception. Among the award-winning poets who will read their work are Susan Donnelly and Dzvinia Orlowsky, co-winners of the Samuel Washington Allen Prize, selected by Robert Pinsky; and Maria Luisa Arroyo, winner of the Der Hovanessian Prize, selected by Alan Smith Soto. This event is co-hosted by the Cambridge Public Library.
Find out more »Billy Bragg presents THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF FREEDOM in conversation with Cass R. Sunstein at Cambridge Public Library
Harvard Book Store welcomes musician, activist, and bestselling author BILLY BRAGG for a discussion of his latest book, The Three Dimensions of Freedom. He will be joined in conversation by renowned legal scholar CASS R. SUNSTEIN. This event is co-sponsored by Mass Humanities. About The Three Dimensions of Freedom We live in a world where strongman politics are rising; neo-liberalism has hollowed out political parties; and corporations have undermined democracy. Ordinary voters feel helpless to effect change, resulting in outbreaks…
Find out more »Robert Kuttner presents THE STAKES: 2020 AND THE SURVIVAL OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY in conversation with E.J. Dionne Jr. at Cambridge Public Library
Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed political analyst ROBERT KUTTNER for a discussion of his latest book, The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy. He will be joined in conversation by Georgetown University professor and Washington Post contributor E.J. DIONNE, JR. About The Stakes The 2020 presidential election will determine the very survival of American democracy. To restore popular faith in government―and win the election―Democrats need to nominate and elect an economic progressive. The Stakes explains how the failure of the…
Find out more »Martha Minow presents WHEN SHOULD LAW FORGIVE? at Cambridge Public Library
Harvard Book Store and Harvard's Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics welcome renowned legal scholar MARTHA MINOW—former dean of Harvard Law School—for a discussion of her latest book, When Should Law Forgive?. About When Should Law Forgive? Crimes and violations of the law require punishment, and our legal system is set up to punish, but what if the system was recalibrated to also weigh grounds for forgiveness? What if something like bankruptcy―a fresh start for debtors―were available to people convicted…
Find out more »Leigh Bardugo presents NINTH HOUSE: A NOVEL at Cambridge Public Library
Harvard Book Store welcomes beloved, bestselling fantasy writer LEIGH BARDUGO—author of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, Six of Crows duology, and more—for a discussion of her debut adult novel Ninth House. She will be joined in conversation by KELLY LINK, master of short fiction and fantasy. Important Signing Guidelines Attendance to this talk is free and open to the public. Those joining the signing line must have purchased a copy of Ninth House from Harvard Book Store. Purchasing a book-included…
Find out more »Sasha Sagan presents FOR SMALL CREATURES SUCH AS WE at Cambridge Public Library
Join us for a reading with Sasha Sagan at Cambridge Public Library, interviewed on-stage by Harvard University chaplain Greg Epstein, from her new book For Small Creatures Such as We. Part memoir, part guidebook, and part social history, For Small Creatures Such as We is the first book from the daughter of Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan—a luminous exploration of Earth’s marvels that require no faith in order to be believed. Sasha Sagan grew up in a secular home where she learned…
Find out more »The Massachusetts Book Awards Holiday Dozen-Cambridge Edition at Cambridge Public Library
Celebrate the holiday season right with signed books for everyone on your list. Join us for short performances by recent Massachusetts Book Awards winners, honorees, and long-listers and grab a signed and personalized copy of their work for your favorite book lovers. We’ve got fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for adults, young adults, and middle graders, plus picture books for the kids. Our authors will be on hand to share their John Hancocks and chat with readers both old and new.…
Find out more »Did You Know?
Certain books were “banned in Boston” at least as far back as 1651, when one William Pynchon wrote a book criticizing Puritanism.