An event of a different color: LEAH CAROLL delves into the traumatic deaths of her parents and their intersections with the Rhode-Island mafia in Down City: A Daughter’s Story of Love.
ALAN FISHBONE is the motorcycle-riding classical scholar who offers wisdom gathered from the poetry of antiquity, and from near-death experiences on the open road in his work Organ Grinder: A Classical Education Gone Astray.
This event, sponsored by the Boston Literary District, is free and open to the public.
Brookline Booksmith hosts essayist, critic and author MICHAEL FRANK presenting his family memoir, The Might Franks, which the New York Times calls “probing and radiantly polished.”
About The Mighty Franks:
Talented, sparkling, and lavish with both money and love, Auntie Hankie teaches young Michael which books to read, which painters to admire, and which people to adore— but beneath her charm lies a dangerous rage. This true Hollywood tale of an eccentric Jewish household tests where the boundaries of family life should be drawn, and who should draw them.
Brookline Booksmith is pleased to welcome author TOM PERROTTA (Election, Little Children, The Leftovers) as he reads from his newest novel, Mrs. Fletcher.
Eve Fletcher is trying to figure out what comes next. A forty-six-year-old divorcee whose beloved only child has just left for college, Eve is struggling to adjust to her empty nest when one night her phone lights up with a text message. Sent from an anonymous number, the mysterious sender tells Eve, “U R my MILF!” Over the months that follow, that message comes to obsess Eve. Sharp, witty, and provocative, Mrs. Fletcher is a timeless examination of sexuality, identity, parenthood, and the big clarifying mistakes people can make when they’re no longer sure of who they are or where they belong.
This free event is co-sponsored by 826 Boston.
In his latest book, the musician, left-wing activist, and sonic archivist BILLY BRAGG has crafted a remarkable history of skiffle, a particularly British music genre. Initiated by amateur players of the blues, jazz, and folk, skiffle lured teenagers obsessed with all things American and eager to dance away post-WWII conformity and deprivation. With a DIY ethos and three-chord tunes, skiffle inspired a generation of British lads to pick up guitars, including Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, and a young extraterrestrial who would later take the name “David Bowie.” Roughly a cross between folk and R&B, skiffle quickly succumbed to the other two genres and faded from the charts, even as its former disciples led the British Invasion.
Please note this is a book talk only– Billy will not be performing.
ANITA DIAMANT, hosted by Brookline Booksmith, discusses her newest guide. Newly revised and updated, The Jewish Wedding Now, is the definitive guide to planning a Jewish wedding—written by bestselling novelist ANITA DIAMANT, author of The Red Tent and The Boston Girl, and one of the most respected writers on contemporary Jewish life.
This event is not ticketed.
Brookline Booksmith welcomes SJ SINDU with her novel Marriage of a Thousand Lies. Lucky and her husband, Krishna, are gay. They present an illusion of marital bliss to their conservative families while each dates on the side. It’s not ideal, but it seems to be working— that is, until Lucky rekindles a relationship with her first lover and childhood best friend, Nisha.
“A timely tale with themes of immigration, free will, identity, and personal choice.” — Booklist
This event is co-sponsored by Boston Pride.
Join Brookline Booksmith as they host LEE MATTHEW GOLDBERG and HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN, who will discuss GOLDBERG’s The Mentor.
When his favorite college professor mentions that he’s writing a novel, Kyle is overjoyed. He’s eager to read the opus his mentor has toiled over…until it turns out to be not only horribly written, but depraved, and uncannily close to a real unsolved murder.
This event is not ticketed.
Brookline Booksmith hosts KIT SCHLUTER and EMMA RAMADAN as they discuss their translated works: SCHLUTER’s The King in the Golden Mask and RAMADAN’s Not One Day.
Two translators discuss two European masters, available in English for the first time. Brimming with murder, suicide, royal leprosy and medieval witchcraft, Marcel Schwob’s stories (The King in the Golden Mask) are lost horror classics from the age of Poe. French Oulipo writer, Anne Garréta’s novel (Not One Day) is an intimate, erotic, and sometimes bitter recounting of loves and lovers past, that explores the interplay between memory, fantasy, and desire.
This event is co-sponsored by Greying Ghost Press.
Brookline Booksmith hosts MATTHEW KLAM, author of story collection Sam the Cat: and Other Stories, with the release of his first novel Who is Rich? He is joined by bestselling author CURTIS SITTENFELD (Prep).
Who is Rich? A provocative and hilarious satire of love, sex, money, and politics in our new gilded age.
This event is not ticketed.
Brookline Booksmith hosts actor CURTIS ARMSTRONG with his memoir Revenge of the Nerd.
A legendary comedic second banana, Curtis is forever cemented in the public imagination as Booger from Revenge of the Nerds— but there’s more to Curtis’ story than that. With whip-smart, self-effacing humor, Armstrong takes us on a most unlikely journey— one nerd’s hilarious, often touching, rise to the middle.