Calendar

Nov
7
Wed
Katherine Reynolds: The Good News About Bad Behavior @ AADL Downtown
Nov 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Washington, D.C.-based journalist Katherine Reynolds Lewis reads from her new book offering a theory of disciplining kids that involves building their skills to address the root causes of misbehavior.
7-8:30 p.m., AADL Downtown 1st fl. lobby. Free. 327-4200

Lindsay-Jean Hard: Cooking with Scraps @ Literati
Nov 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Literati Bookstore is thrilled to welcome Lindsay-Jean Hard who will be sharing her new cookbook Cooking with Scraps: Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, and Stems Into Delicious Meals

About Cooking with Scraps:
“A whole new way to celebrate ingredients that have long been wasted. Lindsay-Jean is a master of efficiency and we’re inspired to follow her lead!” –Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, cofounders of Food52

In 85 innovative recipes, Lindsay-Jean Hard shows just how delicious and surprising the all-too-often-discarded parts of food can be, transforming what might be considered trash into culinary treasure.

Here’s how to put those seeds, stems, tops, rinds to good use for more delicious (and more frugal) cooking: Carrot greens–bright, fresh, and packed with flavor–make a zesty pesto. Water from canned beans behaves just like egg whites, perfect for vegan mayonnaise that even non-vegans will love. And serve broccoli stems olive-oil poached on lemony ricotta toast. It’s pure food genius, all the while critically reducing waste one dish at a time.

“I love this book because the recipes matter…show[ing] us how to utilize the whole plant, to the betterment of our palate, our pocketbook, and our place.” –Eugenia Bone, author of The Kitchen Ecosystem

“Packed with smart, approachable recipes for beautiful food made with ingredients that you used to throw in the compost bin!” –Cara Mangini, author of The Vegetable Butcher

Lindsay-Jean Hard received her Master’s in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. Her education and passion for sustainability went on to inform and inspire her work in the garden, home, and community. The seeds of this book were planted in her Food52 column of the same name. Today she works to share her passion for great food and great communities as a marketer at Zingerman’s Bakehouse. She lives, writes, loves, and creates in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

What is Fifth Avenue Press? An Introduction to AADL’s Publishing Imprint @ AADL Downtown
Nov 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Writers who have published their books through the AADL discuss the imprint and how to submit a manuscript.
7-8:30 p.m., AADL Downtown 4th fl. meeting rm. Free. 327-4200

Nov
8
Thu
Michelle Wright: Physics of Blackness @ 2021C Tisch Hall
Nov 8 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Emory University (Atlanta) English professor Michelle Wright reads from Physics of Blackness, her 2015 book about how different cultures and historical moments define blackness.
4-6 p.m., 2021C Tisch Hall, 435 S. State. Free. 763-2351

Writing Interactive Fiction @ AADL Downtown
Nov 8 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

All grade 8-adult invited to learn how to write a digital “Choose Your Own Adventure” story using a simple coding language. You can then play through the stories you and others have written.
6-8 p.m., AADL Downtown Training Center. Free. 327-4200.

Ann Arbor Storytellers Guild: Story Night @ Crazy Wisdom
Nov 8 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Ann Arbor Storytellers Guild members host a storytelling program. Audience members are encouraged to bring a 5-minute story to tell.
7-9 p.m., Crazy Wisdom Tea Room, 114 S. Main. Free. 665-2757.

 

 

Open Mic and Share: Sharon H. Chang: Hapa Tales and Other Lies @ Bookbound
Nov 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Seattle writer Sharon H. Chang reads from Hapa Tales and Other Lies, her new memoir that explores her Asian American and mixed race identity through the prism of a Hawaii vacation that turns into something more when she gets involved with the Native Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement. The program begins with an open mike for poets, who are welcome to read their own work or a favorite poem by another writer.
7 p.m., Bookbound, 1729 Plymouth. Free. 369-4345.

Susan Orlean: The Library Book @ AADL
Nov 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Literati Bookstore is thrilled to welcome Susan Orlean to the lobby of the Ann Arbor District Library in support of her latest, The Library Book. Copies of this new book and Orlean’s other titles will be available for sale, courtesy of Literati Bookstore.

About The Library Book: Susan Orlean, hailed as a “national treasure” by The Washington Post and the acclaimed bestselling author of Rin Tin Tin and The Orchid Thief, reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution–our libraries.

On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual false alarm. As one fireman recounted later, “Once that first stack got going, it was Goodbye, Charlie.” The fire was disastrous: It reached 2,000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. Investigators descended on the scene, but over thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library–and if so, who?

Weaving her life-long love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries and the sometimes-eccentric characters who run them, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story as only she can. With her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, she investigates the legendary Los Angeles Public Library fire to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives. To truly understand what happens behind the stacks, Orlean visits the different departments of the LAPL, encountering an engaging cast of employees and patrons and experiencing alongside them the victories and struggles they face in today’s climate. She also delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from a metropolitan charitable initiative to a cornerstone of national identity. She reflects on her childhood experiences in libraries; studies arson and the long history of library fires; attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and she re-examines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the library over thirty years ago. Along the way, she reveals how these buildings provide much more than just books–and that they are needed now more than ever.

Filled with heart, passion, and unforgettable characters, The Library Book is classic Susan Orlean, and an homage to a beloved institution that remains a vital part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country and culture.

About Susan Orlean: Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She is the author of seven books, including Rin Tin Tin, Saturday Night, and The Orchid Thief, which was made into the Academy Award-winning film Adaptation. She lives with her family and her animals in upstate New York.

Nov
9
Fri
Storytelling Event: Shelter Association of Washtenaw County Homelessness Awareness Week @ Ypsilanti Freight House
Nov 9 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Poetry readings, testimonials, and storytelling by people who have experienced homelessness. Also, an art display and information from area agencies that address homelessness.
6-8 p.m., Ypsilanti Freight House, 100 Market Pl, Ypsilanti. Free. 662-2829, ext. 226.[map]

Poetry Night featuring Caroline Johnson and Tara E. Jay @ Nicola's Books
Nov 9 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Join us for a moving poetry night. Caroline Johnson’s first full-length publication, The Caregiver, includes 50 poems that were inspired by the 15 years she devoted to taking care of her aging parents. Midwest Book Review deemed it “very highly recommended for both personal reading lists and community library Contemporary American Poetry collections.” Joining her will be UofM MFA candidate Tara E. Jay.

The Caregiver is Caroline Johnson’s first full-length publication. The gathering includes free verse, lyrical poems, prose poetry and some formal verse. Many of the poems won contests and have been previously published in online print journals and anthologies. The poems touch on the topic of grieving but go beyond and focus on the many difficulties a caregiver experiences―both emotional and physical―yet also recognize the spiritual gifts that come with helping a loved one. Caregiving is a significant issue for our times and will only become more important as our population ages.

Caroline Johnson observed both of her parents suffer crippling illnesses such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Rheumatoid Arthritis in the 15 years she spent as family caregiver. During that time she wrote poetry as a way to grieve and celebrate their lives. This book is the culmination of that effort. She has published two poetry chapbooks, My Mother’s Artwork and Where the Street Ends, and more than 70 poems. Her awards include winning the 2012 Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Poetry Contest, nominations for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, and prizes in state and national competitions. A former English teacher, she works as an academic advisor for a Chicago area community college. One of her favorite activities in the past was watching James Bond movies with her father, who served in the U.S. Air Force as a bomber pilot during the Cold War in the 1950s as part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC). Please visit www.caroline-johnson.com.

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