Toastmasters is an international group devoted to helping each other grow in our abilities to give speeches. The Sweetwaters Toastmasters Club meets twice monthly. We are a fun and friendly group! Toastmasters also helps you develop leadership skills if you wish to do that. Come as many times as you want for free, and decide later if you want to join. In the meantime, come make new friends and have fun!
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea on Washington Street, 123 West Washington Street. Free. 323-286-3999. https://www.facebook.com/groups/TMSweet/
Literati is pleased to welcome author Julie Schumacher who will be reading from and discussing her new book The Shakespeare Requirement.
About The Shakespeare Requirement:
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune keep hitting beleaguered English professor Jason Fitger right between the eyes in this hilarious and eagerly awaited sequel to the cult classic of anhedonic academe, the Thurber Prize-winning Dear Committee Members. Once more into the breach…
Now is the fall of his discontent, as Jason Fitger, newly appointed chair of the English Department of Payne University, takes arms against a sea of troubles, personal and institutional. His ex-wife is sleeping with the dean who must approve whatever modest initiatives he undertakes. The fearsome department secretary Fran clearly runs the show (when not taking in rescue parrots and dogs) and holds plenty of secrets she’s not sharing. The lavishly funded Econ Department keeps siphoning off English’s meager resources and has taken aim at its remaining office space. And Fitger’s attempt to get a mossbacked and antediluvian Shakespeare scholar to retire backfires spectacularly when the press concludes that the Bard is being kicked to the curricular curb.
Lord, what fools these mortals be! Julie Schumacher proves the point and makes the most of it in this delicious romp of satire.
Julie Schumacher grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from Oberlin College and Cornell University, where she earned her MFA. Her first novel, The Body Is Water, was published by Soho Press in 1995 and was an ALA Notable Book of the Year and a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her 2014 novel, Dear Committee Members, won the Thurber Prize for American Humor; she is the first woman to have been so honored. She lives in St. Paul and is a faculty member in the Creative Writing Program and the Department of English at the University of Minnesota.
Join us for a farewell to Aunt Agatha’s afternoon with William Kent Krueger, Lori Rader-Day & Sarah Zettel on Sunday, August 26 at 2 PM. Kent will be talking about his new Cork O’Connor book, Desolation Mountain, and Lori will be discussing her new book set in Michigan, Under a Dark Sky. Sarah will be launching her new thriller The Other Daughter. This event will take place at the downtown library.
Join us for a story time with Meg Gower, as she reads her book Michigan Moon, published by the Ann Arbor District Library’s imprint, Fifth Avenue Press! Though now retired, Gower used to be a naturalist at Waterloo Recreation Area, so the book that evolved into Michigan Moon features nature photography illustrations paired with lyrical verse.
A landscape architect by training, Meg Gower has worked with the Michigan State Parks as naturalist and informal educator since 2006. She enjoys leading hikes in the woods and hosting star parties. She lives with her husband and daughter at the edge of the largest state park in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
Note: New location. This ESPN analyst (and U-M alum) is joined by Sports Illustratedjournalist Michael Rosenberg to discuss The Man I Never Met, his memoir about being married to a woman whose first husband died in 9/11. Signing.
7 p.m., Nicola’s Books, Westgate shopping center. Tickets $31 (includes a signed copy of the book) in advance at brownpapertickets.com/event/3578330. 662-0600.
Literati is pleased to welcome author Brenda Novak who will be sharing her lastest novel in the Dr. Evelyn Talbot series, Face Off.
About Face Off:
From New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak comes Face Off, the next installment of Dr. Evelyn Talbot and her murderous home for psychopaths.
SHE VOWED NEVER TO BE A VICTIM AGAIN. BUT NOW A KILLER HAS HER IN HIS SIGHT. . .
Tortured and left for dead at sixteen, Evelyn Talbot turned her personal nightmare into her life’s work–studying the disturbing psychopathy of some of the world’s most vicious serial killers. Now a leading psychiatrist at Hanover House in a small Alaskan town, she tries to believe the past will never come back to haunt her–until a woman goes missing from a cabin nearby, and every clue points to the man who once brutalized her…
As her boyfriend, who is the area’s only police, begins to investigate–and finds not one but two bodies–Evelyn can’t forget that her would-be killer, Jasper Moore, was never caught. But there are no new faces in tiny Hilltop, no one who seems suspicious or potentially violent. In this twisted game of cat and mouse, Evelyn is certain of only one thing–Jasper must be hiding in plain sight. And if she can’t find him before he comes for her, she won’t be lucky enough to survive twice…
Brenda Novak and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children-three girls and two boys. When she’s not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually working on her annual fund-raiser for diabetes research. Brenda’s novels have made The New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and won many awards, including three Rita nominations, the Book Buyer’s Best, the Book Seller’s Best and the National Reader’s Choice Award.
Join us for a special Stortyime Event with Emily Siwek and the Violin Monster!
About A Monster on Main Street:
Strange sightings are all around in this simply sweet story inspired by Ann Arbor’s beloved Violin Monster. Rendered with loose, playful illustrations, this string playing werewolf encourages readers to give scary things a second look.
Emily Siwek is an Ann Arbor, MI native who loves finding adventure in her hometown with her husband and two children. She has worked in a variety of creative industries from interior design to trend forecasting and enjoys coloring outside the lines.
Readings by these 2 poets. An is a Thailand-based queer poet (and Midwest native) whose 2016 book, Naming the No-Name Woman, mythologizes her experiences as a Chinese-American woman with various overlapping identities. U-M social work grad student Kime writes freeform poetry with queer and activist themes. Kime is also an RC creative writing alum!
7 p.m. Espresso Royale, 324 S. State. $5 suggested donation. facebook.com/AnnArborPoetry.
Sept. 4 & 18. Open mike storytelling competition sponsored by The Moth, the NYC-based nonprofit storytelling organization that also produces a weekly public radio show. 10 storytellers are selected at random from among those who sign up to tell a 3-5 minute story on the themes of “Rivals” (Sept. 4) & “Extra Mile” (Sept. 18). The 3-person judging teams are recruited from the audience. Monthly winners compete in a semiannual Grand Slam (see Sept. 26 listing). Space limited, so it’s smart to arrive early.
7:30-9 p.m. (doors open and sign-up begins at 6 p.m.), Greyline, 100 N. Ashley. $8. 764-5118.
We are excited to welcome sociologist and former professional football player Rober W. Turner II to Literati to discuss his new book Not For Long: The Life and Career of the NFL Athlete.
About Not For Long:
The NFL is the most popular professional sports league in the United States. Its athletes receive multimillion-dollar contracts and almost endless media attention. The league’s most important game, the Super Bowl, is practically a national holiday. Making it to the NFL, however, is not about the promised land of fame and fortune. Robert W. Turner II draws on his personal experience as a former professional football player as well as interviews with more than 140 current and former NFL players to reveal what it means to be an athlete in the NFL and explain why so many players struggle with life after football.
Without guaranteed contracts, the majority of players are forced out of the league after a few seasons. Over three-quarters of retirees experience bankruptcy or financial ruin, two-thirds live with chronic pain, and too many find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Robert W. Turner II argues that the fall from grace of so many players is no accident. The NFL, he contends, powerfully determines their experiences in and out of the league. The labor agreement provides little job security and few health and retirement benefits, and the owners refuse to share power with the players, making change difficult. And the process of becoming an elite football player–from high school to college and through the pros–leaves athletes with few marketable skills and little preparation for their first Sunday off the field.
With compassion and objectivity, Not for Long reveals the life and mind of high school, college, and NFL athletes, shedding light on what might best help players transition successfully out of the sport.
Robert W. Turner II earned his Ph.D. in sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is Assistant Professor of Clinical Research and Leadership at George Washington University. Dr. Turner played football professionally in the now defunct United States Football League, the Canadian Football League, and briefly in the National Football League.
