Literati is thrilled to be the bookseller for the 2017 Storymakers Dinner, a fundraising event for the wonderful folks at 826michigan. This year’s dinner will feature author and friend of the store, Peter Ho Davies. Tickets and more information can be found here. We hope to see you there!
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Questions about the event or sponsorship inquiries may be directed to 826michigan Executive Director Amanda Uhle at Amanda@826michigan.org.
Peter Ho Davies is the author of two novels, The Fortunes (winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Award) and The Welsh Girl (long-listed for the Man Booker Prize), and two short story collections, The Ugliest House in the World (winner of the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize) and Equal Love (A New York Times Notable Book). His work has appeared in Harpers, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, The Guardian and Washington Post among others, and has been widely anthologized, including selections for Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. In 2003 Granta magazine named him among its Best of Young British Novelists. Davies is also a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and is a winner of the PEN/Malamud Award.
Born in Britain to Welsh and Chinese parents, he now makes his home in the US. He has taught at the University of Oregon and Emory University, and is currently on the faculty of the Helen Zell MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Read a recent profile in the Guardian.
Literati is pleased to welcome John Cheney-Lippold in support of his book We Are Data: Algorithms and the Making of Our Digital Selves.
Algorithms are everywhere, organizing the near limitless data that exists in our world. Derived from our every search, like, click, and purchase, algorithms determine the news we get, the ads we see, the information accessible to us and even who our friends are. These complex configurations not only form knowledge and social relationships in the digital and physical world, but also determine who we are and who we can be, both on and offline.
Algorithms create and recreate us, using our data to assign and reassign our gender, race, sexuality, and citizenship status. They can recognize us as celebrities or mark us as terrorists. In this era of ubiquitous surveillance, contemporary data collection entails more than gathering information about us. Entities like Google, Facebook, and the NSA also decide what that information means, constructing our worlds and the identities we inhabit in the process. We have little control over who we algorithmically are. Our identities are made useful not for us—but for someone else.
Through a series of entertaining and engaging examples, John Cheney-Lippold draws on the social constructions of identity to advance a new understanding of our algorithmic identities. We Are Data will educate and inspire readers who want to wrest back some freedom in our increasingly surveilled and algorithmically-constructed world.
John Cheney-Lippold is Assistant Professor of American Culture and Digital Studies at the University of Michigan.
Readings by Chicago poet (and Crazy Wisdom Poetry Series cohost) Edward Morin and Mt. Pleasant poet Eric Torgersen. Morin’s new chapbook, Housing for Wrens, is a collection of poems about birds and other animals. Torgersen’s In Which We See Our Selves is a collection of ghazals, an ancient Persian form. 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, Courtyard Shops. Free. 369-4345.
Literati is delighted to welcome award-winning author Maile Meloy in support of her new novel, Do Not Become Alarmed. Maile will be joined in conversation by Michael Byers, author of, most recently, Percival’s Planet, and a professor in the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan.
A new novel about what happens when two families go on a tropical vacation—and the children go missing. When Liv and Nora decide to take their husbands and children on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. The adults are lulled by the ship’s comfort and ease. The four children—ages six to eleven—love the nonstop buffet and their newfound independence. But when they all go ashore for an adventure in Central America, a series of minor misfortunes and miscalculations leads the families farther and farther from the safety of the ship. One minute the children are there, and the next they’re gone. The parents, accustomed to security and control, turn on each other and blame themselves, while the seemingly helpless children discover resources they never knew they possessed. Do Not Become Alarmed is a story about the protective force of innocence and the limits of parental power, and the way a crisis shifts our perceptions of what matters most.
“This is the book that every reader longs for: smart and thrilling and impossible to put down. Read it once at breakneck speed to find out what happens next, and then read it slowly to marvel at the perfect prose and the masterwork of a plot. It is an alarmingly good novel.”—Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth and Bel Canto
“Here is that perfect combination of a luminous writer and a big, page-turning story. This hugely suspenseful novel will speak to anyone who has ever felt responsible for keeping a loved one safe, whether it was a child, a partner, a parent, or a friend. Meloy’s characters – the adults and the children – feel like real, living people I’ll never forget.”—Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones’s Diary
“The plot unfolds with terrifying realism… This writer can apparently do it all—New Yorker stories, children’s books, award-winning literary novels, and now, a tautly plotted and culturally savvy emotional thriller. Do not start this book after dinner or you will almost certainly be up all night.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Maile Meloy is the author of the novels Liars and Saints and A Family Daughter and the story collections Half in Love and Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It, which was named one of the Ten Best Books of the Year by the New York Times Book Review and one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times. She has also written a trilogy for young readers, beginning with The Apothecary, which was a New York Times bestseller and won the 2012 E.B. White Award. Meloy’s short stories have been published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Granta, and Best American Short Stories 2015, and she has received The Paris Review’s Aga Khan Prize for Fiction, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two California Book Awards, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2007, she was chosen as one of Granta’s 21 Best Young American Novelists. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Slate, Sunset, and O.
Veteran poet Frederick Glaysher, a U-M grad who was tutored by Robert Hayden, reads from and discusses his The Parliament of Poets, an epic poem set partially on he moon, at the Apollo 11 landing site, the Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo, the Geek god of poetry summons the poets of all nations, ancient and modern, to fashion a new vision of universal life.
7-9 p.m., Crazy Wisdom, 114 S. Main. Free. 665-2757.
Terri Tate is a psychiatric nurse specialist and inspirational humorist. Terri was first diagnosed with disfiguring oral cancer in 1991. She is a nationally recognized speaker, storyteller, and a consultant who uses lessons from her own struggle to help support anyone facing life challenges. For more info, visit territate.com
Book:
How do you keep going when the doctors give you a 2% chance of survival? For Terri Tate, it was a blend of faith, perseverance, prescription-strength humor–and most of all, a heart that never quit. “I had to stop reproaching myself for not being able to adhere to any one system of treatment,” writes Terri. “I needed to create my own recipe for healing.”
A Crooked Smile invites you to share Terri’s astonishing experiences through cancer diagnosis, multiple surgeries, and the labyrinth of modern health care. Most of all, her physical challenges compelled her to take a spiritual journey she could never have imagined. Writing with a mix of gentle wit and courageous vulnerability, Terri recounts her years of living in a crucible of inner growth–and shares her surprising adventures with unlooked-for helpers, shamanic guides, and unexpected openings to spiritual sources of wisdom and healing.
“I do believe that our bodies possess self-healing mechanisms that we’re only beginning to tap,” writes Terri. “Whatever contributed to my survival, I am certain that something mystical beyond the medical was at work, and the final decision was out of my hands.” With A Crooked Smile, she shares an unforgettable story of perseverance, love, and the small miracles that can save our lives.
Literati is pleased to welcome Kevin Smokler in support of his book Brat Pack America: A Love Letter to ’80s Teen Movies.
From the fictional towns of Hill Valley, CA, and Shermer, IL, to the beautiful landscapes of the “Goondocks” in Astoria and the “time of your life” dirty dancing resort still alive and well in Lake Lure, NC, ’80s teen movies left their mark not just on movie screen and in the hearts of fans, but on the landscape of America itself. Like few other eras in movie history, the ’80s teen movies has endured and gotten better with time. In Brat Pack America, Kevin Smokler gives virtual tours of your favorite movies while also picking apart why these locations are so important to these movies.
Including interviews with actors, writers, and directors of the era, and chock full of interesting facts about your favorite ’80s movies, Brat Pack America is a must for any fan. Smokler went to Goonies Day in Astoria, OR, took a Lost Boys tour of Santa Cruz, CA, and deeply explored every nook and cranny of the movies we all know and love, and it shows.
Kevin Smokler (@weegee) is the author of the essay collection “Practical Classics: 50 Reasons to Reread 50 Books you Haven’t Touched Since High School” (Prometheus Books, Feb. 2013) which The Atlantic Wire called “truly enjoyable” and the editor of “Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times,” a San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book of 2005. His work has appeared in the LA Times, Fast Company, BuzzFeed, Vulture, The San Francisco Chronicle, Publishers Weekly and on National Public Radio. In 2013, he was BookRiot’s first ever Writer in Residence.
Meg Macy is an award-winning author and artist. She writes several genres, sometimes blended, using different pseudonyms. She is one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland, authors of the Eliza and Henry Higgins Mystery series (St. Martin/Minotaur), the first of which, Wouldn’t It Be Deadly, was nominated for a 2014 Agatha Award. Her first book, Double Crossing (writing as Meg Mims), won the 2012 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America and was named a Finalist in the Best Books of 2012 from USA Book News for Fiction: Western. Two of her contemporary romance novellas were Amazon Kindle bestsellers. Born and raised in Michigan, Meg lives with her husband, a “Make My Day” white Malti-poo, and a rescue Lhasa Apso. Her artistic work is in watercolor, acrylic, and pen/ink media. She loves classic movies, cartoon strips, clocks, and cookies.
Book:
As manager of the family teddy bear shop and factory, thirty-one-year-old Sasha Silverman leads a charmed life. Well, except for the part about being a single divorcée with a ticking biological clock in small-town Silver Hollow. And that’s just kid’s stuff compared to Will Taylor, the sales rep who’s set on making drastic changes to the business her parents built from scratch—with or without Sasha’s approval . . .
But before Will digs his claws in, someone pulls the stuffing out of his plan . . . and leaves his dead body inside the factory. Reeling from shock, Sasha’s hit with more bad news—police suspect her hot-tempered Uncle Ross may have murdered him. Sasha knows her uncle would never do such a thing, and she’s launching her own little investigation to expose the truth. As she tracks Will’s biggest rivals and enemies for clues, Sasha can’t get too comfy—or she’ll become the next plaything for a killer . . .
Literati is pleased to welcome Scaachi Koul, author of One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, and Samantha Irby, author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.
In One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, Scaachi Koul deploys her razor-sharp humor to share all the fears, outrages, and mortifying moments of her life. She learned from an early age what made her miserable, and for Scaachi anything can be cause for despair. Whether it’s a shopping trip gone awry; enduring awkward conversations with her bikini waxer; overcoming her fear of flying while vacationing halfway around the world; dealing with Internet trolls, or navigating the fears and anxieties of her parents. Alongside these personal stories are pointed observations about life as a woman of color: where every aspect of her appearance is open for critique, derision, or outright scorn; where strict gender rules bind in both Western and Indian cultures, leaving little room for a woman not solely focused on marriage and children to have a career (and a life) for herself. With a sharp eye and biting wit, incomparable rising star and cultural observer Scaachi Koul offers a hilarious, scathing, and honest look at modern life.
“One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter is an absolutely wonderful, impossible-not-to-love book. Whether writing about race or girlhood, the internet or family, Scaachi Koul’s writing makes each issue feel fresh and newfound. Hilarious but thoughtful, Koul draws you in to her life and makes you never want to leave.”—Jessica Valenti, New York Times bestselling author of Sex Object
Scaachi Koul was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and is a culture writer for BuzzFeed. Her writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, The Hairpin, The Globe and Mail, and Jezebel. One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter is her first book. She lives in Toronto.
Sometimes you just have to laugh, even when life is a dumpster fire. With We Are Never Meeting in Real Life., “bitches gotta eat” blogger and comedian Samantha Irby turns the serio-comic essay into an art form. Whether talking about how her difficult childhood has led to a problem in making “adult” budgets, explaining why she should be the new Bachelorette—she’s “35-ish, but could easily pass for 60-something”—detailing a disastrous pilgrimage-slash-romantic-vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father’s ashes, sharing awkward sexual encounters, or dispensing advice on how to navigate friendships with former drinking buddies who are now suburban moms—hang in there for the Costco loot—she’s as deft at poking fun at the ghosts of her past self as she is at capturing powerful emotional truths.
“Reading Samantha Irby’s We Are Never Meeting In Real Life cracked my heart all the way open. The essays in this outstanding collection are full of her signature humor, wit, and charming self-deprecation but there is so much more to her writing. For every laugh, there is a bittersweet moment that could make you cry. From black women and mental health to the legacies created by poverty to dating while living in an all too human body, Irby lays bare the beautiful, uncompromising truths of her life. I cannot remember the last time I was so moved by a book. We Are Never Meeting in Real Life is as close to perfect as an essay collection can get.” —Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Difficult Women and Bad Feminist
Samantha Irby writes a blog called “bitches gotta eat.”
Literati is pleased to welcome Amy Thielen in support of her debut memoir, Give a Girl a Knife.
Before Amy Thielen frantically plated rings of truffled potatoes in some of New York City’s finest kitchens—for chefs David Bouley, Daniel Boulud, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten—she grew up in a northern Minnesota town, home to the nation’s largest French fry factory, with a mother whose generous cooking pulsed with joy, family drama, and an overabundance of butter.
Give a Girl a Knife, Amy Thielen’s coming-of-age account, pulses with energy, a cook’s eye for intimate detail, and a dose of dry Midwestern humor. Inspired by her grandmother’s tales of cooking on the family farm, Thielen moves with her artist husband to the rustic off-the-grid cabin he built in the woods in northern Minnesota. There, standing at the stove three times a day, she finds the seed of a growing food obsession that sends her on a wild ride through diverse kitchens and eras—from her mother’s 1970s suburban electric range to a turn-of-the-century farmhouse to a hot plate in an illegal warehouse squat—and finally to the sensory madhouse of New York’s top haute cuisine brigades. When she returns to her rural cabin, she comes face-to-face with her past and its veritable cellar of taste memories, discovering that good food can be made anywhere—and that beneath every foie gras sauce lies a rural foundation of potatoes and onions.
Give a Girl a Knife offers a fresh, vivid view into New York’s high-end restaurant scene before returning Thielen to her roots, where she realizes that the marrow running through her bones is not demi-glace at all, but gravy—honest, irresistible, and thick with the complications of home.
Amy Thielen is a chef, TV cook, and two-time James Beard Award–winning writer. She is the author of The New Midwestern Table (2013), hosted Heartland Table on Food Network, and worked for celebrated New York City chefs David Bouley, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Daniel Boulud before moving back home to the Midwest. Amy speaks widely about home cooking and contributes to radio programs and magazines, including Saveur, where she’s a contributing editor. She lives with her husband, visual artist Aaron Spangler, their son, his dog, and a bunch of chickens, in Park Rapids, Minnesota. She can be found athttp://www.amythielen.com/ and @amyrosethielen on Instagram and Twitter.
