Location: Chicago, IL 60605, United States

Come to Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore for Ryan Jennings Peterson's first appearance for his latest Jolene Hartley mysteries, On the Ladder of Humanity and On the Edge of Greed. Both novels are set in Chicago and Hartley is a Homicide Detective. On the Ladder of Humanity A people's politician. A housewife. An ex-gangbanger on the righteous path. And they've all been killed. When Benjamin Ochoa is murdered at an overpass bus stop above Chicago's Dan Ryan Expressway, homicide detective Jolene Hartley finds herself trudging through two past cold cases, revealing more about them than her current investigation. The perplexing circumstances lead Hartley into the deaths of each victim as she tries to find a common thread between each and thus shine some much needed light on her jumbled investigation. Hartley, a stunningly beautiful, extremely focused officer, wades into Chicago on a hunt for a murderer that has resurfaced after five long years. An old fling and a jealous partner lend a hand throughout the investigation, churning up clues and tensions as Hartley tries to focus on her goal: Find her common thread before her killer does. On the Edge of Greed It was a story that should have been left alone. Unfortunately for journalist Bartholomew Reed, the story will be his last. After the bullet-laden body of Reed is found in an upscale Chicago neighborhood, homicide detective Jolene Hartley is set as lead investigator in a case that will prove to push her to the limit, personally and professionally. Amidst the evidence that swirls just beyond her reach, the name of her estranged brother appears in the dead journalist's appointment book, forcing Hartley to face the man she calls family, something she has not had to do in years. Hartley and her new partner, Jacoby Ratliff, a homicide rookie, brush through the journalistic and financial web surrounding Reed's demise, coming ever closer to the truth behind a cold-blooded murderer and an embezzling scheme that goes deeper than the greed of a few. Show more Show less

Location: Street: 7419 Madison St. City: Forest Park, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60130-1502 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Bring your little one and stop by RFPL for DIY Baby Games. We’ll share great ideas for games you can make at home for your baby or toddler to play with. We’ll have demos of each game for you and your kiddo to try out at the library. You’ll also have a chance to register for our Baby and Me Summer Reading Program. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about reading, playing and bonding with your baby. *Note: we will be repeating this program on 6/1 at 10:30 AM* (LTFL_riverforest)… (more)

OLYMPIA SNOWE Fighting for Common Ground: How We Can Fix the Stalemate in Congress The former Republican senator from Maine draws on lessons learned as a policymaker and the frustration she shares with the American people about the government’s dwindling productivity. She argues that the government has lost its way, shows how this happened, and proposes ways to once again fulfill its mission.

Location: Street: The Union League Club City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Hailed by such notables as Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times who said 'Your voice is one that needs to be heard' and Young Adult Specialist of the Chicago Public Library Robin Willard who said 'Thank you for the dedication to improving the lives of teens in Chicago' Author Marcus Jones joins our Meet the Author Series with his book Everyone Has a Story...This is Mine. Find out what leads young men and women to make bad choices leading to drug use, dealing and crime. Chicago native and former gang member, Marcus Jones has quite the story to tell. (MDGentleReader)… (more)

Annalee Newitz (Scatter, adapt, and remember)

Annalee Newitz is the founding editor of the science Web site io9.com and a journalist with a decade’s experience in writing about science, culture, and the future for such publications as Wired, Popular Science, and The Washington Post. She is the editor of the anthology She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology, and Other Geeky Stuff and was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. She lives in San Francisco. (added from Random House)… (more)

Michael Harvey (The Third Rail, We All Fall Down, The Chicago Way, The Fifth Floor, Michael Harvey Thrillers 2-Book Bundle, The Innocence Game)

Michael Harvey is the author of The Chicago Way and The Fifth Floor, and is also a journalist, and documentary producer. His work has won numerous national and international awards, including multiple Emmy awards, two Primetime Emmy nominations, and an Academy Award nomination. He holds a law degree from Duke University, a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree in classical languages from Holy Cross College.www.michaelharveybooks.com (added from Random House)… (more)

Best Selling authors Ashley Coleman & JaQuavis Coleman are making a special virtual trip to the West Englewood Branch! The authors of The Cartel, Dirty Money and Murderville will join us live via Skype to answer your questions about their books, how they started writing at such a young age and what its like to be a married couple thriving while writing in the Urban Fiction genre.

Seating is limited. Everyone who attends will be entered into a drawing for one of three copies of Ashley and Jaquavis' newest book, Murderville 2: The Epidemic, which will be released May 28, 2013 (MDGentleReader)… (more)

Christian Fiction Author of such wonderful novels as The Kitchen Beautician and Where the Brothers At, Gracie Hill will make her long awaited appearence in our Meet the Author Series to discuss her novel Sorrows of the Heart. An excellent charecter and scene developer, come find out how to sharpen those wonderful writers traits. We will also hear about her newly released Saved, Sanctified and Keeping My Secret, which is available on Kindle and Nook. (MDGentleReader)… (more)

Join us for a discussion, Q&A and book sigining with George Campannelli for Do Not Go Quietly: A Guide to Living Consciously and Aging Wisely for People Who Weren't Born Yesterday.

Location: Street: Barbara's Burr Ridge Additional: 810 Village Center Drive in the Burr Ridge Center Village City: Burr Ridge, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60527 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

George Packer discusses his new book, The unwinding, in a conversation moderated by Peter Slevin of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. This event is co-sponsored by the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and the International House at the University of Chicago.

About The unwinding:

American democracy is beset by a sense of crisis. Seismic shifts during a single generation have created a country of winners and losers, allowing unprecedented freedom while rending the social contract, driving the political system to the verge of breakdown, and setting citizens adrift to find new paths forward. In The unwinding, George Packer, author of The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq, tells the story of the United States over the past three decades in an utterly original way, with his characteristically sharp eye for detail and gift for weaving together complex narratives.

The unwinding portrays a superpower in danger of coming apart at the seams, its elites no longer elite, its institutions no longer working, its ordinary people left to improvise their own schemes for success and salvation. Packer’s novelistic and kaleidoscopic history of the new America is his most ambitious work to date.

Location: Street: International House Additional: 1414 E. 59th Street City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60637-1507 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

City in a Garden

Join us as Julia S. Bachrach, historian and preservationist for the Chicago Park District discusses the fascinating history behind Chicago's green spaces as well as the latest park renovations and newly designed facilities.

A book signing will follow the lecture. Books will be available for purchase. This program is co-sponsored by the Victorian Society. (MDGentleReader)… (more)

The Bookstore Welcomes Amy Sue Nathan, Author of The Glass Wives Thursday, May 30th at 7pm

Margie, Amy and Sue at The Bookstore The Bookstore is hosting a book launch event for Amy Sue Nathan, a Flossmoor author whose debut novel is being published this month by St. Martin's Griffin. Amy is the host of the popular Chicago-based Women's Fiction Writers Blog. Her new book, The Glass Wives, is about a woman whose ex-husband has died, leaving her more entangled with his second wife and their new baby than she would have wanted. Amy has gotten great blurbs from bestselling authors Meg Waite Clayton ("An insightful exploration of the lengths mothers will go to for the sake of their children") and Lydia Netzer ("Nathan firmly but with good humor peels back the layers of suburban normal"). Glass Wives goes on sale May 14th in case you want to pick it up and read it before Amy comes to visit. It would be a great book club discussion!

Location: Street: 475 N Main St Additional: City: Glen Ellyn, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60137 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Patrick Butler visits the Book Cellar to offer a dose of history in the form of his book, Hidden History of Ravenswood and Lake View.

It's easy to get caught up in the hidden history of Ravenswood and Lake View, like the Harm's Park picnic that lasted fifty-four years or the political gimmickry of the "Cowboy Mayor" of Chicago. Who can resist a double take over folk like the "Father of Ravenswood," who kept Chicago from falling to the Confederacy, or the "North Side's Benedict Arnold," who was sent to the electric chair during World War II? If you want to visit the days when the Cubs were the Spuds or debate whether Ravenswood is an actual neighborhood or just a state of mind, do it with longtime North Side journalist Patrick Butler in this curio shop of forgotten people and places.

Location: Street: 4736-38 N Lincoln Ave City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60625 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)