Brookline Booksmith

In the 1980’s, along with his contemporaries Raymond Carver and Andres Dubus, Tobias Wolff was at the core of the renaissance of the short story. Later he modernized the memoir with his bestselling childhood saga, This Boy’s Life. With a new collection compiling stories both old and new, Tobias Wolff ... (more)proves why he is still one of today's most vital voices.

In the first of several poetry readings honoring Nation Poetry Month, beloved poetic voice Mary Jo Salter shares her remarkable gift for imagery. Widely published poet Linda Bamber, collected for the first time, joins her with an assemblage of curious ponderings mixed with a dash of urban Zen.

From the author who candidly chronicled her battles with anorexia and bulimia in her winning memoir, Wasted, Mary Hornbacher returns with the diagnosis behind the disease. A play by play account of a downward spiral, Madness is an empowering inspiration for individuals with similar sufferings to take ... (more)back their own life.

Rebecca Gray's American Artisanal celebrates twenty-five of America's leading food artisans from Wood Prairie Farms potatoes in Maine to Leavins Seafood in Florida, from Reed's Ginger Brew in California to Earthy Delights mushrooms in Michigan. Come sample foods from some local producers who are featured ... (more)in the book, and who help us all to return to the basics of sustainable, small-scale, and just plain high quality-control food.

Defining the world with wry wit and neurotic merriment, this collection of literary essays by the saucy Sloane Crosley chronicles her adventures in the thick of the urban jungle. Sipping from the same glass as David Sedaris, these outrageous odes to the modern woman's experience are primed to be devoured ... (more)by the reading public.

She definitively figured out Virginia Woolf, and now revered biographer Hermione Lee explores with authority the fascinating life of the author who penned such classics as The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence.

Come spend an evening with some of the finest female wordsmiths this side of modern verse. Longtime poetic technician Caroline Knox continues her trademark twists and turns with her new collection, while Dorthea Lasky brings fresh-eyed insights with her stupefying debut, Awe. They are joined by the ineffable ... (more)Dara Weir, longtime surreal prose bearer, for what is one of the year's most exciting readings.

In her new book reminiscent of Woody Allen's Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex ( But Were Afraid to Ask), the bestselling author of Spook and Stiff (and funniest science writer in the country) revisits some of the age-old myths that originated and still play out behind closed doors.

One of the most beloved newswomen to grace the small screen, the renowned ABC political commentator and revered NPR commentator delves into the intimate and unknown histories of some of the women who shaped the nation.

Poetry and war are two of the oldest companions on the planet. They reconvene once more to shine in poetic song within the beautiful lyricism of a mother's ruminations for a son serving in Iraq. As noted by Gloria Steinem, "War and propaganda generalize. Love and poetry specify."

Pulitzer Prize winning bard and one of the world's most recognizable poets, Jorie Graham brings her bestselling brand of philosophy and aesthetics to bear on the question of human sustainability.

Cherry-picked by Stephen King for this year's Best American Short Story collection, Eileen Pollack’s rueful and humorous stories are sure to stay with you long after you've flipped the page.

This nationally renowned local cardiologist, and part of the “dream team” summoned to treat Celtics star Reggie Lewis, recounts his personal trials with devastating illness. Told in a straightforward fashion, as only a consummate physician could, Life in the Balance is an inspiring memoir that delivers ... (more)hope for the day-to-day struggles.

In a witty romp that explores the biting battles that can occur between mothers and their daughters-in-law, the local author of How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life has created a delightful read of warm, memorable characters caught in compellingly contentious relationships.

A devout student of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, author Ellis Avery sets her
first novel in late 19th century Kyoto, Japan, when ancient Eastern traditions first collided with Western influence. Illuminating the enduring values of ritual, this impressive saga told through the lifelong relationship of ... (more)two friends beautifully
renders the threads of change that weave their way into a culture over time. Those in attendance can expect a traditional tea ceremony performed by the author!

Inspired by actual events of untold bravery, the author of Midwives and The Double Bind recounts with haunting immediacy the harrowing tale of one small group’s attempt to cross Europe safely during World War II.

Boldly British and gratifyingly complex is the how the cookie crumbles as the bestselling sleuthsayer of What Came Before He Shot Her and With No One as Witness utilizes her miles of style in her anticipated new novel that revisits the mean streets of beloved gumshoe, Thomas Lynley.

All fathers face the anxieties of having to relinquish influence over a growing child, but few take their authority to the levels of measuring the length of a child’s
fingernails and regulating shower time. Rendered in scrupulous prose, this first
time author relives her father’s numbing and manipulative ... (more)control over their family in this compulsively readable memoir.

This British blockbusting author of Sheer Abandon has been topping the bestseller list since 1989. She brings the party to America in person to deliver yet another meticulously crafted scandal of glitz, glamour, and conspiratorial fiction.

Truly, if it weren’t for the invention of the crossbow by the Chinese, the world would be a far less exciting place. However, did you know how many other essential tools existed in China long before anywhere else on the globe? The incredible mind behind The Professor and the Madman and Krakatoa explores ... (more)the life of the pioneering scientist whose passion for the untold historical advances of the Chinese drove him to create the largest encyclopedia ever created by a single man.

Exquisitely recreating the stuff of dreams, General Tate leads his army of spectral soldiers to undisputable victory. With over two hundred pages of quixotic interactions and wanton absurdities, this incredible pile of poems by America’s leading imaginative contrarian may just be his magnum opus.

Yes, you read correctly. That Barbara Walters. The most significant woman to ever work in broadcast journalism returns to her native home of Brookline to sign copies of her fascinating new biography, Audition.

*She will only sign her new book. The book must be purchased at the Booksmith and be accompanied ... (more)by your receipt to enter the signing line.

The Pulitzer Prize winning bard revisits the Booksmith, as well as his thought provoking 2006 collection, for its celebratory paperback release.

Those who gripe about the state of the short story have a surprise coming, as
The Boat is sure to rock the…. canoe. Incredibly versatile in voice, the ripples
created in the fictions of Nam Le are sure to reverberate with your own experiences.

There is no getting around the notoriety of James Frey. But before he became
infamous in the eyes of a certain talk show host, he was notorious for his undeniably affecting skills with the pen. Now the author of A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard returns with the full-scale novel you know ... (more)you’ve been waiting for.

A long-time voice of articulate, richly textured lyricism, local poet Kathleen Spivack, author of the classic The Jane Poems, reads from her newest collection.

One of the most exciting small presses ever to come out of Boston showcases three of its finest talents: acclaimed poet Peter Jay Shippy and innovative short fiction-writers Amy L. Clark and Geoffrey Forsyth.

Unwavering originality infects the work of these young poets; each sentence startles. Watch these superheroes of modern expression try to outdo themselves on your behalf.

A familiar American tale begins with the immigrant experience and quickly elevates into a sweeping crosscountry saga. The story of a Jewish woman's search to find her young daughter is laden with linguistic tricks and deftly wrought characters.

Who else but a beloved author of childrens' books could pass unsuspected aas a British spy? An incredible true-life tale about a spy ring commissioned to escort America into WWII, this absorbing account from the author of Tuxedo Park is intrigue at its very best.

Two brilliant young novelists go toe to toe in our wrestling ring of words. With his hilarious, frenetic new novel Mine All Mine, the story of a security guard out to save his livelihood and his love from a master thief, Adam Davies delivers what is is surely his best work yet. Joining him is breakout ... (more)writer Brock Clarke, who scintillates with a heartfelt tale of an accidental arsonist trying to clear his name.

These luminous contributors to the latest volume exemplify the virtues and continual innovations that are taking pace in American poetry.

Author of the best-selling novel The Book of Fate and the trailblazing graphic novel Identity Crisis, Brad Meltzer combines his talent for superhero narratives with his tale-spinning wizardry to craft the story of the quest to track down the lost weapon of Western history's first murder - the object ... (more)Cain used to kill Abel.

$5 Tickets on Sale at the Booksmith - call 617-566-6660

As the guru of gritty crime novels such as Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone, Dennis Lehane has single-handedly raised Boston's profile with his superbly crafted narratives of darkened hearts and challenged moralities. Set in 1918 Boston, his ... (more)new book packs in the deep characters and multi-faceted plot on which his fans have come to depend.

$5 Tickets on Sale at the Booksmith - call 617-566-6660

America's best-selling poet and two-time Poet Laureate Billy Collins brings his trademark wit and transforming prose to a rare reading that is not to be missed.

Exploring the mysterious realms of death and the origins of deities as relating to his own existence, the masterfully playful author of Flaubert's Parrot reounts hisheritage with unforgettable hilarity.

Ingenious, independent, and the creative mind behind The Good Times are Killing Me and Ernie Pook’s Comic, cartoonist Lynda Barry holds forth in her signature style with this memoir/workbook designed to get the creative juices flowing in every reader.

New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff comes to the Booksmith with celebrated jazz pianist and composer Ran Blake for an evening of insightful discussion and criticism, searching for that intangible which makes jazz the most of American art forms.

Encouraging readers to “step back from the mirror before someone gets hurt,” Boston Globe fashion correspondent Beth Teitell valiantly takes on the “War on Aging”. Using her own experience of transitioning into middle-age as a lens through which to view the many absurdities of the anti- aging ... (more)industry, this is a hilarious, poignant and ultimately serious story.

The armchair historian behind the best selling Assassination Vacation and NPR’s This American Life doles out another helping of her tremendously entertaining annalistic insights into American History, this time exploring the feisty Puritanical roots of our own New England.

The captivating and unpredictable Being Written puts you in the head of Daniel Fischer, a man caught in the crossfire of an omniscient author’s creative process. First time author Diana Spechler tells the story of a family’s endeavour to recover after a sibling’s unsolved disappearance.

Author of the best-selling This is Your Brain on Music, the record producer turned neuroscientist employs evolutionary biology to explain how music is at the heart of human identity.

Author, poet, essayist, National Book Award winner, and translator of Cesar Vallejo’s magnificent The Complete Poems, Clayton Eshleman revisits the very best of his work from the last forty years.

First time author and improv comic will have the audience in the Writers and Readers Room questioning how they can deal with their everyday world with more humor and flexibility. They’ll need that flexibility while they’re rolling in the aisles.

Tickets $5.00.

The local-born author of The Area of My Expertise and familiar face from The Daily Show and Apple computer commercials returns once more to expound upon his Complete World Knowledge(!) with invaluable subjects such as how to cook an owl, gambling – the sport of the asthmatic man, ... (more)and hopefully, some new additions to his already massive list of hobo names.

A misanthrope goes on the rampage, with revenge in mind for all the world’s ills and those he deems responsible. For those among us who feel impotent in the face of power, this first novel from the author of The Task of the Translator is a heady escape.

The award winning social historian of The Unredeemed Captive chronicles the cultural history and paranoia of the dark side of communities driven to rid themselves of “evil.”

A delightfully sardonic and unconventional take on the institution of marriage, this kaleidoscopic history is as illuminating as it is enjoyable.

This revealing and profoundly disturbing expose of recent political scandals you may or may not have heard about attempts to explore the intellectual origin at the root of these abuses of power and trust.

Campaign rhetoric in an election season can often dehumanize an issue. The Booksmith is proud to welcome several local parents, soldiers, and leaders to share their personal experiences with the war in Iraq to try and bring the focus back to the people most affected.

The curators of the Dedham based Museum of Bad Art (housed in the basement of a movie theatre, within earshot of the men’s bathroom) have pulled together a book highlighting the best of the worst in the world of art. Anyone out there who’s ever gotten an A for effort will recognize (hopefully with ... (more)sympathy) pieces of themselves in these outrageously bad paintings.

These four exciting poets may be young, but they are veterans of the modern literary magazines and small presses. Come witness them swing for the fences in unmetered abstracts and awesome conceits.

This respectful examination of the bovine legacy which is so intrinsic to human society offers up a rich, entertaining history which extends beyond the steakhouse. Rimas’ book casts a critical eye on the state of modern beef production and provides solutions for a more sustainable future.

Joe Carducci, former co-owner of the legendary L.A. punk record label S.S.T., has penned a memoir of surprising depth, while retaining his trademark grit. In Enter Naomi, the author of Rock and the Pop Narcotic reflects upon the quiet life of former S.S.T. photographer, Naomi Petersen.

The author of She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much is True delivers an extraordinary saga inspired by the terrors of Columbine; a mythic journey of building a future out of the ashes of tragedy. Tickets $5

Patrick Tracey’s attempt to understand the madness that runs in his blood brings him to the Emerald Isle to better understand that which haunts him. His urgent search is a harrowing and unforgettable journey.

Inventive local photographer Henry Horenstein returns with a collection of mysterious abstract portraits of sea and land animals that effectively remake the familiar creatures in a whole new light.

As our country faces a profound economic downturn, it is essential to remember those who are most affected, and those who struggle to endure even in the best of times. Stephen Pimpare scrupulously documents the lives and perspectives of the poor in America from colonial times to today.

The locally-based literary journal of brilliant critical insights and creative writing transforms its online presence into a tangible celebration of poetry, fiction, and more.

From the Brookline Booksmith website: World-renowned Buddhist writing teacher Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones has sold over a million copies since its publication in 1986. Her message is simple: make writing a practice in the way that meditation is a practice. Come to the Booksmith for an ... (more)illuminating talk as Natalie tells us how to write a memoir through meditative exercises which draw forth our own unique voice.

The renowned host of PBS’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” presents his nineteenth novel, the tale of Johnny Wrigley and his incredible journey from small-town baseball diamond to the battleground of Okinawa. Tickets are $5.00

From the store website: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be at the forefront of a musical and political movement? Jon Ginoli, singer and founder of the preeminent queercore band Pansy Division, sheds some light. Ginoli will follow his appearance at the Booksmith with a live performance at the ... (more)Brattle Theater and a screening of "Life in a Gay Rock Band." See http://www.brattlefilm.org for details.

From the store website: From the acclaimed writer of the beloved short story collection You Are Not the One comes a brilliant, heartfelt and very funny literary novel about two gay preteens and their single mothers in rural Idaho. NEA fellow and Idaho native Vestal McIntyre is a bright young talent whose ... (more)debut novel surpasses all expectations.

From the store site: Christopher Miller’s debut, Simon Silber: Works for Solo Piano, was the first work of fiction to receive a prestigious Prix Pelléas for best book on music; its film rights were optioned by Jason Schwartzman. Miller – Professor of Creative Writing at Bennington College – makes ... (more)a triumphant return with The Cardboard Universe, a rambling, comic take on the life of reclusive science fiction writer Pheobus K. Dank (who happens to share both the initials of and a passing resemblance to someone with whom science fiction fans may be familiar).

National Book Award-winning critic celebrates his second essay collection!

From the store site: Mothers and daughters of Brookline, we present you with an opportunity to come together in the spirit of technology – just in time for Mother’s Day! “Postcards From Yo Momma” – the brainchild of former Jezebel.com editor Jessica Grose and the Brookline born and bred senior ... (more)editor of The New York Observer, Doree Shafrir – is a website that archives the very best emails from loving (if clueless) mothers to their confused progeny. Love, Mom collects the very best of these missives in a hilarious book perfect for yo momma.

From the store site: Shana Burg returns to Brookline to celebrate the release of her first young adult novel. A Thousand Never Evers tells the story of spunky middleschooler Addie Ann Pickett. This is by turns a funny and heartbreaking tale about growing up black in the Civil Rights-era South.

From the store site: Is the Iraq War the disastrous nadir of a bloated America’s wrongheaded foreign policy system? Andrew Bacevich, a professor of history and foreign relations at Boston University, certainly thinks so. This bestselling book, now in paperback, takes aim at the national problem of ... (more)consumption at any cost.

From the store site: Join Reif Larsen on the first stop of his tour for the most highly anticipated debut novel of the year. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet is an illustrated, annotated book about a 12-year-old genius cartographer who sets out alone on a cross-country journey. It has already “flabbergasted” ... (more)Stephen King, who called it a cross between “Thomas Pynchon and Little Miss Sunshine.” You won’t want to miss this!

From the store site: Paul Harding is dropping by to read from Tinkers, a favorite of our staff and customers. It’s the story of the final thoughts of a dying man, told as a series of beautiful, haunting images. Raves The San Francisco Chronicle, “We find what readers, writers and reviewers live for: ... (more)a new way of seeing.”

From the store site: Philosophy professor Joshua Halberstam – author of Everyday Ethics and Work – speaks widely on ethics on programs from All Things Considered to Oprah. His debut novel, A Seat at the Table, follows the rebellious son of a revered Chassidic rabbi. It’s a classic American story ... (more)with sidecurls and a large black hat.

From the store site: From the award-winning, bestselling king of the microhistory – the man behind Cod, Salt, and The Big Oyster – comes a new work about the regional eating habits of Depression-era America. The WPA-sponsored Federal Writers’ Project sent luminaries including Nelson Algren, Zora ... (more)Neal Hurston and Eudora Welty to document our country’s gastronomic traditions and struggles. Kurlansky brings these forgotten writings to life with anecdotes, photographs and authentic recipes.

From the store site: In An Instant , Lee and Bob Woodruff’s moving account of the repercussions brought about by the news anchor’s harrowing war injury, wowed countless readers. Lee Woodruff returns for an evening at the Coolidge with a deeply personal, extremely charming book about her own experiences ... (more)– everything from parenthood to aging to style.

From the store site: You might know Elinor Lipman as the bestselling, award-winning Northampton-based writer behind any number of books including The Dearly Departed, The Ladies’ Man and Then She Found Me (made into a movie starring Helen Hunt). She’s in town to read from her newest book, The Family ... (more)Man, the screwball saga of a gay lawyer reunited with his long-lost stepdaughter.

From the store site: Hey mystery fans – it doesn’t get any better than this! Join two blockbuster authors celebrating two new novels in one night of thrills. Meet Michael Connelly (The Lincoln Lawyer, Void Moon) and George Pelecanos (The Turnaround) at Brookline’s favorite art-deco theatre. Tickets ... (more)are going fast!

From the site: The healing power of love – it’s not just a Marvin Gaye song anymore. Dr. Eva Selhub, the former Medical Director of Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute, has written a wonderful and informative book about the concrete physical benefits of l’amour.

From the store website: Clara’s War is the heart-rending memoir of a young girl forced to hide in an underground bunker for over a year-and-a-half in Nazi-occupied Poland. Please join us as the 81 year-old Clara Kramer shares her story of survival along with her co-author Stephen Glantz.

From the website: Join Evan Schwartz for a discussion about his groundbreaking biography of L. Frank Baum, a book that explores the spiritual and personal turmoil that fueled that most beloved of American stories. A screening of The Wizard of Oz will follow Mr. Schwartz’s talk. Tickets available at ... (more)the Coolidge box office.

From the website: Acclaimed novelist Chuck Hogan comes to present The Strain, the result of his collaboration with Academy Award-winning director of Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Toro. The novel is the first volume in their stunning vampire trilogy.

From the store website: Prayer in schools? Animal sacrifices in public? Ten Commandments on the courthouse lawn? BU’s Jay Wexler has seen it all. What happens when a professor of church/state law decides to get out of his stuffy office and hit the road in search of the places and people responsible ... (more)for some of the country’s most controversial Supreme Court cases and hot-button issues? It’s all here in his new book, Holy Hullabaloos.

From the site: Brookline Booksmith is thrilled to welcome Jane Green, the George Washington of chick lit. The Aesop of feminist fairy tales has concocted a new blockbuster beach read about a single mom who works for a famous — and famously reclusive — novelist with a horrible secret. Not to be missed!

From the site: The ruling figure of the 1980’s Chinese underworld was a middle-aged grandmother known as Sister Ping. The Snakehead is the story of the vicious global crime conglomerate she built and a gripping explanation of the underground economy of America’s 12 million undocumented immigrants. ... (more)Says author Jane Mayer, “The Snakehead reads like a Chinese-American version of The Sopranos, except that the mob boss is a grandmother who runs a human smuggling enterprise, and the story is true.”

From the store site: The 40th Anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival brings an opportunity to meet Michael Lang, the man who started it all. The Road to Woodstock weaves the voices of its artists, audience and creators into an in-depth history of the most iconic concert of the last century. He will ... (more)be in conversation with his co-author, award-winning music & culture writer Holly George-Warren.

From the store site: An Irreverent Curiosity chronicles what happens when a renowned travel writer moves to an Italian hill town to uncover the fate of Jesus’ foreskin. David Farley – who teaches writing at New York University and whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, ... (more)Condé Nast Traveler and Slate – traces the gripping history of an eccentric hamlet and the Church’s most wondrous relic.

From the site: Boston-born Lydia Peelle—winner of two Pushcart Prizes, an O. Henry Award and twice featured in Best New American Voices—will drop by the Booksmith to read from her debut collection. Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing features eight dazzling stories about what happens when human ... (more)life divorces from nature.

From the site: The Disappearance , Efrem Sigel’s second novel, tells the story of an upper-middle class Massachusetts couple torn asunder when their 14-year-old son vanishes from their summer home. Raves Booklist: “Sigel is clearly a talented storyteller, and the novel has a deep emotional core that ... (more)will resonate with any reader.”

From the store site: Medieval scholar and former Nerve.com columnist Jack Murnighan (The Naughty Bits) polishes the Western Canon with 50 short and sassy chapters on the books everyone is supposed to have read. Each chapter includes a synopsis, a recount of the book’s reception and a list of quotable ... (more)notables. Says A. J. Jacobs: “Just having it on your she lf will raise your IQ.”

Please join us for a birthday tribute to the late Pulitzer-winner Frank McCourt. The evening will be hosted by local writer and performer Alex Newman, who was a student of McCourt from 1981 to 1984. Newman remained close to McCourt until his death on July 19, 2009. The evening will include readings from ... (more)Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, and Teacher Man. Newman will also read some of his own unpublished writings about Frank McCourt and will hold a short question and answer session with the audience.

In Counterclockwise, Harvard psychology professor Dr. Ellen Langer explains that opening our minds to what’s possible instead of clinging to accepted notions of what’s not can lead to better health at any age. Guggenheim Fellow Dr. Langer penned the landmark works Mindfulness, The Power of Mindful ... (more)Learning, and On Becoming an Artist.

Pulitzer's Gold by Boston journalist Roy Harris traces a century of U.S. history through "stories behind the stories" that won reporting's biggest prize. From World War I, the book winds through the civil rights movement, Watergate, 9/11, and the Catholic Church's predator priest scandal. On a panel ... (more)with Harris will be Boston University journalism professor Elizabeth Mehren and WBUR reporter Sacha Pfeiffer, a key member of the Boston Globe team that won the Pulitzer for exposing sexual misconduct by priests and the Church cover-up. Among the panel's topics: what America stands to lose if its great journalistic tradition fades.

Amir Aczel transports us back to 1920s Europe, when a band of elite scientists – among them such towering figures as Marie Curie, Enrico Fermi and Lise Meitner – vied fiercely to achieve nuclear fission. Leave it to Aczel (Fermat’s Last Theorem) to paint a spellbinding history of one of mankind’s ... (more)most destructive discoveries.

Some people who get fired sit around in their pajamas. When Katherine Russell Rich was fired from her magazine job, she forewent the couch and headed straight to India in an attempt to forestall her decision to become a full time writer. Once there, she enrolled in a year-long language immersion program ... (more)in Udaipur and learned to navigate a new language while performing a social high-wire act with her fellow students and host family. Says O, The Oprah Magazine, "Fortified with neuroscience and laced with humor, Dreaming in Hindi is a crash course in emotional agility, in an understanding too deep for words."

Brooklyn-based cartoonist (A Few Perfect Hours) and illustrator (American Splendor) Josh Neufeld ventured to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to get to know some of the survivors. The result is a deeply personal, utterly overwhelming graphic novel that brings their stories – and the ... (more)devastation – to life. Join him for a presentation about his work.

Join the Booksmith for a night of intrigue with Boston-based mystery writers Clea Simon and Hank Phillippi Ryan, here to talk about their latest thrillers. Simon’s Shades of Grey follows Harvard postgrad Dulcie Schwartz’s efforts to solve a murder with the help of her dead cat’s ghost. Ryan’s ... (more)Air Time is the latest in the saga of Charlotte McNally, sassy television-personality-cum-sexy-sleuth.

Join us for a night with three young writers of experimental fiction. Samuel Ligon (Safe in Heaven Dead) teaches writing in Spokane, Washington, and edits the journal Willow Springs. Blake Butler (EVER) edits the website HTMLGIANT and online literary journals Lamination Colony and No Colony. Robert Lopez ... (more)(Part of the World) teaches experimental fiction at the New School and co-edits the literary magazine Sleepingfish. Can you say literary?

From young cult writer Tao Lin (Bed, Eeeee Eee Eeee, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) comes an autobiographical novella about a young cult writer. Lin describes the text as “a shoplifting book about vague relationships.” Miranda July says, “Tao Lin writes from moods that less radical writers would ... (more)let pass. His report from these places is moving and necessary, not to mention frequently hilarious.”

London-based Lebanese writer Hanan al-Shaykh (Women of Sand and Myrrh) has written a gorgeous, triumphant memoir of her illiterate mother, who married at 14, was disgraced by divorce in her strict Shi’a community and yet ultimately transcended her circumstances through a love of film and literature. ... (more)Says a reviewer in The Independent: “I have never read a memoir which so clearly demonstrates art’s power to help us survive.”

Calling all book lovers! The owner of Boston's legendary Victor Hugo bookshop has sold books for money since 1963. Forty six years later, he's written one himself. McCaffrey's debut novel, Hound, follows lonely Boston bibliophile Henry Sullivan, suddenly thrust into a whodunit after a prominent literary ... (more)agent is strangled. The intriguing hijinx that ensue showcase McCaffrey's love of books while offering a sensitive portrait of a middle-aged man's search for meaning.

The woman behind The Pilot’s Wife, Testimony and The Weight of Water (plus eleven other beloved, bestselling novels) returns with the story of a 28 year-old newlywed who moves to Kenya, only to have her marriage, her sense of self and her understanding of the world shaken to the core. A Change in Altitude ... (more)once again proves Shreve’s masterful ability to show how lives can turn on the axis of a single event.

The emancipated slaves of Concord were permitted to squat on only the most remote and infertile places. Walden Woods was one of them. In Black Walden, Elise Lemire, professor of literature at SUNY Purchase, brings to life the former slaves of Walden Woods and the men and women who held them in bondage ... (more)during the eighteenth century.

The Natural Laws of Good Luck tells the unusual, lovely story of Ellen Graf’s second marriage. A 46-year-old divorcee at the end of her dating tether, Graf travels to China for a blind date with her friend’s brother, Zhong-hua. Though they can scarcely understand one another, a primal connection ... (more)impels them to marry. What follows is a hilarious and incredibly moving love story that probes the bonds of human connection.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Franz Wright (Walking to Martha’s Vineyard) will make an appearance to read from his latest poetry collection, Wheeling Motel. His poems have been praised by Denis Johnson as “tiny jewels shaped by blunt, ruined fingers – miraculous gifts.” From the titular poem, first ... (more)published in the New Yorker: “The vast waters flow past its backyard/ You can purchase a six-pack in bars!”

Beloved columnist, music writer and novelist Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) returns to form in his funny, touching new novel Juliet, Naked. The scintillating title refers to the name of the comeback record by reclusive cult singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe, who has not braved the public eye in ... (more)twenty years. The plot follows what happens when Crowe strikes up a transatlantic correspondence with Annie, a blogger whose dissatisfaction with the record drives her boyfriend, a Tucker superfan, away. Coolidge Corner Theatre, $5