Left Bank BooksNew/Used: Not set Web site: http://www.left-bank.com/ Events: http://leftbank.booksense.com/NA… (updated February 14) Description: Founded in 1969, Left Bank Books is the only independently-owned, full-service bookstore in the greater metropolitan area of St. Louis.
Located in the historic Central West End neighborhood, Left Bank Books is situated among magnificent turn-of-the-century residences and some of the best restaurants and finest art galleries in the area.
Left Bank Books has a cultural and progressive political focus. Specialties include: modern literature and poetry, the contemporary art and performing arts scene, political analysis, African-American, feminist, gay and lesbian literature; psychology and high quality, multicultural children's books. Our regular customers come from the immediate neighborhood, the greater metro area, which has a population exceeding 2.5 million people, and the two-state area of Missouri and Illinois. We offer every book in print and a vast used selection online and ship everywhere in the world.
Other features of the store include an extensive used book department and an art gallery featuring nine to twelve shows annually by local artists. We have a variety of discounts for educators and institutions. We offer a 20% discount on books selected by our registered book groups.
Owners and operators of Left Bank Books have always been intimately involved in community organizations; many are writers or artists. Some have advanced degrees in education, history, or literature. Owner Barry Leibman has a background in history and education and is an abstract/conceptual artist with many solo shows to his credit. Owner Kris Kleindienst has a degree in Women's Studies and English Literature from Washington University is a writer and political activist. She is a board member of the ACLU, and a founding board member of BUILD St. Louis. She won a Lambda Literary Award for her edited collection of essays, This Is What Lesbian Looks Like: Dyke Activists Take On the 21st Century and writes a monthly column for the Vital Voice. Owner Lisa Greening has a degree in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University and is a former educator with years of experience in various bookstores.
Some of our current community collaborations include collecting books for CASA and our "Clark Elementary School Reading Project," wherein our customers sponsor thirty-five students at Clark Elementary School who will receive a book a month until the end of the year.
Left Bank Books co-sponsors readings with a host of local literary organizations, including the St. Louis Public Library and River Styx. Added by: fitzgene. Contacted: Not contacted. Venue ID: 4282 FavoritesMembers: klemme_b, fugitive, pdever, tloeffler, KayEssAy, jbsfaculty, wintering, kebm1949, swhitco, alspray, lawgrrl07, classiclarkin, sussabmax, jaime_d, Pompey, kperfetto, stricken, fitzgene Comment wall |  Upcoming events
No events found. Go ahead and add an event. Past eventsKaren Joy Fowler (April 8 at 7:00pm)
Paul F. Boller, Jr.—Presidential Diversions (April 17 at 7:00pm) Paul F. Boller, Jr.’s widely admired and bestselling anecdotal histories have uncovered new aspects and hidden dimensions in the lives of our presidents. Now he turns to an uncharted—but unexpectedly revealing—element of our leaders’ personalities as he divulges stories of what the presidents ... (more)Robin Miller—Robin to the Rescue (April 22 at 7:00pm) Food Network star, kitchen strategist, nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author Robin Miller has been coming to the rescue of busy home chefs for years. With her new book, appropriately titled, Robin to the Rescue, Robin offers over 200 new, home-cooked recipes and strategies for getting weeknight ... (more)Steve Weinberg—Taking on the Trust (April 23 at 7:00pm) Long before the rise of mega-corporations like Wal-Mart and Microsoft, Standard Oil controlled the oil industry with a monopolistic force unprecedented in American history. Through her peerless fact gathering and devastating prose, reporter Ida Minerva Tarbell pioneered the new practice of investigative ... (more)Diane Wilson - An Unreasonable Woman (April 25 at 6:00pm) A shrimp boat captain by trade, Diane Wilson turned activist to fight devastating pollution from plastics and chemical manufacturers on the Texas Gulf Coast. Wilson's talk is based on her 2005 book, An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas. This ... (more)Mary Roach—Bonk (April 25 at 7:00pm) The study of sexual physiology has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey’s attic. Mary Roach, “the funniest science writer in the country” (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), shows us how and why sexual arousal ... (more)Amy Goodman—Standing Up to the Madness (April 27 at 2:30pm) Award-winning Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, and investigative journalist David Goodman traveled the country to detail the ways in which grassroots activists have taken politics out of the hands of politicians. Standing Up to the Madness tells the stories of everyday citizens who have challenged ... (more)Alton Brown—Feasting on Asphalt (April 27 at 4:00pm) Full of behind-the-scene images, along with Brown’s witty banter, diary entries, and tales from the road, Feasting on Asphalt is one of Brown’s most exquisite treats. On a three-thousand mile journey up America’s first “superhighway”—the Mississippi—Brown and his motorcycle-mounted team ... (more)Martha Tod Dudman—Black Olives (April 28 at 7:00pm) Upon a chance sighting of her ex-boyfriend, Virginia does something most of us have only dreamed of. Unseen, she jumps into the back of his Jeep, and remains hidden all day, observing the man she once loved. She’s compelled to complete her unfinished portrait of their breakup, and relive the magical ... (more)Amy Goldman Koss—Side Effects (April 29 at 6:00pm) As if it doesn’t suck enough to have cancer, practically every time you pick up books or see movies where characters get sick, you know they’ll be dead by the last scene. In reality, kids get all kinds of cancers, go through unspeakable torture and painful treatments, but walk away fine in the end. ... (more)Joanne Harris (April 30 at 7:00pm) "Joanne Harris revives her characters from bestselling novel and popular movie Chocolat. Yanne and her daughters, Rosette and Annie, seek refuge and anonymity in the cobbled streets of Montmartre, living peacefully, if not happily, above their little chocolate shop. Then into their lives blows Zozie ... (more)Event location: St Louis Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton
Chuck Palahniuk (May 27 at 7:00pm) Interview, Q&A, signing. With Don Pollock. Event location: Mad Art Gallery, 2727 S. 12th Street, St. Louis, MO 63118
Elizabeth Kendall - Autobiography of a Wardrobe (May 28 at 7:00pm) Autobiography of a Wardrobe is the wholly original story of a woman's life told from her wardrobe's point of view, in the wardrobe's own savvy, vibrant voice - a feat of the imagination as emotionally subtle and stirring as it is dazzlingly particular. We first meet B., the wardrobe's owner, ... (more)
Colin Gordon - Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City (May 29 at 7:00pm) Colin Gordon. Once a thriving metropolis, St. Louis is now a ghostly landscape of vacant houses, boarded-up storefronts, and abandoned factories - one of the most depopulated, deindustrialized, and deeply segregated examples of American urban decay. Mapping Decline examines the causes and consequences of St. ... (more)Marisa Silver - The God of War (June 5 at 7:00pm) Survival against the odds is a way of life for twelve-year-old Ares Ramirez, who in 1978 becomes consumed by an internal war between responsibility to himself and to others, spurred on by the burden of liability he must assume for his mentally handicapped younger brother. Ares's struggle draws him into ... (more)Jeff Shaara - The Steel Wave: A Novel of WW II (June 6 at 7:00pm) New York Times bestselling author Jeff Shaara presents The Steel Wave, the second book in a World War II trilogy, by plunging his readers into the minds of the commanders who gave the orders and the soldier who carried them out with the rifle and bayonet. Familiar names emerge, each with ... (more)
Richard Wirick - One Hundred Siberian Postcards (June 9 at 7:00pm) Richard Wirick and his wife adopted a baby girl from a Siberian orphanage. One Hundred Siberian Postcards is a gift for her, evoking the scenic grandeur of her birthplace, alongside the ramshackle quality of much of Russian life - comprising folk tales, beliefs, customs, moments from Siberian ... (more)Frank Delaney - Tipperary (June 10 at 7:00pm) Frank Delaney. Set in early twentieth-century Ireland, Tipperary is the story of Charles O'Brien, an Anglo-Irish traveling healer, and the two great loves of his life - London-born April Burke and his homeland of County Tipperary. O'Brien is callously rejected by young Burke in Paris. He returns home to Ireland ... (more)Leif Enger - So Brave, Young and Handsome (June 11 at 7:00pm) From the author of one of Time magazine's top five novels of the year ( Peace Like a River) comes a new novel, So Brave, Young, and Handsome - a touching, nimble and rugged story of an aging train robber on a quest to reconcile the claims of love and judgment on his life, and the ... (more)Katie Hickman - The Aviary Gate (June 12 at 7:00pm) It is Constantinople, 1599, and Paul Pindar, the secretary to the English ambassador, waits outside the Sultan's harem gates to present him with an extraordinary musical clock that had been sent with the goal of improving trade relations. Unfortunately, the clock has been damaged and Pindar discovers ... (more)Rebecca Stott - Ghostwalk (June 13 at 7:00pm) Rebecca Stott. A special treat for Friday the 13th!A Cambridge historian is found dead, floating down the river Cam, a glass prism in her hand, leaving her magnum opus on Sir Isaac Newton's alchemy unfinished. She had been investigating a series of suspicious circumstances surrounding Newton's appointment ... (more)
David Sedaris (June 17 at 7:00pm)
Opening Up Reading & Discussion (June 19 at 7:00pm) Bestselling author and Village Voice columnist Tristan Taormino will read from her new book, Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships and share what she learned from all the people she interviewed in open relationships around the country. Plus, she’ll take questions and facilitate ... (more)Interested: betsygaire Added by PhoenixTerran. David Sirota - The Uprising (July 1 at 7:00pm) Political organizer and syndicated columnist David Sirota traveled the country for a year, witnessing firsthand the growing public unrest caused by the takeover of our government by Big Money. In The Uprising, Sirota reports on this seething popular discontent on both the Right and Left. While wages ... (more)Harper Barnes - Never Been a Time (July 2 at 7:00pm) In the 1910s, half a million African Americans moved from the impoverished rural South to booming industrial cities in the North in search of jobs and freedom from Jim Crow laws. But Northern whites responded with rage, attach blacks in the streets and laying waste to black neighborhoods. In East St. ... (more)Matthew Leach - Game of My Life: St. Louis Cardinals (July 3 at 7:00pm) Some of the men who have worn the legendary Birds on the Bat tell the stories of their most memorable moments in Cardinal red. Fans can read about current heroes like Jim Edmonds and Chris Carpenter, and the game in which utilityman and current third-base coach Jose Oquendo pitched four innings - and ... (more)Darin Strauss - More Than It Hurts You (July 7 at 7:00pm) With one phone call, Josh Goldin's perfect world comes crashing down: his newborn son Zack is in intensive care and his wife Dori is hysterical. Dr. Darlene Stokes, an African American physician and single mother whose life is dedicated to her own son and navigating her career in modern-day medicine, ... (more)Joseph Harrison - Identity Theft (July 8 at 7:00pm) The poems in Jospeph Harrison's second collection, Identity Theft, map the erosions and betrayals of selfhood, both cyberspace-age and age-old. In four sections, he tackles the disintegration of identity under contemporary pressures, social and technological, reflects on the curtailment of identity ... (more)Vickie Stringer - Still Dirty (July 9 at 7:00pm) Queen of Hip-Hop Literature Vickie Stringer has revolutionized the literary industry as a pioneer of the Hip-Hop Literature genre. In this anticipated sequel to the Essence bestseller Dirty Red, Red, the infamous expert of deception, is still up to no good, but faces challenges to baffle even the most ... (more)Rachel Spangler - Learning Curve (July 10 at 7:00pm) Ashton Clarke, a local Cassanova with a long history of falling into bed with a different woman every night, is perfectly content with her free and easy existence until she gives in to her best friend's request to spend an evening helping out at the local gay and lesbian youth center. There, Ash meets ... (more)Billie Letts - Made in the U.S.A. (July 14 at 7:00pm) The bestselling author of Where the Heart Is returns with a heartrending tale of two children in search of a place to call home. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Vegas, fifteen-year-old Lutie lives with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, ... (more)Andre Dubus III - The Garden of Last Days (July 15 at 7:00pm) From the author of the New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club selection The House of Sand and Fog comes a new passionate and painful novel about sex, parenthood, honor and masculinity. Set in the steamy underside of American life, a stripper brings her daughter to work, deciding it's best to ... (more)Iris & Roy Johanson - Silent Thunder (July 17 at 7:00pm) Bestselling author Iris Johanson and Edgar Award-winner Roy Johanson team up for an explosive, tour-de-force thriller. It was the assignment of a lifetime. A U.S. maritime museum has just acquired the decommissioned Soviet submarine Silent Thunder for public exhibition. It’s marine architect Hannah ... (more)Saher Alam - The Groom to Have Been (July 24 at 7:00pm) Saher Alam. Just as Nasr, a young man with a vibrant professional and social life in New York, begins to prepare for the arranged marriage he hopes will appease his Indian Muslim family and assure him a union as happy as his parents', he starts to suspect that his true love has been within his reach his entire life. ... (more)Daniel Silva - Moscow Rules (July 29 at 7:00pm) The death of a journalist leads Gabriel Allon to Russia, where in terms of spycraft, even he has something to learn. This is not the grim, gray Moscow of Soviet times but a new Moscow, awash in oil wealth and choked with bulletproof Bentleys. A Moscow where power resides once more behind the walls of ... (more)Breaking Dawn (August 1 at 9:30pm) The wait is almost over! In Breaking Dawn questions will be answered and the fate of Bella and Edward will be revealed! Breaking Dawn (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, $22.99), is Stephenie Meyer's fourth book in the internationally bestselling Twilight Saga. Breaking ... (more)Midnight Release Party - Breaking Dawn (August 1 at 10:00pm) Midnight release party for the newest book in Stephanie Meyer's vampire love saga - Breaking Dawn!
Vampire activities include a vampire fashion show, raffle for $100 in book credit, a trivia contest, and more. Books go on sale at 12:01am (Aug. 2), but you can reserve your copy today.
E. Lynn Harris—Just Too Good to Be True (August 8 at 7:00pm) A single monther, faithful chruchgoer, and the owner of several successful beauty salons, Carmyn has devoted herself to her son and his dream of becoming a professional football player. Brady has always followed her lead, including becoming a member of the church’s “Celibacy Circle.” Now, Brady ... (more)Michael Koryta—Envy the Night (August 11 at 7:00pm) It has been seven years since Frank Temple III joined the rest of the world in learning his father’s bloody secret: The U.S. marshal maintained a covert career as a contract killer, a double-life that ended in suicide to avoid prosecution and prison.When Davin Matteson, the man who’d lured his father ... (more)Kira Salak—The White Mary (August 12 at 7:00pm) Marika Vecera, an accomplished war reporter, has dedicated her life to helping the world’s oppressed and forgotten. Returning form a harrowing assignment in the Congo where she was kidnapped by rebel soldiers, Marika learns that a man she has always admired from afar, Pulitzer-prize winning war correspondent Robert ... (more)Joyce Hoffmann (August 13 at 6:00pm) On Their Own: Women Journalists and the American Experience in VietnamIn a series of overlapping biographies about a central group of women who invented themselves as war correspondents, this book tells a gripping yet largely unknown story of perseverance and triumph. With its portraits of Gloria Emerson, ... (more)Wade Rouse—Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler (August 13 at 7:00pm) Wade Rouse. At an elite prep school, the devil wears Lilly Pulitzer pink. When Rade Rouse, who grew up more Hee- Haw than Dynasty, was hired as the director of publicity at the presigious Tate Academy, he quickly discovered his real talent: to make the very pretty, very rich, very mean mommies of the elite students ... (more)Harper Barnes - Never Been a Time (August 21 at 5:30pm) In the 1910s, half a million African Americans moved from the impoverished rural South to industrial cities in the North in search of jobs and freedom from Jim Crow laws. Northern whites responded with rage, attacking blacks in the streets and laying waste to black neighborhoods. In East St. Louis, Illinois, corrupt ... (more)Jewell Parker Rhodes—Yellow Moon (August 21 at 7:00pm) Jewell Parker Rhodes. Marie Levant, the great-great grandaughter of the Voodoo Queen, Marie Leveau, knows better than anyone New Orleans’s brutal past—the legacy of slavery, poverty, racisim and sexism—and as an ER doctor, she treats its current victims. When she sleeps, she dreams of blood. Rain, never ending. The ... (more)Marian Brickner—I’m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo (August 23 at 2:00pm) Mathea Levine. Meet Lucy. She’s a bonobo and she’s a lot like you! In this story, you’ll learn about Lucy and her family and see amazing photographs that will make you laugh out loud. What is a bonobo? Bonobos are our closest ape relatives who live in a uniquely peaceful and matriarchal society, but scientists ... (more)Mark and Patricia Michaels - Tantra for Erotic Empowerment (August 25 at 7:00pm) Authentic and engaging, this illustrated guide is unique in its holistic approach—showing how Tantric practice not only greatly enhances your sexual pleasure but also leads to richer and more satisfying experiences in every area of your life. Relevant for anyone, regardless of relationship status or ... (more)“Juicy Pens Revolution!—SARK—Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper (August 28 at 7:00pm) We are all writers and storytellers. Your stories and words are gifts to the world, and we want to hear them! Come join SARK for an interactive event to celebrate her new book, Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper, and share your own tidbits, morsels and inspiring words. We’ll make notes on thirsty pieces of ... (more)John Shors - Beside a Burning Sea (September 8 at 7:00pm) More info to follow...
Alan Weisman - The World Without Us (September 9 at 7:00pm) Alan Weisman. More info to follow...
Interested: alspray Added by booksense. Amanda Boyden - Babylon Rolling (September 11 at 7:00pm) Former contortionist
and trapeze artist, grew up in St. Louis, author of Pretty
Little Dirty.
Thomas Frank - The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule (September 12 at 7:00pm) New York Times guest
columnist, bestselling author of What’s the Matter With
Kansas?
Book signing with author Bernie Meyer (September 14 at 10:30am) Bernie Meyer. Author/peace activist (and former Clevelander) Bernie Meyer will be at Sacred Path from 10:30-1:30 to sign copies of his new memoir, The American Gandhi: My Truth-Seeking with Humanity at the Crossroads.
Cheryl Jarvis - The Necklace (September 15 at 7:00pm) More info to follow...
Philip Roth *Indignation Day* (September 16 at 7:00pm) awardwinner
(Pulitzer Prize, Gold Medal in Fiction, National
Book Award) and author of a new book, Indignation
To be held at Left Bank Books in a *live web cast*
Brisingr Midnight Release Party (September 19 at 10:00pm) Following the colossal battle against te Empire's warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of hard-to-keep promises. This midnight release ... (more)Garrison Keillor - Liberty: A Lake Wobegon Novel (September 20 at 7:00pm) America’s favorite storyteller, host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” author of Liberty: A Lake Wobegon Novel. Tickets are $35 per person and include one book, or $50 for two people, including one book. Tickets go on sale August 1 at Left Bank Books and Ticketmaster.com. A cash bar will be available ... (more)Alan Alda - Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (September 22 at 7:00pm) Alan Alda. Award-winning actor best
known for his time on M*A*S*H, bestselling author of
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
Buy a book from LBB to get two tickets to the event.
Tom Moon - 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (September 23 at 6:00pm) Award-winning journalist Tom Moon, a regular contributor to NPR's "All Things Considered," does for music what Patricia Schultz - author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die - does for travel. He recommends 1,000 recordings guaranteed to give listeners the joy, the mystery, the revelation, and the ... (more)Paul Theroux - Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (September 23 at 7:00pm) Acclaimed travel author,
professional beekeeper, author of a follow-up to his classic
The Great Railway Bazaar, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star.
Bob Schieffer - Bob Schieffer’s America (September 24 at 7:00pm) Longtime CBS news
correspondent, bestselling memoirist, author of a new essay
collection, Bob Schieffer’s America
Paul Theroux - Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (September 25 at 7:00pm) Acclaimed travel author,
professional beekeeper, author of a follow-up to his classic
The Great Railway Bazaar, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star.
Kathleen Norris - Acedia & Me (September 27 at 7:00pm) Award-winning poet,
beloved theological memoirist, author of Acedia & Me
“An Evening with Ira Glass” - The New Kings of Nonfiction (September 27 at 8:00pm) Host/producer “This American Life,”
editor of the collection, The New Kings of Nonfiction.
John Lutz - Night Kills (October 1 at 7:00pm) St. Louis mystery author John Lutz has written more than 30 novels and 200 short stories in virtually every mystery genre.
Omar Tyree - Pecking Order (October 2 at 6:00pm) Urban fiction writer Omar Tyree won the 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature in Fiction and is a New York Times bestselling author.
Joanna Slan - Paper, Scissors, Death (October 6 at 7:00pm) St. Louis mystery author and president of Sisters in Crime presents the first book in a mystery series set in St. Louis starring a scrapbooker-turned-sleuth.
Kevin Anderson - Paul of Dune (October 7 at 7:00pm) Kevin Anderson continues the legacy of Frank Herbert's Dune with this new book that answers old questions.
Clare Dunsford - Spelling Love With an X (October 8 at 7:00pm) Clare Dunsford. St. Louis native Clare Dunsford returns with a memoir that chronicles her experiences carrying the fragile X permutation that led to her son's mental handicap.
Jeremy Greenberg (October 11 at 2:00pm) Relative Discomfort: The Family Survival GuideJeremy Greenberg’s new book, Relative Discomfort revolutionizes the ways in which people deal with the stress of seeing family. Let this holiday season be the first in which you don’t dread seeing your loved ones. Under the guise of a “guidebook,” ... (more)Christian Lander - Stuff White People Like (October 13 at 7:00pm) Christian Lander's popular and proactive blog has had over 30 million hits. He'll talk about, you guessed it, Stuff White People Like.
Jacques Pepin - More Fast Food My Way (October 15 at 7:00pm) World-renowned chef Jacques Pepin launches a new television show and a new book. Pepin has cooked for French heads of state and also with Julia Child. Purchase one copy of More Fast Food My Way from Left Bank Books and receive two tickets to the event.
A UMSL Great Rivers Author Event
Antony John - Busted (October 16 at 7:00pm) Antony John. St. Louis newcomer Antony John presents a debut novel for young adults, tackling the intricate issues of first love, testosterone-laden peer pressure, and feminism.
Nickolas Lupinin introducing & signing The Russian Century an anthology of first person accounts (October 18 at 2:00pm) George Pahomov. SATURDAY OCTOBER 18TH – PEAK INTO PETERBOROUGH – events throughout the town for all ages –come and enjoy! AT 2 PM – NICKOLAS LUPININ introducing and signing THE RUSSIAN CENTURY: A HUNDRED YEARS OF RUSSIAN LIVES a new book he has co-edited with George Pahomov, composed of first person accounts ... (more)Obert Skye - Leven Thumps and the Wrath of Ezra (October 18 at 7:00pm) The elusive Obert Skye presents the fourth book in his children's series as Leven continues the quest to save the imaginations and dreams of all mankind.
John Dear - A Persistent Peace (October 20 at 7:00pm) Peace activist and Jesuit priest John Dear has been arrested several times in his pursuit of nonviolence and peace. This is his memoir.
Gary Echelbarger - The Great Comeback (October 22 at 7:00pm) Lincoln scholar Echelbarger discusses how Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 Republican Nomination and tookk his first steps to becoming a legendary figure.
Sara Vowell - The Wordy Shipmates (October 29 at 7:00pm) Bestselling author Sarah Vowell (Assassination Vacation), a frequent contributor on NPR's "This American Life," tells the story of the Puritans as you've never heard it. Vowell was also featured as the voice of Violet in the animated children's movie "The Incredibles.
Interested: wintering Added by booksense. Madeleine Albright - Memo to the President Elect (October 30 at 7:00pm) The former secretary of state and bestselling author offers America's next leader blunt advice for repairing and reinvigorating America's standing in the world. Purchase one copy of Memo to the President from LBB and receive two tickets to the event. After her talk, Madeleine Albright will be signing ... (more)Gregory Maguire - A Lion Among Men (November 11 at 8:00pm) Gregory Maguire, the author of Wicked and Son of a Witch, returns with a third book in the series, A Lion Among Men.
A UMSL Great Rivers Authors Series event.
Gregory Maguire - A Lion Among Men (November 12 at 7:00pm) Gregory Maguire, the author of Wicked and Son of a Witch, returns with a third book in the series, A Lion Among Men.
A UMSL Great Rivers Authors Series event.
Devin Johnston — Sources (November 13 at 7:00pm) St. Louis poet Devin Johnston’s third book of poetry returns to sources in Greek and Latin, secret derivations, wellsprings of feeling, and forces of nature. Sonically alert, these poems attend to the world with restless curiosity. Charged with expectation, they often take place on thresholds and sills, ... (more)Laura Numeroff — If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (November 15 at 2:00pm) The loveable cat who first appeared in If You Give a Pig a Party now stars in his very own book--the newest story in the New York Times-bestselling series that began with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. If you give a cat a cupcake, he’ll ask for some sprinkles to go with it. When you give him sprinkles, ... (more)Book Group #1 (November 18 at 7:00pm) Book Group #1 discusses Cormac McCarthy's The Road. This book is group is free and all are welcome.
Interested: wintering Added by booksense. Abbe Smith — Case of a Lifetime (November 20 at 5:00pm) A recent study estimates that thousands of innocent people are wrongfully imprisoned each year in the United States. Prominent criminal lawyer and law professor Abbe Smith weaves together real life cases to show what it is like to champion the rights of the accused. For fans of Law and Order and investigative news ... (more)William H. Thomas, Jr. — Unsafe for Democracy (December 4 at 7:00pm) William H. Thomas. During World War I, the U.S. Department of Justice, using the Espionage Act and its Sedition Act amendment, prosecuted and convicted those who opposed America’s entry into the conflict. Historian William H. Thomas, Jr., shows that the Justice Department did not stop at this official charge but used ... (more)Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler - Arctic Drift (December 8 at 7:00pm) New York Times best-selling author Clive Cussler teams up with Dirk Cussler for the twentieth work in the Dark Pitt series. A potential breakthrough discovery to reverse global warming... a series of unexplained sudden deaths in British Columbia... a rash of international incidents between the United ... (more)Curtis Roosevelt - Too Close to the Sun (December 9 at 7:00pm) Franklin D. Roosevelt’s grandson, Curtis Roosevelt, describes his strange and wondrous coming-of-age in the White House—and the perils of a public childhood. Too Close to the Sun is an intimate portrait of two of the most influential and inspirational figures in modern American history (Franklin ... (more)Stefan Kanfer - Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando (December 10 at 7:00pm) Marlon Brando is a perpetually fascinating character. What are we to make of someone whose life, both personal and professional, hit such dazzling highs and such abysmal lows? Award-winning biographer Stefan Kanfer explores the life of this iconic artist, seamlessly intertwining the man and his ... (more)Brian Young - Site Acquisition (December 11 at 7:00pm) Brian Young. Lines of verse veer top-speed around corners, producing unexpectedly lucid interrogations in this collection by local poet Brian Young. Anger is allowed in these poems, as well as disillusionment and a general mistrust of “landscape”--the natural world owned and used--all countered with the anodyne ... (more)George Thompson to discuss the Bhagavad Gita. (December 13 at 11:00am) George Thompson. "The Bhagavad Gita" by local Vedic scholar and Sanskritist George Thompson is a new translation that is easily accessible to all and a delight for those familiar with one of the world's greatest religious and philosophic classics. PS, George also works at our Peterborough store!
Jan Greenberg - Christo and Jeanne-Claude (December 17 at 7:00pm) In 1981, two artists—Christo and Jeanne-Claude—proposed an installation in New York’s Central Park that would span twenty-three miles. They received a 185-page response from the Parks Department that could have been summed up in one single word: “No.” But they persisted. St. Louis author Jan ... (more)William Least Heat-Moon - Roads to Quoz (December 18 at 12:00pm) William Least Heat-Moon will be signing copies of his new book, Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey, as well as his classic Blue Highways during lunch hour (12-1 pm) at Left Bank Books Downtown!
Norman Bussel - My Private War (January 8 at 7:00pm) Just months before his 19th birthday, Norm Bussel bailed out of a burning B-17 bomber and was immediately seized by local farmhands. For the next year, Norm would struggle to survive at the hands of the Nazis as a prisoner of war. The rage and emotional turmoil he suffered during that year would follow ... (more)Bill Cleveland - Art and Upheaval (January 9 at 7:30pm) Artists in communities in crises the world over are working to resolve conflict, promote peace and rebuild civil society. This book contains six remarkable stories of artists who heal unspeakable trauma, give voice to the forgotten and disappeared and re-stitch the cultural fabric of their communities. ... (more)Benoit Denizet-Lewis - America Anonymous (January 14 at 7:00pm) Told through the riveting stories of addicts hooked on everything from alcohol and drugs to food and gambling, America Anonymous takes readers on a haunting journey through the culture of addiction and recovery and shines a spotlight on this misunderstood public health crisis. Acclaimed journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis ... (more)Ken Robinson - The Element (January 15 at 7:00pm) The element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels. With a wry sense of humor, Ken Robinson looks at the conditions that enable us to find ourselves in the element ... (more)Elle Newmark - The Book of Unholy Mischief (January 21 at 7:00pm) Venice teems with rumors of an ancient book that holds the secret to unimaginable power. It is an alchemist’s dream, with recipes for gold, immortality and undying love. Newmark’s transcendent debut follows a penniless orphan in Renaissance Venice as he is swept up from the streets and into a world ... (more)Jan Burke - The Messenger (January 22 at 7:00pm) In Burke’s first supernatural thriller, a salvage driver becomes enslaved to a creature who calls to him from the wreckage of a 19th-century ship and orders him to hunt down Tyler Hawthorne, a solitary man who has heard the last thoughts of the dying for more than two centuries. Jan Burke is a national ... (more)Jane Butel—Chili Madness (January 23 at 6:30pm) Jane Butel, widely regarded as the expert on Southwest cooking, has traveled the country judging chili contests and coaxing recipes. Here are 37 of the best, along with cookoff directions, chili history, lore, mailorder sources and more. Butel is a cooking teacher, owner of the Pecos Valley Spice Company ... (more)Robert Moss - The Secret History of Dreaming (January 23 at 7:00pm) Dreaming is essential to survival and evolution and to creative endeavors in every field. Robert Moss traces the strands of dreams through archival records and well-known writings, weaving remarkable yet true accounts of historical figures who have been influenced by their dreams. Moss is the creator ... (more)The Big Read—Discussions of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (January 27 at 12:00pm) The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. It brings the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. A 2004 NEA report, Reading at Risk: A Survey of ... (more)The Big Read—Discussions of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (January 27 at 7:00pm) The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. It brings the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. A 2004 NEA report, Reading at Risk: A Survey of ... (more)Congresswoman Barbara Lee discusses & signs Renegade for Peace and Justice (February 1 at 3:00pm) Barbara Lee. DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to welcome Congresswoman Barbara Lee as she discusses and signs her book, Renegade for Peace and Justice. ABOUT THE BOOK: Barbara Lee's willingness to stand on principle earned her unsolicited international attention when she was the only member of Congress to ... (more)Kyle Beachy - The Slide (February 5 at 7:00pm) Simultaneously an off-beat love story, a moving portrait of a family in crisis, a ghost story and a darkly funny American comedy, St. Louis native Kyle Beachy’s arresting debut novel (set in St. Louis) is written in prose that is swift, stunning and sweet. Kyle Beachy has woven a uniquely affecting ... (more)Eats, Knits & Leaves (February 9 at 7:00pm) Bring your knitting project and join hostess Patty Poisson for an informal evening of chatting, knitting and tea. Exquisite tea is generously provided by Danielle Beaudette of The Cozy Tea Cart in Brookline. (www.thecozyteacart.com). Please note that the group is open to all experienced knitters. They ... (more)Pat Simmons — Talk to Me (February 10 at 7:00pm) KMOV-TV assignment editor and news writer is back with her second novel, Talk to Me. In her book, after a fireworks explosion killed his best friend and shattered his hearing, Noel Richardson, the CEO of a St. Louis non-profit organization, must learn to coexist in two worlds—the hearing and the Deaf. ... (more)Nikki Giovanni - Bicycles (February 13 at 7:00pm) From the acclaimed author of Acolytes comes a remarkable companion work to her best-selling Love Poems. "Giovanni is as outspoken, prolific, and energetic as ever," according to the New York Times. She is also a three-time NAACP Image Award winner, the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Women of Courage Award ... (more)Karen Dawn — Thanking the Monkey (February 16 at 7:00pm) An Inconvenient Truth meets animal rights in this smart, hip and accessible primer from one of the most respected members of the activist community. The book contains full-color photos and cartoons throughout. As a spokesperson for the animal rights movement, Karen Dawn has founded DawnWatch.com, appeared on ... (more)Amy Dickinson - The Mighty Queens of Freeville (February 17 at 7:00pm) Amy Dickinson has made a career out of helping others through her internationally syndicated advice column, "Ask Amy." Readers love her for her honesty and for her motto, "I make the mistakes so you don’t have to." In her memoir, she shares those mistakes and her remarkable story. Amy Dickinson is ... (more)Barbara Delinsky - While My Sister Sleeps (February 18 at 7:00pm) Special reception for reading groups Public event: 7:00 pm Following the success of The Secret Between Us, a book the Boston Globe hailed as one of her best, Barbara Delinsky returns with another moving and deeply satisfying novel, this one about the unique and emotionally complex world of siblings. ... (more)Father Maurice Nutt— Thea Bowman: In My Own Words (February 21 at 4:00pm) Maurice J. Nutt. Born and raised in St. Louis, Reverend Maurice Nutt was ordained into the Catholic priesthood St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Catholic Church, where he served as a pastor for 9 years. His book contains the thoughts, memories and reflections of Thea Bowman, a black Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, born ... (more)Philip Boehm - Settlement (February 23 at 7:00pm) A reading and signing of Philip Boehm's translation of Christoph Hein's Settlement.
Eats, Knits & Leaves (March 9 at 7:00pm) Bring your knitting project and join hostess Patty Poisson for an informal evening of chatting, knitting and tea. Exquisite tea is generously provided by Danielle Beaudette of The Cozy Tea Cart in Brookline. (www.thecozyteacart.com). Please note that the group is open to all experienced knitters. They ... (more)Steve Harvey - Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man (March 13 at 5:00pm) Join us for a book signing with comedian Steve Harvey. Purchase Act Like a Lady, Think Like a man from Left Bank Books to receive a ticket to have your book signed.
Grand Opening Weekend: Michael Lux - The Progressive Revolution (March 20 at 7:00pm) It's Grand Opening Weekend at Left Bank Books Downtown! Join us for a discussion and book signing with Michael Lux, who served on the transitions teams for Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Grand Opening Weekend: Story Hour with Jeanie Ransom (March 22 at 2:00pm) It's Grand Opening Weekend at Left Bank Books Downtonwn!
St. Louis author Jeanie Franz Ransom
reads from and signs her new picture book
mystery, What Really Happened to
Humpty?, about Humpty Dumpty’s fall.
Rosemary Radford Ruether - Catholic Does Not Equal the Vatican (March 23 at 7:00pm) Catholic Action Network presents Rosemary Radford Ruether for a discussion and book signing.
Charles Smith - Twelve Rounds to Glory (March 24 at 6:00pm) A dynamic author-illustrator team follows the three-time heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali through twelve rounds of a remarkable life. Rap-inspired verse weaves, bobs and jabs with relentless energy, capturing the great gift of rhyme of the man who shed the name Cassius Clay to take on the world as Muhammad ... (more)Charles Smith - Twelve Rounds to Glory (March 24 at 7:00pm) Join us for a discussion and book signing with Charles Smith.
Anne Easter Smith - The King's Grace (March 25 at 7:00pm) Join us for a discussion and book signing with Anne Easter Smith.
Thomas Glave - The Torturer's Wife (March 26 at 7:00pm) Join us for a discussion and book signing with Thomas Glave. LBB's Gay Men's Reading Group will meet at 7:00pm (instead of 7:30)that night to attend the event.
Lynne Greenberg - The Body Broken (March 27 at 7:00pm) Lynne Greenberg. In this memoir, Lynne Greenberg—who grew up in St. Louis—tells the story of how she narrowly survived a devastating car crash at age nineteen. When her broken neck healed, she was hailed as a medical miracle. But when an unbearable pain in her neck returned many years later, she and her family were ... (more)Korina Jocson - Youth Poets (March 29 at 4:00pm) Korina Jocson. Join us for a discussion and book signing with local author and professor, Korina Jocson.
Harlan Coben and Missy Higgins - Book Reading, Signing & Concert (April 6 at 7:00pm) Award-winning, #1 New York Times best-selling author Harlan Coben (Hold Tight, The Woods, Promise Me, The Innocent) introduces a blistering new Myron Bolitar thriller, Long Lost. Australian singer/songwriter Missy Higgins will perform songs from her newest album, On a Clear Night. Coben referred to Higgins ... (more)Walter Mosley - The Long Fall (April 7 at 7:00pm) Walter Mosley, author of the classic Devil in a Blue Dress and other Easy Rawlins mysteries, presents a brand new mystery series with a new character, a new city, and a new era in The Long Fall. Mosley’s awards include an O’Henry Prize, the 1996 Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s ... (more)Staceyann Chin - The Other Side of Paradise (April 9 at 7:00pm) From the iconic and charismatic star of “Russel Simmons Def Poetry Jam” comes this brave and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica. Staceyann Chin is a performer, activist and writer. She has performed her poems around the world and has been published in many publications, including ... (more)Read St. Louis presents Sandra Cisneros - The House on Mango Street (April 10 at 7:00pm) Sandra Cisneros visits St.Louis in honor of the 25th Anniversary of her much-admired classic novel, The House on Mango Street, the story of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. The recipient of numerous awards, including the American Book Award, Cisneros is also the author of Caramelo, ... (more)Jon Ginoli of Pansy Division at Lambda Rising! (April 12 at 6:30pm) Jon Ginoli. At the height of their career, just off their successful tour with Green Day, Pansy Division dropped by Lambda Rising’s DC bookstore, set up their instruments in our front window, and honored us and our customers with a raucous, rocking free concert. Now founding Pansy Jon Ginoli returns to Lambda ... (more)Stefan Merill Block - The Story of Forgetting (April 16 at 7:00pm) Stefan Merrill Block. Discussion and book signing.
Stefan Merrill Block was born in 1982 and grew up in Plano, Texas. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2004. The Story of Forgetting is his first novel. He lives in Brooklyn.
Tania Katan - My One Night Stand with Cancer (April 17 at 7:00pm) When Tania Katan was 21 years old she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Exactly 10 years later it happened again. Her memoir, loaded with rage and blistering humor, tells the tale of living through two bouts with death and is woven through with stories of picking up women while bald, coping with her ... (more)Jeffrey Copeland - Inman's War (April 18 at 2:00pm) Author Jeffrey Copeland (head of the Dept. of English Language and Literature, University of Northern Iowa) presents Inman's War: A Soldier's Story Of Life In A Colored Battalion In WW II, a narrative biography of an African-American who served in the American military prior to its integration under ... (more)April Book Club (April 21 at 7:00pm) This month Farley's Book Club will be reading Kathryn Davis' The Walking Tour.
As usual, please meet in the back room of Farley's for stimulating discussion and light refreshments!
Midwestern Innocence Project presents John Grisham - The Innocent Man (April 22 at 6:00pm) Prolific New York Times best-selling author John Grisham writes many legal thrillers, but The Innocent Man is the true story of a man who was exonerated after spending 12 years on death row. Grisham will speak at a fundraiser for Midwestern Innocence Project, a non-profit dedicated to providing pro bono ... (more)An Evening with David Sedaris at Powell Symphony Hall (April 22 at 8:00pm) This is a ticketed event. Please visit http://www.slso.org/events/ for details. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Christina Kahrl & Steven Goldman - Baseball Prospectus 2009 (April 23 at 11:00am) For fans and fantasy baseball players alike, the editors of Baseball Prospectus 2009, Steven Goldman and Christina Kahrl, will give a discussion and book signing before and after the Cardinals game. Now in its 14th edition, the Baseball Prospectus is the industry leader among annual baseball guides. ... (more)Marcela Grad - Massoud (April 24 at 7:00pm) Marcela Grad. Marcela Grad explores the life of the late Afghan leader Ahmad Shah Massoud through personal stories told to her by those who accompanied Massoud during his struggle to liberate Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion and the Taliban, and by others who knew and helped Massoud. Using the old Eastern tradition ... (more)Amy Goodman - Standing Up to the Madness (April 30 at 1:30pm) The award-winning journalist and author of The Exception to the Rulers and Static, Amy Goodman, returns with this revolutionary work that celebrates the ordinary heroes who have stood up, often at great risk, to defend democracy and change America for the better. Join us for a lunch hour discussion and ... (more)Writing Down Your Soul an experiential Introduction with author Janet Conner (May 3 at 1:00pm) Janet Conner. This is an interactive workshop. Bring a journal and come prepared to write.Co-sponsored with Body Mind and Soul and Spectrum Center.Here's all you will learn in this workshop:Learn how Writing Down Your Soul the practice and the book came to be (Janet’s story)What is writing down your soul? ... (more)Simon Winchester - The Man Who Loved China (May 6 at 7:00pm) In sumptuous and illuminating detail, the best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman and Krakatoa brings to life the extraordinary story of Joseph Needham, the brilliant Cambridge scientist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China. The Man Who Loved China tells the sweeping story ... (more)Thomas Maier - Masters of Sex (May 7 at 7:00pm) Critically acclaimed biographer Thomas Maier offers an unprecedented look at William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the famous sex research team who dramatically transformed American sexuality, yet whose private relationship was just as complex and dysfunctional as any of their parents’. Masters and ... (more)Darryl Strawberry - Straw: Finding My Own Way (May 9 at 3:00pm) An eight-time All Star, four-time World Series Champion, an dthe 1983 National League Rookie of the Year Darryl Strawberry is as well-known for his behavior on the baseball field as much as his controversial behavior off of it. Now, for the first time in his own words, Strawberry takes readers through ... (more)Herman L. Jimerson - The Defender (May 11 at 7:00pm) Herman L. Jimerson. Local author and lawyer Herman L. Jimerson unveils a new novel, the epic chronicle of the live of Drew Jones, an African-American attorney who gets some hardcore experience when life goes beyond the law books and collides with the "real law" with all of its corruption, leaving the question of who the ... (more)From Page to Stage: Oscar Wilde's Works for the Theatre (May 12 at 7:00pm) In honor of its upcoming production of Oscar Wilde's Salome, Opera Theatre of St. Louis will bring local professional actors to Left Bank Books to perform readings from two of Oscar Wilde's comedies and from Salome. Listen to readings, enjoy some refreshments, and hear about great theatre in St. Louis ... (more)Science Fiction & Fantasy Discussion Group (May 13 at 7:00pm) The SF&F discussion group, meets every 2nd
& 4th Wednesday monthly, talks about the books they have read recently. Open to older teens and adults. Ends around 8:30 p.m.
Visiting Author - Linda Urban (May 14 at 3:30pm) Linda Urban, Part II. Calling all middle grade readers - come meet Linda at the Conway Library as she will be talking about the wonderful novel, A Crooked Kind of Perfect.
Colson Whitehead - Sag Harbor (May 14 at 7:00pm) Left Bank Books and the Young Literati of the St. Louis Public Library present Colson Whitehead. After graduating from Harvard College, Whitehead began his writing career at the Village Voice with reviews of television, books and music. His books, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, The Colossus of New ... (more)Diana Daffner - Tantric Sex for Busy Couples (May 15 at 7:00pm) Discussion and book signing. Details to follow.
Erica Bauermeister - The School of Essential Ingredients (May 17 at 3:00pm) Reminiscent of Chocolat and Like Water for Chocolate, The School of Essential Ingredients is a gorgeously written novel about life, love and the magic of food. It follows the lives of eight students who gater in Lillian's Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. It soon becomes clear, however, ... (more)Jon Ginoli - Deflowered (May 19 at 7:00pm) Jon Ginoli is the founder and lead singer of the revolutionary gay rock band Pansy Division, the first out and proud queer core punk rock band to hit the semi-big time. Deflowered follows Ginoli's journey of self-discovery and musical passion in creating Pansy Division. Set against the changing decades ... (more)Aleksander Hemon - Love and Obstacles (May 20 at 7:00pm) Aleksander Hemon--winner of a MacArthur "Genius" Grant and finalist for the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award for The Lazarus Project--has earned a reputation as one of the English language's most original and moving wordsmiths. The stories in Love and Obstacles are linked through ... (more)Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson discuss and sign The Scavengers' Manifesto (May 21 at 7:00pm) Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson as they discuss and sign The Scavengers' Manifesto. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!About the Book: Call it scavenging, freeganism, or just plain affordable living. A movement is afoot, ... (more)Susan Kuchinskas discusses and signs The Chemistry of Connection (May 27 at 7:00pm) Susan Kuchinskas. Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is pleased to present local author Susan Kuchinskas as she discusses and signs her book, The Chemistry of Connection. This event is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.About the Author: Susan Kuchinskas was fascinated when she first read about oxytocin, because ... (more)TNBC - City of Thieves (May 28 at 7:00pm) This was one of my favorite reads from last year so I do hope everyone enjoys it. As always, the bookgroup is open to any and all newcomers.
Cheryl Wagner discusses and signs Plenty Enough Suck to Go Around (June 11 at 7:00pm) Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland is excited to present NPR's This American Life contributor Cheryl Wagner to the store to discuss and sign her new memoir about returning home to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Plenty Enough Suck to Go Around.The cliché "New Orleans gets into people's blood" happens ... (more) |
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