ministry of events
Brookline Booksmith 279 Harvard St. Brookline MA 02446 (617) 566-6660
 
 
   

writers & readers series 2008


All events free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Seating for events in the Writers & Readers Room is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
For events held at the Coolidge Corner Theatre,
reserve tickets by calling 617-566-6660 or by emailing events@brooklinebooksmith.com

Not all ticketed events are "On Sale" unless the listing clearly states,
In This Manner, that tickets are currently available for purchase.

>>> may

If you would like a signed copy of an event book, but can't make it to the event, simply --

1 . reprioritize your life

2 . click on the title of the book to order

3 . type 'signed copy' in the Additional Comments field on the Billing & Payment screen
 
Saturday May 10th 7pm
Chris Bohjalian - Skeletons at the Feast

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.
   
Monday May 12th 7pm
Elizabeth George - Careless in Red

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.
   
Tuesday May 13th 7pm
Rachel Sontag - House Rules: A Memoir

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 control over their family in this compulsively readable memoir.
   
Wednesday May 14th 7pm
Penny Vincenzi - Sheer Abandon

This British blockbusting author 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.
   

Monday May 19th 7pm
Simon Winchester - The Man Who Loved China : The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom

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 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.
   
Wednesday May 21st 7pm
James Tate - The Ghost Soldiers: Poems

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.
   
Thursday May 22nd 7pm
***This is a Book Signing Only***
Barbara Walters - Audition: A Memoir

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 by your receipt to enter
the signing line.
   
Monday May 26th 7pm
Franz Wright - God’s Silence
C.D. Wright - Rising, Falling, Hovering

The Pulitzer Prize winning bard revisits the Booksmith, as well as his thought provoking 2006 collection, for its celebratory paperback release. He is joined by versatile verse maker C.D Wright who reads from her inspiring new collection.
   
Tuesday May 27th 7pm
Nam Le - The Boat

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.
   
Wednesday May 28th 6pm @ The Coolidge Corner Theatre
Tickets On Sale Now! - $5
James Frey - Bright Shiny Morning: A Novel

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 you’ve been waiting for.
   
Thursday May 29th 7pm
Kathleen Spivack - Moments of Past Happiness

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.
   
>>> june
   
Tuesday June 3rd 7pm
Julie Salamon - Hospital

If the mythologies perpetuated in television shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” even remotely resembled the truth, our hospitals would be overflowing with newly enrolled, brighteyed candidates. Rather, instead of easy answers and sexy looks exchanged across operating tables we have overcrowded emergency rooms and overworked staff. With Hospital, author Julie Salamon creates a remarkable portrait of the tireless and compassionate individuals who reel in the chaos on a day-to-day basis.
   
Wednesday June 4th 7pm
Gregory Levey -Shut Up, I'm Talking, and Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in the Israeli Government: A Memoir

When twenty-five year old law student Levey applied for an internship at the Israeli Consulate, little did he know he would soon be caught up in the political eye of the Second Intifada’s storm and writing speeches for Ariel Sharon. An unbelievable account of life’s improbabilities, written with deep insight and high hilarity, Shut Up, I’m Talking brings the reader behind the curtain for a look at Israeli politics.
   
Thursday June 5th 7pm
Richard Preston - Panic In Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science

As seen in his exhilarating scientific pageturners The Wild Trees and The Hot Zone, Richard Preston has proven himself a master of the nonfiction narrative. In his latest foray he focuses his microscope on self-cannibalization, the Ebola virus, and amateur Russian mathematicians who build a supercomputer in their apartment.
   
Friday June 6th 6pm @ The Coolidge Corner Theatre
Tickets On Sale Now! - $5
Lewis Black - Me of Little Faith
Tickets on sale April 14th

The misanthropic comedic messiah known for his frothy sermons on The Daily Show and The Root of All Evil comes to Brookline. With his newest book, the infuriated entrepreneur examines religious inconsistencies with all his comedic rage on the boil.
   
Sunday June 8th 7pm
Zachary Schomburg - The Man Suit
Rauan Klassnik - Holy Land
Chad Reynolds - Victor in the New World
Carl Annarummo - A Short Story & other poems

Haven’t heard of them before? Well these small press poets are the future of
modern poetry. Zach Schomburg is the obvious inheritor to Charles Simic with his darkly comic inventions, while Rauan Klassnik walks the pornographic borderlands of veritable verse. They are joined by local bards Chad Reynolds
and Booksmith’s own Carl Annarummo.
   
Monday June 9th 7pm
Benjamin Wallace - The Billionaire's Vinegar

These days everybody believes they are a wine connoisseur, including a member of the Forbes family who paid a small fortune for a bottle of Thomas Jefferson’s’ private Bordeaux. But was it truly authentic? With an addictive account meant equally for lovers of suspense and the sauce, author Wallace reveals this vintage scandal as one of the most elaborate cons of all time.
   
Thursday June 12th 7pm
Jonathan Miles - Dear American Airlines

In light of recent flight cancellations that left thousands stranded for weeks, this novel could not be timelier. When Bennie Ford’s flight is cancelled en route to his daughter’s wedding, he begins a letter to the airlines that quickly falls into
a downward spiral, recounting wasted years and lamentations. With his lacerating wit, author Jonathan Miles has written the Great American Airport Novel.
 
Tuesday June 17th 7pm
Michael Holley - Red Sox Rule

Talking about sports can be as ubiquitous and tiresome as talking about the weather. Talking with WEEI commentator Michael Holley about sports is like listening to the birds sing sweet, sweet music. The bestselling author of Patriot Reign certainly knows his stuff. Come gain some perspective on seasons past as well as the return to glory of the Sox as he reads from his new book.
   
Thursday June 19th 7pm
Mark Kurlansky - The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic
and Survival in Gloucester, America's Oldest Fishing Port
and Most Original Town

Praised for his eclectic collection of historical page-turners, the best-selling author does to the old fishing village with the name tourists can’t pronounce what he did for Cod, Salt, and The (Big) Oyster.
   
Wednesday June 25th 7pm
Ellen Sussman - Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex

Coming on like a literary Joy of Sex minus the awkward illustrations, one hundred horny authors expound on their own private entries in this hilarious and essential encyclopedia.
   
Thursday June 26th 7pm
Toby Barlow - Sharp Teeth

A novel about werewolves written in verse, not the easiest sell, but by cutting out the excess word fat and incorporating an unforgettable storyline, N+1 editor
Toby Barlow absolutely shines in this offbeat thriller, making it one of our favorite books of the year.
 
Wednesday July 16th 7pm
Ethan Canin - America America

America: so good you have to say it twice. The best selling author of The Palace Thief provides an extraordinary tale of a working class young man taken in, educated, and developed by a wealthy family.
   
  Tuesday September 23rd 6pm at the Coolidge Corner Theatre
Dennis Lehane
 
 
Check out all of the great events at our sister store Wellesley Booksmith, including the finest in contemporary childrens and young adult books.
 
 
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