The Calendar - Lectures, Readings, and Forums

This Week's Events

Lectures, Readings, and Forums
Ann Arbor is an educated and educational community, providing an ample selection of brown bag lectures, seminars, and other colloquia. The Calendar covers events from authors on book signing tours to politicians on the stump.

Highlights this week:

Chuck Palahniuk: Liberty Borders.

Cokie Roberts: Ann Arbor District Library.

Peter Leonard: Nicola's Books.

Monday
May, 2008

7-8:30 p.m.
Cokie Roberts: Ann Arbor District Library. This Emmy-winning ABC and NPR political journalist discusses her new book Ladies of Liberty: Women Who Shaped Our Nation, a sequel to her best-selling Founding Mothers that covers the period from 1796 to 1828. Signing. Michigan Theater. Free. 327-4560.

7 p.m.
Jane Cleland: Aunt Agatha's. This New York mystery writer, a former antiques and rare books dealer in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, discusses her cleverly crafted cozy Antiques to Die For, the 3rd in her series about a New Hampshire antiques dealer, who this time tries to solve the murder of her fun-loving friend. Aunt Agatha's, 213 S. Fourth Ave. Free. 769-1114.

Tuesday
May, 2008

7 p.m.
Saline Newcomers Book Club:Waters Place Borders. Discussion of Song Yet Sung , James McBride's novel set in antebellum Maryland about a runaway slave and her prophetic visions - from Martin Luther King to hip-hop - that motivate her escape. Borders, 3140 Lohr Rd. Free. 997-8884.

7 p.m.
Chuck Palahniuk: Liberty Borders. This novelist from Portland, Oregon, who has been described as "America's most inventive nihilist," discusses Snuff , his audacious and hilarious story about a porn star who plans to have sex with 600 men in one day on camera. The narrative follows Mr. 72, Mr. 137, and Mr. 600 as they await their turns. Signing. Borders, 612 Liberty. Free. 668-7652.

7-9 p.m.
Writers Reading at Sweetwaters.:Reading by local poet Angel Nafis, a WCC student and 2-time member of the Ann Arbor Youth Poetry Slam Team who is currently the Neutral Zone writer-in-residence. Followed by open-mike readings for poets and other creative writers. Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, 123 W. Washington. Free. 369-2798.

Wednesday
May, 2008

Noon.
Martha Hall Foose: Waters Place Borders. This Viking Cooking School executive chef signs Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook , a collection of southern recipes with a contemporary flair accented by humorous and touching stories. Borders, 3140 Lohr Rd. Free. 997-8884.

12:15 p.m.
Book Club: Ann Arbor Senior Center. All seniors age 50 & older invited to join Lucia Skoman to discuss a book TBA. Ann Arbor Senior Center, 1320 Baldwin. Free. 769-5911.

7 p.m.
David Baldacci: Waters Place Borders This best-selling Virginia novelist gives a talk via video conferencing about his new book “The Whole Truth,” a suspense thriller about a defense contractor, an intelligence agent, and a journalist whose paths intertwine on the brink of a global catastrophe. Signing via LongPen, a long- distance, pen-and-ink, electronic signing device. Borders, 3140 Lohr Rd. Free. 997-8884.

7 p.m.
Peter Leonard: Nicola's Books. This young fiction writer is interviewed by his father, popular crime novelist Elmore Leonard, about his debut novel Quiver , a thriller about a woman dealing with her husband's accidental death when her old beau, an ex-con, shows up and sets in motion a series of events that culminates in a life-and-death confrontation with a gang of killers. Signing. Nicola's Books, Westgate shopping center. Free. 662-0600.

7-8:30 p.m.
"Sailing Grace": Ann Arbor District Library. Former Grand Rapids state legislator John Otterbacher, a longtime contributor to sailing magazines, discusses his gripping memoir about his struggle with heart disease, which begins with him flat on his back in a local health club, gasping for air, and ends 31 months and 4,000 miles later when he and his family maneuver their sailboat Grace into Schull Harbor, Ireland. AADL multipurpose room (lower level), 343 S. Fifth Ave. at William. Free. 327-4560.

7 p.m.
Book Club: Ann Arbor Jaycees. All invited to discuss Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling self-searching travelogue Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia . Borders, 3140 Lohr Rd. Free. 417-3267.

7 p.m.
"Gardening at the Dragon's Gate: At Work in the Wild and Cultivated World": Shaman Drum Bookshop. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review "On Gardening" columnist Wendy Johnson, one of the founders of the Gulch Farm Zen Center (Marin County) organic farm and garden program, reads from her meditative memoir about a lifetime of gardening. Signing. Shaman Drum, 315 S. State. Free. 662-7407.

7:15 p.m.
"Michigan Folklore": Pittsfield Union Grange. Talk by MSU Museum folk arts curator Yvonne Lockwood. Preceded at 6:30 by a potluck supper. Pittsfield Grange, 3337 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. (1'da2 mile south of I-94). Free. 769-1052.

7:30-9:30 p.m.
"Poetry Night": Crazy Wisdom Bookstore & Tea Room. May 7 & 21. Tonight: all invited to read poems and flash fiction by their favorite writers. "Flash fiction" is a term for very short stories, usually 250-1,000 words. Crazy Wisdom, 114 S. Main. Free. 665-2757.

7:30 p.m.
"Antarctica and South Georgia: Penguins and Pintados": Washtenaw Audubon Society. WAS member Richard Miller reports on his photo safari to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd. Free. 677-3275.

Thursday
May, 2008

10-11:30 a.m.
"Information Technology and Its Effects on Us": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Distinguished Lecture Series. Every Thursday, April 17-May 22. A series of 6 lectures by U-M and visiting scholars. Today: U-M vice-provost for academic information John King discusses "How Information Technology Is Changing Learning at the U-M." Best Western Executive Conference Center, 2900 Jackson Rd. $45 (members, $30) for the 6-lecture series. Memberships are $15 a year. Preregistration required. 998-9351.

7 p.m.
James Frey: Liberty Borders. This bestselling author of A Million Little Pieces reads from Bright Shiny Morning, his novel chronicling the lives of a handful of lost souls in Los Angeles - from a supremely narcissistic action-movie star to an aging Venice Beach alcoholic - to create a portrait of contemporary L.A. culture. Signing. Borders, 612 Liberty. Free. 668-7652.

7 p.m.
"An Evening with Kevin Sampsell & Friends": Shaman Drum Bookshop. Future Tense Books publisher Sampsell reads from Creamy Bullets, his new collection of stories that swing from hard realism to bizarre and hilarious realism. Also, readings by Matt Bell and Barry Graham, 2 of Sampsell's fellow contributors to Hobart, a local literary journal whose editor, Aaron Burch, hosts tonight's program. Signing. Shaman Drum, 315 S. State. Free. 662-7407.

7-8:30 p.m.
"Herbs for Pets": People's Food Co-op. Talk by local holistic health practitioner Linda Diane Feldt. Also, recipes for healthy dog treats. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore & Tea Room, 114 S. Main. Free. Reservations requested. 994-4589.

7 p.m.
"Help! I've Got to Lose Some Weight!": Plum Market. Talk by local physician Malcolm Sickels and local nurse practitioner Gaia Kile. Plum Market lounge, Maple Village. Free. 827-5000.

Sunday
May, 2008

2-4 p.m.
Ann Arbor Storytellers Guild.:All invited to listen to guild members swap stories or bring their own to tell. Nicola's Books, Westgate shopping center. Free. 971-5763.

2 p.m.
24th Annual Memorial Day Observance: Arborcrest Memorial Park. This annual tribute features speeches by local public office holders, veterans, and military officers. Attendees include local veteran associations, the junior color guard, a drill team, and several Girl and Boy Scout troops. Live entertainment TBA. Also, a bugle salute. Rain or shine. Refreshments. Arborcrest Memorial Park, 2521 Glazier Way (behind the VA hospital, 1'da4 mile west of Huron Pkwy.). Free. 761-4572.

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