A true tale of a wedding gone awry, a story involving a helper monkey and a novel about friendship and survival will be discussed at free events at R.J. Julia Booksellers. 768 Boston Post Road. Madison. All require reservations: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
On Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m., Jeanne McCulloch will talk about her memoir, “All Happy Families.” It tells how her wedding was nearly canceled when her alcoholic father suffers a stroke, and the lasting aftereffects on her family and her in-laws. McCulloch is a former managing editor of the Paris Review, a former senior editor of Tin House magazine and founding editorial director of Tin House Books.
On Wednesday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m., Connecticut author Katharine Weber will discuss her latest novel, “Still Life with Monkey,” about a paralyzed architect who loses the will to live until his wife brings him Ottoline, a trained helper monkey that assists him with basic tasks. His life improves, but is it enough? Weber is the author of five novels: “True Confections,” “Triangle,” “The Little Women,” “The Music Lesson” and “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear,” and the memoir, “The Memory of All That: George Gershwin, Kay Swift, and My Family’s Legacy of Infidelities.” She holds the Thomas Chair in creative writing at Kenyon College.
On Thursday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m. Connecticut novelist Kristan Higgins will engage in conversation with comedian Lisa Lampanelli about Higgins’ new book, “Good Luck With That.” It is the story of a friendship among three women and a dying wish by one that affects the lives of the surviving two. Higgins is the best-selling author of nearly 20 books and has won awards for her romance novels. Lampanelli, a former insult comedian known as the Queen of Mean, lost more than 100 pounds with bariatric surgery and now helps others through storytelling events, workshops and coaching.
“The Rhino In Right Field”
As part of a “Reading in Summer Night” event at the Hartford Yard Goats baseball game on Thursday, Aug. 23, from 7:05 to 9:05 p.m., at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, 1214 Main St., Hartford, 100 copies of the children’s book, “The Rhino in Right Field,” by Connecticut author Stacy DeKeyser, will be distributed. The Yard Goats are joining Connecticut libraries to celebrate summer reading. DeKeyser will sign books at the event.
The book for middle-grade readers is about a boy and girl competing to be “batboy for a day” for their local minor league team. Obstacles include fooling the boy’s immigrant parents, who want him to work that day, avoiding the school bully and rescuing balls from Tank, a menacing rhino whose zoo pen is next to the ballpark’s right field fence. stacydekeyser@gmail.com.
Twain, Stowe And CCC
Capital Community College will join the Mark Twain House & Museum and Harriet Beecher Stowe Center for the fourth year to offer English 220 Studies in American Literature: Twain and Stowe. The three-credit hybrid course (also available as non-credit), combines in-person and online classes and will meet every other Wednesday from 2 to 4:42 p.m., alternating between the Stowe and Twain houses and online. The first class will be Aug. 29 at the Twain House, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford.
Students will read and discuss works by two of American literature’s most influential authors who both lived in Hartford, and will have access to houses and materials at the neighboring landmarks. CCC’s Humanities Chair, Jeffrey Partridge, will teach, with assistance from Stowe and Twain museum staffs. The course will include other Nook Farm authors, such as Charles Dudley Warner, Isabella Beecher Hooker and Catherine Beecher and will explore how their progressive concerns connect to current human rights issues.
Registration and cost information: capitalcc.edu/hhp/courses and 860-906-5077.
Bank Square Books
Bank Square Books and Groton Public Library will present a free talk by Connecticut author and historian David Frye about “Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick” on Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. at the library, 52 Newtown Road, Groton. This history of mankind’s greatest constructed barriers explains why they were built and how they affected the civilizations they protected and divided. Frye teaches ancient and medieval history at ECSU.
On Wednesday, Aug. 22, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Cottrell Brewing Company, 100 Mechanic St., Pawcatuck, a Beer & Books event will feature free beer samples and a talk by local author Holly Zimmermann about “Ultramarathon Mom: From the Sahara to the Arctic.” Zimmermann, a mother of four, is an American extreme sports athlete who has competed in mountain and desert ultras, mud runs, endurance bike races and a marathon in the Arctic.
On Thursday, Aug. 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the bookstore, journalist and author Keith O’Brien will discuss his nonfiction book, “Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History.” It is about five women, including Amelia Earhart, who beat male pilots in national air races in the 1920s and 1930s. O’Brien is a former reporter for the Boston Globe and a contributor to NPR and Politico.
On Saturday, Aug. 25, from 1 to 3 p.m., the bookstore will host a talk and signing by Connecticut author Michael Belanger for his debut young adult novel, “The History of Jane Doe,” a funny yet poignant coming of age tale about first love and loss and the power of history. He will discuss the book and the process of getting it published. Belanger is a high school history teacher.
Information: 860-536-3795 or banksquarebooks.com.
Connecticut Authors Trail
The Tenth Annual Connecticut Authors Trail, a series of free talks by local authors presented by a group of Eastern Connecticut libraries, will continue Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. at East Lyme Public Library, 39 Society Road, Niantic (860-739-6926) with an appearance by Pat Kelbaugh, of Niantic, an artist and author of the paranormal fantasy series “Dreamtime,” which is set in southeast Connecticut.
On Wednesday, Aug. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at Cragin Memorial Library, 8 Linwood Ave., Colchester (860-537-5752), clinical psychologist Roberta Isleib, who uses the pen name Lucy Burdette, will speak. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and a past president of Sisters in Crime and the author of 16 mysteries, including “Death on the Menu,” the latest in her Key West food critic series, and lives in Madison and Key West.
On Thursday, Aug. 23, at 6:30 p.m. at Andover Public Library, 355 US-6, Andover (860-742-7428), Shawn Peterson, company archivist and historian at PEZ Candy, Inc., will discuss his book, “PEZ: From American Invention to American Icon.” He also wrote “The Collector’s Guide to PEZ.”
The trail will end Sept. 20 at Mohegan Sun Casino’s Cabaret Theatre with a party and free talk by best-selling author Amy Bloom.
General information: connecticutauthorstrail.org.
Avon Local Authors Festival
The annual free Local Authors festival at Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, will conclude on Thursday, Aug. 23, at 6:30 p.m. with a nonfiction author panel discussion featuring Matthew Dicks, Brian Jud, Lisa G. Samia, Laura Noe, Dawn Hoffman and Twinkle Shah. 860-673-9712 or avonctlibrary.info.
Poetry in the Park
Doug Anderson will give a free reading on Thursday, Aug. 23, at 6:30 p.m., at Julia de Burgos Park, Poet’s Corner, Jackson Street and Terry Avenue, Willimantic, for the annual free Poetry in the Park series hosted by the Curbstone Foundation. Guests may sit in the stone amphitheater or bring their own seating.
Anderson is a Pushcart Prize-winning poet, memoirist, fiction writer and photographer. His books include “Keep Your Head Down: Vietnam, the Sixties,” “Blues for Unemployed Secret Police;” “The Moon Reflected Fire;” and “Horse Medicine.” facebook.com/Poetry-in-the-Park or 860-287-8056.
Holocaust Survivor Memoirs
Enfield Public Library, 104 Middle Road, Enfield, will host author Hanna Perlstein Marcus on Saturday, Aug. 25, at 2 p.m. Marcus will discuss her memoirs, “Sidonia’s Thread” and “Surviving Remnant,” part of a planned trilogy about how her single immigrant mother survived the Holocaust, came to the Springfield area and thrived as a dressmaker and designer. hannamarcus1@yahoo.com or 860-763-7510.
Sunday Series Poetry
Clinton Art Gallery’s 2018 Sunday Series poetry readings will continue Sunday, Aug. 19, at 2 p.m., with a reading at Olcott Art Center, 20 E. Main St., Clinton, by Connecticut poets Marilyn Nelson and Barbara Batt. It will include an open mic, art and crafts on display and information about art and writing workshops.
Nelson is the author or translator of 20 poetry collections. “Carver: A Life in Poems” won Newbery Honors, Coretta Scott King Honors and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. She was Connecticut state poet laureate from 2001 to 2006 and is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and poet-in-residence of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Batt has been published in literary journals and won awards from the Connecticut Authors and Poets Association and the Connecticut Poetry Society. pattonybarone@aol.com or 203-627-4148.
