Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, is known for sponsoring free talks by authors and other book-related programs.
On Tuesday, July 17, at 6:30 p.m., its fifth annual Local Author Festival of free panel discussions and solo talks will continue with a panel discussion by authors of lifestyle books, featuring Elizabeth M. Adler, Amy Alamar, Janet Verney, Judith Dreyer, Cynthia Mazzaferro, Katherine Hauswirth and Elizabeth Hill.
On Thursday, July 19, at 6:30 p.m., the festival will present an appearance by sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine, who live in Connecticut and Maryland, respectively, and write together using the pen name Liv Constantine. They will discuss their best-selling novel, “The Last Mrs. Parrish,” a thriller about jealousy, revenge and intrigue set in Connecticut. The sisters also will give a free reading on Monday, July 16, at 5:30 p.m., at UConn Barnes & Noble bookstore, 1 Royce Circle, Storrs (Information: 860-486-8525).
On Wednesday, July 18, at 10:30 a.m., the library’s monthly Morning Book Club will offer a discussion of “The Lion Is In,” by Delia Ephron, a novel in which three women pursue self-discovery with the help of a retired circus lion. On Aug. 15, the book to be discussed is “In the Unlikely Event,” a novel based on real events, by Judy Blume. On Sept. 26. the club will discuss “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles, about a man ordered to live out his life in a luxury hotel.
Copies can be borrowed from the library’s Reference Desk. Information: 860-673-9712 or avonctlibrary.info.
Connecticut Authors Trail
The 10th Annual Connecticut Authors Trail, a series of free talks by local authors presented by a group of Eastern Connecticut libraries, continues with three events.
On Monday, July 16, at 7 p.m. at The Mystic & Noank Library, 40 Library St., Mystic, journalist Charles Monagan, a former columnist and editor of Connecticut Magazine who has published 10 books of fiction and nonfiction, will speak. His most recent book is “Connecticut Icons: Classic Symbols of the Nutmeg State,” which is based on his magazine columns about places, natural features, buildings, food and more that are characteristically “Connecticut.” (Information: 860-536-7721 or info@mysticnoanklibrary.org.)
On Tuesday, July 17, at 6:30 p.m. at Trumbull Library, 580 Exeter Road, Lebanon, Karen E. Olson, of North Haven, the award-winning author of the Black Hat Thriller series and Annie Seymour and Tattoo Shop mystery series, will speak. Olsen’s latest is “Betrayed,” about a former computer hacker hiding out off the grid on Block Island who is trying to escape a person from her past who is out to harm her. (Information: 860-642-7763 or lebanonctlibrary.org.)
On Wednesday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. at Tolland Public Library, 21 Tolland Green, Tolland, Richard H. Pfau, an author, professor and researcher into human behavior, will discuss his book, “Your Behavior: Understanding and Changing the Things You Do,” which challenges older psychological theories. The book is a guide to understanding behavior and to changing it, if desired. (Information: 860-871-3600 or tolland.org/library.)
The trail will end Sept. 20 at Mohegan Sun Casino’s Cabaret Theatre with a free event featuring a talk by best-selling author Amy Bloom. Free event guide “passports” will be distributed by the libraries and stamped to make the bearer eligible for a prize at the finale.
General information: connecticutauthorstrail.org.
Bank Square Books
Elyse Major will sign copies of her book, “I Modify IKEA,” on Sunday, July 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Bank Square Books, 53 W Main St., Mystic. The book offers ideas for customizing IKEA furniture and accessories, with 200 step-by-step illustrations and instructions. Major also is the author of “Tinkered Treasures” and “Seaside Tinkered Treasures,” as well as the blog, tinkeredtreasures.com.
On Wednesday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m., author and journalist Mike Stanton will give a free talk about “Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World,” his biography of the heavyweight champion. Marciano, the son of poor Italian immigrants, never lost a professional fight, achieving a record of 49 wins and no defeats. Stanton, of Rhode Island, also published the best-seller, “The Prince of Providence: The Rise and Fall of Buddy Cianci, America’s Most Notorious Mayor.” Stanton is an associate professor of journalism at UConn and headed the Providence Journal’s investigative team, which won a Pulitzer Prize.
Information: 860-536-3795 or banksquarebooks.com.
R.J. Julia Events
R. J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison, will host three authors who will give free talks. They will take place at 7 p.m. and require reservations: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
On Tuesday, July 17, Fatima Farheen Mirza will discuss her novel, “A Place for Us,” in which members of an Indian family who have gathered for a wedding must face the choices that have estranged them. Mirza is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a recipient of the Michener-Copernicus Fellowship.
On Wednesday, July 18, Denver author Joanna Luloff will talk about her book, “Remind Me Again What Happened,” a novel about a young woman struggling to regain her memory and uncover the circumstances that led to its loss. Luloff’s story collection, “The Beach at Galle Road,” is a Barnes & Noble Discover selection.
On Thursday, July 19, Cara Black will discuss her 18th Aimee Leduc Investigation mystery series novel, “Murder on the Left Bank,” which involves a dying old man’s confession, dirty cops, the laundering of stolen money and a missing notebook full of damning information. Black, who lives in San Francisco, is a frequent traveler to France.
River Reads
Riverfront Recapture and the Hartford Public Library are co-sponsoring free River Reads events on Wednesdays at noon through Aug. 29 at Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, 300 Columbus Blvd., Hartford, a landscaped park over I-91 with a stage at the water’s edge. The programs will focus on a different book each week, with guest readers. Participants are encouraged to bring a lunch and take a book from the mobile library.
Information: riverfront.org/events/riverreads or 860-713-3131 or hplct.org or 860-695-6300.
