With support from the Sanibel Public Library Foundation, the SPL launched a series of virtual author talks; a range of talks from bestselling authors and thought leaders.
Register for online author talks! Each webinar will include the opportunity for you to ask questions.
Back in a Spell: Virtual Author Talk with Lana Harper
Author of Payback’s a Witch and From Bad to Cursed
7 PM on Thursday, February 9, 2023
Register for this author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sanlib/22709
Join us for a magical evening with New York Times bestselling author Lana Harper as she discusses the enchanting third installment of her immensely popular The Witches of Thistle Grove series, Back in a Spell.
“Harper’s (Payback’s a Witch) continues “The Witches of Thistle Grove” series strong, delivering a second installment packed with mystery, danger, lots of love-to-hate-you foreplay, family drama, and an identity crisis thrown in. Sound like a lot? It is, but still oh so fun. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal, starred review
“Atmospheric and lush, this captivating story ignites the senses. The magic lends itself to big, cinematic scenes, while conflicts about familial expectations and mental health struggles ground the story with realness. The romantic relationship is emotionally rich and deliciously sexy. Issa’s wry first-person narrative effortlessly ties together the mystery, fantasy, and romance elements.”—Kirkus, starred review
“Lana Harper has created an enthralling witchy world, filled with wonderfully offbeat and diverse characters. The rom-com is spiced with moments of danger and horror and is an entertaining read.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
“This book puts the romance in necromancy.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Enemies-to-lovers set among rival witch families in a magical town—say no more.”—USA Today
About the Author: Lana Harper is the New York Times bestselling author of the Witches of Thistle Grove series, including Payback’s a Witch, From Bad to Cursed, and Back in Spell. Writing as Lana Popović, she has also written four YA novels about modern-day witches and historical murderesses. Born in Serbia, Lana grew up in Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria before moving to the US, where she studied psychology and literature at Yale University, law at Boston University, and publishing at Emerson College. She lives in Chicago, where she spends most of her time plotting witchy stories and equally witchy tattoos.
To borrow Libby ebooks by Lana Harper: https://libbyapp.com/search/sanibel/creator-2431712/page-1
Tastes Like War: Virtual Author Talk with Grace M. Cho
2021 National Book Award Finalist and TIME and NPR Best Book of the Year
1 PM on Thursday, February 16, 2023
Register for this author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sanlib/22931
Grace M. Cho grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. They were one of few immigrants in a xenophobic small town during the Cold War, where identity was politicized by everyday details—language, cultural references, memories, and food. When Grace was fifteen, her dynamic mother experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue and evolve for the rest of her life.
Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, Tastes Like War is a hybrid text about a daughter’s search through intimate and global history for the roots of her mother’s schizophrenia. In her mother’s final years, Grace learned to cook dishes from her mother’s childhood in order to invite the past into the present, and to hold space for her mother’s multiple voices at the table. And through careful listening over these shared meals, Grace discovered not only the things that broke the brilliant, complicated woman who raised her—but also the things that kept her alive.
About the Author: Grace M. Cho is Associate Professor of Sociology at the College of Staten Island. She received a PhD in Sociology and Women’s Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center and an MEd from Harvard School of Education. Her work crosses disciplinary boundaries and seeks to engage popular audiences. From 2005 to 2007 she was a contributing performance artist for Still Present Pasts: Korean Americans and the Forgotten War, a collaborative art project based on the oral histories of Korean War survivors and their children. Her participation in Still Present Pasts influenced the form and content of her first book, Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Secrecy and the Forgotten War (University of Minnesota, 2008) which combined fiction, performance, autoethnography and sociological research. It won a 2010 book award from the American Sociological Association for its innovative methodology. Her second book, Tastes Like War, was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Nonfiction and the winner of the 2022 Asian Pacific American Literature Award for Adult Nonfiction.
To borrow Cho’s book in print: Sanibel Public Library catalog
To borrow Cho’s Libby ebook
Virtual Author Talk with with Sadeqa Johnson:
Award-Winning Author of Yellow Wife
4 PM on Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Register for this author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sanlib/24119
Register for an invigorating conversation with highly acclaimed author Sadeqa Johnson as she talks about her brand new novel, The House of Eve!
In The House of Eve, Fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising her daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed onto her like a birthright.
Eleanor Quarles arrived in Washington DC with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t just let anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.
The lives of these two women collide in the most unexpected way as they both face life altering decisions. The House of Eve is a fast-paced, harrowing story that hinges on what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.
About the Author: Sadeqa Johnson is the award-winning author of four novels, including Yellow Wife. Her accolades include the National Book Club Award, the Phillis Wheatley Book Award, and the USA Best Book Award for Best Fiction. She is a Kimbilio Fellow, former board member of the James River Writers, and a Tall Poppy Writer. Originally from Philadelphia, she currently lives near Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and three children. To learn more, visit SadeqaJohnson.net.
Virtual Author Talk with Cassandra Clare
Bestselling Author of “The Mortal Instruments” Series
Postponed – New Date To Be Announced
Join us for an exciting evening online as we chat with mega-bestselling author, Cassandra Clare, about her newest and final book in The Last Hours series, Chain of Thorns.
In Chain of Gold, the first book of The Last Hours Series, the readers meet Cordelia. Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else. But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that their own connection to a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers—and will soon learn the true cruel price of being a hero.
Chain of Iron, the second book in the series, Cordelia seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’ charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade. Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.
In the third and final installment in the series, Chain of Thorns, Cordelia has lost everything that matters to her. Even worse, she is now bound to an ancient demon, Lilith, stripping her of her power as a Shadowhunter. After fleeing to Paris, Cordelia hopes to forget her sorrows in the city’s glittering nightlife. But reality intrudes when shocking news comes from home: London is under new threat by the Prince of Hell, Belial. Cordelia returns to a London riven by chaos and dissent. The long-kept secret that Belial is James and Lucie’s grandfather has been revealed by an unexpected enemy, and the Herondales find themselves under suspicion of dealings with demons. Left alone in a shadowy London, they must face Belial’s deadly army. If Cordelia and her friends are going to save their city—and their families—they will have to muster their courage, swallow their pride, and trust one another again. For if they fail, they may lose everything—even their souls.
About the Author: Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Teheran, Iran and spent much of her childhood traveling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.
After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004. Her first book, The City of Bones, became and led to numerous instant #1 New York Times and USA Today Bestsellers including but not limited to The rest of The Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices series, and The Last Hours series.
You can borrow her e-audiobooks via Hoopla app.
To borrow Clare’s books in print: Sanibel Public Library catalog
To borrow Clare’s Libby ebooks: https://libbyapp.com/search/sanibel/creator-455246/page-1
Previous Talks:
Virtual Author Talk with Namina Forna The Gilded Ones Series
2 PM EST on Thursday, January 12, 2023
Register for this author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sanlib/21566
Join us for an action-packed conversation with New York Times bestselling author of The Gilded Ones Series in a discussion about her second installment in the series, The Merciless Ones.
To borrow books by Namina Forna in print: Sanibel Public Library catalog
Virtual Author Talk with Dana K. White “Decluttering to Start Your New Year”
2 PM EST on Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Register for this author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sanlib/21773
You’re invited to start your new year calm and collected by learning to become better organized and clutter-free with Dana K. White, creator of popular podcast and blog, A Slob Comes Clean, as she imparts tips from her books Organizing for the Rest of Us and Decluttering at the Speed of Life.
While the world seems to be in love with the idea of tiny houses and minimalism, many of us simply can’t purge it all and start from nothing. Yet, a home with too much stuff is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin? Add in paralyzing emotional attachments and constant life challenges, and it can feel almost impossible to make real decluttering progress. If the thought of decluttering overwhelms you, Dana White’s humor and practical, reality-based tips will give you exactly what you need to start making an impact on your space. In this deep-dive webinar, Dana will share actionable mindset shifts that will free you to make fast decluttering progress using minimal emotional energy. In addition, she offers sustainable ideas to simplify and manage your home and will teach you how to make great strides with minimal effort in every room of our home.
About the author: Dana K. White is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a Decluttering Expert. Dana shares realistic home management strategies and a message of hope for the hopelessly messy in her books: Organizing for the Rest of Us, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, and How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind through her blog, podcast, and videos at ASlobComesClean.com.
To borrow White’s book in print: Sanibel Public Library catalog
xkcd Webcomic and What if? Series Creator – Virtual Author Talk with Randall Munroe
2 PM EST on Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Register for this author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sanlib/21773
Please join for what is sure to be the most fun-filled hour of the day as we chat online with Randall Munroe about his new book What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.
The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist.
Unfazed by absurdity, Randall consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airplane-catapult design to clearly and concisely answer his readers’ questions. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances.
Filled with bonkers science, boundless curiosity, and Randall’s signature stick-figure comics, What if? 2 provides his best answers yet to the weirdest questions you never thought to ask.
About the Author: Randall Munroe is the creator of the webcomic xkcd and author of What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words, How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real World Problems, and What if? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. He studyied physics at Christopher Newport University, then got a job building robots at NASA Langley Research Center. In 2006 he left NASA to draw comics on the internet full time and has since been nominated for a Hugo Award three times. In 2013, the International Astronomical Union named an asteroid after him: asteroid 4942 Munroe is big enough to cause mass extinction if it ever hits a planet like Earth.
To borrow Randall Munroe’s books in print: Sanibel Public Library catalog
