September Virtual Authors
Each virtual talk features the opportunity to participate in author Q&A or pre-submit questions during registration! Read on for details on how to register for these and other upcoming talks.
We look forward to you joining us for exciting author talks this month! Register now!
_8.jpg)
Adam Alter, Anatomy of a Breakthrough Wednesday, September 20 at 2 pm
Join us as we chat with New York Times bestselling author Adam Alter about his new book Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most.
Almost everyone feels stuck in some way. Whether you’re muddling through a midlife crisis, wrestling with writer’s block, trapped in a thankless job, or trying to remedy a fraying friendship, the resulting emotion is usually a mix of anxiety, uncertainty, fear, anger, and numbness. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Anatomy of a Breakthrough is the roadmap we all need to escape our inertia and flourish in the face of friction.
The solution to becoming unstuck rests on a process that Alter calls a friction audit—a systematic procedure that uncovers why a person or organization is stuck and then suggests a path to progress. The friction audit states that people and organizations get unstuck when they overcome three sources of friction: HEART (unhelpful emotions); HEAD (unhelpful patterns of thought); and HABIT (unhelpful behaviors).
Artfully weaving together scientific studies, anecdotes, and interviews, Alter teaches us that getting stuck is a feature rather than a glitch on the road to thriving, but with the right tweaks and corrections, we can reach even our loftiest targets.
_5.jpg)
Amor Towles, On Writing Three International Bestsellers Wednesday, September 27 at 8 pm
Please tune in as we chat online with New York Times bestselling author Amor Towles about his incredible body of work.
Rules of Civility, published in 2011, was a New York Times bestseller and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the year's best books. The book has been translated into over 15 languages and was optioned by Lionsgate to be made into a feature film. Towles’s second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, published in 2016, was on the New York Times bestseller list for two years and was named one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. The book has been translated into over 35 languages. The novel was optioned to be made into a 6-8 hour miniseries starring Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, set to premiere in Spring 2024. Most recently, in 2021, The Lincoln Highway debuted at #1 on the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2021. His books have sold more than 6 million copies worldwide and have been heralded as irresistible, marvelous, and gorgeously crafted books of beauty.
October Virtual Authors
Rick Steves, Europe Through the Back Door Tuesday, October 10 at 4 pm
Join guidebook author and TV host Rick Steves virtually as he shares the latest in smart European travel. In this entertaining, information-packed slideshow lecture, Rick will teach you the secrets of safe, smart, inexpensive travel — low on stress and high on fun. You’ll learn how to travel smoothly and affordably by planning an efficient itinerary, eating and sleeping well, avoiding crowds, packing smartly, and more.
_9.jpg)
Ruth Ware, Zero Days Wednesday, October 18 at 2 pm
You’re invited to tune in as we chat with New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10 and The It Girl as she talks about her newest book, Zero Days.
In the adrenaline fueled thriller, Zero Days, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, and their best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her. Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer.
_6.jpg)
John Irving, The Last Chairlift Thursday, October 26 at 7 pm
You are in for a treat when you join us for an intimate conversation with John Irving as he chats about not only his most recent novel, The Last Chairlift, but also about his prolific body of work and a lifetime spent writing. Irving’s first novel was published when he was just twenty-six years old. He has gone on to be nominated for a National Book Award three times and won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules.
The Last Chairlift, Irving’s self-proclaimed final long novel, begins in Aspen, Colorado in 1941, when Rachel Brewster, a slalom skier, competes at the National Downhill and Slalom Championships. Little Ray, as she is called, finishes nowhere near the podium, but she manages to get pregnant. Back home, in New England, Little Ray becomes a ski instructor. Her son, Adam, grows up in a family that defies conventions and evades questions concerning the eventful past. Years later, looking for answers, Adam will go to Aspen. In the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived, Adam will meet some ghosts; they aren’t the first or the last ghosts he sees.