Ladies, Lunch, and Literacy

Our First Event of 2012 is January 26, 2012

We start the year with someting completely different. Join us at the Redondo Beach store on Thursday, Janaury 26 when Algonquin Books, the fiercely independent publishing house that launched national bestsellers like Water for Elephants and A Reliable Wife will present their new and forthcoming releases. Craig Popelars, Algonquin's director of marketing, will share with you his recommendations for great book club picks.

With Craig will be Algonquin debut novelist Naomi Benaron who will talk about her Bellwether Prize winning novel and #1 Indie Next Pick for January, Running the Rift. Here are the event details:

Date: Thursday, January 26, 2012

Time: 11:30am to 1:30pm

Place: Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, 2810 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach, CA 90278 ( 310.542.6000)

Cost: $20, includes a light lunch, free books, a chance to win some fabulous prizes, and a contribution to PEN in the Classroom, our 2012 Non-Profit Literacy beneficiary.

Reservations are made through our store in Redondo Beach. You may call (310.542.6000). We can take credit cards over the phone or you can send a check to Mysterious Galaxy, 2810 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90278. You may also make your reservation the next time you visit Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach!

About Ladies, Lunch, and Literacy

Ladies, Lunch, and Literacy is an off-site event program that invites selected authors to lunch in a personalized setting. Join the Ladies, Lunch and Literacy email list (See join our Email list on the sidebar) if you are interested in:

• Having lunch with new authors. Lunches are held in Los Angeles and San Diego
• Meeting other readers and building a community that loves to learn about, and talk about new books
• Receiving a signed first edition from a promising new writer and creating buzz and book group interest for a debut author
• Supporting a non-profit literacy-based organization with part of the proceeds from our events
• Eating lunch at local, independently owned venues

Our 2012 Non Profit Literacy Partner

The non-profit beneficiary of our Ladies, Lunch, and Literacy events in 2010 will be PEN in the Classroom. PEN in the Classroom funds writing programs that are brought into schools and focus on at-risk students, teaching them how to discover their own voices as writers. This twelve week program culminates in a printed anthology containing each student's work. The impact of the class on the lives of these students is truly life changing. Meet Executive Director Adam Somers and some of the students and teachers that have been impacted by this program throughout this year's LLL events.

Running the Rift (Hardcover)

By Naomi Benaron

$24.95

ISBN-13: 9781616200428
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1/2012

Other Editions of this Title

"Running the Rift" follows Jean Patrick Nkuba, a gifted Rwandan boy, from the day he knows that running will be his life to the moment he must run to save his life, a ten-year span in which his country is undone by the Hutu-Tutsi tensions. Born a Tutsi, he is thrust into a world where it 's impossible to stay apolitical where the man who used to sell you gifts for your family now spews hatred, where the girl who flirted with you in the lunchroom refuses to look at you, where your Hutu coach is secretly training the very soldiers who will hunt down your family. Yet in an environment increasingly restrictive for the Tutsi, he holds fast to his dream of becoming Rwanda 's first Olympic medal contender in track, a feat he believes might deliver him and his people from this violence. When the killing begins, Jean Patrick is forced to flee, leaving behind the woman, the family, and the country he loves. Finding them again is the race of his life.

This is the third Bellwether Prize winner published by Algonquin. The Bellwether Prize is awarded biennially by Barbara Kingsolver for an unpublished novel that addresses issues of social justice and was previously awarded to "The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" and "Mudbound."

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The Book of Jonas (Hardcover)

By Stephen Dau

$24.95

ISBN-13: 9780399158452
Availability: Coming Soon - Available for Pre-Order Now
Published: Blue Rider Press, 3/2012

Other Editions of this Title

Beautifully told with underlying themes of war, family, and survival, The Book of Jonas cautiously reveals Jonas’ past and his present assimilation into a new life in the United States. Jonas is originally from an unnamed Muslim country where a military operation destroyed his home and his family. We know we will learn Jonas’ secrets as we get to know him, and it is his search for his memory and for his survival that carry us breathlessly through his narrative.

It is also the story of an American soldier and his mother, who searches for the truth about her son as she tries to put a life together without him. Secrets are slowly revealed and closure comes with the hope of peace … in a beautifully written debut. Meet Stephen in March at Ladies, Lunch, and Literacy events.

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