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June author visits in Wellesley

June 2, 2023 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley Books, 82 Central St., Wellesley Square, will host many authors this month to read from their newest releases, tell a few stories about life as a writer, even give a live martial arts demo. Events listed below are in-person. These are just a few, so to get the full schedule, along with details on fees (if applicable) and how to RSVP,  check here.

WHEN: Tue., June 6, 7pm
AUTHOR: Wellesley’s own Brian McMahon, in conversation with Eileen McNamara, author of Eunice, the Kennedy who Changed the World.
NOVEL: The Fall Will Probably Kill You! (a love story)


WHEN: Mon., June 12, 7pm
AUTHOR: T.H. Forest
NOVEL: Twinkies & Beefcake, a jaw-dropping, coming-of-age tale about bullying, sex, addiction, redemption, and the longing for true love at any cost.


WHEN: Tue. June 13, 7pm, in-person
AUTHOR: Alexander Darwin
NOVEL: The Combat Codes, the first book in this local author’s action-packed science fiction trilogy. This event will include a martial arts demo by the author himself.


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Filed Under: Books

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An hour in a Wellesley garden—library in full bloom at Foundation event

May 18, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley Free Library Foundation celebrated spring with an opening reception for the organization’s “Books in Bloom” fundraising event. Guests moved around both floors of the library to appreciate stunning floral interpretations of much-loved fiction, non-fiction, and picture books. The opening night reception  featured live music by the Wellesley High School MTB Jazz Trio. Guests enjoyed raw bar by Wellesley’s own Row 34 chef-owner Jeremy Sewall; savories from Waski’s Cheese Shop; and treats from Ware Baking Co.

Proceeds from the event help The Library Foundation to fund enhancements such as expansion to the library’s collections in the form of new databases, evolving materials formats, expanded reference materials, and more. Their motto: “We take what you love and make it better.”

The flowers arrangements (along with the food and the open bar) are gone, but here are some pictures.

Wellesley Free Library Foundation, Books in Bloom
Pedestal sponsored by The Lara and Chelsea Collaborative. Book inspiration: The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Floral designer: Alison Campbell, Hen and Chick Gardens

 

 

Wellesley Free Library Foundation, Books in Bloom

 

Wellesley Free Library Foundation, Books in Bloom
Pedestal donated by Justin and Lisa Harrison. Book inspiration: Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea, by Elizabeth Suneby, illustrated by Rebecca Green. Floral designer: Wellesley Natural Resources Commission

 

Wellesley Free Library Foundation, Books in Bloom
Pedestal donated by Sexton Test Prep. Book inspiration: Tails with Gig: Stories from the Dog Blog, by Katherine L. Babson Jr., illustrated by Katherine K. Macdonald. Floral designer: Cindy Jaczko

 

Wellesley Free Library Foundation, Books in Bloom
Pedestal donated by Julia Marriott and David Harding. Book inspiration: The Making of Butterflies, by Zora Neale Hurston, illustrated by Ibram X. Kendi. Floral designer: Petals & Branches

 

Wellesley Free Library Foundation, Books in Bloom
There isn’t always an open bar just outside the library’s Childrens Room. More’s the pity.

 

Wellesley Free Library Foundation, Books in Bloom
Pedestal donated by The Madden Davis Real Estate Group. Book inspiration: Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri. Floral designer: Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild members Judy Terpilowski (left) and Kathleen Carney-Mark. Not pictured: Vivian Baguer Holland

 

Wellesley Free Library Foundation, Books in Bloom
Thanks to Wellesley High School Key Club members for their warm welcome to the event. From left: Seva, Maisie, Anna, Evan, and Dhruv

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Filed Under: Art, Books, Charity/Fundraising, Entertainment, Environment, Food, Gardens, Wellesley Free Library

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Get tickets now for Wellesley Free Library Foundation Books in Bloom opening night reception

May 11, 2023 by admin Leave a Comment

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Books in Bloom, Wellesley

Filed Under: Books, Charity/Fundraising, Entertainment, Wellesley Free Library

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Get your ticket for Wellesley Historical Society Spring Gala

May 1, 2023 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley Country Club
The Wellesley Country Club

Tickets are on sale through May 3 for the Wellesley Historical Society’s annual Spring Gala. The fundraiser will take place on Thursday, May 11, 6:30-9:30pm, at the Wellesley Country Club and features a talk by Edward Achorn, author of The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention that Changed History. Achorn’s riveting read tells all about the vivid, behind-the-scenes story of perhaps the most consequential political moment in American history—Abraham Lincoln’s history-changing nomination to lead the Republican Party in the 1860 presidential election.

Cocktails, dinner, and a jazz pianist will precede Edward Achorn’s presentation. Come “Open the Door to History” at this much-anticipated event.

Filed Under: Books, Entertainment, History

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May author events in Wellesley; Books In Bloom coming to library

May 1, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Upcoming author and book events in Wellesley:

Thursday, May 7, at 7pm: The Wellesley Free Library will host Dan Levitt, author of What’s Gotten Into You: The Story of Your Body’s Atoms, from the Big Bang Through Last Night’s Dinner. The book tells the startling tale of scientific discovery that allows us to trace the epic odysseys of your atoms from the Big Bang to you. In conversation with Toby Lester, author of DaVinci’s Ghost and The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map that Gave America Its Name.

Friends of the Wellesley Free Library
These adorable friends of the Friends of Wellesley Free Library enjoyed the recent Spring Book Sale. Photo by Barbara Marx

Wednesday, May 10, 9:30am: Join the Wellesley College Alumnae of Boston at the Gardens of Elm Bank, 900 Washington St., Wellesley. The Spring Authors on Stage program will feature three engaging writers (an art historian, a memoirist, and a novelist) and their just-published books. There is a fee to attend this event.

Thursday, May 18, 4:30pm: At Wellesley Free Library, come talk with Newbery Award-winning author Lauren Wolk, author of Wolf Hollow, My Own Lightning, and Beyond the Bright Sea.

Books in Bloom

The Wellesley Free Library Foundation will celebrate spring with Books in Bloom, May 12-14. Stop by and view stunning floral interpretations of your favorite books by talented local florists. An opening night reception on May 12, 6:30-9:30pm (21+, ticketed event) will feature an open bar, live music by the Wellesley High School MTB Jazz Trio, and a raw bar presented by Wellesley’s own Row 34 chef-owner Jeremy Sewall.

Proceeds from the event help The Library Foundation to fund enhancements such as expansion to the library’s collections in the form of new databases, evolving materials formats, expanded reference materials, and more.

Floral arrangements will be on view through Sunday, May 14.

More authors visiting Wellesley

Wellesley Books also has a line-up of authors coming in May. Some events require registration and a fee, so check ahead of time. Coming to town: Jamie Harper and Heather Lang (Supermoms! Animal Heroes); Suzy Levinson (Animals in Pants) and Lisa Perron (About My Love for You); Brant MacDuff, taxidermist and conservation historian, to discuss his new book, The Shotgun Conservationist: Why Environmentalists Should Love Hunting; Rinker Buck to promote the paperback release of his 2022 book, Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure; and Karin Lin-Greenberg to discuss her new novel, You Are Here. In conversation with Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light.

Free books

The Wellesley RDF books area is always there for you, ready to accept those books you’re ready to pass on to others, or for your browsing pleasure. That spot with its sagging shelves, crammed with books in no particular order, is one of our Wellesley happy places.

Dump, books section
RDF book swap section, 2016

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Filed Under: Books, Charity/Fundraising

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Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries spring book sale: April 27-30

April 25, 2023 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries holds its spring book sale April 27-30 at the main library at 530 Washington St.

  • A member preview kicks things off on Thursday, April 27, 5-8pm.
  • The public sale takes place Friday, April 28, 9:30am-6pm and Saturday, April 29, 9:30am-5pm.
  • Bag sale is Sunday, April 30 1-4:30pm, $10 per bag.

wellesley library book sale


See something, send something:  theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Filed Under: Books, Wellesley Free Library

Author Malinda Lo speaks to Wellesley High students about her novels, writing career

April 8, 2023 by admin Leave a Comment

 

Malinda Lo
Author Malinda Lo, right, with Wellesley High School seniors, from left, Howard Xu, Zoha Rehan and Sam Reisner. The students read Lo’s 2021 LGBTQ young adult novel “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” for their senior English class, Beyond the Binary.

By contributing reporter Jennifer Bonniwell

Wellesley College graduate and award-winning author Malinda Lo visited Wellesley High School on Thursday. Lo spoke to more than 100 students (in two sessions) about her writing career, winning book awards as a Chinese-American and what she thinks about her LGBTQ young adult novels being banned in some states. Her most recent book, “A Scatter of Light,” is about a Wellesley High School graduate who spends her last summer before college in northern California.

Lo’s 2021 novel “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” is this month’s pick for the WHS Parent Young Adult Book Club.

The next meeting is Tuesday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Wellesley Free Library, first floor cafe.

Malinda Lo
Photo by Jen Bonniwell

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Filed Under: Books, Wellesley High School

Author Ari Berman discusses ‘Give Us The Ballot’; Upcoming author visits in Wellesley

March 25, 2023 by admin Leave a Comment

By contributing reporter Deed Mccollum

World of Wellesley (WOW), in partnership with The League of Women Voters, Wellesley College, and Wellesley Books, hosted a book discussion with award-winning journalist and author Ari Berman about his book, Give Us The Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America.

World of Wellesley, community read
World of Wellesley co-president Rama Ramaswamy (left) directs audience questions to Ari Berman, author of Give Us The Ballot.

Following a short presentation, a diverse group of attendees engaged in a lively discussion about why the right to vote is still under debate; voter suppression; the history of voting rights; and more. Students in the audience asked questions about lowering the voting age to sixteen and discussed taking civics classes in the Wellesley Public Schools. Post- discussion comments included, “I learned so much I didn’t know, even though I lived through the times when the voting rights act was newly enacted,” and, “As a college student, it was super interesting to hear about voter suppression and how states and the federal government deal with this issue—I understand how the vote works so much better after today!”

Mr. Berman signed copies of his book and connected with members of the community after the event. WOW co-president, Rama K. Ramaswamy said, “Many who are eligible to vote take voting rights for granted. Although voting is our most fundamental constitutional right, it’s also a privilege.”

Since 2008, many states have passed measures to make it harder for Americans (BIPOC, elderly, students, non-English speaking citizens, and people with disabilities) to exercise this constitutional right to cast a ballot. In keeping with WOW’s mission to foster and further equity, this important topic and discussion provided the opportunity for reflection on the importance of civic engagement. The World of Wellesley is a bipartisan, charitable, non-profit that provides community-driven, educational programming.

More authors coming to Wellesley

 

March 26, 2pm
Location: Wellesley Free Library
Author: Massachusetts resident Sue Bell, in collaboration with Civil War historian William C. Davis
Book: A Confederate Love Affair: Letters Between a General and His Outspoken Wife


March 30, 7pm
Location: Wellesley Free Library
Author: Wellesley resident Cynthia Wight Rossano
Book: Junkets with Julia: Cheery Memories of Julia Child, is illustrated by Mark Steele, and pays a small tribute to the author’s friend of many years, Julia Child, the renowned ‘French Chef,’ who was arguably the most famous cook of her time throughout the culinary world.


April 1, 2pm
Location: Wellesley Books.
Authors: Cynthia Coddington (a Wellesley resident) and Josephine Hoppe
Cookbook:  Senza Glutine: Timeless Italian Dishes for the Gluten Free Palate
This is a ticketed event.


April 2, 2pm
Location: Wellesley Free Library
Author: Eric Jay Dolin
Book: Rebels At Sea

Maritime historian Eric Jay Dolin will discuss his latest book, Rebels at Sea, which focuses attention on the often- overlooked role of American privateers in winning the American Revolution. Not surprisingly in light of our maritime traditions, many of these privateers were based right here in New England.


April 3, 7pm
Location: Wellesley Books
Event: Poetry Night with poets DeWitt Henry, Caitlin Krause, and Adam Scheffler
Free event


April 4, 7pm
Location: Wellesley Free Library
Author: Sena Desai Gopal
Book: The 86th Village
Free event

Novelist, Sena Desai Gopal, will talk about the story behind the story of her book, The 86th Village. 

“I grew up in a village in Southern India whose days are numbered—in my lifetime it will drown in the backwaters of one of India’s biggest, most ambitious dams, The Upper Krishna Project. One hundred and seventy-six villages will go underwater, and more than 123,000 families will be displaced. The government does not have a concrete rehabilitation plan for the people who will be left homeless and without livelihoods,” Gopal says of the country’s Managed Retreat program.


April 12, 7pm
Location: Wellesley Books
Authors: Marjorie Agosin & Susan Meyer (Meyer is an English professor at Wellesley College)
In conversation with: Celeste Kostopulos-Cooperman
Event topic: Writing Memory
Free event


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Filed Under: Books, Entertainment

Voting rights expert to give talk at Wellesley College

March 20, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

World of Wellesley, author visit

Author of Give Us the Ballot, by Ari Berman will be speaking on Tuesday, March 21, 6:30pm-8:30pm, at Tishman Commons in the Lulu Wang Campus Center at Wellesley College.

Tickets are $5 for this event. Register here.

Ari Berman is a journalist, national voting rights correspondent at Mother Jones, and Reporting Fellow at Type Media Center. Countless books have been written about the civil rights movement, but far less attention has been paid to what happened after the dramatic passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and the turbulent forces it unleashed. Give Us the Ballot provides new insight into one of the most vital political and civil rights issues of our time.

This event is sponsored by World of Wellesley, in partnership with the League of Women Voters, Wellesley College and Wellesley Books. You can purchase a copy of Give Us the Ballot through Wellesley Books.

Previous WOW Community Book Reads

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Books, Embracing diversity

Author to discuss ‘Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier’ at Wellesley Free Library

February 25, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Join Ted Reinstein as he discusses his new book, “Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier,” at Wellesley Free Library at 530 Washington St. (online or in person).

brooklyn book


Got a unique story to share? Let us know at theswellesleyreport@gmail.com


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