Today's Featured Books— Events

Free online: Third Thursday Quick Read. Sponsored by Strong Women, Strange Worlds, this reading series offers a "tasting menu" of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories. Six authors will each have 8 minutes to tempt and tantalizing you with their reading. Thursday, May 16, 6 - 7 PM CDT. 

“Miracles surround us at every turn, if we but sharpen our perceptions to them.” ~Willa Cather

Free online: Coffee and a Short Story. Hosted online by the New York Public Library, this series invites booklovers to join an online discussion of a selected short story. This week, the NYPL staff will discuss "A Report for an Academy" by Franz Kafka. Tuesday, May 14, 12-1 PM EDT. 

"We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes." ~Franz Kafka

Free online: The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Sante Fe, New Mexico, is dedicated to the artistic legacy of Georgia O’Keeffe and her contributions to American Modernism. The museum website offers creative activities, stories, and education about Georgia O’Keeffe’s life, along with several virtual exhibits available through Google Arts and Culture. 

"My painting is what I have to give back to the world for what the world gives to me." ~Georgia O'Keeffe

Free online: Memories at the Museum. In the virtual tour of the San Diego Museum of Art, docents with the Memories at the Museum program engage people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and an accompanying family member or friend in discussions about artwork to stimulate visual and verbal abilities, and to spark memory. Tuesday, May 7, 2 - 3 PM PDT. 

"Gratitude is the heart's memory." ~French proverb

Free online: The Back Room. Join authors Ashley Elston, Michael Koryta, K.T. Nguyen, and Kaira Rouda for this virtual cocktail party. The program begins with brief introductions, a game of 20 questions, and book recommendations from the authors. Attendees are then divided into breakout rooms that will be visited by each author. Everyone’s video is turned on and their mics are open so you can chat with the authors about whatever you like. Sunday, May 5, 6 - 8 PM CDT.

"May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope." ~Emily Brontë

Free online tonight: Friends & Fiction. Join the hosts of this popular web show as they interview bestselling authors. Tonight's guest: Janet Skeslien Charles, a New York Times and international bestselling author whose work has been translated into 37 languages. Wednesday, May 1, 7 PM EST.

"Books and ideas are like blood; they need to circulate, and they keep us alive." ~Janet Skeslien Charles, The Paris Library

Free online: Elevate Your Life, practical steps to take charge of your life. Join this free virtual event featuring five keynote speakers on such topics as "Ignite Your Intuition," "Claiming and Staking Your Boundaries," "Triumph over Trauma," and more. Saturday, April 27, 10 AM - 1 PM PST.

"If you own this story you get to write the ending." ~Brené Brown

Free online: Literary Editions 2024. Hosted by the University of Alberta Press, this listening party will feature poetry from UAlberta Press’ newest collections: That Audible Slippage by Margaret Christakos, Deviant by Patrick Grace, and Northerny by Dawn Macdonald. Wednesday, April 24, 5:00 - 6:30 MT.

"Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash." ~Leonard Cohen

Free online: Earth Week Speaker Series. Earth Day is April 22, and the SWBR design firm is sponsoring a weeklong speaker series on such topics as architecture, sustainability policy, community planning, and more. April 22 - 26. 

"Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known." ~Carl Sagan

Free online: The Back Room. LitNuts often recommends The Back Room events because of their unique format: Each event starts with a short introduction to a panel of four authors. The audience is then divided into four breakout rooms. Everyone’s video is turned on and their mics are unmuted, allowing for informal, face-to-face discussion. It’s all very relaxed and casual and fun—like a virtual cocktail party! This week's authors are Rene Denfeld, Paul Doiron, Nick Medina, and Robin Peguero. Sunday, April 21, 6 - 8 PM CDT.

"Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won’t be invited to cocktail parties." ~Oscar Wilde

Free online: Strong Women, Strange Worlds. Join this First Friday/Third Thursday event, which is essentially a "tasting menu" of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories. Each session features six authors who will each have eight minutes to tempt and tantalizing you with their reading. Thursday, April 18, 6 - 7 PM CDT. 

"Certain places seem to exist mainly because someone has written about them." ~Joan Didion

Free online: Unleashing the Magic of Everyday Discoveries, sponsored by Nikon. Join photographer Audrey Woulard for this free online class on street photography and learn to discover the extraordinary in seemingly ordinary places along the street. Tuesday, April 16, 6 - 7 PM CST. 

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” ~Ansel Adams

Free online: Join Rogue Reads for a star-studded night with authors Anne Hillerman (Lost Birds), Lisa Gardner (Still See You Everywhere), Robert Dugoni (A Killing on the Hill), and Carter Wilson (The Father She Went to Find). All authors will be participating "live" to talk about their new books and take your questions. Monday, April 15, 7 PM EST. 

"The true nature of the human heart is as whimsical as spring weather. All signals may aim toward a fall of rain when suddenly the skies will clear." ~Maya Angelou

Free online: What's New in Historical Fiction. Join Colin Mustful, founder of History Through Fiction, for a panel discussion featuring Jennifer Ryan, author of The Underground Library; K.D. Alden, author of Lady Codebreaker; Sara Donati, author of The Sweet Blue Distance; and Lora Chilton, author of 1666. Monday, April 8, 7 - 8 PM CDT.

"If you want to understand today you have to search yesterday." ~Pearl S. Buck

Free online: The Back Room. Join authors Erin E. Adams, Lisa Gardner, Karen E. Olson, and Carter Wilson for an evening of great conversation. Sunday, April 7, 6 - 8 PM CDT. 

"The sun just touched the morning; / The morning, happy thing, / Supposed that he had come to dwell, / And life would be all spring." ~Emily Dickinson

Free online: Friends & Fiction. Every Wednesday at 7 PM ET, four NYT bestselling authors (Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Patti Callahan Henry) host "Friends & Fiction" and chat with some of the biggest names in publishing about the books the literary world is buzzing about. They also have an archive of 200+ past episodes that you can watch on demand. Wednesday, April 3, 7 PM ET.

"There is no surer foundation for a beautiful friendship than a mutual taste in literature." ~P.G. Wodehouse

Free online: A Sweeping History of Food and Culture. Virtually step into the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History with Curator Paula Johnson as she discusses the book Smithsonian American Table: The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us, a sweeping history of food and culture that summons everyone to the table for a fresh look at some of the people, ingredients, events, and movements that have shaped how and what we eat. Tuesday, April 2, 2:00 PM EDT.

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." ~Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Free online: The Art Institute of Chicago "Essentials" Tour. Spend some time with AIC's most iconic works of art and get insights from the experts with this special video series, including close looks at Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884, Vincent van Gogh’s The Bedroom, Marc Chagall’s America Windows, Archibald John Motley Jr.’s Nightlife, and more. Watch the videos anytime, on demand. You can also keep an eye on the calendar of AIC free online events. 

"In art, as in life, everything is possible as long as it is based on love." ~Marc Chagall

Free online: A virtual tour of Rome's private art collections! Experience the opulence of the Borghese Gallery and its Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces. Wander through the historic halls of Palazzo Colonna, adorned with breathtaking artworks and architectural marvels. Explore Palazzo Spada, where the fusion of art and illusion creates a captivating experience. Step into the serene grandeur of the Doria Pamphilj and its treasure trove of art. Conclude with the Farnesina, a Renaissance gem that houses some of the most exquisite frescoes by Raphael. Thursday, March 28, 9 PM Rome, 8 PM London, 4 PM NYC, 1 PM LA.

"I went to see this picture [Raphael's Madonna della Sedia] just to have a good laugh – and I found myself in front of the most wonderfully free, solid, simple, alive painting it is possible to imagine." ~Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1882

Last call! Be part of a unique publishing project by participating in The Chimera Snare: Fragments Kickstarter campaign. The Chimera Snare is a new dark fantasy series, and readers who participate in the Kickstarter campaign can choose from a variety of rewards, including specially curated goods from a selection of independent artisans. Backers will also be acknowledged in the book's credits.

"What you pour out into the world is poured right back into you." ~Matshona Dhliwayo

Free online: B&N conversation with Rebecca Serle, author of Expiration Dates, a gripping and emotional novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of them for ourselves. Sunday, March 24 at 7 PM ET / 6 PM CT / 5 PM MT / 4 PM PT. 

"Worrying is wishing for what you don’t want." ~Rebecca Serle

Free online: Uffizi Gallery Virtual Tour – The Unmissable Masterpieces Discover one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world: the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. A professional guide will tell you everything you need to know about the Museum and its priceless masterpieces by Giotto, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Caravaggio, and many others. Thursday, March 21, 2 - 3 PM CDT.

"Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation...even so does inaction sap the vigour of the mind." ~Leonardo da Vinci

Free online: Blaney Lecture. Join the American Academy of Poets for the 2024 Blaney Lecture: "Making the Invisible Visible: Poetry, Science, Perception-Increase, and Change" delivered by Jane Hirshfield, Chancellor Emerita of the Academy of American Poets. Tuesday, March 19, at 4:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. ET.

“Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness.” ~Alice Walker

We all love books, right? And what goes well with books? Coffee? Definitely. And wine? You bet!

With that thought in mind, we're recommending something fun for this weekend: A virtual tour of Greve, an enchanting Italian village known as the Pearl of Chianti. Whether you're a wine enthusiast, a lover of Italian culture, or simply in search of a unique virtual adventure, this immersive experience will transport you to the picturesque streets and rolling hills of Greve in Tuscany, known as the gateway to the Chianti wine region. Sunday, March 17: 5 PM in Rome, 4 PM in London, 12 PM in NYC, 9 AM in LA. 

“Language is wine upon the lips.” ~Virginia Woolf

Free online: Cultivating Resilience and Joy in Art-Making. Hosted by the Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco, artists Tara Daly, Mary Finlayson, Rachel Kaye, and Sarah Thibault come together to talk about their experience working as artists and share their challenges in cultivating resilience and longevity, including parenting, day-jobbing, moving cities, and creating community. Wednesday, March 13, 6:30 - 8 PM PDT, (8:30 - 10 PM CDT).

“My painting is what I have to give back to the world for what the world gives to me." ~Georgia O'Keeffe