It's Sunday 3:48 AM — The Library is currently closed
January 25. Rumaan Alam, “Entitlement.“ In conversation with Alice Elliott Dark (“Fellowship Point”). Alam, the best-selling author of “Leave the World Behind,” talked about “Entitlement,” his new novel, with Alice Elliott Dark (“Fellowship Point”). Alam read aloud from the book and his sparkling conversation with Dark touched on the topics of “the philanthropic high,” the effects of great wealth on those who hold it and those who surround them, and the curious relationship between authors and their own invented characters
Co-presented by AAPI Montclair
February 18. Jennifer Jones, “Becoming Spectacular : The Rhythm of Resilience from the First African American Rockette.“ In conversation with Sharron Miller. Jones, the Tony award-winning dancer, activist and first African American Rockette, discussed her new memoir, “Becoming Spectacular” with Montclair’s own Sharron Miller. The program also included a slideshow that played in the background throughout the discussion. The event was co-presented by Sharron Miller’s Academy of Performing Arts.
February 25. Curtis Sittenfeld, “Show Don’t Tell.” In conversation with Jennifer Hershey, editor at large of Random House and publisher of Ballantine Books, Bantam and Delacorte/Dell. Sittenfeld, the New York Times bestselling author of “Romantic Comedy” and “Prep” discussed her latest book of sharp, witty stories with her own longtime editor, Jennifer Hersey, publisher of Ballantine Books and editor at large at Random House. Sittenfeld gave us a glimpse into her creative process, how she often went from thinking “someone ought to write that story” to realizing she herself desperately wanted to write “that story.”
March 15. Anna Quindlen, “After Annie.” In conversation with Elisabeth Egan of The New York Times Book Review. At The First Congregational Church of Montclair. Quindlen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, talked about her latest New York Times bestseller with Egan, a leading book critic. Quindlen explains how her unforgettable characters come to her, sometimes fully formed, and wind up driving her plots. She vividly describes writing on her porch in the Poconos.
NO VIDEO AVAILABLE
April 3. Chris Bohjalian, “The Jackal’s Mistress.“ In conversation with Christina Baker Kline (“The Exiles,” “Orphan Train”). #1 New York Times bestselling authors Chris Bohjalian and Christina Baker Kline talked about “The Jackal’s Mistress,” Bohjalian’s latest page-turner, about a relationship across enemy lines during the American Civil War, based on a true story. The fast-paced discussion touched on how to turn history into fiction and the continuing allure of the novel. Bohjalian even shared a funny story about how to pack for book tours.
April 29. Anne Berest and Claire Berest, “Gabriële.” In conversation with Violaine Huisman. Anne, bestselling author of “The Postcard,” and her sister, Claire, discuss their new novel, based on the life of their bohemian, brilliant great-grandmother, with another well known French novelist. They revealed their methods for working together and how surprised and excited they were to discover that their great-grandmother, never mentioned at home, had been a painter in a love triangle with Marcel Duchamp and Francois Picabia. The event was co-sponsored by Succeed2gether’s Montclair Literary Festival, the Montclair Campus of L’Alliance New York, and Watchung Booksellers
NO VIDEO AVAILABLE
May 3. Edwin Frank, “Stranger Than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel.” In conversation with Alexandra Jacobs of The New York Times Book Review. Frank, the editorial director of New York Review Books and the founder of the NYRB Classics series, ranged freely throughout the 20th century in discussing his instant classic, “Stranger Than Fiction,” with Jacobs, a leading book critic. His sparkling insights included the idea that we only started talking about centuries and not dynasties in the 18th century.
Co-sponsored by Succeed2gether’s Montclair Literary Festival
NO VIDEO AVAILABLE
Tuesday, June 3. New Ways to View Marriage: A Panel with Ada Calhoun (“Crush: A Novel”), Molly Roden Winter (More: A Memoir) and Jaclyn Geller (“Moving Past Marriage”). Moderated by Kate Tuttle, books editor of The Boston Globe. Love may still be a many-splendored thing but many have questions about matrimony. A bestselling novelist-journalist, musician, professor and book critic brought blistering honesty to this discussion of open marriage, the merits and deficits of matrimony, and the possibility of wedded bliss.
Wednesday, September 10, 7 p.m. Richard Rothstein and Leah Rothstein, “Just Action,” How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law.” In conversation with Ryan P. Haygood. At the First Congregational Church of Montclair. A veteran of the Economic Policy Institute and the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and a community development consultant talked about neighborhood desegregation and housing inequity with the president of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
Sponsored by Partners for Health Foundation
ONLINE: Monday, September 29. Mary Roach, “Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy.” In conversation with Kate Tuttle, books editor of The Boston Globe. Roach, the New York Times best-selling author of “Stiff,” “Grunt,” “Fuzz,” has been called “America’s funniest science writer.” (The Washington Post). Their rollicking conversation touched on whether or not sex cures hiccups, what it’s like to try out an iron lung, and how Mary persuades researchers from Missouri to Mongolia to let her into their laboratory inner sanctums.
Thursday, October 9, 6:30 p.m. Amanda Hess, “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.” In conversation with Sasha Weiss of The New York Times magazine.
Amanda Hess, an award-winning writer at large for The New York Times Styles section, talks to Sasha Weiss, a deputy editor of The New York Times Magazine, about Hess’s debut book, “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.” Their conversation addresses how the internet has come to mediate pregnancy and early parenthood, especially when there’s the possibility of a birth defect.
Co-presented by 1 in 6 Support.
Thursday, October 9, 6:30 p.m. Amanda Hess, “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.” In conversation with Sasha Weiss of The New York Times magazine.
Amanda Hess, an award-winning writer at large for The New York Times Styles section, talks to Sasha Weiss, a deputy editor of The New York Times Magazine, about Hess’s debut book, “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.” Their conversation addresses how the internet has come to mediate pregnancy and early parenthood, especially when there’s the possibility of a birth defect.
Co-presented by 1 in 6 Support.
We are grateful to all of the wonderful authors, conversation partners, library staffers, and, of course, attendees who make Open Book / Open Mind Online such a success.
Special thanks to the Open Book / Open Mind Advisory Committee: Co-chairs Alice Elliott Dark and Kate Tuttle; Jonathan Alter, Reagan Arthur, Marina Budhos, Neal Carruth, Catherine Chung, Alice Elliott Dark, Jennifer Dorr, Elisabeth Egan, David Folkenflik, Dionne Ford, Jon Fortt, Gabrielle Glaser, David Jones, DT Max, Juan Milà, Sara Mosle, Dale Russakoff, Margot Sage-EL, Rachel Swarns, Susan Weinberg, and Kate Zernike.
Open Book / Open Mind is presented by the Montclair Public Library through the unstinting financial support of The Montclair Public Library Foundation, Watchung Booksellers, New Jersey Council for the Humanities, First Congregational Church of Montclair, The George Montclair, and Amanti Vino. Many thanks to our generous donors, Dr. Alex and Doris Malaspina, Anonymous, David and Mary Lee Jones, and our new individual Underwriters.
