Upcoming Adult Programs
Romance Book Recs and Conversation with Lorelei of Lorelei's Lit Lair
Wednesday, May 8th | 7:00 PM (Virtual)
If you know romance, you probably know Lorelei! Affectionately referred to as a passionate Romance Ambassador, Lorelei has been offering book recommendations, author spotlights, giveaways and connecting authors with readers through social media since 2010, providing a safe and friendly environment for book lovers around the globe. We are so pleased to be in conversation with Lorelei about how (and why) she got started, her most memorable author-meet moments, and books she's reading and recommending. We hope you can join us!
About Lorelei:
In addition to being a Romance Ambassador, since 2015 Lorelei has hosted at capacity events such as the Annual Romance, Wine & Chocolate event in her hometown of Orlando, FL in partnership with the outstanding Alafaya Library and Chickasaw Branch, which are both part of the Orange County Library System.
The Orange County Library System was recognized in 2018 with the highest honor bestowed upon libraries by the government, the National Medal from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
Romance book lovers can join the Let’s Talk Romance Books Social Club, an exclusive virtual membership where readers can now enjoy Lorelei’s in-person signature style reader events from the comfort of their home, introducing up and coming, and acclaimed bestselling authors in a fun and entertaining way inside a safe and friendly online community. You can also join her Free Membership at Lorelei's Lit Lair.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom webinar link from Ashland Public Library. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
Presented in partnership with Ashland Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.
New Yorker Cartoonist and Author Bob Eckstein Shares His Favorite Museums and Cartoons
Wednesday, May 29th | 7:00 PM (Virtual)
Museum enthusiasts, this one is for you! Join author Bob Eckstein as he celebrates his most recent release, Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums: Stories and Memorable Moments from People Who Love Museums. This book is filled with lush and whimsical illustrations paired with stories and anecdotes from curators, museum workers, museum visitors, and more. We hope you can join us for what will be a fun and fascinating conversation!
Bob is an illustrator, cartoonist, writer and snowman expert. He's done cartoons for the New York Times, MAD magazine and The New Yorker. Published books include Footnotes from the World's Greatest Bookstores (2016) and The Illustrated History of the Snowman (2018) and The Complete Book of Cat Names (That Your Cat Won't Answer to, Anyways). His work has been exhibited in The Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco, Smithsonian Institute, The Cartoon Museum of London and The Sordoni Art Gallery at Wilkes University.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom webinar link from Ashland Public Library. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
Presented in partnership with Ashland Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library, with additional funding from the Friends of the Sharon Public Library.
Author Cass's "Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race and Voting Rights in the U.S."
Monday, June 10th | 7:00 PM (Virtual)
We hope you can join us for what is going to be a fascinating conversation with author Caitlin Cass on her book, "Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race and Voting Rights in the U.S." Part graphic novel, part map of the suffrage movement, this book tells the story of the fight for the right to vote by women from the very beginning.
About Caitlin:
Caitlin Cass makes comics, cartoons and art installations about failing systems and irrational hope. Story by story she is building her own canon in a doomed effort to understand the dismal state of the world.
For the past 12 years Caitlin has published a bimonthly comic periodical under the moniker The “Great” Moments in Western Civilization Postal Constituent. Her cartoons and comics have appeared in The New Yorker, The Lily and The Nib. Caitlin was a 2018 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Fiction. Her 2020 solo exhibition Women’s Work was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Caitlin’s graphic history Suffrage Song will come out with Fantagraphics Books in June 2024.
Originally from River Forest, IL, Caitlin spent 11 years in Buffalo, NY and recently moved west to teach as Assistant Professor of Studio Art, Illustration and Time-Based Media at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom webinar link from Ashland Public Library. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
Presented in partnership with Ashland Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.
Author Shannon Reed's "Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One Page Before Lights Out"
Thursday, June 13th | 7:00 PM (Virtual)
Shannon Reed makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny collection, she shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature.
About Shannon:
Shannon Reed is a writer and professor living in a small town just outside Pittsburgh.
Shannon grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and lived in Brooklyn for 14 years, where she taught high school English and Theatre. In 2012, she began studying with the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh, where she completed an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) in 2015. She joined the faculty shortly thereafter, and is now the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Writing Program in the University of Pittsburgh, as well as a Teaching Associate Professor, specializing in fiction and humor writing courses.
Shannon’s first book, Why Did I Get a B?: And Other Mysteries We’re Discussing in the Faculty Lounge, was a semi-finalist for the Thurber Prize in American Humor. Her second, Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out, publishes on February 6, 2024. It’s a Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Pick and will be featured in George Saunders’ Substack newsletter, Office Hours.
Shannon’s writing has been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency (where one of her pieces was the most-read article in 2018, and another was in the Top Three for 2023), The Paris Review, The Washington Post, Slate, Buzzfeed, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and many other publications.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom webinar link from Ashland Public Library. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
Presented in partnership with Ashland Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.
Author Paige McClanahan: "The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Power and Perils of Travel"
Tuesday, June 18th | 2:00 PM (Virtual)
Through deep and perceptive dispatches from tourist spots around the globe—from Hawaii to Saudi Arabia, Amsterdam to Angkor Wat—The New Tourist lifts the veil on an industry that accounts for one in ten jobs worldwide and generates nearly ten percent of global GDP. How did a once-niche activity become the world’s most important means of contact across cultures? When does tourism destroy the soul of a city, and when does it offer a place a new lease on life? Is “last chance tourism” prompting a powerful change in perspective, or driving places we love further into the ground?
Filled with revelations about an industry that shapes how we view the world, The New Tourist spotlights painful truths but also delivers a message of hope: that the right kind of tourism—and the right kind of tourist—can be a powerful force for good.
About Paige:
Paige McClanahan is an American journalist based in France. A regular contributor to The New York Times, she has reported from more than a dozen countries, writing for publications like The Guardian, the BBC, and The Washington Post, among many others. Her reporting has covered multilateral trade negotiations, humanitarian crises, economic development, and, for the past five years, the tourism industry. Her travel journalism has been recognized by The Society of American Travel Writers and the North American Travel Journalists Association. A graduate of Williams College and Duke University, she has lived in five countries since she left the United States in 2008.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom webinar link from Ashland Public Library. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
Presented in partnership with Ashland Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.
Q&A with True Crime Authors Katherine Ramsland & Tracy Ullman: "The Serial Killer's Apprentice"
Monday, June 24th | 7:00 PM (Virtual)
If you are a fan of true crime and want to dive deep into the psychology of a serial killer and his apprentice, this program is for you! Join authors Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman as they discuss their most recent book, "The Serial Killer's Apprentice", a psychological examination of the blurred line between victim and accomplice—and how a killer can be created. Brrrr, we get chills just thinking of it! We hope you can join us for this fascinating conversation!
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Dr. Katherine Ramsland teaches forensic psychology and criminology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where she is the Assistant Provost. She has appeared as an expert in criminal psychology on more than 200 crime documentaries and magazine shows, is an executive producer of Murder House Flip, and has consulted for CSI, Bones, and The Alienist. The author of more than 1,500 articles and 71 books, including The Forensic Science of CSI, The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds, How to Catch a Killer, The Psychology of Death Investigations, and Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, The BTK Killer, she was co-executive producer for the Wolf Entertainment/A&E four-part documentary based on the years she spent talking with Rader. Ramsland consults on death investigations, pens a blog for Psychology Today, and is currently writing a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist who manages a private investigation agency. In the Damage Path is book #2.
Tracy Ullman, not the comedienne, is a documentary producer, director, and writer living in Chicago. She has produced dozens of non-fiction television programs for Discovery Networks, Oxygen, AETN Networks, and PBS. Her most recent production is a six-part limited documentary series about serial murderer John Wayne Gacy and the new discoveries made in his case for NBC’s Peacock streaming service.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom webinar link from Ashland Public Library. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
Presented in partnership with Ashland Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.