Author events at Third Place Books, June 15-30, 2011

Marya Hornbacher

Waiting : A Non-Believer’s Higher Power (Macmillan)

Wednesday, June 15 at 7pm

In Waiting, Hornbacher uses the story of her own journey beginning with her recovery from alcoholism to offer a fresh approach to cultivating a spiritual life. For those who don’t believe in God, feel disconnected from the ideas of God presented in organized religion, or are simply struggling to determine their own spiritual path, Hornbacher, offers a down-to-earth exploration of the concept of faith.

Sara Avant Stover

The Way of the Happy Woman : Living the Best Year of Your Life

(New World Library)

Thursday, June 16 at 7pm

With this inspiring book, Sara Avant Stover will show women how to connect with their innate happiness through refreshingly simple practices that bring them back in sync with their own cycles and those of nature. Stover’s suggestions nurture the body, invigorate the mind, and lift the spirit.

Thor Hanson

Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle (Basic Books)

Friday, June 17 at 6:30pm

Feathers silence the flight of owls and keep penguins dry below the ice. They have decorated queens, jesters, and priests. And they have inked documents from the Constitution to the novels of Jane Austen. In Feathers, biologist Thor Hanson finally tells their captivating story.

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?: The Lost Toys, Tastes, and Trends of the 70s and 80s (Perigree Books)

Saturday, June 18 at 6:30pm

Aimed at the generation who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? takes readers back in time to the tastes, smells, and sounds of their childhood, from Marathon candy bars to Schoolhouse Rock.

Bryn Barnard

Genius of Islam : How Muslims Made the Modern World

Monday, June 20 at 7pm

The Muslim world has often been a bridge between East and West, but many of Islam's crucial innovations are hidden within the folds of history. In this important book, Bryn Barnard uses short, engaging text and gorgeous full-color artwork to bring Islam's contributions gloriously to life.

Matthew Algeo

The President is a Sick Man : Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth (Chicago Review Press)

Tuesday, June 21 at 7pm

An extraordinary yet almost unknown chapter in American history is revealed in this extensively researched exposé. Journalist Matthew Algeo gives the account of the government cover up of Grover Cleveland’s secret operation and the disgrace of journalist E. J. Edwards who tried to expose the story.

Scott Sparling

Wire to Wire (Tin House Press)

Wednesday, June 22 at 7pm

This debut novel assembles a cast of train-hopping, drug-dealing, glue-huffing lowlifes, tells a harrowing tale of friendship and loss, and creates a stunning portrait of Northern Michigan in the late 1970s. With echoes of Robert Stone and Denis Johnson, Wire to Wire pays homage to one of our most popular and enduring genres--the American crime novel.

Jeanne Matthews

Bet Your Bones

Thursday, June 23 at 7pm

A bride and her maid of honor face ex-husbands, earthquakes, blackmail, booby-traps, murder, and an angry goddess in this fast-paced mystery, set against Hawaii’s ancient myths and modern conflicts.

Amy Stewart

Wicked Bugs (Algonquin)

Friday, June 24 at 6:30pm

This collection offers the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild: bugs with kinky sex lives, creatures lurking in the cupboard, the insects eating your tomatoes. Written with wit, style, and exacting research, this is a darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with our worst entomological foes.

Nora Gedguadas

Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life (Healing Arts Press)

Thursday, June 30 at 7pm

With step-by-step guidelines, recipes, and meal recommendations, this book offers sustainable strategies for a modern approach to diet and exercise to reduce stress and anxiety, lose weight, improve sleep and mood, increase energy and immunity, enhance brain function, save money on groceries, and live longer and happier.