Upcoming Literary Events 2/14 - 2/20

Here are some notable literary events taking place around the Triangle during the week of 2/14 - 2/20:

My name is Finnegan. I am a five year old English Golden. Therapy dogs are similar to service dogs that they are out a lot in public; however, the big difference is we are supposed to be touched and loved one by many. I have been a therapy dog for three years now.

I love kids because I can look them in the eye and smile at them. They are the perfect height for me and they are way more fun than adults. I work with my mother and brother every year for Special Olympics. I also like to go to colleges and high schools when the kids are stressed from exams and visit elementary schools for show and tell. Mom and I are currently trying out for Duke Raleigh Hospital to work in the Cancer Center when people get chemo. I hope we pass!

I have the best job in the whole world because I get everyone to kiss and hug me and that's my job! Mom says I always focus on the ones that need it the most.

Mom has me trained to do tricks too . . .seems to make everyone laugh and I just like it because it's fun.

That's my story. . . .

Join Page 158 Books for a special story time with therapy dog Finnegan!

Page 158 Books is pleased to present Patti Williams and Don McNeill in a conversation about race in America through the framework of the writings of Mark Twain.

Patti Williams and Don McNeill DTM are co-founders of The National Discussion On Race. As public speakers - we met through our Toastmasters community. We educate our audiences by sharing our personal experiences with racial issues in America. We believe that real change and racial healing are possible and necessary.

In this folktale retold, Esperanza gives her very last pear to a beggar and is rewarded with the best pear crop she’s ever had—and the power to ensnare anyone she wants in her tree. When Señor Death comes for her, Esperanza tricks him into climbing her tree, where he becomes stuck, unable to come down and do his work. From that point on, no one dies. But when Esperanza learns that her friend in the next town is suffering terribly, she realizes that the end of death doesn’t mean the end of suffering and agrees to let Señor Death down from her tree. The final work by legendary children’s author Luli Gray with an afterword by the publisher that explains why Gray changed the story to include hope.

Karla Slocum in conversation with William A. ("Sandy") Darity​​​​​​​

Giving us a complex window into Black town and rural life, Slocum ultimately makes the case that these communities are places for affirming, building, and dreaming of Black community success even as they contend with the sometimes marginality of Black and rural America.

Clifford Garstang in conversation with Marjorie Hudson

The Alexanders have farmed the land in Turtle Valley for generations, and their family and its history is tied to this mountainous region of Virginia in ways few others can claim. When Gulf War veteran Aiken Alexander brings home a young and pregnant South Korean bride, he hopes at long last to claim his own place in that complicated history—coming out from behind the shadow of his tragically killed older brother and taking up a new place in his father’s affections. However, things do not go according to plan. While he loves his young son, his wife, Soon-hee, can’t—or won’t—adjust to life in America. Her behavior grows stranger and stranger to Aiken’s eyes every day until the marriage reaches a breaking point.

When Soon-hee disappears with their son, Aiken’s life and dreams truly fall apart—he loses his job, is compelled to return to the family home, and falls prey to all his worst impulses. It is at this low point that Aiken’s story becomes interwoven with a dubious Alexander family history, one that pitted brother against brother and now cousin against cousin, in a perfect storm of violence and dysfunction.

Drawing on Korean beliefs in spirits and shamanism, how Aiken solves these problems—both corporeal and spiritual—is at the center of this dynamic and beautifully written debut novel.

This book is a celebration of women. It is an invitation to journey from #MeToo to thriving women via appreciative inquiry, dialogue, and story telling. It addresses topics, through an appreciative lens, that may be difficult to talk about, yet must be talked about to heal social wounds and create conditions for women to thrive worldwide. If you are wondering what to do in response to the global cry of #MeToo, this book is for you.

For five books, Razorwark has chased Hilo through the Universe. Now the chase is over. Find out how the epic war between Razorwark and Hilo ends and get ready to start the next adventure with the New York Times Bestselling Graphic Novel Series that kids and critics love!

Being a hero isn’t easy. But Hilo had no idea it would be this hard. Hilo came to earth because he was running from Razorwark. But he’s done running. Razorwark has come to earth. And the time has come for one final face to face showdown. What happens will decide the fate of the robot world…and Hilo’s future. The sacrifice will be great. But with Izzy’s help, Hilo finally knows what he has to do. Because THIS is how all the pieces fit.

It’s 1988 and Shelley Cooper is in trouble. He’s broke, he’s been fired from his construction job, and his ex-wife has left him for their next door neighbor and a new life in Kansas City. The only opportunity on his horizon is fifty pounds of his brother’s high-grade marijuana, which needs to be driven from Colorado to Houston and exchanged for a lockbox full of cash. The delivery goes off without a hitch, but getting home with the money proves to be a different challenge altogether. Fueled by a grab bag of resentments and self punishment, Shelley becomes a case study in the question of whether it’s possible to live without accepting yourself, and the dope money is the key to a lock he might never find. JP Gritton’s portrait of a hapless aspirant at odds with himself and everyone around him is both tender and ruthless, and Wyoming considers the possibility of redemption in a world that grants forgiveness grudgingly, if at all.

Read with Drew! Drew completed special training through Pet Partners to become a therapy animal. During these special Read With Me sessions Drew and his handler Miriam will be on hand so emerging readers can practice their skills. A therapy animal is an incentive, a motivational tool, and a non-judgmental listener…all in one!

Read With Me sessions are designed for new readers, but we encourage all ages to meet this special team.