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WeHo Reads 2015
WeHo Reads 2015
The City of West Hollywood celebrates the literary community year-round with the author series WeHo Reads, featuring new and noteworthy authors at the West Hollywood Library with a full day literary event each fall.
Below is an archive of events that took place in 2015.
To see the schedule for WeHo Reads 2016, click here.
LAMBDA Literary and WeHo Reads: A Single Man, with special facilitator Chris Freeman
Tuesday, March 31, 7 pm
West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room
625. N. San Vicente Blvd.
FREE
For this special meeting of the Lambda Literary Book Club, co-presented with WeHo Reads, there will be a guest facilitator Chris Freeman, who is co-editor (with James Berg) of the new book The American Isherwood, a collection of essays celebrating Isherwood’s published works, diaries, and personal archives. This month’s selection is A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. Admission is free and validated parking will be provided. The book club is a program of the Lambda Literary Foundation, co-sponsored by the West Hollywood Library; the books selected are a heady mix of LGBT classics, unheralded gems, and buzz-worthy new releases. WeHo Reads is an occasional series of author talks with a full day of literary events scheduled for September 26, 2015.
For more information, please call (310) 652-5340, or visit www.lambdaliterary.org/book-clubs/lambda-lit-book-club.
WeHo Reads: Just Kids from the Bronx, Arlene and Alan Alda in Conversation
Tuesday, April 14, 7 pm
West Hollywood City Council Chambers
625 N. San Vicente Blvd.
FREE
Arlene Alda is a photographer and author of 15 children's books. Her current book, Just Kids from the Bronx (March 2015) is an Oral History of 64 interviews with prominent Bronxites, including Al Pacino, Regis Philbin, Colin Powell, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Mary Higgins Clark, Avery Corman, Chazz Palminteri Tats Cru Graffiti Artists, Grandmaster Melle Mal, and the others ranging from age 23 to age 93. On April 14, 2015, she will be joined by her husband Alan Alda in conversation about the new book. To RSVP email info@booksoup.com or call Book Soup at (310) 659-3110.
WeHo Reads: LeVar Burton, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm
Saturday, April 25, 2015, 2 pm
West Hollywood Park at the Kids Fair
647 N. San Vicente Blvd.
FREE
LeVar Burton is well-known for being host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow, a TV series that encouraged reading among children and ran for 23 seasons. In late 2014, LeVar Burton published his first children’s book, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm. On April 25, Burton will read from the book while the words are projected on the screen behind him so children can read along as well. This WeHo Reads event would take place immediately following the West Hollywood Kids’ Fair. For more info contact Mike Che at mche@weho.org.
WEHO Reads presents Ashlee Vance, in conversation with Rachel Crane (CNN), discussing and signing Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Wednesday, May 27, 7 pm
West Hollywood City Council Chambers
625 N. San Vicente Blvd.
FREE
Elon Musk is the most daring entrepreneur of our time. There are few industrialists in history who could match Elon Musk's relentless drive and ingenious vision. A modern alloy of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs, Musk is the man behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity, each of which has sent shock waves throughout American business and industry. More than any other executive today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as a science fiction fantasy. In this lively, investigative account, veteran technology journalist Ashlee Vance offers an unprecedented look into the remarkable life and times of Silicon Valley's most audacious businessman. Written with exclusive access to Musk, his family, and his friends, the book traces his journey from his difficult upbringing in South Africa to his ascent to the pinnacle of the global business world. Vance spent more than fifty hours in conversation with Musk and interviewed close to three hundred people to tell the tumultuous stories of Musk's world-changing companies and to paint a portrait of a complex man who has renewed American industry and sparked new levels of innovation--all while making plenty of enemies along the way. (Ecco Press)
This reading is additionally sponsored by WeHoX, the City's exciting new innovation and technology program.
WeHo Reads is a collaborative project of the City of West Hollywood, the West Hollywood Library branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library, the Friends of the West Hollywood Library, and Book Soup.
“Tim and Eric's Zone Theory: 7 Easy Steps to Achieve a Perfect Life”
Wednesday, July 8, 7 pm
West Hollywood City Council Chambers
625 N. San Vicente Blvd
FREE
WeHo Reads & Book Soup present Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim discussing and signing Tim and Eric's Zone Theory: 7 Easy Steps to Achieve a Perfect Life. From Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, two of the 21st century's most vital and creative minds, comes a brand new, inspirational, and game-changing life system that promises to instantly provide wellness, happiness, and total, absolute fulfillment. To RSVP for this event please call Book Soup at (310) 659-3110 or email info@booksoup.com.
LAtitudes: An Angeleno’s Atlas
A panel moderated by Ron Davidson and featuring David Deis, Michael Jamie Becerra, Luis Rodriguez (LA Poet Laureate), Sylvia Sukop, & Rosten Woo
August 6, 2015
7 pm
West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room
625 N. San Vicente Blvd.
FREE!
From the smoky, spicy kitchens of a family taquero business in El Monte to the cowboy-and spacemen-themed landscapes of the San Fernando Valley to LGBT churches and synagogues in Los Angeles, LAtitudes: An Angeleno’s Atlas is a thrilling new book from Heyday Press that presents a literary and cartographic exploration of Los Angeles that reorients our understanding of the city in highly imaginative ways. Illuminated by boldly conceived and artfully rendered maps and infographics, nineteen essays by LA’s most exciting writers reveal complex histories and perspectives of Los Angeles. Sponsored by WeHo Reads and the West Hollywood Library.
Saturday, September 26, 11 am - 6:30 pm
WeHo Reads: Banned Books
FREE
It’s hard to imagine that beloved books like “Huckleberry Finn,” “The Hunger Games,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Perks of a Wallflower,” and “Of Mice and Men” have all been banned or challenged at some point over the years.
In honor of Banned Books Week, WeHo Reads—the City of West Hollywood’s ongoing author series—has scheduled a full day of literary and artistic events, on Saturday, September 26, 2015
WeHo Reads Banned Books will start at 11am with book readings by Pam Dawber, Niki Koss, and Colin Egglefield. Throughout the day, performance artist Dani Dodge will present a installation of a fictional "Fitzgerald-Orwell Memorial Library" where all the books have already been banned. Additionally throughout the day there will be sticker-making workshops from Les Figues Press, and a space for visitors to record themselves reading from banned books organized by PEN Center USA.
In addition, there will be several panel discussions from authors that have been banned and/or deemed controversial for issues related to race, religion, gender, sexuality and/or other ‘hot button’ issues, and special keynote address by Stephen Chbosky.
View the WeHo Reads Banned Books Program
To see photos of the 2014 WeHo Reads event, please click here.
To see photos of 2015 WeHo Reads Banned Books, please click here.
For any questions related to WeHo Reads including inquiries on how you might get involved, please contact Andrew Campbell at acampbell@weho.org or Mike Che at mche@weho.org
Follow us to stay up to date:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WeHoReads and www.facebook.com/WeHoArts
Twitter: @WeHoArts
Instagram: @WeHoArts
WeHo Reads: Emma Donoghue
in Conversation with David L. Ulin
Monday, October 12, 7:00 PM
City Council Chambers under the West Hollywood Library
625 N San Vicente Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Meet Emma Donoghue, best-selling novelist and screenwriter of the upcoming critically acclaimed film Room, in conversation with Los Angeles Times book critic and author David L. Ulin.
Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, Room is a unique and touching exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world. As he experiences all the joy, excitement, and fear that this new adventure brings, he holds tight to the one thing that matters most of all—his special bond with his loving and devoted Ma.
Donoghue's novel has won numerous awards including New York Times Notable Book of 2010, NPR Book of The Year, and Booker Prize Shortlist. The film recently won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, and will be released by A24 Films on October 16, 2015.
Emma Donoghue has written 8 novels including her most recent novel Frog Music which was one of the Honor Books in Literature chosen in the Stonewall Book Awards 2015, and was a finalist in the Bisexual Book Award for Fiction.
This event is sponsored by the City of West Hollywood through its WeHo Reads program and the West Hollywood Library. Admission is free. For more information on WeHo Reads and other events at the West Hollywood Library, please visit www.weho.org/wehoreads and www.colapublib.org/libs/whollywood.
WeHo Reads and Book Soup presents Michelle Visage, w/ Bianca Del Rio,discussing and signing The Diva Rules: Ditch the Drama, Find Your Strength, and Sparkle Your Way to the Top
Monday, November 9th, 2015, 7:00 PM
City Council Chambers under the West Hollywood Library
625 N San Vicente Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Michelle Visage is not your average diva. Powerful, positive, and polished, this diva's not only glamorous; she's a savvy businesswoman with serious credentials who works her tail off. From her day’s vogueing in the downtown Manhattan clubs in the '90s to her successful career in radio and her ultimate cult status as a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race, Michelle has achieved her dreams and then some! In The Diva Rules, Visage shares her rules and advice for living life to the fullest and finding success no matter the hand you're dealt. With her no-nonsense style and super sassy voice, Michelle tells readers to "Keep Your Shit Together," "Give Good Face“and” Be Thankful You're a Misfit," in addition to 22 other invaluable life lessons on finding your power and sparkling your way to the top. (Chronicle Books)
This is a ticketed event with the ticket price including a copy of The Diva Rules - $24.95 (+tax). Tickets are now available at Brown Paper Tickets.