BookSwell

Ed Begley Jr. with Mary Steenburgen & Ted Danson discussing his memoir, To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It!*** US Orders only. We only ship to addresses in the USJoin us for a virtual Live Talks Los Angeles event:Monday, October 16, 2023, 6pm PT/9pm ETEd Begley Jr. with Mary Steenburgen & Ted Danson discussing his memoir, "To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It!"TICKETS:$45 Ticket: Virtual Admission + a signed copy of the book (includes shipping to US addresses)Ticket includes opportunity to watch the event on video-on-demand for five days, thru October 16 at midnight.Books ship one week after the event.Beloved actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. shares hilarious and poignant stories of his improbable life, focusing on his relationship with his legendary father, adventures with Hollywood icons, the origins of his environmental activism, addiction and recovery, and his lifelong search for wisdom and common ground. Ed Begley, Jr. is an actor and environmental activist. He has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988. The role earned him six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Since 1970, Begley has Read More ...

Melissa Broder will be reading her latest, DEATH VALLEYABOUT THE BOOKThe most profound book yet from the visionary author of Milk Fed and The Pisces, a darkly funny novel about grief that becomes a desert survival story.In Melissa Broder’s astounding new novel, a woman arrives alone at a Best Western seeking respite from an emptiness that plagues her. She has fled to the California high desert to escape a cloud of sorrow—for both her father in the ICU and a husband whose illness is worsening. What the motel provides, however, is not peace but a path, thanks to a receptionist who recommends a nearby hike.Out on the sun-scorched trail, the woman encounters a towering cactus whose size and shape mean it should not exist in California. Yet the cactus is there, with a gash through its side that beckons like a familiar door. So she enters it. What awaits her inside this mystical succulent sets her on a journey at once desolate and rich, hilarious and poignant.This is Melissa Broder at her most imaginative, most universal, and finest. This is Death Valley.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Melissa Broder is the author of the novels Milk Fed and The Pisces, the essay collection Read More ...

Bob Odenkirk & Erin Odenkirk in conversation with Rhea Seehorn discussing his book, "Zilot & Other Important Rhymes." Join us for an in-person* Live Talks Los Angeles event:Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 8pm*Virtual event airs on October 22 at 3pm PT/6pm ETBob Odenkirk & Erin Odenkirk with Rhea Seehorndiscussing their book, "Zilot & Other Important Rhymes"TICKETS:$35 -General Admission ticket + signed copy of "Zilot & Other Important Rhymes"$55-2 General Admission tickets + one signed copy of "Zilot & Other Important Rhymes"$65 -General Admission ticket + 2 signed books ("Zilot" and "Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama")Additional books available for purchase at eventFace masks recommendedTickets also include opportunity to watch the virtual event The virtual version of this event airs on October 22, at 3pm PT/6PM ET and is available on video-on-demand for five days Tickets for the virtual event can be purchased here (includes the book)ASL interpreter provided upon request.Free parking at the venueEmmy Award-winning and New York Times bestselling writer, comedian, and actor Bob Odenkirk and his daughter, illustrator Erin Odenkirk, present poetic nonsense for all ages perfect for fans of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky!Bob Odenkirk’s TV credits include Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and feature films like Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and for writing lots of comedy sketches Read More ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger with Jamie Lee Curtis discussing his book, "Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life"*** US orders only. We only ship books to addresses in the US. Join us for a virtual Live Talks Los Angeles event:Wednesday, October 18, 2022, 6pm PST/9pm ESTArnold Schwarzenegger with Jamie Lee Curtisdiscussing his book "Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life"TICKETS:$45 Ticket: Virtual Admission + a signed copy of the bookTicket includes opportunity to watch the event on video-on-demand for five days, thru October 23 at midnight.Books ship one week after the event.The seven rules to follow to realize your true purpose in life—distilled by Arnold Schwarzenegger from his own journey of ceaseless reinvention and extraordinary achievement, and available for absolutely anyone.....Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-born bodybuilder, actor, businessman, philanthropist, bestselling author, and politician. He served as the thirty-eighth governor of California.The world’s greatest bodybuilder. The world’s highest-paid movie star. The leader of the world’s sixth-largest economy. .In his new book, he details the seven tools he believes we all need to follow to find true purpose and success. During his childhood in a rural Austrian town, the chief lesson his father drilled into him above all, and which serves as his title, is Be Useful.   Spend Read More ...

Explore optimistic futures through the words of science fiction authors.We've been through a few storied years, nationally, globally, scientifically. As we forge forward writing in a new, complexly shifting age, how do we approach subjects with new eyes? How do we keep ourselves afloat and find purpose in our writing against a constantly changing world narrative? Could certain narratives, (such as the zombie apocalypse/every man for himself scenario) be dangerous to societal thinking? Is it the responsibility of the author to create stories with all these ideas in mind?To discuss these questions, we’re gathering science fiction and speculative fiction authors who’ve written utopian and dystopian stories. Host Kate Maruyama will lead a roundtable discussion with award-winning authors, including Cecil Castellucci, Matthew Kressel, PJ Manney, Nisi Shawl, and Sherri L. Smith. The event is free and you can watch via YouTube Live on the WeHo Arts channel. Learn more at www.weho.org/wehoreads/WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. More information and events at www.weho.org/wehoreads. BookSwell, a literary events and media company dedicated to lifting up writers from historically excluded communities, is producing the WeHo Reads 2023 season. Additional support is provided by UCLA Extension Writers’ Program Read More ...

Decorated sportswriter Alex Squadron discusses his new book LIFE IN THE G with Mirin FaderABOUT THE BOOKWelcome to the G League—the official minor league of the National Basketball Association. Life in the G is about the arduous quest to achieve an improbable goal: making it to the NBA. Zeroing in on the Birmingham Squadron and four of its players—Jared Harper, Joe Young, Zylan Cheatham, and Malcolm Hill—Alex Squadron details the pursuit of a dream in what turned out to be the most remarkable season in the history of minor league sports. Life in the G League is far from glamorous. Players make enormous sacrifices and work unimaginable hours in the hope that someone in the NBA will give them a chance. To this day, very few fans—even the most passionate followers of the NBA—know much about the G League. In the fall of 2021, the Birmingham Squadron granted author Alex Squadron complete access to the team to capture the experience of playing in the league. That year, with hundreds of NBA players sidelined by the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19, the G League saw a record number of call-ups. Sports Illustrated labeled it “the year of the NBA replacement Read More ...

Adam Nagourney with Lisa Napoli , "The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism"Join us for an in-person* Live Talks Los Angeles event:Thursday, October 19, 2023, 8pm*Virtual event airs on October 24 at 6pm PT/9pm ETAdam Nagourney with Lisa Napolidiscussing his book, "The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism"TICKETS:$48 General Admission ticket + signed copy of the book$20 General Admission ticketAdditional signed books available for purchase at eventFace masks recommendedTickets also include opportunity to watch the virtual event The virtual version of this event airs on October 24, at 6pm PT/9PM ET and is available on video-on-demand for five days Tickets for the virtual event can be purchased here (includes the book)ASL interpreter provided upon request.Free parking at the venueA sweeping behind-the-scenes look at the last four turbulent decades of “the paper of record,” The New York Times, as it confronted world-changing events, internal scandals, and faced the existential threat of the internetAdam Nagourney covers national politics for The New York Times. Since joining the newspaper in 1996, he has served as Los Angeles bureau chief, West Coast cultural affairs reporter, chief national political correspondent, and chief New York political Read More ...

Minnesota Attorney General will be discussing his recent book BREAK THE WHEEL.ABOUT THE BOOKWith this powerful and intimate trial diary, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asks the key question: How do we break the wheel of police violence and finally make it stop?The murder of George Floyd sparked global outrage. At the center of the conflict and the controversy, Keith Ellison grappled with the means of bringing justice for Floyd and his family. Now, in this riveting account of the Derek Chauvin trial, Ellison takes the reader down the path his prosecutors took, offering different breakthroughs and revelations for a defining, generational moment of racial reckoning and social justice understanding.Each chapter of BREAK THE WHEEL goes spoke to spoke along the wheel of the system as Ellison examines the roles of prosecutors, defendants, heads of police unions, judges, activists, legislators, politicians, and media figures, each in his attempt to end this chain of violence and replace it with empathy and shared insight.Ellison’s analysis of George Floyd’s life and the rich trial context he provides demonstrates that, while it may seem like an unattainable goal, lasting change and justice can be achieved.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Keith Ellison was sworn in as Minnesota’s Read More ...