Nerd Nite Ann Arbor presented by AADL at LIVE 102 S First St.

Thursday June 18, 2015: 7:00pm to 9:30pm
LIVE (102 S 1st Street)
Adults

Nerd Nite Ann Arbor presented by AADL at LIVE 102 S First St.

Thursday March 19, 2015: 7:00pm to 9:30pm
LIVE (102 S 1st Street)
Adults

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #508

Sun, 01/18/2015 - 1:03am by muffy

January brings a number of terrific debut novels. The one I am most excited to share is Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm (MFA, Helen Zell Writers Program at the University of Michigan). Follow her on Facebook, and plan to attend her signing @ Literati, 7pm on January 27.

She calls herself Julie now, from California. For the past 2 years, Grace restores bric-a-brac, repairs antiques and jewelry in a Paris chop shop, and lives alone in a shabby room. Regularly, she checks the Garland (TN) newspaper online for news of a case involving robbery of The Wynne House, a local heritage estate and museum, and the two young men caught for the crime, a heist that Grace meticulously engineered. Now, Grace's past and carefully constructed lies are about to catch up with her half way around the world, as the two men are being paroled.

In a series of flashbacks, from small-town USA to the Manhattan art scene, and the backstreets of Europe, we follow the "unbecoming-of-age" of a young woman with a special gift for restoration and for reinventing herself with equal deftness.

"Mesmerizing, nail-biting, atmospheric, and sensual... Unbecoming is an intricately plotted and psychologically nuanced heist novel that turns on suspense and slippery identity."

"Scherm mixes a character study with a caper novel full of double-crosses, lies, and betrayals... She is at her best when describing precious objects: a Dutch master's still life, a James Mont cigar box with hidden compartment, an ornate centerpiece with fanciful fruit and figurines, and silver spoons ignored by their owners but appreciated by the professional hired to evaluate them."

Readers looking for an elegantly well-played cat-and-mouse game should delight in Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (1954); The Thomas Crown Affair (1968, and the 1999 remake); and White Collar, the just concluded (sadly) tv series.

Fans of Gillian Flynn who appreciate "(a) bleak tone, deeply flawed protagonist, and dysfunctional relationships" wouldn't want to miss this one. And let's not forget Patricia Highsmith's Ripley novels as read-alikes.

Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home, is coming to Ann Arbor

Thu, 01/15/2015 - 9:06am by eapearce

Hugely popular graphic novelist Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama, and many other graphic novels, will be coming to the Michigan Theater on January 22, 2015. Bechdel's work intertwines political and personal spheres. She uses stories of her father's life before gay rights and her mother's life prior to the women's rights movement to portray intimate images of oppression. In Fun Home, her most popular work, Bechdel shares her personal tales of coming-of-age and coming out in the 1950s and 1960s, under the shadow of her parents' unhappy marriage and nation-wide homophobia.

Bechdel's talk at the Michigan Theater will begin at 5:10pm. The event is free and open to the public. You can read more about Bechdel and the event itself here.

Getting the "YES" with Body Language

Monday March 2, 2015: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Nerd Nite Ann Arbor presented by AADL at LIVE 102 S First St.

Thursday January 29, 2015: 7:00pm to 9:30pm
LIVE (102 S 1st Street)
Adults

CANCELLED - Nerd Nite Ann Arbor presented by AADL at LIVE 102 S First St.

Thursday December 11, 2014: 7:00pm to 9:30pm
LIVE (102 S 1st Street)

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit

Thursday March 5, 2015: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Local Music: Timothy Monger

Friday January 30, 2015: 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Vietnamerica: Pop-Up Exhibition by GB Tran

Wed, 10/29/2014 - 12:26pm by anned

The University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities has a new Pop-Up exhibition series in the Osterman Common Room (#1022). The first, Vietnamerica, is an exhibition of images from GB Tran's graphic memoir of the same name, a visually stunning portrait of survival, escape, and reinvention, and of the fit of the American immigrants' dream. The exhibition will be up through Friday, November 7.

GB Tran be there to talk about his work on Friday, November 7, 2014 at 2:00pm.

Note: The Common Room at Institute for the Humanities is open M-F 9am-5pm.