Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being has been selected as the title for 2017’s Lake Forest Reads: Ragdale, a one book/one community program.

Lake Forest Reads: Ragdale 2017 will culminate with our main event, A Conversation with Ruth Ozeki, ​moderated by Professor of English Davis Schneiderman, Associate Dean of the Faculty, Lake Forest College. 

Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 7:00 PM

Event is free but requires registration at www.lakeforestreadsragdale.org

First 20 adults to register for the Summer Reading Program at Lake Forest Library will receive a copy of A Tale for the Time Being. 

About the book:​ Two characters narrate a Tale for the Time Being; a sixteen-year-old Japanese-American girl living in Tokyo and keeping a diary, and a Japanese-American writer living on an island off British Columbia who finds the diary washed up on the shore after the tsunami in 2011. The Seattle Times called it “a terrific novel that explores quantum physics, military applications of computer video games, Internet bullying and Marcel Proust as well, all while creating a vulnerable and unique voice for the 16-year-old girl at its center. Ozeki has produced a dazzling and humorous work of literary origami.”

About the program: ​Lake Forest Reads: Ragdale is a one book/one community program that fosters a culture of reading and a sense of community in our city. Each year a title is selected from the works of writers affiliated with the Ragdale Foundation, the artists’ residency that has supported authors and their creative process for over 35 years. Program partners create events to help the community deepen their understanding of the chosen book title and encourage discussions in the community. Program Partners include the ​Lake Forest Library, Friends of Lake Forest Library, Lake Forest College, and the Ragdale Foundation. The Lake Forest Book Store is the official bookstore of Lake Forest Reads: Ragdale.

About the author: Ruth Ozeki is a novelist, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest. She is the award-winning author of three novels, My Year of Meats, All Over Creation, and A Tale for the Time Being, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her critically acclaimed independent films, including Halving the Bones, have been screened at Sundance and aired on PBS. She is affiliated with the Brooklyn Zen Center and the Everyday Zen Foundation. She lives in British Columbia and New York City.

Join Lake Forest Book Store in welcoming local author Lori Rader-Day celebrating her most recent novel, The Day I Died.

William Morrow & Company $14.99

Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.

Register at Lake Forest Book Store 847-234-4420

Anna Winger can know people better than they know themselves with only a glance--at their handwriting. Hired out by companies wanting to land trustworthy employees and by the lovelorn hoping to find happiness, Anna likes to keep the real-life mess of other people at arm's length and on paper. But when she is called to use her expertise on a note left behind at a murder scene in the small town she and her son have recently moved to, the crime gets under Anna's skin and rips open her narrow life for all to see. To save her son--and herself--once and for all, Anna will face her every fear, her every mistake, and the past she thought she'd rewritten.

Lori Rader-Day, author of The Day I Died, The Black Hour, and Little Pretty Things, is the recipient of the 2016 Mary Higgins Clark Award and the 2015 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. Lori’s short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Time Out Chicago, Good Housekeeping, and others. She lives in Chicago, where she teaches mystery writing at StoryStudio Chicago and is the president of the Mystery Writers of America Midwest Chapter. 

Jennifer Smith, author of Windfall

(Delacorte Press $18.99, due May 2, 2017)

Wednesday May 10th at 6:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m.

Refreshments will be served.

Register at Lake Forest Book Store 847-234-4420

Please join Lake Forest Book Store in welcoming accomplished author and former Lake Forest High School attendee Jennifer Smith as she presents her new novel for young adults, Windfall.

Alice doesn't believe in luck--at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she's been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday--just when it seems they might be on the brink of something--she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes. At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy's father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy's newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall. As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined . . . and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect. 

Jennifer Smith is the author of seven novels for young adults, including The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. She is a former student at Lake Forest High School and later earned a master's degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Her work has been translated into thirty-three languages. She currently lives in New York City. 

Lake Forest Book Store welcomes Lauren Wolk to discuss her new book Beyond the Bright Sea.

Lauren Wolk, author of Beyond the Bright Sea

Dutton Books for Young Readers $16.99

Tuesday, May 9 at 4:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m.

Register at Lake Forest Book Store 847-234-4420

From the author of Newbery Honor-winner Wolf Hollow, the moving story of an orphan, determined to know her own history, who discovers the true meaning of family. Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar. 
Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn't until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger. Vivid and heart-wrenching, Lauren Wolk's Beyond the Bright Sea is a gorgeously crafted and tensely paced tale that explores questions of identity, belonging, and the true meaning of family. -Kirkus Reviews, starred review 

Lauren Wolk is an award-winning poet and author. She was born in Baltimore and has since lived in California, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Canada, and Ohio. She now lives with her family on Cape Cod.

Author Luncheon with Fabio Viviani and his cookbook Fabio's 30 Minute Italian

Fabio Viviani, author of Fabio's 30-Minute Italian

(St. Martin's Press, $27.99, due  May 2, 2017

Wednesday, May 17 at 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m.

$60.00 with book included

Register at Lake Forest Book Store 847-234-4420

Dinner doesn't have to be daunting. In half an hour or less you can cook up an Italian meal at home like a professional chef. In this case, just like Top Chef star Fabio Viviani. Infused with his warmth and humor, this book brings Fabio into your kitchen.

Fabio shows home chefs how to cook -Grandma Style- (that is, like an intuitive Italian), and even those on a tight schedule will soon be whipping up great dinners. Fabio's 30 Minute Italian provides lots of time saving tips, from freezing batches of herbs and dressing to making your own pasta dough in three minutes tops.

Along the way, Fabio shares stories from his early life in Florence where he apprenticed at age five to his wheel-chair-bound and wooden-spoon-wielding great-grandmother to his American life cooking dinner for his wife and infant son in Chicago. Gorgeously illustrated throughout, and filled with his through--the-roof energy and charisma, Fabio's 30 Minute Italian is guaranteed to make you enjoy your time in the kitchen--and the results!

Author photo courtesy of the author.

Fabio Viviani is a chef, culinary personality, restauranteur, and former Top Chef-fan favorite. His restaurants have received great critical acclaim.Vivani has 17 restaurants currently open, with 4 more to come in 2017. A frequent guest on the Food Network and food programs on several other channels, Viviani is the host of the award-winning web series -Chow Ciao! on Yahoo and Fabio's Kitchen.

Join us in welcoming Nathan Hill, author of THE NIX, to Lake Forest Book Store for a Meet and Greet and Book Signing.

Knopf Publishing Group $17.00, due in paperback May 2nd, 2017

Friday, May 12th at 6:00 p.m.

Register at Lake Forest Book Store 847-234-4420

The Nix is a novel about a son, the mother who left him as a child, and how his search to uncover the secrets of her life leads him to reclaim his own.

Nathan Hill's short fiction has appeared in many literary journals, including The Iowa Review, AGNI, The Gettysburg Review, and Fiction, which awarded him its annual Fiction Prize. A native Iowan, he lives with his wife in Naples, Florida. 

Join us for a day of celebrating your local independent community bookstore

Saturday, April 29th

9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Coffee, donuts will be served all day. Raffle prizes will include a gift basket, store gift cards, and 10% off store memberships/renewals.

Local children's author Lori Degman will be at the store for a meet and greet and book signing between 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 am. Books available for purchase.

Join us as we host long-time friend of Lake Forest Book Store and local author Patrick McCaskey for a "Meet and Greet" and book-signing of his latest book, Pilgrimage.

Patrick McCaskey, author of Pilgrimage

Sporting Chance Press, $20.00

Saturday, June 17th at 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Register at Lake Forest Book Store 847-234-4420

The third book on Sports and Faith Series by Patrick McCaskey, Pilgrimage explores the various Christian shrines and holy places popularizd by recent days trekkers and seekers. Pilgrimages to such destinations as the Holy Land, Rome, Lourdes, Fatima, the Way of Saint James, Canterbury, Assisi, Guadalupe and others are explored and then related to stories of sports and faith. Like his two other Sports and Faith Series books, Pilgrimage examines the lives of many athletes, coaches, and others who live exemplary lives. Many of the athletes described in this book are young. Their athletic preparation, discipline, conditioning, and spiritual and mental training will help them lead faithful lives,

Patrick McCaskey, born in Evanston, IL,. is the grandson of famed Chicago Bears founder George Halas. Currently he is a Co-Owner, Board Member and a’ Vice President with the Chicago Bears. He has authored five books: Bear with Me: A Family History of George Halas and the Chicago Bears, Sports and Faith: Stories of the Devoted and the Devout, Pillars of the NFL: Coaches Who Have Won Three or More Championships, Sports and Faith: More Stories of the Devoted and the Devout, and Pilgrimage: A Sports and Faith Series Book. Patrick and his wife, Gretchen, have three sons: Ed (maried to Elizabeth), Tom, and Jim. They also have a granddaughter, Grace, and a grandson, Pat.

Nickolas Butler, author of Hearts of Men

(Ecco, $26.99, due Mar 7)

Wednesday, April 19 at 11:30 a.m.

Tickets are $65 for luncheon with book included.

Register at Lake Forest Book Store 847-234-4420

Camp Chippewa, 1962. Nelson Doughty, age thirteen, social outcast and overachiever, is the Bugler, sounding the reveille proudly each morning. Yet this particular summer marks the beginning of an uncertain and tenuous friendship with a popular boy named Jonathan.

Over the years, Nelson, irrevocably scarred from the Vietnam War, becomes Scoutmaster of Camp Chippewa, while Jonathan marries, divorces, and turns his father’s business into a highly profitable company. And when something unthinkable happens at a camp get-together with Nelson as Scoutmaster and Jonathan’s teenage grandson and daughter-in-law as campers, the aftermath demonstrates the depths—and the limits—of Nelson’s selflessness and bravery.

Nickolas Butler is the author of the internationally-best selling novel Shotgun Lovesongs and a collection of short stories entitled, Beneath the Bonfire. His short stories, poetry, and non-fiction have appeared in: Ploughshares, The Kenyon Review Online, The Lumberyard, The Christian Science Monitor, Narrative, Sixth Finch, and several other publications.

He lives on sixteen acres of land in rural Wisconsin adjacent to a buffalo farm. He is married and has two children.