Liv Constantine will be on tour next month with her upcoming book release, Don’t Open Your Eyes. She will open her book tour with a virtual event. Here is the link to RSVP a ticket for each event https://livconstantine.com/events/
Carl Hiaasen is on tour this month. Here is the link to get more information on each event https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/12881/carl-hiaasen/
Anita Kopacz visited the college I work at to speak with the students about her books, writing skills, and how to release stress. She was a motivational speaker who was down to earth and shared personal situations that could help others with similar circumstances. She has published two books that are part of a series.
Here is her Goodreads profile to read further on her books https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4155019.Anita_Kopacz
Yesterday, I got to meet Shelby Van Pelt, the author of Remarkably Bright Creatures. She was in conversation with the author Lynda Cohen Loigman. This event was the start of her book tour and took place at the Paramus BN. It was a fantastic event learning more about where the idea of Marcellus, the octopus 🐙 who is the narrator of the story, came from. In case you aren’t aware, a film has been made for this story and will be out soon. I highly recommend you read this amazing book. Below is my review.
My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars
This outstanding book brought me so much joy. It’s been a while since I devoured a book in three days, not allowing me to take a break from this heartwarming story. This book gave me all the emotions, with characters who stole my heart. Shelby created characters who made us want to know more about their stories. I learned early on how this story was going to unravel. I was happy with how the story turned out.
The leading character, Marcellus, who happens to be a giant Pacific octopus, makes the story interesting with his countdown to the end of his life. I was sad that, as the reader, you knew his death was imminent, but his smarts and skills will show the powers these beautiful creatures have. It was great learning more about the lifespan and abilities of an octopus.
This story is a rollercoaster of emotions. It follows a son who never knew his father, and his mom abandoned him. He searches for his possible father after locating a picture and a high school class ring. You have a seventy-year-old widow who had lost her husband and her son, who died a mysterious death when he was eighteen. This story beautifully weaves together these broken hearts who lost a lot but have so much to give to each other. Marcellus (the octopus) helps the characters figure out the mystery between these two lives, which brings new opportunities and locates what they lost. The characters’ growth and resilience throughout the story will leave you feeling hopeful.
I loved Tova Sullivan’s strength in pushing through the loss of her family and working hard at her age in the aquarium. His mother’s actions scarred Cameron Cassmore. He was a lost character trying to make it through the day in hopes of locating his happiness. I have a fascination for all sea creatures and was so happy I got to spend some quality time with Marcellus, the hero of this story. Marcellus days were outnumbered, but that didn’t stop him from making Tova realize who Cameron was to her. His friendship with Tova meant a lot to him. His memory of Erik, Tova’s son, made him want to bring Tova joy again. This is a magical story that will brighten your life.
In Store
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 6:00 PM ET
Shelby Van Pelt discusses and signs REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES
About this Event
Please join us in welcoming author Shelby Van Pelt as she celebrates the release of Remarkably Bright Creatures in paperback! She will be in conversation with Lynda Cohen Loigman.
After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in the Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors – until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
Special Instructions
LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE!
To reserve your spot, please click the link HERE
You must purchase a paperback copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures at our location to attend the event.
If you have any questions, please call the store at 201-445-4589
Events were posted on Flatiron First Edition email.
Here is the full schedule for the book festival. They have so many great authors. Here is the link with more information: https://succeed2gether.org/montclair-literary-festival/
Hazel Gaynor has shared her US book tour dates. You can RSVP for the events on her website: https://linktr.ee/Hgaynor?fbclid=PAY2xjawJsyPRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp0mKay5tVPNrpIjkVlJ-kq49BmI4DryiKllPQqGNbDYzoOn0-tASjI3ftIWT_aem_exAj-ht_KdT3Cesw3Ldeng
Information was posted on the Montclair Festival website.
Montclair Literary Festival Presents
An evening with Isabel Allende
celebrating the release of her new novel: My Name is Emilia Del Valle
Join us to welcome internationally beloved author Isabel Allende in conversation with Cleyvis Natera on the publication of her new novel, My Name is Emilia del Valle.
Date: Monday, May 5
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Temple Ner Tamid, 936 Broad Street Street, Bloomfield, NJ
Tickets: $35 – includes a hardcover copy of My Name is Emilia Del Valle
In this spellbinding historical novel, a young writer journeys to South America to uncover the truth about her father—and herself. My Name is Emilia del Valle is a riveting tale of self-discovery and love from one of the most masterful storytellers of our time.
Purchase tickets here: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/event_step2/MjMwNjQ4/304214
Information was taken from the Montclair Literary Festivals website.
Join us on Tuesday, April 29th, at 6:30p.m. as Succeed2gether’s Montclair Literary Festival, the Montclair Public Library, the Montclair Campus of L’Alliance New York, and Watchung Booksellers welcome Anne & Claire Berest in conversation about Gabriële based on the life of their bohemian, brilliant great-grandmother with moderator Violaine Huisman. Event will be held at the Montclair Public Library.
Tickets to hear Anne & Claire Berest in person cost $33 and include a copy of the book. Doors open at 6:00p.m.
Gabriële was originally published in French by Europa Editions and was translated by Tina Kover. It’s a sensational, exuberant novel about love and sex, art and revolution, experimentation and creativity. Moving between Paris, New York, Berlin, Zurich, Barcelona, London, and Saint-Tropez, the book is as audacious, uninhibited, intimate, and unforgettable as its central character, the mercurial, pioneering Gabriële Buffet.
Anne Berest’s first novel to appear in English, “The Postcard,” was a national bestseller, a Library Journal, NPR, and TIME Best Book of the Year, and winner of the Choix Goncourt Prize, France’s highest literary honor. It was described as “stunning” by Leslie Camhi in The New Yorker, as a “powerful literary work” by Julie Orringer in The New York Times Book Review, and as “intimate, profound, essential” in the pages of ELLE magazine.
Claire Berest is the author of four novels including “Rien n’est noir,” winner of the ELLE Readers Grand Prize, and two works of nonfiction, “Class Struggle: Why I Resigned from National Education,” and ”Lost Children: An Investigation in the Minors Brigade.” Her most recent novel is “Artifices.”
Violaine Huisman is a French writer. Her debut novel, The Book of Mother, won the Prix Françoise Sagan and was long-listed for the International Booker Prize.
This event will be held at The Montclair Public Library, 50 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07042. If you require any special accommodations to attend, please email montclairliteraryfestival@gmail.com before the event.
RSVP Link: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/event_step2/MjI5NTAw/302271
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