Thursday, Jan. 29 11 am - 12:30 pm (ET)

Location: ZOOM

Fee $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

Discuss the acclaimed writer Susan Orlean’s fascinating new memoir Joyride. Best known as the author of The Library Book and The Orchid Thief, as well as countless compelling New Yorker pieces, Orlean takes readers back to the “golden age” of journalism and into her own inimitable creative process as she nurtures her endless curiosity, conjures new story ideas, connects with editors, and constructs the perfect first paragraph. The memoir also chronicles Orlean’s personal story of the painful collapse of her first marriage, falling in love again, becoming a mother, and traveling to Hollywood to watch Meryl Streep play a version of her in an Oscar-nominated movie (Adaptation) about the process of turning her best-selling nonfiction into a screenplay. The memoir is available in print or as an audio book; the film is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Viewing the film is not mandatory but will enhance your experience.  

Thursday, Jan. 29 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Shaarei Tikvah congregation, Scarsdale NY

Fee $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

Discuss the acclaimed writer Susan Orlean’s fascinating new memoir Joyride. Best known as the author of The Library Book and The Orchid Thief, as well as countless compelling New Yorker pieces, Orlean takes readers back to the “golden age” of journalism and into her own inimitable creative process as she nurtures her endless curiosity, conjures new story ideas, connects with editors, and constructs the perfect first paragraph. The memoir also chronicles Orlean’s personal story of the painful collapse of her first marriage, falling in love again, becoming a mother, and traveling to Hollywood to watch Meryl Streep play a version of her in an Oscar-nominated movie (Adaptation) about the process of turning her best-selling nonfiction into a screenplay. The memoir is available in print or as an audio book; the film is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Viewing the film is not mandatory but will enhance your experience.  

Tuesday, Feb. 10 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Upper East Side

Sold Out

Discussion will focus on the recent memoir Bread of Angels by Patti Smith.Participants are also advised to read, re-read, or listen to interviews about Patti Smith’s previous memoir, Just Kids, published in 2010.

Thursday, Feb. 12, 11 am to 12:30 pm

Location: ONLINE / Zoom

Fee $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

In her most recent intimate and soul-searching memoir, acclaimed musician and poet Patti Smith recounts her post-World War II girlhood when she flourished despite health challenges and economic hardship. She then lyrically describes her rise from poet to punk rocker, and her romance and marriage to Fred “Sonic” Smith, with whom she raised a family on a canal in southeastern Michigan. Upon his death and that of her brother in 1994, she tailspinned into grief but eventually rebuilt her life and began writing again, driven by creative freedom, activism, and a belief in the transformative power of art. Not required but helpful additional reading is Smith’s previous award-winning memoir Just Kids (2010), which covers her life and relationships in NYC during the 1960s and 1970s.

Tuesday, March 10 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Upper East Side, NYC

Sold out

In this unsparing, darkly funny memoir, award-winning novelist Arundhati Roy captures her complex relationship with her fierce, formidable mother who shaped Roy’s life as a writer and activist yet left her emotionally bruised. Named one of the top ten books of 2025 by the New York Times Book Review, Roy’s raw, sometimes disturbing narrative takes its title from the Beatles song “Let It Be” and attempts to make sense of her complicated feelings in the aftermath of her mother Mary’s death. Themes from this intellectually stimulating and emotionally riveting book include family relationships, intergenerational violence, colonialism's legacy, religious persecution, environmental sustainability, free speech; and more.

Tuesday, April 7 1:30 or 2:00 pm

Location:

Fee: ___

Private Group Museum Tour. Please contact me for details

Thursday, March 12 11 am to 12:30 pm

Location: ONLINE / Zoom

Fee: $ 35 payable to Scarsdale Adult School

In this unsparing, darkly funny memoir, award-winning novelist Arundhati Roy captures her complex relationship with her fierce and formidable mother who shaped Roy’s life as a writer and activist yet left her emotionally bruised. Named one of the top ten books of 2025 by the New York Times Book Review, Roy’s raw, sometimes disturbing narrative takes its title from the Beatles song “Let It Be” and attempts to make sense of her complicated feelings in the aftermath of her mother Mary’s death. Themes from this intellectually stimulating and emotionally riveting book include family relationships, intergenerational violence, colonialism's legacy, religious persecution, environmental sustainability, free speech; and more.

Wednesday, April 8, 7:00 to 8:45 pm

Location: J. Anderson’s Books in Larchmont NY

Fee: $ 45 payable to the Center for Continuing Education in Larchmont/Mamaroneck

Join us for a mouth-watering “culinary soiree” including light bites, drinks & an interactive program featuring two culinary experts and literary suggestions for book and food lovers. From farmer’s market to fridge, from food trucks to four-star eateries, explore the literary and professional landscape of cuisine in our world today. I will present a curated selection of books that focus on food and its connection to family, identity, geography, and culture. Genres will include memoirs, fiction, biography, non-fiction, art history, and even some children’s books and documentary films. 

Also, two special guests will share expertise & behind-the-scenes insights:

Lisa Nicklin is a longtime recipe tester for the New York Times food section and the New York Times Cooking App, as well as a professional tester for several cookbook authors. Hear how she navigates the grocery store, stocks her fridge & sautés her way through thousands of recipes—fixing the flaws that might fumble the most seasoned home cook. Learn new tips for commanding your own kitchen. 

Renee Cohen, chef and founder of Cuisine Arts, will share ideas for spring menu planning and delights she’s discovered while leading food tours in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens—foodie destinations that don’t require a passport.  

Includes Q & A and informal group discussion. Enjoy light refreshments; browse the bookstore shelves; and mingle with other participants. Food-related books & gifts will be on display—and a 10% discount will be honored on all store merchandise.

Discussion will focus on the recent acclaimed book, Bad, Bad Girl by Gish Jen. This “hybrid” literary offering is the latest publication by Gish Jen, combining fiction and memoir in a profoundly innovative way.

Tuesday, April 14 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Upper East Side, NYC

Sold out

Friday, April 17 11:30 am to 1:15 pm

Location: Beach Point Club, Mamaroneck NY

Fee: TBA, payable to Scarsdale Adult School

Lori Rotskoff will appear in conversation with debut author Belle Burden, whose acclaimed new book, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, is a New York Times bestseller. During the Covid pandemic, Belle Burden was safe and secure with her family at their house on Martha’s Vineyard, until—with no warning or explanation—her husband of 20 years announced that he was leaving her and their three children. In Strangers, Burden revisits this shocking incident and its aftermath: reexamining her marriage through a new lens and reckoning with her own family history and the lessons she learned about how women are expected to behave in the face of marital callousness and betrayal. With honesty and grace, she charts a path through heartbreak to reclaim her story and offers a measured, empathetic response to domestic rupture .

Belle Burden is an attorney specializing in juvenile immigration cases, She attended Harvard College and received her JD from NYU School of Law. She lives in New York City with her three children.

Time will be devoted to Audience Q&A .

Registration includes the literary program in a beautiful setting overlooking Long Island Sound; a choice of lunch entree including coffee, tea and cookies; and a signed copy of the book.

Book selection to be announced.

Tuesday, May 5 1:30 to 3 pm

Location: Upper East Side, NYC

Sold out