Past Events
Science & Technology Week 2024
November 13-15, 2024 at the Los Altos Main Library
LALE Speaking Volumes: A Glimpse into a Controlled Nation: Observations from North Korea
April 30, 2024 in the Grand Oak Room, Los Altos Community Center
Clashes between democracy and dictatorships continue across the globe. From events in Russia and Iran to ongoing oppression across North Korea and other countries, it is important to seek to understand how it feels and broader implications.
Stanford Professor and novelist Adam Johnson spent eleven years researching and writing a novel on his experiences in North Korea. “The Orphan Master’s Son” won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In this book, he brought to light fundamental truths of North Korea society and indelibly humanized the people he wrote about. Many of his observations will resonate as timely. Adam will comment on his journey as a writer, mentioning his last book “Fortune Smiles” which was published in 2015 as well as his future projects.
Silicon Valley Reads: Heather White
February 2, 2024 in the Orchard Room, Los Altos Main Library
Climate issues and the resulting eco-anxiety is the biggest challenge of our time. The anxiety that comes with worrying about how environmental harm will impact our — and our children’s —lives can be overwhelming. Learn how to balance practicing daily sustainability actions while caring for your own eco-anxiety in this revolutionary book from noted environmentalist Heather White. In One Green Thing, White shows you how to contribute to the climate movement through self-discovery and self-care.
January 31, 2024, 7:00pm at the Visual Performing Arts Center (VPAC) at De Anza College
NBC Bay Area reporter Damian Trujillo will moderate a conversation with featured authors: Heather White (One Green Thing), Lily Brooks-Dalton (The Light Pirate) and contributors to All We Can Save: Favianna Rodriguez, Artist and president of the Center for Cultural Power and Alexandria Villaseñor, youth environmental activist and Founder of Earth Uprising. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn from this esteemed panel, ask questions and have your books signed by the authors after the event! Come early to visit the Euphrat Museum of Art where Favianna’s art will be showcased with other local artists in “Sacred Terrain” which will explore the beauty of the natural world.
Virtual Author Talk: Stephanie Land
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 11:00am - Online Event
You’re invited to an afternoon chat with New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Land as she talks to us about her new memoir, Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education.
In Class, Land takes us with her as she finishes college and pursues her writing career. Facing barriers at every turn, including a byzantine loan system, not having enough money for food, and navigating the judgments of professors and fellow students who didn’t understand the demands of attending college while under the poverty line. In clear, candid, and moving prose, Class offers a searing indictment of America’s educational system and an inspiring testimony of a mother’s triumph against all odds.
Distinguised Author Series: Mitch Albom
Sponsored by the Santa Clara County Library District
Friday, 1 December, 2023 at Orchard City Banquet Hall, Campbell
Mitch Albom has written numerous bestsellers, including one of the bestselling memoirs of all times, Tuesdays with Morrie (1997). Albom is also a renowned newspaper columnist and sports writer. Albom now dedicates much of his time to philanthropic work, which includes providing medical care to homeless children in Michigan and operating an orphanage in Haiti.
His latest novel, The Little Liar, explores honesty, survival, revenge, and devotion in a story set during the Holocaust.
Science & Technology Week: Maintaining Cognitive Health and Preventing Dementia
Thursday, September 15, 2022
To view the presentation slides, click here.