Author Events

Leif Enger - I Cheerfully Refuse

Left Bank Books presents Leif Enger, New York Times bestselling, award-winning and "formidably gifted" author, to discuss I Cheerfully Refuse, a career defining tour-de-force!

Enger will personalize and sign copies after the presentation! Personalized and signed copies will be available to be mailed anywhere in the country. For personalized copies, please order before noon on April 9th.

Join us at Left Bank Books
399 N Euclid Ave
St. Louis, MO 63108
Watch the livestream on Left Bank Books' YouTube Page
Please RSVP as space is limited

 

About the Speaker

Leif Enger grew up in Osakis, Minnesota, and worked as a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio before writing his bestselling debut novel Peace Like a River, which won the Booksense Award for Fiction and was named one of the Year's Best Books by Time Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. His second novel, So Brave, Young, and Handsome, was also a national bestseller. It was a Midwest Booksellers Honor Book, and won the High Plains Book Award for Fiction. His third novel Virgil Wander was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and was named a best book of the year by Amazon, Library Journal, Bookpage, and Chicago Public Library. He lives with his wife in Duluth, MN.

 

About I Cheerfully Refuse

An April Indie Next Pick

A Most Anticipated Book of 2024 from Literary Hub

A career defining tour-de-force from New York Times bestselling, award-winning and "formidably gifted" (Chicago Tribune) author of Peace Like a River Leif Enger.

A storyteller "of great humanity and huge heart" (Minneapolis Star Tribune), Leif Enger debuted in the literary world with Peace Like a River which sold over a million copies and captured readers' hearts around the globe. Now comes a new milestone in this boldly imaginative author's accomplished, resonant body of work. Set in a not-too-distant America, I Cheerfully Refuse is the tale of a bereaved and pursued musician embarking
under sail on a sentient Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved, bookselling wife. Rainy, an endearing bear of an Orphean narrator, seeks refuge in the harbors, fogs and remote islands of the inland sea. Encountering lunatic storms and rising corpses from the warming depths, Rainy finds on land an increasingly desperate and illiterate people, a malignant billionaire ruling class, crumbled infrastructure and a lawless society. Amidst the Gulliver-like challenges of life at sea and no safe landings, Rainy is lifted by physical beauty, surprising humor, generous strangers, and an unexpected companion in a young girl who comes aboard. And as his innate guileless nature begins to make an inadvertent rebel of him, Rainy's private quest for the love of his life grows into something wider and wilder, sweeping up friends and foes alike in his strengthening wake.

I Cheerfully Refuse epitomizes the "musical, sometimes magical and deeply satisfying kind of storytelling" (Los Angeles Times) for which Leif Enger is cherished. A rollicking narrative in the most evocative of settings, this latest novel is a symphony against despair and a rallying cry for the future.

 

"The transcendent latest from Enger ( Peace Like a River) is at once a dystopian love story, a nautical adventure, and a meditation on loss, kindness, and natural beauty . . . This captivating narrative brims with hope." -- Publishers Weeklystarred review

"The novel's ruined world, marked by book burnings, anti-intellectual sentiment, environmental disruption and casual brutality, will feel entirely too plausible for readers. Yet within its dystopian landscape, Enger's story incorporates a strain of fabulism . . . Like turbulent Lake Superior, I Cheerfully Refuse is filled with polarities that should contradict but somehow, instead, cohere: hopeless moments infused with light and shocking acts of cruelty depicted through beautiful, memorable prose. Although the struggle to survive leaves room for little else, Rainy still finds delight in simple, ordinary things: the post-storm sun or a ripe tomato. It's in these moments of earnest wonder that I Cheerfully Refuse is most compelling, like the brief but glorious clearing of a tempestuous sky." -- BookPage, starred review

"Magnificent . . . Comet-bright and eloquent, I Cheerfully Refuse is a perfect novel that treats dystopian circumstances as transient so long as literacy remains." -- Foreword Reviews, starred review

"There's both a playfulness and a seriousness of purpose to the latest from the Minnesota novelist, a spirit of whimsy that keeps hope flickering even in times of darkest despair." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Enger's prose is beautiful to behold." -- Booklist

"A book that reads like music, both battle hymn and love song for our world. A true epic--heartbreaking, terrifyingly prophetic, but above all, radically hopeful."-- Violet Kupersmith, author of Build Your House Around My Body

"A heart-racing ballad of escape, shot-through with villainy and dignity, humor and music. Like Mark Twain, Enger gives us a full accounting of the human soul, scene by scene, wave by wave." -- Josh Ritter, singer and author of The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All

Wednesday, April 10, 2024 - 7:00pm

Anthony Horowitz - Close to Death (Virtual Ticketed Event)

A Virtual Afternoon with Anthony Horowitz and Paul Doiron

Join us for a Virtual Afternoon with Anthony Horowitz and Paul Doiron for CLOSE TO DEATH

Anthony Horowitz will join us on zoom in conversation with fellow bestselling mystery author Paul Doiron to discuss the newest addition to his Hawthorne and Horowitz mystery series, Close to Death.

Purchase of Close to Death from Left Bank Books will gain you admission to the virtual event. Books can be shipped anywhere in the country. The link to the event will be sent the day before the event.

In New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fifth literary whodunnit in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series, Detective Hawthorne is once again called upon to solve an unsolvable case—a gruesome murder in an idyllic gated community in which suspects abound.

Riverside Close is a picture-perfect community. The six exclusive and attractive houses are tucked far away from the noise and grime of city life, allowing the residents to enjoy beautiful gardens, pleasant birdsong, and tranquility from behind the security of a locked gate.

It is the perfect idyll, until the Kentworthy family arrives, with their four giant, gas-guzzling cars, gaggle of shrieking children, and plans for a garish swimming pool in the backyard. Obvious outsiders, the Kentworthys do not belong in Riverside Close, and quickly offend every last one of the neighbors.

When Charles Kentworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest, Detective Hawthorne is the only investigator they can call to solve the case.

Because how do you solve a murder when everyone is a suspect?

Anthony Horowitz is the author of the US bestselling Magpie Murders and The Word is Murder, and one of the most prolific and successful writers in the English language; he may have committed more (fictional) murders than any other living author. His novel Trigger Mortis features original material from Ian Fleming. His most recent Sherlock Holmes novel, Moriarty, is a reader favorite; and his bestselling Alex Rider series for young adults has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide. As a TV screenwriter, he created both Midsomer Murders and the BAFTA-winning Foyle’s War on PBS. Horowitz regularly contributes to a wide variety of national newspapers and magazines, and in January 2014 was awarded an OBE.

Paul Doiron is the author of 15 Mike Bowditch mysteries.The Poacher’s Son, the first book in the series won the Barry award, the Strand award for best first novel, and has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity awards in the same category. Doiron is a Registered Maine Guide specializing in fly fishing

This event is presented by Northshire Bookstore in partnership with fellow independent bookstores Anderson's BookshopBooks & BooksGibson's BookstoreLeft Bank Books, and RJ Julia / RJ Julia Wesleyan / Bookhampton.

Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - 4:00pm

Lutz Pfannenstiel - The Incredible Adventures of the Unstoppable Keeper

The Incredible Adventures of the Unstoppable Keeper - Pfannenstiel, Lutz

Invitation to an Exclusive Book Signing Event at Schlafly Tap Room  

You are cordially invited to an intimate book signing event at Schlafly Tap Room, located just across the street from City Park. Join us for a unique evening with St. Louis City Sporting Director, Lutz Pfannenstiel, as he presents his extraordinary autobiography, "The Unstoppable Keeper."

About the Book: "The Unstoppable Keeper" takes you on a thrilling journey across every FIFA Confederation, detailing Lutz Pfannenstiel's remarkable experiences. From the daring escapade of kidnapping a penguin to enduring wrongful imprisonment, and the heart-stopping moment when his life hung in the balance during a match, Lutz's story is a rollercoaster of resilience and triumph.

Event Details:

  • Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
  • Time: 5:00- 9:00 pm 
  • Location: Schlafly Tap Room 2nd Floor, 2100 Locust St, St Louis, MO 63103

Exclusive Access: Purchase a copy of "The Unstoppable Keeper" ”HERE”, and you and a guest will receive special entry to this exclusive event. Limited spots are available, so secure your place now! Books will be available for pickup at Schlafly’s starting at 5pm and the Q&A will begin at 6pm. 

Highlights of the Evening:

  • Book Signing: Lutz Pfannenstiel will personally autograph your book.
  • Q&A Session: Have your burning questions answered by the man himself.
  • Networking: Mingle with fellow football enthusiasts and book lovers.

Don't miss this chance to be part of a unique evening filled with stories of adventure, passion, and the indomitable spirit of an unstoppable keeper.

Click here to purchase your book and secure your spot!” **Mark EVENT PICKUP for your delivery method**

We look forward to welcoming you to this exclusive event.

 

Friday, March 22, 2024 - 5:00pm

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