In MOTHERLAND: A Memoir, Chicagoan Pamela Marin’s powerful debut, a daughter embarks on a quest to learn the secrets of her mother’s life—and to make sense of her own. Motherland is both a detective story and a spiritual journey into both what it is to be a daughter, and then to become a mother.

Boman (A Woman Madly in Love) Desai looks intimately at the lives of three great artists and their times in TRIO. This novel, revolving around Clara and Robert Schumann, and their close friend, Johannes Brahms, is a tale of love, death and madness, of revolution and music, perfect for a cold winter night or a rainy fall afternoon.

Join us at the Chicago Public Library Harold Washington Center for an evening with Northwestern professor and cultural historian Gary Wills as he discusses his latest work, HENRY ADAMS AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA. Please contact the Harold Washington Center at 773.542.7279 for further details.

A missing masterwork, its mysterious fate and the circumstances of its disappearance have captivated art lovers for year. In THE LOST PAINTING, the eagerly awaited book by Jonathan (A Civil Action) Harr, the author embarks on a spellbinding journey to discover Caravaggio’s long-lost painting, The Taking of Christ.

Join us as writers Meredith (Dictionary of Failed Relationships) Broussard and Lee Klein try to find the answers to questions like “What does ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ really mean?” as they read from the funny ’cause its true anthology THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXES.

Join Barbara’s, WBEZ, and This American Life host Ira Glass for an evening with Said Hyder Akbar. In COME BACK TO AFGHANISTAN: A California Teenager’s Story, Hyder interweaves both his personal story, of a typical suburban kid struggling with his identity in his parent’s homeland, with the struggles of post-Taliban Afghanistan.

Shakespeare and Co. in Paris may be the most famous and beloved bookstore in the world. In it George Whitman has created a haven for book lovers and dreamers, riffraff and refugees. Crime reporter Jeremy Mercer washed up there, penniless and chased by gangsters. TIME WAS SOFT THERE is his great bohemian story of Paris; modern, timeless and full of the wonder of books.

Jeff Ruby and Penny Pollack have one word for you—Pizza! EVERYBODY LOVES PIZZA is more than just a cookbook or a restaurant guide, it is a lovesong to one of the greatest foods in the history of the—um—mouth. Did we mention there would be pizza? From some of the best pizzerias in the city? Join us for a slice and some tasty fun.

For the Republicans the 2004 election was nearly miraculous. Conservatives argued that values had made the difference. But Mark Crispin Miller believes theft, not morals won the day. FOOLED AGAIN: How the Right Stole the Election & Why They’ll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them) is an incendiary rallying cry and a cautionary tale to keep you up at night.

JFK AND SAM is a tale of two murders. The first occurred in Dallas on November 22, 1963. The second took place in Oak Park on June 16, 1975. Antoinette (Mafia Princess) Giancana connects the dots between President Kennedy’s assassination and that of her father in this revealing new work.