David Leite thumbnail 05-11-17

Food Blogging Phenom David Leite Visits Darien Library May 25 & Refreshments Will Be Served

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David Leite, food blogger and author of Notes on a Banana, will be Darien Library’s featured speaker at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 25. Refreshments will be served. A unique blend of Anthony Bourdain, Augusten Burroughs, and Kay Redfield Jamison, David Leite’s Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Manic Depression is a true tale that dazzles, touches the heart, and, ultimately, triumphs. Born into a devoutly Catholic, food-crazed family of Azorean immigrants in 1960s Fall River, Mass., David had a childhood that was the stuff of sitcoms.

But what no one knew was that this smart-ass, determined dreamer with a vivid imagination also struggled with the frightening mood swings of bipolar disorder. To cope, “Banana,” as his mother endearingly called him, found relief and comfort in food, watching reruns of Julia Child, and, later as an adult, cooking for others.

Patricia Reilly Giff and Book Covers 04-30-17

Meet the Children’s Book Author Patricia Reilly Giff at Darien Library

Patricia Reilly Giff, author of many beloved novels including Lily’s Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods, visits Darien Library from 4 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, May 2. Giff will discuss her work, including her latest book Genevieve’s War, which is the companion to Lily’s Crossing, followed by a book signing. Barrett Bookstore will be on hand to sell books for the signing.  

Patricia Reilly Giff has recieved the Newbery Honor for Pictures of Hollis Woods and Lily’s Crossing, which is also a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book. Nory Ryan’s Song was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA Notable Book.

Authors Andrew McCarthy and Dani Shapiro at Darien Library

Andrew McCarthy, author of Just Fly Away, and Dani Shapiro, author of Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage, will be featured speakers at a “Meet the Authors” event at Darien Library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Darien Library Community Room. In Just Fly Away, when fifteen-year-old Lucy Willows discovers she has an eight-year-old brother living just a few blocks away — the result of her father’s brief affair — she begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her life. How could Lucy’s father have betrayed the entire family? How could her mother forgive him? And why isn’t her sister rocked by the news the way Lucy is?