Meet the Author

Miss an Event?

For those of you who haven’t caught on, Northeastern University Libraries sponsors at least one event every month, from Meet the Author visits to  presentations by a successful alum. Though there’s nothing quite like sitting in front of a journalist-turned-author speaking about her experiences in Afghanistan or watching the tears fall down your neighbor’s face in reaction to a philosopher’s jokes about life and death, fear not! Technology has you covered if you missed an event. In addition to the iTunes U and YouTube University accounts, the library also has a Flickr page that allows you to scroll through events in a matter of seconds. As the Library Events Photographer, I urge you to check out this page and the Snippets Gallery, both of which feature the authors you may not have had the opportunity to see in person. In the glorious age of technology, it’s almost a sin to fall behind. Happy browsing!

Miss an Author Talk?

If you have missed one this semester, no need to worry.  You can watch them online on Northeastern’s Youtube and iTunes University channels.  Below, watch John Nichols and Bob McChesney discuss the crisis in modern-day American journalism: Catch up on other Library programs and let us know what you think! If you’re interested in John Nichols and Bob McChesney’s presentation, read their book The Death and Life of American Journalism, available at Snell Library.  (Both also have published other books on journalism in the Library’s collection as well.) If you’re a journalism or communications student, you might also be interested in checking out librarian Julie Jersyk’s subject guide pages, or making a research appointment to learn more.  

Meet the Author: Aisling Shen on Feb 23

On Tuesday, February 23, author Aisling Shen will be talking and giving a book signing at Northeastern University for her book, A Tiger’s Heart: A Memoir of A Modern Chinese Woman.  Her book is available at Snell Library. In A Tiger’s Heart, Shen takes the reader on her personal journey through China’s history.  From her early days in the rice fields through China’s major economic boom, her story demonstrates the massive changes, both social and economic, that have shaped China today.  Her talk will be held on Friday, February 23 @ 6 pm, in 405 Ell Hall. To download the event flyer, click here.

Meet Author Elizabeth Nunez Feb. 5

This Friday, February 5, at noon, author Elizabeth Nunez will be speaking about about her novel Anna in Between in 421 Snell Library. The novel centers around Anna, a New York City-based editor who returns to her home in the Caribbean only to find out about her mother’s cancer diagnosis.  Refreshments will be served. Download the event flyer. One of Nunez’s earlier novels, Prospero’s Daughter, is a post-colonial re-telling of The Tempest, in the tradition of Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea. You can check out all three books, (along with Anna in Between) at Snell Library. (Follow the links above, to the books’ call numbers in NUCAT.)

Spring Author Series Announced

Each semester at the Library we host a diverse group of writers as part of our Meet the Author series. For me, it’s always an interesting opportunity to learn more about a subject I’m interested in, or sometimes one I know very little about. (For our Fall Football event in 2008,  I read Mark Bavaro’s Rough and Tumble, and came closer to learning what the life of an NFL player is like, adding another layer to watching professional football games).  This semester is no exception, and there are some great authors who are coming to Northeastern: Sisters in War: A Story of Love, Family, and Survival in the New Iraq Christina Asquith Thursday, January 28 @ 2:30 pm Alumni Center, 716 Columbus Avenue Asquith’s book is the story of four women—two Iraqi sisters, one U.S. soldier, and a U.S. aid worker—whose narratives explain the choices and challenges women face in the new Iraq. Asquith spent from 2003 to 2005 reporting from Baghdad. As a journalist whose living situation grew more imperiled, she moved in with an Iraqi family and gained an intimate look at how the war affected their lives. The Death and Life of American Journalism Bob McChesney and John Nichols Tuesday, February 2 @ Noon 90 Snell Library In their new book, communications scholar Bob McChesney and award-winning journalist John Nichols explore the current crisis of journalism. They claim that journalism today can easily be overrun by commercialism and special interests and in many ways has strayed far from its earlier purpose as a tool for public service, made possible by government subsidies. McChesney and Nichols founded the nonprofit Free Press in 2003 with the intention to create a strong, public outlet for journalism. The Death and Life of American Journalism makes for riveting reading on public discourse and the informed citizen. Anna In-Between Elizabeth Nunez Friday, February 5 @ Noon 421 Snell Library Nunez’s colorful work of fiction focuses on Anna, a successful New York City editor who hails from an upper-class Caribbean family. When Anna returns home, she finds her mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has no intentions of traveling to the United States for medical assistance.  Her mother believes that, as a black woman, she will receive inferior medical care.  Throughout the book, Nunez beautifully illustrates the bond between family members and a community.  Nunez is Provost at CUNY’s Medgar Evers College and has written seven novels.  A Tiger’s Heart: A Memoir Aisling Shen Tuesday, February 23 @ 6 pm 405 Ell Hall Born in China’s Yangtze River Delta into a community of impoverished rice farmers, Shen was the first person from her village to attend college. Deeply dissatisfied with her government-issued teaching job, she left for the special economic zones of southern China in search of happiness and success in the business world. In 2000 Shen immigrated to the U.S. and graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College in 2005. She currently works as an equity research associate in an investment management firm in Boston.  In her unflinching memoir, Shen’s personal story also reflects the early days of China’s economic boom and illustrates the massive economic and social changes that have taken place in the country over the past several decades. Click here to see the full press release.