Arroyo Monthly April 2022

CALENDAR accumulated between them over the years, they discover that while the future may look entirely different from the one that they’ve expected, it may be even brighter than they’d hoped. Crowdcast registration link: https://bit.ly/GinaSorell

Vroman’s

Live

Bookstore boasts stellar lineup for April

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By Arroyo Staff

he renowned bookstore Vroman’s is hosting more top-notch virtual programs throughout April. The Vroman’s Live events are held virtually and in person. Vroman’s Virtual events will be presented through Crowdcast. Register through vromansbookstore.com. Anyone with questions is asked to contact email@ vromansbookstore.com.

Virtual events Gina Sorell, in conversation with Jennifer Robertson, discusses “The Wise Women” 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 Popular advice columnist Wendy Wise has been skillfully advising the women who write to her seeking help for four decades, so why are her own daughters’ lives such a mess? Clementine, the working mother of a 6-year-old boy, has just discovered that she is renting the Queens home that she thought she owned, because her husband Steve secretly funneled their money into his flailing startup. Meanwhile, her sister, Barb, has overextended herself at her architecture firm and reunited semi-unhappily with her cheating girlfriend. When Steve goes MIA and Clementine receives an eviction notice, Wendy swoops in to save the day, even though her daughters, who are holding on to some resentments from childhood, haven’t asked for her help. But as soon as Wendy sets her sights on hunting down her rogue son-in-law, Barb and Clementine quickly discover that their mother has been hiding more than a few problems of her own. As the three women confront the disappointments and heartaches that have

Peter Dreier discusses his two new books, “Baseball Rebels” and “Major League Rebels” 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 19 “Baseball Rebels” tells stories of mavericks, reformers and radicals who shook up the baseball establishment and helped change America. These players, managers, sportswriters, activists and even a few owners were influenced by, and in turn influenced, America’s broader political and social protest movements, including battles against racism, sexism and homophobia. “Major League Rebels” is a captivating history of the baseball reformers and revolutionaries who challenged their sport and society — and in turn helped change America. Athletes have often used their platform to respond to and protest injustices, from Muhammad Ali and Colin Kaepernick to Billie Jean King and Megan Rapinoe. Compared to their counterparts, baseball players have often been more cautious about speaking out on controversial issues; but throughout the sport’s history, there have been many players who were willing to stand up and fight for what was right. In “Major League Rebels: Baseball Battles over Workers’ Rights and American Empire,” Robert Elias and Peter Dreier reveal a little-known yet important history of rebellion among professional ballplayers. These reformers took inspiration from the country’s dissenters and progressive movements, speaking and acting against abuses within their profession and their country. Elias and Dreier profile the courageous players who demanded better working conditions, battled against corporate power, and challenged America’s unjust wars, imperialism and foreign policies, resisting the brash patriotism that many link with the “national pastime.” American history can be seen as an ongoing battle over wealth and income inequality, corporate power versus workers’ rights, what it means to be a “patriotic” American, and the role of the United States outside its borders. For over 100 years, baseball activists have challenged the status quo, contributing to the kind of dissent that creates a more humane society. Crowdcast registration link: https://bit.ly/PeterDreier David Baldacci, in conversation with Robert Crais, discusses “Dream Town” 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 It’s the eve of 1953, and Aloysius Archer is in Los Angeles to ring in the New Year with an old friend, aspiring actress Liberty Callahan, when their evening is interrupted by an acquaintance of Callahan’s: Eleanor Lamb, a screenwriter in dire straits. After a series of increasingly chilling events — mysterious phone calls, the same blue car loitering outside her house, and a bloody knife left in her sink — Eleanor fears her life is in danger, and she wants to hire Archer to look into the matter. Archer suspects that Eleanor knows more than she’s saying, but before he can officially take on her case, a dead body turns up inside of Eleanor’s home… and Eleanor disappears. Missing client or not, Archer is dead set on finding both the murderer and Eleanor. With the help of Callahan and his partner, Willie Dash, he launches an investigation that will take him from mob-ridden Las Vegas to the glamorous world of Hollywood to the darkest corners of Los Angeles — a city in which beautiful faces are attached to cutthroat schemers, where the cops can be more corrupt than the criminals… and where the powerful people responsible for his client’s disappearance will kill without a moment’s hesitation if they catch Archer on their trail. Crowdcast registration link: https://bit.ly/DavidBaldacciVromans Vroman’s Local Author Day with Dr. Ian Brooks, Shanti Hershenson and James Cox 6 p.m. Friday, April 29 Dr. Ian Brooks presents “Intention,” a step-by-step guide in transforming the reader’s story, by reinforcing and building new capabilities to move forward. Shanti Hershenson will discuss “You Won’t Know Her Name,” a “haunting, shocking novel told in poetry.” continued on page 40 04.22 | ARROYO | 39

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